The Prince's Devious Proposal - Holly Rayner Page 0,61

no less electrifying kiss.

Chapter 20

A Year Later

The wedding was held exactly one year later, to the day.

It was a small affair, but the preparations had taken weeks. Naomi was surprised to find that Petr wanted the same things she did out of his “real” wedding day—a small, intimate gathering, a marriage at a chapel, a dinner and drinks reception at a private venue to follow. It was easy for the two of them to agree on their plans.

Of course, there had been other arrangements to make in the meantime.

A month after their divorce had been finalized, they had moved to Barcelona permanently. Naomi had been surprised to learn that the beautiful house in which they had stayed during their European vacation actually did belong to Petr’s family. It was one of the few properties they hadn’t gotten rid of to deal with their debts. Though Petr had been stretching the truth with his claims of a catering staff—those workers had been let go due to the family’s financial problems—the home was theirs, and Naomi was more than thrilled to move into it.

She had started to look for a job, but Petr had quickly persuaded her to take some downtime and focus on her music. As it turned out, that had been the right call. The song she had written while staying with Sarah seemed to have loosened something within her, and soon she felt unable to stop.

Before long, she had written a new album’s worth of music and used a portion of her inheritance from her mother to have it produced. Now it was selling well, and the album as a whole had been very well received. It was earning Naomi enough money that she was able to forego a traditional job and keep writing.

It was Petr who had been the one to find traditional work. Determined to atone for his scheming by finding an honorable way to deal with his family’s debts, he had applied for high-level business positions and had eventually landed a job as the vice president of a tech company in Barcelona. His salary was enough to begin paying down the family debt.

Naomi and Petr were thankful to have the money to purchase plane tickets to bring their friends and family to Barcelona for their wedding. It was a small group—Sarah and her family, Petr’s parents, and a few other friends. Much to Naomi’s surprise, the Desert Flowers had made the journey, and she was overwhelmed with excitement at seeing them again. Each member of the band had stopped to hug her, wish her well, and compliment her on the new album, discussing the songs in enough detail that it was clear they had listened to them.

The wedding was held at the same church where Naomi and Petr had been married the first time, but this time it was much more meaningful. Instead of reciting vows in a language she didn’t speak in front of two people she didn’t know, Naomi had found an officiant to conduct the service in English in front of her friends and family.

Petr had insisted that she walk down the aisle to the song she had written about him, which she had since titled “Destinations.” Though it felt a little silly to get married to her own song, she could see that it meant a lot to Petr. She wrote out a copy of the music and gave it to the church organist, and she had to admit that the song did sound very pretty played on that massive instrument.

The service was one of the most moving experiences of Naomi’s life. She had thought that her first wedding day had been perfect, but she saw now that she had been convincing herself of that fact. Nothing could compare to the way she felt about Petr now that they had actually faced a challenge together and come through it stronger. She felt confident that they could get through anything now.

When it was over and they were officially married, they took pictures together at the front of the church, something that had been missing from their first wedding. When they had taken several pictures together as a newlywed couple, they invited first Sarah and her family, then Petr’s parents, to join them for a few shots.

Petr’s mother embraced Naomi. “It’s lovely to meet you, darling,” she said.

Naomi, meeting her new in-laws for the first time, felt a little awkward. These people were the former King and Queen of Sovra. They seemed kind, though.

When