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“Were you going to?” I asked, giving him a pointed look.
“Probably not,” Daniel said easily. “But I was thinking the four of us could leave on Sunday. I’m not waiting any longer for V to be officially mine. My patience has run out, but we’re not doing it in a courthouse.”
“Where are we going?”
“Want to know or be surprised?”
“We’re going to my mountain, aren’t we?” I guessed, and Daniel faked frustration.
“Too fucking smart for your own good.” He tucked my hair behind my ear. “You didn’t want a big wedding, did you?” he asked as an afterthought, looking slightly panicked.
“You know me better than that. I want you in a three-piece suit, but I might not even wear a dress,” I said, and Daniel beamed at me.
“You’re wearing a dress,” he insisted, leaning close to my ear. “Because I want to fuck you in it, and then rip it off you and do it again.” He bit my earlobe, and I flushed all over. “Need the air conditioning on, Princess?”
Stone and Muriella cleared their throats at the same time, and I flashed them a grin. “So you’ll both come?”
“I think I could manage a few days off,” Stone said, and Muriella went rigid. I couldn’t tell if she didn’t want to go or didn’t want to take the trip with him. “Where is your mountain?” Stone asked.
“New Zealand,” I answered casually, taking a sip of champagne.
Stone nearly choked on the swallow he’d just taken, and then started to laugh. “Should have known it wouldn’t be in the Rockies.”
“Still think you can manage? We want you there, Stone,” Daniel said earnestly.
“Wouldn’t miss it. I haven’t been around as much over the last few years, but that doesn’t change that y’all are family to me.” Stone’s words couldn’t have been more perfect.
Daniel gave him a satisfied smile. “Good.”
“Why aren’t we going tomorrow?” I asked, holding out my glass to Stone for a refill.
Daniel looked pleased with himself. “Can’t wait to marry me?”
He slayed me with that sparkle in his eyes. Daniel had put us through hell, yet somehow things were better between us than they’d ever been, and that was really saying something. With no more hidden secrets, he was like a freer version of himself.
The vault doors were completely gone, and I finally had what I’d always wanted from him…everything.
Epilogue
Daniel
“You ready for this?”
Stone gripped my shoulder. I smoothed down my tie and folded my hands in front of me. The sun was just breaking day, the lake taking on a pinkish hue.
I turned my attention toward the back door of the house.
“Should’ve done this a long time ago.”
The minister cleared his throat while his wife stood poised with her camera.
“We’ll do the short version,” he said.
“As short as you can,” I confirmed. I remained glued to that door, my heart thudding in my chest, even as a calm washed over me. Vivian was finally going to be my princess in every sense of the word.
These last few days had taken all my self-restraint to be patient and give Vivian the wedding she deserved, even though once she said yes, I wanted to get married immediately. But the time had given me a chance to reflect. I wasn’t happy with where things were with Muriella, but with Vivian, everything was crystal clear. I’d been wrong to push her away. It was a mistake I’d never make again.
That proverbial clock in my head had been smashed. Time—however much of it was left—no longer mattered. Here. Now. That’s what counted.
