Sitting up, he snagged a pillow for himself before snuggling up beside her again. “I think Hawaii sounds awesome. But then again, anyplace tropical where you have to walk around in a bikini sounds perfect to me.”
Her chuckle was low as she shook her head. “Okay, so the wedding is Sunday, but Christmas is Thursday. Do we want to leave right away and be gone for the holidays or wait and leave after New Year’s Eve?”
This was a lot to think about when he was utterly exhausted, but he knew it was necessary considering the short notice.
“I think we’re going to see everyone at the wedding so to not be here for Christmas won’t be such a big deal. Plus, the thought of decorating a palm tree with twinkly lights could be fun.”
“Austin…”
He pushed up on his elbow and studied her. “Mia, if I had to choose between more family time or being alone with you on a tropical island, I’m always going to choose you. So call Violet tomorrow and book the trip. The wedding is in the afternoon, so technically, we can head to the airport right from the reception and spend our wedding night on the beach.” He kissed her. “Think about how incredible that could be.”
“Ooh…I didn’t even think about that!”
Nodding, he lay back down. “Occasionally I have a good idea.”
“Oh, stop. You’re full of good ideas.” Hugging him close, she added, “That’s how we ended up naked in front of the fire.”
She wasn’t wrong…
However, it would be a herculean task to get them to their own bed.
But that was okay. For now, they were content to stay where they were. And to keep them that way, Austin kissed his way down Mia’s body and made love to her again.
The next time he opened his eyes, the sun was coming up.
3
It was quiet.
Too quiet.
Experience had taught her that silence was never a good thing. It would be wrong to allow herself to be lulled into a false sense of security, and yet…it had been days without incident.
“You’re courting trouble,” Devon said with a smugness he didn’t deserve. “Your charmed life isn’t your own. You know that, right?”
Cheyenne did her best to look bored, like his words weren’t getting to her. Devon Cooke might be her father, but there was nothing loving or nurturing about him.
“If it weren’t for me, you’d be nothing,” he reminded her. “You need to let this nonsense go and do as I say, or I can guarantee you, you’ll regret it.
The cursor blinked, waiting for her to finish the thought, and yet…she had no idea how to finish it.
Plus, she was still feeling too good about her personal life that she just couldn’t seem to get in her characters' heads and focus on mystery and deception.
For a month, the wedding plans kept moving right along, and Mia felt pretty proud of herself that she wasn’t feeling stressed.
The invitations had been sent and most of the responses had already come back. The menu for the reception had been finalized. The alterations on her gown were almost complete, the photographer was booked, the flowers were chosen, and Mrs. Henderson had them in for a tasting last night that had been the most decadent hour of her life.
Minimizing the book file, Mia decided to check her email and found their honeymoon reservation confirmation from Violet. They would be staying at a luxury resort in Maui for ten days and arriving on their wedding night. Just thinking about it made her giddy.
This was going to be the first real vacation Mia had ever taken and she was beyond thankful that it was going to be everything they wanted–an oceanfront suite with a private lanai. Austin had argued that they should get their own villa, but it didn’t seem necessary. The suite was large and they were going to have plenty of privacy. Part of her wondered if this was the right choice–they already lived on a beach, so that wasn’t anything new or inspiring–but neither of them had ever been to Hawaii so…
She quickly typed a response to Violet to thank her for all her help, before scanning the rest of her emails to see if there was anything urgent. A soft gasp escaped when she saw one from the seamstress with the subject line, “It’s Done!” Immediately, she opened it and felt herself grinning from ear to ear. Rather than reply via email, Mia reached for her phone and decided to call.
“Alterations by Ari, this is Arianna!”
“Hey, it’s Mia Kingsley!”
“Oh, wow! Hey, Mia! That was fast!” she said with a laugh. “I just sent that email three minutes ago.”
“I know, but as soon as I saw it, I knew I had to call. Is it really done? Already?”
Arianna laughed. “I don’t know if I’d say already…I’ve had it for almost a month. Most people would be calling me every day by now.”
“Why would I rush you? I want the gown to be perfect!” And yes, she knew she was overly excited, but she couldn’t help it. The thought of bringing her gown home–no matter what Sydney suggested–just filled her with joy. “When’s a good time for me to come in to pick it up?”
It was already after four, so Mia had a feeling it wouldn’t be today, but…
“I’m here until six,” Arianna replied. “So, if you want to come in, I’ll be here.”
“Really?” She jumped up from her seat and immediately began looking around for her boots. It was the first week of December, and while it wasn’t cold compared to Boston, it was cold enough that she needed warm shoes and a coat. “I can be there in about fifteen minutes!”
“Hmm…I get the feeling you’re a little anxious,” Arianna teased.
“You have no idea!” She slid one boot on and then the other. “I’ll see you soon!” When she hung up, it suddenly occurred to her that she would have to try the gown on one more time. With a muttered curse, she quickly kicked the boots off and went into the bedroom to change. “No need for Ari and whoever else might be there to see my purple underwear through that gorgeous white gown.”
Ten minutes later, Mia pulled out of the driveway and called Sydney to let her know what she was doing.
“I’m picking up my gown!”
“Wait…what do you mean you’re picking it up? You can’t do that! Not without me!” Sydney argued.
“Too bad. Arianna called and told me it was ready and I hopped right in the car! I can’t wait to try it on now that it’s done!” She let out a happy little scream.
“Mia, you can’t go and pick it up alone. That’s just sad. Give me…ugh…never mind. I would easily need an hour to be presentable.”
“Somehow, I doubt that.”
“Yeah, well…Jax is cutting a tooth and was up half the night, and I may still be in my pajamas.”
She laughed and immediately caught herself. “Sorry. It’s just…the image of my uber-organized friend still in her pajamas when it’s almost dinner time just struck me as funny.”
“Wait until you have a baby and we’ll see what time of day you’re getting dressed,” Sydney murmured.
“Oh, please. We both know I have no issue with staying in my pajamas all day. I work from home and I enjoy being comfortable. The days when I’m forced to put a bra on make me very cranky.”