The only way it could be better is if we weren’t interrupted by a giggle a few minutes later. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad Callie isn’t flaming mad, but I’d give anything to be alone with Isaac right now, preferably at a location with a four-poster bed, a sturdy desk, and a shower to clean up the mess I plan for us to make. Just the thought has lust roaring through my veins like a hot, angry beast.
After a final nip on my bottom lip, Isaac murmurs, “These are my lips, Isabelle. Don’t ever keep them from me.”
He doesn’t wait for me to agree. He just suggests Roger remove his newspaper from the front seat of the SUV so Katarina can travel with us. Once we’re loaded into his car, we commence our forty-minute commute. I’m a bag of nerves the entire time. I’m so jittery, Isaac eyes me more than Roger and Katarina’s banter in the front of his car. Because they are whispering, we can’t hear anything they’re saying, but they look awfully chummy for two strangers.
“If it were more than friendship, you can be assured Henry would have taken care of Roger by now.” I murmur ‘taken care of’ in a way even a saint would understand. “So stop glaring and spin around. I need you facing away from me.” I hit him with a glare when he arches his brow, soundlessly demanding an explanation for my request. “Just do it, please.”
I hear Isaac’s jaw tick more than see it when he does as requested with only the slightest grumble. He hates being told what to do, but since I’m his soon-to-be wife and not a member of his staff, he lets the occasional bossy instance slip through the cracks.
Memories of our first time together filter through my mind when I slide one of Isaac’s ties over his eyes before securing it behind the back of his head. It isn’t the exact tie we used because I needed a thick, non-satiny material to ensure he couldn’t see through it. It’s hard to surprise a man who knows everything, so I’ve left nothing to chance. Not even Hunter, Hugo, or Regan know what’s occurring this afternoon. It’s a secret from anyone who could ruin it.
When Roger pulls in front of the destination I whispered in his ear earlier today, his name comes out of Isaac’s mouth in a snapped command. Isaac only says Roger’s name, but Roger understands his request without additional words needed. Isaac is hating the fact my wish to surprise him has him defenseless to an attack, but his trust in Roger is high enough to subdue the need to control every aspect of his life for a few minutes.
“I won’t let anything happen to them, boss. You have my word.”
Roger waits for Isaac to dip his chin before exiting the car to survey the area. From what Isaac explained earlier, I doubt he’ll find anyone but Henry’s crew following us. They’re no threat to us. We’re safer than anyone on the planet right now.
Once we’re given the all-clear, Katarina aids Callie out of her car seat while Roger assists me in getting Isaac onto the footpath without stumbling. A brick lodges into my throat when two patrol officers notice we’re parked illegally in the loading bay, but for some reason unbeknownst to me, they don’t approach us.
“I called in a favor. You have a thirty-minute permit to park here.”
Although Katarina’s voice is barely a whisper, Isaac heard her. How do I know this? He sucked in a breath as sharply as me. There’s only one person capable of granting this favor so quickly. The man Katarina has refused to speak to for almost thirty years—Henry Gottle, Sr.
When Katarina spots the tears glistening in my eyes, she murmurs, “Consider that my first gift. This is my second.”
My nose tingles when she hands me a floral arrangement wrapped with the ribbon from the bow on the top of her food hamper. The recently prepared bouquet is mainly made up of the bergenias potted in the arched window of her kitchen, but there are occasional sprouts of yucca. It’s simple, but undeniably beautiful, much like the woman it was gifted from.
After handing my flowers to Callie to mind, I move to stand behind Isaac. My thighs shake with each step I take, loathing that our theatrics has gained us a crowd of curious onlookers. I was hoping to keep this surprise a secret, but the number of cameras directed our way right now might not make that possible.
When I lift my hands to untie the knot at the back of Isaac’s head, I feel his heart racing a million miles an hour. It matches mine to a T. Once I have the knot untethered, I press my lips to the shell of his ear and whisper, “Happy birthday, Isaac.”
The deep exhale he releases when he realizes I didn’t forget his birthday has nothing on the one he does when it dawns on him we’re standing outside of the Marriage Division of the City Clerk’s Office in New York.
I wasn’t joking when I said the title of multimillionaire opens doors I didn’t know possible. A wooden arch covered with white gerberas and roses shadows the entrance of the historic building, and a plush Persian carpet stretches from the top of the stairs to the archway. It’s the way a church would be decorated for the bride and groom—for us.
“What’s the one thing you can gift a man who has everything?” When Isaac’s alluring gray irises shift to me, I say, “Me.” I cringe when I realize my error. “Sorry, I meantus.” Callie slips her hand into mine when I hold it out for her before she leans in to hug Isaac’s thigh. “We have the license, the rings, and the damn legalese you wouldn’t stop pestering me about. Now we just need to make things official.”
Isaac smirks at my exasperated huff about our prenuptial agreement, but it doesn’t harness his worry. “I thought you wanted to get married in front of our family and friends? That was the excuse you used when I tried to get you on a plane to Reno months ago, wasn’t it?”
He sounds angry. I know he isn’t. He’s just too shocked to know which emotion to react to first. I love that we surprised him. It wasn’t an easy feat, but the glimmer his eyes hold now makes the effort worth it.
“We’ll still do that. I just didn’t want to wait until March, so I thought we could wed in secret until then. But if you want to wait and not share your birthday with our anniversary, I guess I can exercise patience as well.”
My insides cheer at the success of my tease when Isaac stops me from returning to the car by seizing my wrist as he did earlier. “I don’t care that today is my birthday. Every day I spend with you and Callie is a gift, so this will only make it sweeter, but I need to be sure this is what you want, Isabelle.” His purr of my name makes me wish it wasn’t summer. “You may have the right to file for a divorce, but that doesn’t mean I’ll agree to it. I’ll give up everything I have before Ievergive you up, so if you’re feeling sentimental because of Hugo’s nuptials, you need to reassess before you agree to something you can’t take back.”
I peer at him for several long seconds, taking in his sharp jawline covered by a few days of scruff, his hair that’s overdue for a trim because collecting Callie from preschool is more important than barber appointments, and the crinkle his brows always get when he forever places the needs of others before himself.
Our relationship has already proved it can stand the test of time, but this weekend utterly sealed my loyalty to him. He’s been open, honest, and raw while giving himself to me wholeheartedly. I can’t love him any more than I already do, so this is merely making it legal.
For the first time since I’ve known him, Isaac’s eyes appear more light gray than dark. It’s compliments to them lighting up when I step closer to him. He sees my answer in my eyes, smells it on my skin. He knows I am his as much as he is mine, and now we’ve just got to make it official.
“My Uncle Tobias once said marriage is about falling in love many times but always with the same person. That person for me is you, Isaac. You helped me grow as an individual while showing me it’s okay to rely on someone. Now I want to do the same for you. So, without further ado, will you do me the honor of becoming my husband?”
17
Isaac
I didn’t realize I was empty
