Page 38 of Fast-Track Fiancé

‘I never want to wake up in a world where you’re not by my side so... I guess I’m actually more traditional than I thought?’ With an oversized wheel nut, Nina proposed to the man she loved.

It wasn’t quite the rare black diamond that he had presented her with all those weeks ago, but it felt right. Just as it felt right when he lifted her up into his arms, shouting his acceptance as he twirled her in a circle.

‘We’re going to have to negotiate some new terms for our engagement, real ones this time,’ Nina joked.

‘No wedding until you win a driver’s championship,’ Tristan suggested.

‘I accept.’ She laughed. ‘And no babies until I’ve won three.’

Tristan’s eyes darkened, his hands pulling her closer as he breathed in her scent. ‘Did you just tell me you want to have my babies, Nina Roux? Dear God... I’m barely keeping my hands off you as it is.’

‘I do... But not for a while yet. I want to enjoy you all to myself for as long as I can.’

‘It’s okay, I’m not ready to hang up my playboy hat just yet either.’ He laughed as her expression immediately turned incredulous. ‘I mean that I have a new routine to perfect now. To prepare for. The playboy husband experience.’

‘What exactly does a playboy husband do?’ Nina asked breathlessly as her fiancé’s lips began to wander scandalously low on her chest, and he unzipped her racing suit inch by inch as he lowered himself to his knees.

‘He is scandalous, dissolute, utterly shocking,’ he murmured against her belly button. ‘He also seduces his wife in very inappropriate places.’

Nina smiled. ‘Thank goodness for that.’

More passionate kissing ensued, and they might or might not have consummated their engagement up against a stack of tyres in the dark. To all intents and purposes it was the most romantic thing Nina could have ever hoped for. The perfect place for them to pledge their love to one another permanently.

EPILOGUE

NINA STARED AT her reflection in the floor-length mirror of the church vestry and fought the urge to smile. It was her wedding day, and not only was she excitedly awaiting the prospect of getting married... She was wearing white.

She hadn’t set out for a traditional look when Tristan’s mama had accompanied her shopping in Buenos Aires just two days ago when Tristan had finally agreed to elope with her. Well, he’d half agreed—hence why she presently stood in a church and not in a tiny Las Vegas chapel as she’d suggested.

She smiled to herself, remembering the exultant look on his face when she’d stepped down off her podium after winning her very first world championship right here at the Falco Aerodrome and immediately reminded him of the deal they’d made upon their official engagement four years before. He’d swung her around in a circle while the crowd whooped and cheered, unaware that they were witnessing the final taming of Argentina’s wildest playboy. Today, they would become husband and wife in the same church where his mother had said her loving vows to Tristan’s father and Agustin. Nothing in her life had ever felt more right than it did at this moment.

Tristan’s mother stood nearby, fussing over a delicate lace veil and deftly securing it to a pair of discreet combs with her bejewelled hands. Dulce had asked if she would wear the veil she had worn on her wedding day to Tristan’s father.

‘I’ve been instructed to wait until this moment to give you another surprise from my son.’ The woman’s eyes sparkled with mischief, so like the charming rake she had raised.

‘What on earth has he planned now?’ Nina smiled wryly, watching with only a little trepidation as Dulce moved to retrieve a slim square box from her bag. The box was emblazoned with the Falco crown, the symbol that Tristan had brought back to glory as a worldwide status symbol as he worked tirelessly on various campaigns over the past few years.

‘He said that you would understand, once you saw it.’

Nina held her breath as the box was opened and felt a wide smile take over her face as a familiar gold and sapphire tiara was revealed. The same tiara that she had worn on the night they had first officially met. The night that everything in her life had changed...and she had been utterly swept up in the storm that was Tristan Falco.

Her throat tightened with emotion as she helped Dulce position the delicate piece upon her head and watched with a sense of surreal awe as one of the world’s greatest fashion icons primped and fussed with her veil until she was satisfied.

‘Stunning,’ Dulce whispered, placing a single kiss upon her cheek before quietly exiting to give Nina a few more moments alone. It didn’t last very long however, as another knock sounded, this time Alain arriving to tell her that it was time to go.

She linked her arm through her brother’s, breathing a deep sigh of relief that he had agreed to walk her down the aisle today, in lieu of her father. Neither of her parents had bothered to come. But she still had Alain in her life. He’d supported her when she chose to speak publicly about her experience of late-diagnosed autism the year before, just as she’d supported him when he decided to seek treatment for ADHD. They laughed as they walked and Alain made quiet jokes under his breath like he used to do when they were kids, trying to make her laugh, trying to make her break the character of the good society girl.

And she did laugh, without any worry of what the high-society Argentinian guests might think of their beloved playboy’s unconventional bride. Because the moment her groom turned and his eyes met hers she knew that there could be nothing more right in this world.

Of all the people that Tristan Falco had imagined giving a speech on his wedding day, Alain Roux was not one of them. And yet here they were, grand tables filling the courtyard of his family’s historic estate as Nina’s brother recounted a mildly embarrassing story about the bride and groom in his usual entertaining style before wishing the new Mr and Mrs Falco health and happiness.

Tristan leaned across to kiss his wife while applause erupted around them and once again he felt an overwhelming urge to gather her into his arms and steal her away. Watching her walk down the aisle towards him had been overwhelming, but that was nothing compared to the feeling of finally sliding a wedding band onto her finger after four long years of waiting. She’d been worth every second.

When they stood up for their first dance, Nina had a mischievous sparkle in her eye. As he led her onto the dance floor he leaned down to whisper in her ear, ‘I know that look, what on earth are you up to?’

‘You’re not the only one who has surprises up their sleeve,’ she murmured before spinning herself out into a circle on the floor as the low hum of an Argentine tango sounded out from the band.

Tristan watched with wide eyes as his sultry wife clipped off the skirt of her wedding gown to reveal a more slim-fitting knee-length skirt beneath. She raised a brow in his direction before clapping her hands and beginning the slow sequence of moves that led the dance. The moves she had performed when he had tried to teach her all those years ago, much to the entertainment of their guests. It seemed she had been secretly taking lessons. His stomach tightened as he watched her sensual movements. She was quite literally dancing circles around him while he watched. It took a moment to remember that he was supposed to respond in the dance, and so he did, moving in and allowing her to lead him. After a few moments, Nina stepped in and murmured in his ear, ‘Your turn.’

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