Preston smiled. He brushed the last tear away with his thumb. “You’re damn right,” he told me. “And I think I know just the place to make it happen...”
If you’d told me three weeks ago that I’d have Maddy out on my boat cruising through the Caribbean, I would have said you were crazy. Back then she was still my soon-to-be stepsister, it looked like my father had won, and I’d firmly believed I’d chased away the love of my life for good.
Now here we were, just the two of us aboard my boat, the shadow of impending relation no longer looming over us. We were finally, completely free, and it was the best feeling I’d ever had.
I watched her as she sauntered over in her white string bikini, the one with a big, gold ring that pulled together the front of her top and accentuated her inhumanly perfect cleavage. The way her hair fluttered in the warm breeze made her look like she was in some kind of Sports Illustrated ad as she bent over to hand me another daiquiri.
I gently pulled open the front of her top with one finger and peeked at her bountiful breasts. She laughed and slapped my hand away before sitting down on my lap, relaxing against me in the sun.
“This is perfect,” she said, sipping on her drink as we baked under the clear skies together. “I can’t believe how lucky we are.”
“Good things come to those who do good,” I told her. It might have been ineloquent, but it was true. “You taught me that,” I added, kissing her shoulder.
She smiled and turned toward me, placing her own kiss on my temple. “I love you, Preston Harvey. You know that?”
I grinned. It was the first time either of us had said it to each other, but we’d both known well before now how we felt. It had been love at first sight—we just hadn’t known it at the time. Now that we did, it was something we’d never forget.
It still felt good to hear her say it, though. And it was only fitting, since I had a very important question for her.
“I love you too,” I replied, kissing her on the lips. Then I tapped her thigh with the palm of my hand. “You gotta get up, though. I have something to give you.”
Maddy giggled and stood, looking up at me as I got up from the lounge chair. “Is that a ring box in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?”
I stared at her, mouth agape. “You bitch,” I muttered, giggling as she slapped my shoulder. “You ruined the surprise.”
“The real surprise would be if you managed to slip something past me,” she said, biting her lip as she gazed up into my eyes. “Come on, Preston. Ask me. You already know what I’m going to say.”
I smirked. “Yes, ma’am,” I said as I did what I was told.
I lowered myself down on one knee with much grunting and groaning and holding my back while Maddy rolled her eyes and tried not to smile at me. Then I reached into the pocket of my shorts and pulled out the ring box she’d already known was there. At least she didn’t know what was inside of it.
“Madison Hearst,” I began, and even though I knew what her answer would be, my pulse quickened all the same. “You are the single best thing to have ever happened to me. Before you, I thought I knew what wealth was. Before you, I thought I knew how the world worked. Before you, I was sure there was no such thing as love. Well, I was an idiot. You made me see that. And now I want to show you something in return.”
I opened up the box. I’d never felt so proud in my life as I did at that moment when she gasped.
“Oh my God,” she breathed. “Jesus, Preston. It’s beautiful!”
She stared down at the rose gold ring I’d picked out for her, the one with a twisted, diamond-encrusted shank framing the brightest pink diamond money could buy. Knowing and loving Maddy had made me rich in an intangible way, but being an actual billionaire still had its merits when it came to gifts.
The sun reflected off the gem’s surface, painting Maddy’s face with an array of prisms that would have rivaled the Hope Diamond. I took her hand—she was too flabbergasted to give it to me on her own—and slowly slid the ring onto her finger. It fit perfectly, just as I’d intended. It had been hell getting her ring size while she was sleeping.
“Madison Hearst,” I intoned, trying to sound very, very serious. “Will you marry me?”
Maddy looked from me to the ring, then back again. I quirked a brow at her as I waited for her to respond.
In typical Maddy fashion, she made me wait. And then she grinned and threw her arms around me as I stood, bouncing up and down as she cried, “Yes! Yes!” over and over again.
My heart swelled as I took her in my arms, holding her tightly and kissing over the waves of her hair as she committed to being my wife. I’d never wanted anything so badly in all my life as this, and now that I had it, I felt utterly complete.
Maddy looked up at me and bit her lip. With a very put-on Southern accent, she asked me, “Does that mean we ain’t gonna be kin no more?”
I shook my head at her and laughed. “Only by marriage,” I replied, and kissed my bride-to-be once more.
The End…