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“I love you,” I murmur, my heart overflowing as I grab our joined hands and raise them to my lips to kiss her knuckles. “I love you so much it hurts.”
She grins at me as I park the car. “I love you more.”
“Impossible.”
Raya looks around curiously as I open the door for her. “Where are we?”
I take her hand and pull her along, enjoying the way she’s just buzzing with excitement. She’s so fucking precious, and fuck, there’s nothing I won’t do to ensure she’ll always be this happy. There will never be a day that I’ll take for granted the right to stand by her side, to call her mine.
“Oh my god,” she whispers, gasping when she sees the hot-air balloon that’s waiting for us. I chuckle when she does this little jump, and then she glances over her shoulder, her eyes filled with joy. “You’re taking me on a hot-air balloon ride?”
“I thought it might be a nice change of pace versus the planes and helicopters we’re always on. Everything in our lives moves so fast, but this moment, today… I want it to last.”
Something shifts in her expression, and her smile softens as she grabs my hand as we walk in together. She leans over the edge as we begin to rise into the air, and I position myself behind her, my arms caging her in on either side.
“Wow, there are just so many flowers everywhere,” she says excitedly. “And the sun is about to set. It’ll be so beautiful.”
I smile to myself, my heart racing. “Not as beautiful as you,” I whisper before pressing a soft kiss to her cheek.
Raya laughs, but deep down, I think she knows I’m serious. Nothing holds a candle to her, not even the golden glow of the setting sun, or the thousands of flowers that I planted for her by hand, underneath us. Nothing beats seeing my wife look at me with love in her gorgeous brown eyes.
“This is incredible,” she murmurs. “I’ll never get enough of watching the sunset, but this has got to be the prettiest sunset we’ve ever witnessed. All these beautiful yellow flowers look even more stunning now.”
I press a kiss to her shoulder as we continue to rise higher, and then she gasps. “Wait, the flowers spell something!” she says excitedly, and I grin as I catalogue her expression, enjoying every single second with her. “Is that… is that my name?”
I draw a shaky breath, trying my best to control my nerves as we continue on our flight path. Raya gasps when we reach the exact vantage point I’d been aiming for, a huge cluster of white flowers spelling five words I’ve been meaning to say, their lighter color making them contrast with the yellow flowers that surround them.
Raya gasps and turns to face me, and I smile shakily as I take a step back and drop down to one knee, a ring box in hand. She stares at me in disbelief when I open it to reveal a custom-made Laurier ring, set with a yellow diamond I bought for her at auction.
“Raya, my little fairy,” I say, my voice shaking. “I am not a man of many words, and for weeks, I’ve been trying to think of what I’d say to you today. It was an impossible task that left me feeling defeated, because the truth is that no words could ever be sufficient to explain how I feel about you. I can’t begin to tell you what you’ve done to me,for me.You are my sun, Raya, and everything I am, everything I’ll ever be, revolves around you. It always will. You’ve changed me, healed me, and you continue to inspire me to be a better man. There is nothing in this world I’d want more than to spend the rest of my days with you, doing everything in my power to make you just a little happier than you were the day before. If you let me, I’ll do all I can to fill your days with laughter and sunshine, with joy and home-cooked meals, with your favorite tea and honeycomb coffees. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to put a smile on your face, to make you happy.” I take a deep breath, trying my best to keep my hand from shaking. “Raya Indira Windsor, I love you more than wordswill ever be able to convey. Will you make me the happiest man on this earth and marry me? Of your own accord this time?”
“Yes,” she says, a tear rolling down her face. “I’d choose you a thousand times over, Lex.”
I slip the ring onto her finger, but she barely even glances at it. Her eyes are locked onto mine, pure happiness radiating off her. She looks so shocked, and fuck, the way she smiles makes me feel like I’m on top of the world. It’s better than flying, better than anything I’ve ever known.
“I love you,” she says as I rise to my feet, her arms wrapping around my neck. “Forever and always.”
“I love you more,” I murmur against her lips, before kissing her and sweeping her off her feet. She laughs, and the last broken fragments of my soul click back into place. Underneath us, the flowers spell:Raya, will you marry me?
Sixty-Nine
Raya
“Do you think he’ll be able to find it?” I ask Sierra as I point out where in my mehendi my artist hid Lexington’s name. It’s customary to hide your husband’s name inside your bridal henna design somewhere, and I’m glad I get to experience it myself.
“I’m not sure. It’s so dark,” she says, squinting at the inside of my wrist. “But I’m sure he’ll have fun trying.”
I shake my head at her admonishingly, and the rest of the girls burst out laughing. They’re all in pretty light yellow and gold lehengas for our wedding, and they look gorgeous. Raven has outdone herself, not just with the bridesmaids’ outfits, but with the entire limited edition range she let me collaborate on, allowing me to make every single one of my traditional attire dreams come true. All our guests will be in Indian designs of their own choosing today, all of it RWC.
I look around the room in the most beautiful resort I’ve ever been to, my heart filling with love as I take in all the laughter and excitement. Zane, Celeste, Xavier, and Sierra collaboratedon the acquisition of this resort, and they won’t admit it, but I know they did it for me. It’s just like I once described to Sierra — a grand palace on the water, shades of white everywhere. It’s the epitome of luxury and a perfect blend of cultures.
“Ready?”
I look up in surprise when all my brothers-in-law walk in, my eyes widening. Lex and I color coordinated, but they’re dressed in my pale-yellow shade when they should’ve been in a much darker mustard shade to signify they’re part of Lex’s family. I gasp when they carry in a Doli — a traditional bridal carrier in white shades with countless fresh yellow flowers on it in all kinds of colors.
“We were told the bride’s brothers get to carry her into the venue,” Ares says, grinning. “So here we are.”
My eyes fill with tears, and the girls instantly begin to fuss over me. “Don’t cry,” Faye says, her voice trembling.
