‘Jag älskar dig. I love you, Emilie. I love you.’ He kissed her again, his heart filling and filling. ‘I love you.’
Her eyes were full of light and tears. ‘I love you too. So much...’ She was smiling and crying at the same time. ‘I’m so sorry... I didn’t mean to hurt you. I was scared...trying to save myself from...but I should have talked to you, not just...’ Tears were streaming down her cheeks, breaking his heart. ‘I can’t believe I let you go...’ She was biting her lips. ‘Do you have to go?’
‘No, no... Don’t cry.’ He smoothed away her tears with his thumbs. ‘I’m not leaving.’
‘So those meetings...?’
He felt a small pang of guilt. ‘I do have meetings, but they’re scheduled for after I leave here.’ He took a breath. ‘I just said I had to leave because—’
Her hands went to his face. ‘Because I pushed you away and you were hurting...’ Her lips touched his. ‘No more hurting each other, okay? We need to talk...sort things out.’
Sorting things out was exactly what he wanted to do and now there was a whole week ahead of them in which to do it. He felt his heart lifting and lifting. Just being with Emilie filled him to the brim. And she loved him. She loved him.
He felt grateful, happy tears burning behind his eyes and he didn’t care that she could see, because he was laying his heart on the line and it felt so good to be showing her all the love he was feeling inside. It felt freeing, like flying the hull... No! It was better than flying the hull, so much better. He smiled. ‘Sorting things out sounds perfect to me.’ He tilted her chin, kissing her softly. ‘I have a few ideas about how we could make a start on that.’
She giggled, arching her eyebrows. ‘They always say it’s the quiet ones you have to watch.’
He laughed. ‘You’ve seen nothing yet. Come on...’ He caught her hand, meaning to walk, but her hand was a tight ball. ‘Hey, what’s this?’
She opened her palm. ‘Keys to the boat.’ Her lips were twitching. ‘There was no way I was going to let you go without saying goodbye.’
A fresh burst of warmth filled his heart. He pulled her close, kissing her again. ‘I’m definitely not saying goodbye.’ He smiled. ‘I seem to be tangled up in someone’s strings and I kind of like it.’
Her eyes sparkled. ‘I like it too.’
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
One year later...
‘HEY, YOU...’
Emilie felt her heart jolt and skip. What was Joel doing, standing in the cottage doorway? He wasn’t supposed to be seeing her until later. She glanced at the two marzipan figures she’d just finished making, supposedly a surprise, but it was too late now, he was walking towards her, giving her the full cute dimple treatment. It was impossible not to smile. ‘Hey, but also...what are you doing here? I’m sure this isn’t allowed... It’s bad luck.’
‘That’s just silly superstition.’ He was stepping behind her, sliding his arms around her waist, pulling her in. She snuggled against him, happiness surging through her veins. Being wrapped in Joel’s arms never grew old. His lips were grazing her ear. ‘I insist on saying good morning on our wedding day...’
Wedding day! She hugged the thought hard. A year ago, she’d thought her life was in ruins and now...she felt her veins tingling...now, she had a whole new future, a better one than she could ever have imagined. They might have started out as holiday lovers, they might have had to jump through a few hoops, but ever since she’d run into Joel’s arms on the beach a year ago, it had been plain sailing.
The week they’d spent together before Joel had really had to go off to Miami had been filled with love and joy and laughter. They’d talked so much, opening up about everything. They’d sailed and swum. They’d explored more of the islands, but Buck Island had always felt like the best one. It was their special place because it was where they’d fallen in love.
It was why they were getting married on the beach, in the exact spot where Joel had landed his catamaran on the day they’d met. It was why she was making the surprise cake topper for their wedding cake. Two figures. A tall handsome one in orange swim shorts and life vest and a smaller dark-haired one in a swimsuit and sarong.
Joel was smiling into her neck. ‘Am I seeing what I think I’m seeing?’
‘You are, but you weren’t supposed to see anything until the wedding breakfast.’ She wriggled herself round to face him, trying to look stern. ‘It was meant to be a surprise.’
‘It is a surprise!’ He peered over her shoulder. ‘They’re fantastic, although...’ his eyebrows drew in ‘...the Emilie figure isn’t nearly sexy enough.’
‘Flattery will get you everywhere.’ She tipped her face up for a kiss, melting into the warmth of his lips, breathing in his clean, masculine scent. Joel had a way of making her feel special, of making her feel enough, perfect just the way she was. It was hard not to start believing in yourself when you were with someone who believed in you so absolutely, someone who took your dreams into their own heart.
Joel had encouraged her to buy the café in Salton. She’d set it up exactly the way she’d planned, but it hadn’t been long before she was handing things over to a manager. Being apart from Joel most of the week had been too hard and, after he’d walked in one afternoon and dropped to his knee, proposing to her in front of all her customers, she hadn’t had to think twice. He’d said he’d have asked sooner if he hadn’t been worried that she’d think he was rushing things. As if! She slipped her hands to his face, breaking the kiss. ‘So how are things up at the house? How’s Grandma?’
He stepped back a little. ‘She was in the pool with Lars when I left, talking his ear off.’
‘That’s Grandma! You think your father’s larger than life? He’s got nothing on Grandma!’
Joel laughed. ‘It’s entertaining to see a big man taken down by a little old lady.’
She slipped her arms around him, feeling a little swell of gladness. ‘I’m so happy that all the family are here...’ Her mum and dad had made it and her sisters with their husbands. Joel’s family were full on, different to Joel, but they were good fun, and now that Joel had built some bridges with Lars, he seemed more centred, freer of spirit. Parents could so mess up their kids! She held in a smile. Hopefully, she and Joel wouldn’t screw things up with their kids. Making a baby was their agreed honeymoon project.
‘That’s a very wide smile you’re wearing, Mrs Larsson-to-Be.’
‘I can’t think why.’ She stretched up, kissing him again. ‘I’m only about to marry the most wonderful man in the world.’
He was beaming his dimple right at her. ‘Of course. Right...yeah...you are.’
She laughed. ‘I think you should go now. I’ve got to start transforming myself into a bride, and you need to go check on things at the house.’
‘About that transformation...’ His eyes were twinkling. ‘I’ve got a little something for you...a surprise of my own.’ He was reaching into his back pocket. ‘It’s why I came to see you.’ A black velvet box came into view. He cracked it open, eyes on hers. ‘I hope you like it...’
She looked down, felt tears prickling her eyes. It was beautiful. A fine gold chain with a single, substantial solitaire diamond in a simple setting. Understated, elegant. It was going to be perfect with her dress. She bit her lip. ‘Oh, Joel. It’s lovely. Thank you.’ She met his gaze, felt her heart bursting with happiness, not because of the diamond, but because of him, because in a little over three hours he would be her husband. She slipped her arms around him, kissing him with all the love in her heart. It was going to be the longest three hours of her life.
* * *
‘Are you nervous?’ Nils was leaning in, nodding at the hipflask glinting in his hand. ‘I’ve got some Dutch courage in here.’
Joel shook his head, smiling. ‘I’m not nervous and I’d quite like not to be smelling of whisky when I kiss my bride, but than
ks.’ It had only been three hours since he’d last seen Emilie and he was missing her like crazy, aching to see her walking towards him. Loving Emilie meant missing Emilie. He’d learned that the hard way.
Encouraging her to go ahead with Café Hygge in Salton had felt right at the time. It was her dream and a damn good idea to boot, but even though he hadn’t wanted to rush things or put her under any pressure, being without Emilie in Stockholm had been unbearable. So he’d bought a ring and taken the plunge. Proposing to her in Café Hygge surrounded by curious old ladies had been interesting, but worth it just to see that smile lighting up her face, the one that made her eyes sparkle, the one that stopped his heart every time. It was the smile that had stolen his breath on this very beach, in this very spot, a year ago.
He glanced at his bare feet, flexing his toes. Getting married on Buck Island had been the obvious choice. It was the first place they’d thought of when they’d started planning. They’d both loved the idea of a late afternoon wedding on the beach, followed by a relaxed wedding breakfast at the house. All they’d had to do was put out chairs for the small gathering. Erris had made the rustic driftwood arch he was standing under and Melinda and Kesney had woven flowers through it, whites and delicate pinks, rather different to the vibrant tropical displays they’d chosen for the terrace up at the house.
He looked up, catching his father’s eye. Lars moved his head minutely. A nod. He nodded back. There was a smoothness between them now. Acceptance. It felt better. Family! He scanned the faces...his mother and his sisters... Stephen talking to Jemima and Rebecca, Grandma tipping him a leery wink. He held in a smile. She was a character!
He moved on. Erris and Melinda, beaming... Kesney and Will trying to hold on to a wriggly Ben. Emilie’s parents were sitting shoulder to shoulder, holding hands. Emilie hadn’t wanted her father to walk her up the aisle. She’d said that she wanted to walk alone... She’d said it was a sort of symbolic gesture, because it would be the last time that she’d ever walk alone... She was right! He had no intention of letting her go. Ever!
He straightened his shoulders, smoothing down his blue jacket. Johan met his eye and held up two thumbs. He smiled, feeling a glow in his chest. They were cool. He was glad that Johan and Astrid were happy together. Astrid had had to stay behind because Karl’s health was up and down and she hadn’t wanted to leave him, but they were cool too, friends, which is how they’d started.
‘Look!’ Nils was nudging his shoulder.
He lifted his eyes, heard his breath catch. Emilie was coming, walking through the sand barefoot, holding a wild bouquet of greens and pinks and whites. He couldn’t move. His chest was too full to breathe. Emilie! Tears burned in his throat. She looked so incredibly beautiful. Her hair was pulled up softly, tiny white flowers woven in. Her ivory dress was simple, elegant, flowing, and around her neck, she was wearing the diamond he’d given her that morning. What would she say when she found out that his real wedding present to her was Buck Island itself? He held in a smile, heart swelling, watching her come closer and closer. He was saving that surprise for later. For now, all he wanted to do was stay in this moment, watching his future walking towards him over white sand, with sparkles in her eyes and that perfect smile, shining just for him.
* * * * *
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ISBN-13: 9781488073779
Tycoon’s Unexpected Caribbean Fling
Copyright © 2021 by Ella Hayes
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WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS BOOK FROM
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ISBN-13: 9781488073786
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Unmasking the Secret Prince
Copyright © 2021 by Rebecca Winters
From Bridal Designer to Bride
Copyright © 2021 by Kandy Shepherd
Surprise Heir for the Princess
Copyright © 2021 by Kate Hardy
Tycoon’s Unexpected Caribbean Fling
Copyright © 2021 by Ella Hayes
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