Page 89 of The Billionaire's Heart

Okay. I peal the note off the door as I make my way past the patio and pool, and down the walkway. The water on the ocean is so still that it looks like glass. I don’t see Ian until I turn to my left,and then my heart stops. My hands cover my mouth as I lose my breath.

Ian has a table and two chairs set for breakfast. The table has a white tablecloth and there are those silver dome thingies. I don’t know what they’re called, covering the plates.

He approaches me with a handful of hibiscus flowers. “Surprise.”

Taking the flowers, I cannot help but smile. “This is so sweet. Thank you.”

“I give you breakfast with breathing room.” He leads me through the loose sand over to the table. “I thought we could watch the sunrise while eating breakfast.”

“What an amazing idea. I love it.” His comment about breathing room doesn’t escape me. He heard me last night and I cannot appreciate him more than I do right now.

“And I love you.” He kisses the side of my head again, a move I’m quickly falling in love with because it makes me feel so cherished, and then he pulls the domes up to reveal pancakes and syrup.

“Did you make this?” Because my first bite is delicious.

“Thankfully, no. Paula did.”

“You need to give that woman a raise.”

“I know I do. She tolerates me.”

Sitting back in my chair after finishing my breakfast, I sip my coffee and look over the water. “Look!” I point at the horizon as the sun just starts to peek over it.

“That never gets old.”

Not looking at him because I’m watching the sun rapidly come over the horizon. “I’ve never seen it before.”

“You’ve never seen the sunrise?”

“Not over the ocean like this. Not many oceans in Tennessee.”

He ignores my jab. “If you want, we can make this a daily thing.”

I look over at him, “You are not making Paula get up every morning to make a sunrise breakfast for us. Absolutely not. A woman needs her sleep.”

Understanding where I was going with it, “But this was worth getting up for, right?”

I hear the hesitation in his voice. “No, Ian, but you’re worth getting up for. This,” I wave at the horizon and the breakfast table, “this is a perk, but not the reason I got up this morning. You are.”

He caresses my cheek, and I lean into his touch. It’s quickly becoming addicting, and I briefly wonder how on earth I've made it this far in my life without his touch.

Once the sun has completely risen above the horizon and the heat and humidity of the morning creeps up, Ian stands and takes my hand.

“Time to go.”

“Go where?” My confusion is clear on my face and in my voice.

“This is only the beginning of your surprise.” His smile makes him look like a little boy, and I can’t help but smile along with him.

“Okay, Mr. Gallo. Lead on.”

After cleaning up our breakfast mess, we spend a few hours driving north. He refuses to tell me where we’re going, only that it’s part of my surprise. The entire ride, we hold hands like teenagers, and I love every second.

As we drive, taking back roads to our unknown destination, I watch the landscape change as the miles pass by. It’s the first time I’ve been able to see any other part of my new state other than Hibiscus Harbor and the highway I took moving here. I’m really enjoying myself. Florida is beautiful; even when you’re not on the beach.

“Okay, I can’t keep the surprise a secret much longer because we’re almost there.”

“Where? Are we going to Disney World?”

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