by JA Low
“Aloha,” Camryn greets us with staff bearing leis and welcome cocktails. Our families are given the same treatment. The Dirty Texas family will be staying in these luxury homes that line the beach. The wedding will be held on the beach outside and there will be a large marquee set up. I think I can see the final touches being set up across the sand now. My heart begins to skip a beat; this is all becoming real. I’m getting married. And to Finn Connolly. “Come on through. This is your family’s home for the week, the rest of the gang are all arriving at their own home as we speak.” We follow Camryn through the tropical entryway, the white tiles, walls of glass and wood touches. It feels very Hawaiian without being tacky.
“Oh my goodness, this view,” my mom gasps taking in the pure white sand and turquoise ocean that is laid out before us.
“This is beautiful.” I too have my breath taken away at the view.
“Looks like paradise to me,” Finn states. We all take a moment and take it in.
Camryn shows the parents where their rooms are then shows us to our suite. She opens the grand doors and it is the most luxurious bedroom I have ever seen. The bed looks like it could fit twenty people, it’s a four poster and the poles are thickly carved wood, with Hawaiian imagery attached to it. There is an ensuite which is probably the same size as most people’s homes, with its rainforest shower, steam room, Jacuzzi, TV, fancy toilet with a million and one buttons.
“And here is little man’s room.” What looks like a walk in wardrobe is actually a little nursery room, I think originally it was a lounge room or reading room, but I appreciate that it’s been set up for Easton. Camryn directs us to the glass wall which opens out to our own private terrace, which has a spa and outdoor bathroom with uninterrupted views of the ocean. “As you can see the tent is set up. Tomorrow you will get a better idea of the space, it all looks a little ugly at the moment. Please, just wait until I have worked magic on it.” Camryn looks at us nervously.
“Don’t stress. I’m sure we will love it. I mean Derrick will love it.” We both laugh at how much control Derrick has had over this wedding. As much as I moan about it, Derrick has produced so far something that is truly us. He’s created a wedding that I never knew I wanted until he showed us his vision and that’s when Finn and I agreed that he could be trusted with the event, plus I know Camryn, she would not have let him organize anything that is typically Derrick. “This place is beautiful Camryn. I trust you completely.” She gives me a reassuring hug.
“I’ll leave you all to settle in. Little man is tired.” Looking over at Easton now totally passed out in Finn’s arms. “Dinner tonight is at eight. It is a traditional Hawaiian Luau.” Oh, I am so looking forward to this. And with that she closes the door to our suite. Finn lays Easton down in his crib, kissing his forehead. He meets me out on the terrace, wrapping his arms around me.
“In a couple of days you are going to be Mrs. Connolly.” He kisses my neck.
“Then you’re stuck with me forever,” I joke.
“You promise?” Finn nuzzles closer.
“Yeah. I don’t think you’re going to be able to get rid of me.”
“I knew the moment I saw you through your window, across the yard all those years ago, looking like a damn angel had fallen from the sky. I made a promise to God that night that if he let me be her soul mate that I would never let her go.” A tear falls down my cheek as I turn in his arms.
“Oh, Finn.” I sniffle at his words.
“I know I made mistakes along the way, Issy. But I promise to never ever break your heart ever again. I promise to be true to you. To love you with all my heart. To protect Easton and you with my life. I love you, Issy. And I can’t wait until you are my wife.” You would have to have a heart of stone to not be affected by his words. I kiss him. Showing him just how much I love him. He wraps his arms around me pulling me tightly against him.
“I love you, Finn Connolly. I am the luckiest girl in the world.” He gives me his Connolly smile.
“Now, you wanna christen the hot tub?” He wiggles his brows at me. Hell yeah I do. Especially as little man is asleep we are going to have to take it whenever we can.
We arrive downstairs to the sound of Hawaiian music playing, people laughing and chatting, glass clicking.
“The happy couple are here,” Christian yells. Everyone looks a little rosy cheeked from either too much sun or too much champagne.
“Welcome.” We are greeted by staff again with flowers, but this time for my hair and Finn is given a black necklace which is made of seeds. We make our way around greeting everyone. Sadie and Ruby have mini versions of our flowers in their hair, but Sadie has pulled hers off and is attempting to eat it. Derrick grabs it from her little fingers just in time. A server brings over a tray of cocktails, I take a sip and the thing tastes like lolly water, this is so going to my head. I see Sebastien in the corner and go over to say hello, thank him for generously giving his time to catering my wedding.
“Isla.” He gives me a big smile and pulls me into his arms, kissing my forehead. “You look absolutely glowing.” The old flirt.
“Thank you.” I take a sip of my cocktail.
“You remember April, your replacement.”
“Temporary,” I remind him, he just rolls his eyes, he still doesn’t believe I will come back to work for him. He’s probably right, I can’t imagine Finn would like it too much but still I want to keep my options opened.
“Yes. Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity. I have learned so much.” I thought she was a little young but her drive was there and I gave her a chance and she blew me away with how quickly she picked everything up.
“I have heard nothing but good things about you, April. And don’t worry, the chance of me coming back is slim to none,” I whisper to her, which makes Sebastien chuckle.
“He’s an easy boss.” Her cheeks pink a little as she looks up at Sebastien. Oh no. I know that look.
“Do you mind if I speak to Sebastien for a moment.” She smiles and nods and leaves us alone. I slap him hard on the arm.
“You fucker. You’re fucking her.” His dark eyes widen in shock.
“How the hell did you know?” I fold my arms across my chest.
“The way she looks at you dreamily as if you’re the shit.”
“Just like you did,” he teases. I punch him again, this time harder.
“Stop being a dick. If Finn heard you say that he would probably have punched you a hell of a lot harder than I did. Plus, I’m getting married in a couple of days, bringing up our very fleeting one night is bad form.” Sebastien looks thoroughly chastised.
“Sorry.” He rakes his hands through his hair. “It was a moment of weakness with April.” I roll my eyes. “And now she kind of won’t stop…you know, offering herself to me.” I try and keep a straight face.
“And you say no of course?” He rubs the back of his neck nervously again.
“Um. I know what the right answer is…”
“But it’s not the one you have been using.” His shoulders sag.
“Look, she is a beautiful, young girl. I’ve been working long hours with this stupid reality TV show. I’m not allowed to date as per my contract with the show.”
“You have women throwing themselves at you all the time, why can’t you pick one of them?”
“Urgh…because…”
“Why?” I push.
“Because she gives great head, okay?” I let out a groan. Is he fucking serious?
“Sebastien,” I scold him.
“I know, I know. I am weak.” He doesn’t look very sorry.
“Hunter is going to be starting with you soon, Stacey’s nephew. Please do not teach that young boy any of your bad habits.”
“You think he might take April off my hands.” Lucky this man is catering our wedding otherwise I would be punching him in the balls right at this moment.
52
Isla
Last night was pretty amazing, the Hawaiia
n Luau. Pulling the food from the earth that had been cooking all day. A whole Kalua pig came out and not much was left, it was delicious. We tried Hawaiian Poi, purple sweet potatoes, poke, lomi salmon, chicken long-rice and platters of as many salads as you could desire. Then there was the dessert table. I don’t know if I am going to fit my wedding dress now. Thankfully, Yvette is here on hand to alter anything if I need too. The boys have gone on some kind of boy adventure today, going off roading, visiting waterfalls, doing some fishing and scuba diving. They all looked pretty excited leaving this morning. As long as they don’t kill themselves or break anything before the wedding I’m okay with it.
The girls, plus our mothers, are having a girls’ spa day. Camryn and Kimberley have organized nannies to look after the kids so we can all relax before the big day. Camryn arranged a large temporary tent on the back grassed area that overlooked the beach and ocean. Inside the clear tent are daybeds, mats on the grass, cream lounges, massage tables, foot spas and a table set up for manicures. A waiter greets us with virgin cocktails with decorative fruit sticking out the top. We each then choose from the spa menu and disappear into bliss for the rest of the day.
Hours later we all take a seat in the tent, sipping on fruit infused waters and champagne. A table is filled with tiny decorative cupcakes, macrons and little sandwiches.
“This is the life,” Sienna groans as she lies back against the lounge, closing her eyes and sipping on her champagne.
“I feel amazing,” Stacey agrees with her. Everyone looks utterly blissed out and who can blame them. I have been steamed, rolled around in mud, every muscle massaged within an inch of its life until my body turned liquid. My feet were scrubbed and polished as were my hands. Now I am sitting down drinking champagne, overlooking the ocean, feeling pretty damn lucky.
“I’m so happy Finn’s dart hit Hawaii,” Vanessa muses. “Could you imagine what we would be doing if it was Vladivostok.” This makes us laugh.
“We would be all drunk on vodka trying to keep warm,” Olivia adds.
“Always seeing the positives in a situation,” Ness jokes.
“I’m pretty happy Finn hit here. This place is utter perfection,” I say, sipping my chilled champagne. “I never really thought about my wedding.”
“Just that it was always going to be to Finn,” Mom adds. Finn’s mother giggles at the comment.
“Well, it took us awhile to get to this point but yes it was always going to be Finn. He’s had my heart since the moment we moved next door to him.” The girls all coo with my soppiness.
“Well we can’t wait until you are officially Isla Connolly,” Finn’s mom tells me. “There was no other girl I wanted for him. I knew Finn had a crush on you, but he was trying to hide it from your brother. The sly little glances he took of you when no one was watching, the way his cheeks you turn pink when you were around.”
“Plus, I’m sure Oscar warned him away from you the moment Finn met you.” My mom laughs. “He was always too overprotective of you.”
“He was overprotective all my life. No wonder Finn was too scared to ever take a chance with me.”
“I know your brother regrets it. He thought he was doing the right thing.” Mom’s voice softens.
“I know he does, Mom.” I give her a reassuring smile.
“All that matters now is we are going to finally celebrate the two of you officially becoming husband and wife,” Finn’s mom says excitedly. “I will finally have a daughter of my own and won’t be so outnumbered with all that testosterone.” She gives me a smile then adds, “Unless you have a daughter, then the numbers will be more in their favor.” She winks. Oh no. She’s already planning baby number two.
“So, Stacey, any ideas for your wedding?” I change the subject quickly. Stacey pauses sipping her champagne, her eyes widening in surprise.
“Um.” I catch her off guard.
“Yes. I am dying to hear of your plans,” Mom adds enthusiastically.
“Oscar and I haven’t really thought about it,” she shrugs.
“What? You have had your wedding planned since you were young. Stacey used to prance around in Mum’s old wedding veil,” Naomi, Stacey’s sister, tells us. Making us laugh and Stacey’s cheeks turn bright red. “You said that you would get married at the Sydney Opera House.”
“Nommie, I was five,” Stacey protests.
“Well, I’m sure Oscar could make it happen.” Her sister smiles wide.
“We only got engaged a couple months ago. Which was a surprise, as Oscar always told me he didn’t want to get married, that he didn’t see any real point in having a piece of paper.”
“That’s because he was used to fooling around with groupies and gold diggers,” I tell her.
“And now he is one giant teddy bear,” Mom adds, her face softens at the words.
“What about kids? I want to be an aunty,” her sister says.
“Nommie, stop,” Stacey laughs. “You are going to scare him away.”
“If babysitting Hunter hasn’t scared him away yet, then nothing will.” Naomi laughs. Stacey smiles.
“Hunter is a wonderful boy, Naomi. You should be so proud; he has the most beautiful manners,” Mom tells her. You can see the motherly pride on her face at my mother’s words.
“Thank you so much. Your family has been so generous to him. Seeing him again I can see he’s grown up so much in such a short time.”
“He’s a hard worker,” Sienna adds. “He’s helped me out so much in the shop and Derrick as well. He gets stuck in there and helps no matter the task.”
“He’s also helped the boys with regards to social media as well. Helping them get a little more clued in on what the young people are into now days. As much as the boys think they are young, they are kind of clueless.” Vanessa laughs, “Especially, with the technology.” Naomi has a huge smile on her face.
“Thank you all so much.” Her eyes are glassy. “You all live such busy, important lives and taking the time to look after my eldest…” She sniffles. “I don’t know how I can ever repay you all for your generosity.” Stacey jumps up and gives her sister a comforting cuddle.
“You’re family,” Sienna adds. “We look after family.” Naomi nods and squeezes Stacey’s hand tighter.
53
Finn
“Best day ever,” I yell as I zip through the rainforest on the zip line. The view is breathtaking, nothing but green foliage underneath me, bright blue sky, peppered with fluffy white clouds, the endless blue horizon of the ocean, the heat of the full sun on my skin. I feel alive flying through the air at a ridiculous speed. I’m pretty sure Isla would be having a heart attack if she saw me now. I just need to make sure that I don’t hurt myself before our wedding or she’s going to kill me. We’ve already been off roading through the mud and rainforest as if we were extra’s on the set of Jurassic Park, zooming past ancient forests that probably harbored dinosaurs at some time or another, past waterfalls that fall hundreds of feet from the sheer rocky cliffs. All the boys are totally competitive; add in my brothers, our fathers, the Sons of Brooklyn boys, Nate, Jake, Evan’s brother and the California Bros., and it’s a total recipe for disaster.
On sunrise this morning we were on a boat fishing, no one caught anything but we did get to try scuba diving for the first time. Not going to lie, seeing a shark swim past for the first time freaked me out. I was just hoping he wasn’t hungry. Once I slowed my panic down and took in the amazing sight of what was underneath the ocean, seeing the colorful fish, getting to touch a green sea turtle as it slowly passed beside us. It was utterly magical. I wish Isla could have experienced this, maybe we need to come back here on a family holiday or maybe we need to buy a home here so we can do this anytime we want. Maybe that’s not such a bad idea.
“What are we doing here?” Christian groans.
“This wasn’t on my itinerary,” Derrick adds.
“I know. I know. But, today has been kind of awesome and I’ve been inspired.”
“No. I have that. I’ve seen you fuckers go through this all. I’ve got it all covered. No. I had an epiphany while we were scuba diving this morning.”
“No. That’s called shitting your pants,” Oscar jokes. I flip him off.
“I love it here.” I throw my arms out.
“Can’t deny this island is awesome,” Dad adds. “Best holidays I’ve had in a long time.” He slaps me on the back.
“Good. Because I want to buy this house.” All of my family and friends go quiet.
“Excuse me, son?” Dad is the first to talk.
“I want us to make more memories as a family,” I tell him. “I also want to get Easton away from the whole Hollywood scene.” Now that I’m a father I don’t want our son to grow up being a rich prick like all those Hollywood kids. I never grew up with a lot of money, but we were happy. “My son will grow up wanting for nothing and this Hollywood bubble he is going to grow up in isn’t the real world. I want to show him there is more outside of all the riches of where we live.” Dad claps me on the shoulder and looks at me with pride.
“And you think buying a multimillion dollar home in Hawaii is going to make him realize there’s more to life?” I roll my eyes at Hudson, my older brother.
“It’s safe here. He can run around and not worry about anything. He will be able to immerse himself in nature. Plus, there are no paparazzi here. No people trying to get photos of him or the threat of kidnapping because of who I am.” Hudson’s eyes widen.