“She calls me from time to time, but I hang up. I’ve changed my number twice.”
Pilar’s eyes flashed in anger. “You need to let me handle her, Tyrese. I keep telling you—”
“Eventually, she will become bored.”
“It’s been five years. Why does she want to talk now? Maybe it’s because she was kicked to the curb by her husband.”
Tyrese’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “They’re divorced?”
Pilar nodded. “He is married to another woman now. Why? Do you still have feelings for her?”
“No, I love Zaire,” Tyrese responded. “I’m just surprised. I never thought he would let her go—it was clear that he loved her.”
“She probably couldn’t keep her legs closed.” Pilar glanced over at Tyrese. “I’m sorry—I shouldn’t have said that.”
He shrugged.
“Zaire still doesn’t know about the calls?”
“I’m not going to upset her with this. In fact, I plan on asking her to marry me tonight.”
Pilar broke into a grin. “That’s wonderful.”
“I’m going to take her on a boat ride after the rehearsal dinner and propose.”
She hugged him. “I’m so happy for you. Zaire is perfect for you.”
“I’m glad you approve,” Tyrese replied with a short chuckle.
Pilar looped her arm through his. “C’mon—let me show you where the reception will be held.”
* * *
The wedding rehearsal was a comedy of errors, but mostly because the bridal party was playing around. Thankfully, the pastor who was conducting the ceremony had a great sense of humor. Zaire soon realized that he was Pilar’s cousin.
After the rehearsal, the groom’s parents ushered everyone into a room down the hall where they would have dinner.
Tyrese had generously provided a choice of Broadway or concert tickets to his staff. Max and some of the younger employees opted to see Alicia Keys in concert, while the others decided to see the musical.
While everyone took a seat, the groom’s parents remained standing.
Pilar’s future father-in-law smiled at everyone and said, “Let us first honor the bride and groom for a moment. To my son, Marshall—your selfless spirit and your loving personality have won you a special gift, your bride, Pilar. May you forever cherish her. Pilar, you are indeed a gift from above, and we welcome you into our family with all our hearts, and we give thanks to our son’s good fortune that he found you.”
When it was Tyrese’s turn to give the toast, he said, “Let us raise our glasses and toast the happy couple. If her father were here, he would be doing this.” He looked to his right. “Mrs. Millbrook, would you stand with me?”
Pilar’s mother rose to her feet.
“Pilar is like a sister to me. Her mother is my other mother, so it gives me great pleasure to share in this part of her journey as Pilar begins a new life with Marshall, who will love, honor and protect her. Pilar, I want you to know that even though he is not here, your father will always be with you in spirit. Cheers.”
Zaire took a sip of her champagne.
“That was really sweet,” she whispered when Tyrese sat back down beside her.
After dinner, Tyrese took Zaire down to the lake, where a number of rustic, shacklike buildings served as boathouses. “This is so beautiful at night,” Zaire murmured as she stared out a huge window. “I can see why she wanted to have the wedding at sunset. The view is going to be spectacular.”
Tyrese agreed, “We hosted an event here and I fell in love with this place at that time. In fact, that’s when Pilar met Marshall. It was love at first sight for them.”
“It’s worked out well for them,” Zaire responded. “Tomorrow evening, they will be man and wife.”
“I would say it’s worked out just as well for us,” Tyrese announced.
Zaire met his gaze.
Tyrese smiled at her. “Sweetheart, I love you so much, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
She gasped in surprise at the sight of the tiny velvet box in his hand.
“Will you marry me?”
Zaire gasped in surprise. “Tyrese, this is for real?”
He laughed. “Baby, it’s for real. I want you to be my wife. I want to protect you for the rest of your life. I never want you to feel scared ever again.”
She hugged him. “I love you so much, Tyrese.”
“Then tell me if you’re going to be my wife.”
“Definitely,” she said. “I will marry you, Tyrese. You are the only man I want to grow old with.”
Tyrese placed the ring, a four-carat cushion-cut ruby with channel-set diamonds on each side, on her finger. “I know how much you love red, so when I saw this ring—I knew it was perfect for you.”
“Red is my signature color,” she said with a grin. “I can’t believe we’re getting married.”
“It’s true, so you might as well get used to the idea.”
This was the happiest moment of her life. It was perfect. For the first time in a long time, all the shadows surrounding her heart had finally dissipated. She loved him with her heart, body and soul.
She loved most that he was honest and had never given her pause to wonder if he was keeping anything from her. Zaire did not like secrets.
* * *
Tyrese escorted Pilar’s mother up to the stage and took the microphone. “Traditionally, this is the time when fathers of the bride have the pleasure of making the first speech. Pilar, when your father realized that he would not be here for your wedding day, he gave me explicit instructions—he wrote down what he would say and he gave me that letter to read to you.”
His eyes watered at the sight of Pilar’s tears. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her mother dabbing gently at the tears rolling down her cheeks.
He cleared his throat as he removed the letter from the envelope. “‘I have thought of this day since the moment you were placed in my arms. My deepest regret is that I am unable to physically share in your wedding day with you, but know that I am with you because not even death can still the memories you hold in your heart. Now, your mother needs to stop crying, so that I can continue with this speech.’”
Tyrese glanced over at Marie Millbrook, who chuckled and gave a slight nod to continue.
“‘It has been years since I was allowed to say anything without being disagreed with, laughed at or ignored so this is too good an opportunity to miss. I can say what I like. I would like to start by welcoming all of the relatives and friends who have traveled great distances to celebrate Pilar and Marshall’s wedding....’ I had to fill in your name, Marshall,” Tyrese said with a smile.
“‘I am the proudest dad in the world and I’m sure you will all agree that she looks stunning....’”
The room exploded with applause.
Tyrese waited for the applause to die down so that he could finish. “‘Suffice it to say that Marie and I are both very proud of how she has grown up and are both delighted that she has found someone whom she obviously loves. There are two things we as parents try to give our children—one is roots and the other is wings. Pilar, you have now grown your wings and fled the nest, but you will still be loved and always still have roots within our family. I love you dearly. Marshall, if Pilar has chosen you to be her life mate, then I believe that you are everything I could hope for in a son-in-law. Obviously, you appreciate the finer things in life—after all, you just married my daughter. May you two be happy for the rest of your lives, which I am sure will be long, happy and healthy, for it is my eternal prayer.’”
There was not a dry eye in the house by the time Tyrese raised his champagne flute and said, “It is now my pleasure to propose a toast to the happy couple. Please be upstanding and raise your glasses to t
he bride and groom, Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Campbell.”
He left the stage after the toast and was met by Pilar.
“You never told me about that letter.”
He met her tear-filled gaze. “Your father asked me not to tell you. He didn’t want you to know anything about it until your wedding day, sweetheart.” Tyrese placed the letter in her trembling hand. “He loved you so much, Pilar.”
She hugged him. “Thank you so much, Tyrese. This day was perfect, but...” She wiped a lone tear that had escaped her eye. “It just got better.”
They embraced once more. “I love you.”
He kissed her cheek. “I love you, too. Now go touch up your makeup. The photographer’s still here.”
Zaire was wiping away her tears when he joined her at the table. “Oh, my goodness...that was incredibly emotional. For a while there, I wasn’t sure you were going to be able to finish reading the letter.”
“I was going to get through it,” Tyrese stated. “I promised her father. When my dad died, he became a surrogate father to me. He was the one who took me to all of my sporting events in high school. He stayed on me about my grades. He helped me with my college applications.”
“You loved him.”
He nodded.
She reached over and took his hand in her own. “This is just one more reason why I love you. You hold such honor and devotion for the people you care about, Tyrese.”
He picked up her hand and kissed it.
Zaire turned to him and said, “I think I have the perfect theme for our wedding. What could be a more romantic wedding theme than celebrating long-lasting love?”
He smiled. “I like it.”
“Our theme can be both incredibly sentimental and funny—it’s whatever we want it to mean and we can incorporate it in every aspect of our wedding. For example, we can get married in a place where there are forever happy endings and true love never dies.”
“Is there such a place?” Tyrese asked.
Zaire nodded. “We can get married at Disneyland in honor of all of the great loves. Mickey and Minnie, Snow White and Prince Charming, Belle and the Beast...”
Tyrese broke into a grin. “You’ve really given this a lot of thought, I see.”
“Pilar’s wedding has inspired my creative side.”
He kissed her. “I love you so much.”
“Ditto.”
“Pilar gave me the name of her wedding coordinator, but I’m not sure you are going to need it.”
“Max is actually going to be our coordinator. He and I talked about it while you all were taking pictures before the wedding.”
“I forgot he used to be an event planner, and I think he’s worked with a wedding coordinator in the past.”
“He has,” Zaire confirmed. “Tyrese, I don’t know about you, but I’m so excited about starting our life together.”
“I’ve been thinking that you should move into the house with me. I’ll buy out your lease.”
“Really?”
He nodded. “Unless you’d rather not live with me until after the wedding.”
“If you don’t mind, I think I’d like to move in with one of my siblings until the wedding. I don’t want to move into your home until it becomes our home,” Zaire said. “I hope you’re not disappointed.”
“I’ve gotten used to sleeping beside you at night, but that’s fine.”
“I didn’t say I won’t be spending time at the house—I just don’t really feel right about moving in until after we’re married.”
Tyrese glanced around. “I’m going to get something to drink. Do you want anything?”
“A glass of sparkling water,” Zaire said. “Thanks, babe.”
He winked at her.
* * *
“Tyrese...”
He turned around. “What are you doing here?” The shock of seeing his ex-girlfriend after all these years hit him full force.
“I came to town on business, and then I heard about Pilar’s wedding. I knew you would be here, so I extended my trip. Ty, I know that a lot has happened between us, but we really need to talk.”
“Kennedy, there’s nothing we need to discuss. Now, if you will excuse me...” He attempted to step around her, but she blocked his path.
“Tyrese, I am divorced,” she announced. “There was no way I could stay with Ross after what he did to you.”
“I heard that he was the one who kicked you to the curb. Regardless of what really happened between you and Ross, I really don’t care. That man ruined my life because of you.”
“Ty, I’m so sorry about that,” she told him. “But look at you now. You have your own company and it’s exploding. Can we please go somewhere and talk? There’s so much I need to tell you—”
“I’m engaged,” he interjected, cutting off her words.
He heard her quick intake of breath.
“Kennedy, we have nothing to talk about, so please stay away from me. Don’t call me anymore. Just do me a favor and leave me alone, please.”
“What we shared was special, Ty. I never told you about Ross because I was going to leave him for you. I was leaving him.”
“You were never honest with me, Kennedy. I could never trust you again.”
To Tyrese’s surprise, she showed no reaction.
“I need to get back to my fiancée.”
Tyrese walked away without one look back.
“I was about to come looking for you,” Zaire told him when he returned to the table. “What took you so long?”
“I ran into someone I used to know.” Tyrese stole a quick peek over his shoulder. Kennedy was standing near one of the exit doors, watching him.
He turned his attention to Zaire.
She scanned his face. “You okay?”
He put on a tight smile and nodded. “I’m fine, baby.”
Tyrese pulled at the collar of his tuxedo shirt.
“Do you mind if I whisk your fiancée to the dance floor?” Max asked.
“Not at all,” Tyrese responded with a smile.
“Did I just see Kennedy here?” Pilar asked as she sat down in the seat Zaire had just vacated.
He gave a slight nod. “She keeps telling me that we need to talk. Why, I don’t know—there is nothing to say.”
“She’s stalking you, Tyrese.” Pilar glanced over her shoulder. “If I see her again, I’m going to have security throw her out. I can’t believe she showed up at my wedding uninvited.”
“I don’t want her anywhere near Zaire.”
“Have you told her about Kennedy?” Pilar asked.
Tyrese nodded. “Of course. I just don’t want her upsetting Zaire. She’s happy and I want her to stay that way.”
* * *
“Tyrese, tell me what happened earlier,” Zaire said when they returned to their hotel suite. “Something upset you, and I know it. What’s going on?”
He sat down on the sofa beside her. “I saw the woman from my past. According to her, she just happened to be in town and heard about Pilar’s wedding.”
Zaire was shocked. “She came to the wedding? Uninvited?”
“She was at the reception,” he responded. “I don’t know if she attended the wedding ceremony.”
She looked him in the eye. “Tyrese, why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want to upset you.”
“You didn’t think I could handle meeting your ex-girlfriend?” Zaire accused. “I’m really not that fragile.”
“Honey, I know that you are not—” His voice broke off in midsentence. “I’m sorry.”
“So what did she want? I mean, you haven’t heard from her in all this time.”
Tyrese did not respond.
“She�
��s been calling you?” Zaire inquired.
“I’ve asked her to stop,” he responded. “She keeps saying that we need to talk. I’ve told her that there is nothing to discuss.”
“But she’s not taking no for an answer, I suppose.”
“She wanted me to know that she’s divorced. It doesn’t matter to me one way or the other. I did tell her that I was engaged.”
Zaire smiled. “You did?”
He nodded. “I don’t want anything else to do with her.”
“Tyrese, please don’t keep anything like this from me ever again,” she stated. “You said we were a team. I have never liked secrets.” Zaire reached over and took his hand in her own. “After my attack, you said that we could get through anything as long as we were together. I believed you.”
“I meant every word of it,” Tyrese assured her. “There will never be any more secrets between us. I give you my word.”
Chapter 20
Zaire and Tyrese drove out to Pacific Palisades the following weekend for the family cookout. She was looking forward to seeing her brand-new niece. Sage and Ryan were over the moon since the birth of their daughter three weeks ago.
Sage pointed to Zaire’s hand as soon as they entered the house. “Okay, you want to tell us about the rock on your finger? I can see it all the way over here.”
Smiling, she glanced over at Tyrese. “What do you think?”
He grinned. “I think they already have an idea.”
Holding up her hand, Zaire announced, “We’re engaged.”
“That’s wonderful news,” Barbara exclaimed. “I have to say that I’m not a bit surprised, though. I saw this coming the first time Tyrese came to the house.”
“Knock knock...”
They turned to find Harold standing in the doorway holding a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of wine.
“Harold, come on in,” Barbara said with a smile. “You’re just in time. Zaire and Tyrese just announced their engagement.”
He gave them a genuine grin. “The family just keeps getting bigger and bigger. That’s a good thing. Congrats.”
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