Page 81 of Prudence
His expression softened as he gazed down at me with so much love I barely felt like I deserved it. “I’d take a million chances if it meant spending the rest of my life with you, Camille. And besides, I wouldn’t change how beautiful and stunned you looked just now when I popped the question.” Right as he said it, a cherry blossom petal fell, landing on my cheek. I laughed as Derek plucked it off before pulling me in and whispering his lips over mine.
“The girls are going to lose their minds when we tell them,” I said past his kisses, and he chuckled low. “Right, perhaps we should invest in some ear defenders beforehand. I suspect there’ll be quite a bit of squealing,” Derek said.
“And Pablo will probably roll his eyes and tell them they’re being dramatic,” I added. Derek’s son had been surprisingly accepting of our relationship. I’d feared he’d have reservations, but he was completely easy with the whole thing, though I suspected Derek had sat down and talked to him, the same as he’d done with Gigi.
Derek bestowed me with several more kisses before he took my hand and led me back to the car. I couldn’t stop staring at the ring, how right it looked on my finger as Derek resumed the drive to my house.
“Now all we have to do is plan the wedding,” he said, falling silent before amending, “Well, that and find a house.”
My heart skipped a beat. “A house?”
“We can hardly get married and keep living apart,” he said, a glint in his eyes. “So, when do you want to start looking?” I bit my lip, a hint of chagrin claiming my features. Derek glanced from me to the road. “What’s that look about?”
“Well,” I confessed. “I may have already compiled a list of all the most suitable houses for sale in the area. Just in case.”
He chuckled quietly, shaking his head as he pulled to a stop outside my house and placed his hand over my knee. “Of course, you have. Well, you can show me this list after.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “After?”
His gaze smouldered. “After you take me inside and we celebrate our engagement thoroughly.”
How did he still manage to make me blush after almost an entire year together? Lucky for both of us, Deirdre was out with Gigi and a few other girls from school, so I allowed Derek to come around and open the passenger side door, leading me tomy house and straight upstairs to my bedroom, where we spent the next few hours celebrating so thoroughly we both passed out from exhaustion.
Epilogue.
Derek
~Five months later~
“This is an amazing spot,” Tristan said as I stood in front of the mirror in the hotel room, trying to make sure my tie was even. Unsatisfied, I undid it and started over. Yes, I was nervous—not to walk down the aisle, but more for everything to run smoothly. Milly and I had hired a wedding planner, and though she’d come highly recommended, her boyfriend of two years had broken up with her suddenly a few days ago, and she was struggling to keep her emotions in check. Every little detail about the wedding seemed to upset her.
I felt for the woman, especially since she’d looked on the verge of tears while explaining to me that the photographer would be arriving at ten.
“It’s a great location,” I agreed.
Milly had chosen the small, boutique hotel as our wedding venue, and as soon as I stepped inside and saw the old timey charm of the place, I was convinced. At first, I thought we’d use one of our own hotels for the big day, but then Milly told me about The Aster Cove in Bray. It belonged to Fred Behan, an old pal of her dad’s, and she and her family used to come here on trips during the summer when she was a child. Her father and the owner had lost touch over the years, but when she’d looked him up, she discovered that Fred and his wife still ran the place, despite being in their early seventies, and according to Milly, it had barely changed since she was a child.
The way her eyes had lit up when she’d spoken of going for swims on the beach with her sisters, building sandcastles and then ice cream afterwards on the pier, I couldn’t deny her.
“I mean, it could do with a few upgrades, but I think it has amazing potential,” Tristan went on, and I cast him a curious glance through the mirror.
“Where are you going with this?”
“Well, the location in Cork has been open for almost two years now, and it’s making record profits. I was thinking we could expand again but do it a little differently this time. You’ve been doing great running things, but you’ve said yourself that you’re itching for a new challenge.”
“I’m listening.”
“This location is second to none. I mean, the views are better than any of our other locations. It’s secluded but also close to lots of amenities with just a short drive. Plus, the owners are getting on in years, and I asked around. They don’t have any kids, so no one to pass the business on to. It’s probably why they’ve kept going for so long. But if we make them a generous offer, show them they could retire in style, I think maybe they’d be open to selling.”
I considered the building. It was old, and although lovingly cared for, it would take a lot of money to bring it up to a standard to match our other hotels.
“It’s certainly something to consider,” I told my brother, and his eyes lit up.
“I envision a much more elite experience for this place, like an exclusive stay that captures everything we already do at our other locations but with added luxury, fewer guests, more privacy. We have tonnes of wealthy regulars who’d eat it right up.”
Just as he finished speaking, there was a knock on the door. “Come in,” I called, and a woman poked her head in. Irecognised her as the manager who was always busily flitting about the place. She was a pretty woman in her thirties with curly, light brown hair and amber eyes. Tristan turned at the intrusion, going unusually still when he saw her. Then a slow, charming smile crept over his features, a smile I recognised well. He found her attractive.
The woman glanced at me, then at Tristan, and oddly enough, she went still, too, but seemingly not for the same reason my brother had. Her feline eyes grew wide as she blinked, seeming flustered, then she frowned deeply as she tore her gaze from Tristan to address me.
