“Are you serious? I thought it would take at least another six months!” I was completely elated. “We could have the place open in time for Christmas shoppers and then just sail right into tourist season. By the time warm weather comes, we’ll have all the kinks worked out, and we could have a fashion show to reveal the new line. Nathan, this is so awesome.”
“See,” he said, putting his arms out. “I’m useful for something, right?”
“I can think of a few things you are useful for,” I replied, winking and shaking my butt at him.
“We could always break the place in,” he said, coming up behind me and grabbing my breasts. “Have a little fun in the dressing rooms? Christen the place behind the counters?”
“Calm down, stud muffin.” I laughed, feeling his cock harden against my ass. “We have work to do.”
“Fine,” he sighed. “You're always all work and no play.”
“That’s crazy coming from you,” I said, looking back at him. “Like I never in a million years thought I would hear you say that.”
We walked around the shop, and I smiled as Nathan enthusiastically showed me every nook and cranny of the place. He had already purchased the software for the store that not only kept track of sales, but did accounting, calculated taxes, and kept inventory all in one area. He showed me how the different systems worked and how they would help us cut down on theft, especially when we got to the point where were able to hire a staff to run the place. Everything was set up so perfectly.
“Okay,” he said with a deep breath. “That is everything down here. Let me show you upstairs.”
I smiled and walked up the steps, feeling his hand pressing warmly on my back. He seemed jittery all of a sudden, b
ut I ignored it, figuring we hadn’t eaten anything that day and he was really excited to show me everything. We walked to the top of the stairs, and he led me left into the designer’s room. It was enormous, and he had it designed with shelves everywhere, a huge sketching table, lamps, track lighting, and a full-on desk in the back. The room was mostly white with splashes of black, green, and orange throughout. On the door, there was a placard with Maria’s name and the title of Owner and Head Designer. I knew immediately that she was going to freak out over this.
“So, this space is for Maria,” he said, walking in. “She can go to town designing. I had the mannequins and fabric rods brought in over there, and a modeling space and dressing room over here. All she has to do is get with the fabric sellers and start filling up the space. I also contacted a friend of mine in New York who was a designer, and they sent me a list of all the tools she would need. I figured it would be better for her to start out completely fresh and new.”
I walked over and looked down at all of the pencils, ink, sewing material, the sewing machine, bright and new on the desk, a computer with CAD and other drawing programs, and everything she would need to create her masterpieces from paper to body. I shook my head, absolutely amazed at how much he had done in such a short amount of time. I looked up and walked over to the door with him.
“Then, across the hall is where I had our open-concept offices put in,” he said, leading me into the other room. “It’s our space to work side by side with each other.”
I couldn’t believe the space in front of me when I walked in. The ceiling was high, the paint was neutral and calming, and there were couches and chairs strewn all over in different hues of lavender and teal. The rugs on the floor were brand new and matched the accent pillows on the furniture. There were two desks that sat on opposite sides of the room but faced each other. They were large, dark, wooden casings with beautifully carved embellishments on the sides. Computers and office equipment peppered the desks and art covered the walls. It almost felt like walking into a fancy apartment you would see in a magazine. In both the design room and the office space, the back wall was nothing but large floor to ceiling windows, allowing us to look out at the beach and ocean behind us. I walked over to the desk and ran my hand across the wood surface before plopping down in the chair and sticking the end of a pen in my mouth.
“Do I look like a professional?”
“A fucking sexy one,” he growled.
He walked over and stared at me, pulling open the top drawer of the desk. I smiled and leaned over, looking down at a small silver box. I scrunched my eyebrows together and pulled the box out, holding it in my hand. Slowly, I lifted the lid and stared down at a beautiful diamond ring with the biggest stone I had ever seen in the middle and tons of smaller stones surrounding it. I gasped and put my hand over my mouth, looking up to see Nathan on one knee in front of me.
“Ronni, you are the light of my world, and I can’t think of anything better than spending it with you,” he said, his hands shaking. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes,” I said with teary eyes. “Oh my God, of course, I’ll marry you.”
I stood up with Nathan and watched as he slipped the ring on my finger. I looked at it as it sparkled in the lights. I wrapped my arms around him, hugging him tightly as I thought about my forever. There was literally no one else on earth that I would want to spend my life with, build an empire with, and walk into the future hand in hand.
Chapter Twenty One
Nathan
Bedroom to Boardroom
I thought the beaches in San Diego were beautiful, but looking out across the crystal blue waters as I stood on the white sand beaches of Hawaii was absolutely breathtaking. Everything from the birds in the sky to the sun closing in on the horizon, spewing hues of oranges, blues, and pinks everywhere, created a feeling beyond relaxation. I stuck my hands in my white linen pants and rubbed my toes through the sand, closing my eyes and taking in a deep breath. There hadn’t been a day since I left my father’s company that I regretted it one bit, and now, I got to live my life with the woman that kept me on my toes, showed me what life was really about, and had the same dreams and aspirations for the future as I did. I couldn’t feel luckier than I did right then.
Just looking out over the ocean, I couldn’t think of a more perfect place for a wedding. It was like this place was created just for us, knowing that some stuffy church wedding, surrounded by hundreds of people we barely knew, didn’t fit our love at all. We were brought together by unyielding and unbiased attraction, a love from a parent that transcended background or nationality, and now we were getting ready to join together as husband and wife. We had so many things planned for our future, from building an empire to building a family, and I really felt like this was going to be the first day of the rest of our lives. No one could have prepared me for meeting Ronni. No one could have prepared me for when my eyes finally opened and I saw who my family members really were. But, with Ronni patiently waiting by my side, I was able to push through all of that and set myself free from the chains of a miserable and lonely life.
Relaxing still wasn’t coming easily to me after living my entire life on the go constantly, since I was old enough to go to school, but the stress of that life had lifted off my shoulders. The loneliness I felt so long ago was nothing but a memory that has since floated into the distant past. Although I'm not surrounded daily by hordes of people anymore, I couldn’t feel more loved than I did in my simple little life with my amazing wife to be. Standing here, waiting for her to come join me to be married, I realized that I finally, after so long, felt at peace.
I looked up as I caught the glimpse of blowing fabrics out of the corner of my eye. I smiled as Maria walked forward, wearing a lavender bridesmaid bikini and carrying a small sprig of flowers. She looked over at her boyfriend, the guy that I met at the salsa club so long ago, and winked at him, putting a bit of pep in her step. Once she passed, I looked down the makeshift sandy aisle on the beach, and my jaw dropped. Ronni was standing in front of me in a white, specially designed bridal bikini with a sheer skirt tied around her waist. Her dark hair glistened in the sunlight, and her tan skin sparkled radiantly. Around her ankle was a bracelet of fresh white flowers that accented her skin perfectly. She had to be the most beautiful bride I had ever seen, and she was all mine.
Emotions flowed through my body, and tears tugged at the edges of my eyes. I was more than overjoyed at the fact that this beautiful woman was going to be my wife. She was absolutely stunning in every way, and on top of all of that, she was a beautiful person on the inside. Looking back, I could now see that I had been drawn to Ronni ever since she came to stay at our house. At first, it was curiosity and empathy, wanting to make this young girl feel at home in a new country and a new place. As she grew older, I could see her blossoming into an amazing woman, and my thoughts about her shifted to a new reality.
There were always beautiful women throwing themselves at me, mostly because they knew I was a billionaire, but none of them had stayed on my mind for more than a few moments. Ronni, however, continued to beat into my brain every day for a very long time. I never took that as anything more than lust until we finally freed ourselves from my family and got together. I realized that she was the one from the very beginning, and I knew that every time I was around her or near her, I felt calm and complete. Now she was going to be my wife.