Only she is.
Her eyes flutter open and lock on mine. A sleepy smile covers her face when she sees me. I lean forward and press a kiss to her head. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”
She stretches. “Not really. This bed sucks,” she laughs out and I join her.
“So, what do you say to going back to my place?”
“It is much more comfortable there,” she agrees.
“So the wedding is back on?” I say, almost afraid to ask.
“With a few conditions.”
I scoot down until we’re eye level. “What are your conditions?”
“I never have to go to another fancy party.”
“Agreed.”
“You won’t try forcing me into a round hole when I’m a square peg.”
I laugh. “Okay.”
“And . . . you wake me up with mind-blowing sex every single morning.”
My smile widens. “Oh, I think I can handle those conditions,” I agree, rolling us over until I’m hovering above her. “Round five,” I say, moving in for a kiss.
Twenty-Nine
Poppy
“Are you ready for our flight, soon-to-be Mrs. Lewis?” he asks, grabbing my hand and pulling me to his chest.
“I’m ready,” I agree, moving in to press my lips to his. I’ve never been more ready to marry this man.
“Good. I might get you to the island and hold you hostage,” he jokes, whispering against my lips.
“I wouldn’t even fight you.”
We land and make it to our little piece of forever. It’s exactly the same as I remember it. Nothing has changed except it may be even more beautiful now. The wedding is in three days, and sadly, we’re not alone. All the wedding preparations are going into effect. The wedding planner is here with her team of people who boat in every day to get to work, setting up the altar, chairs, and decorations. The chef and his team are here, prepping and preparing for the dinner. And while all this craziness is going on around us, we’re not affected by any of it. We stay locked up in our bedroom, feeding each other things we’ve managed to steal from the kitchen, making love, and sleeping like we haven’t gotten to in a decade. Every morning, people boat in only to boat out at night. Nightfall is the only time we have alone, and that’s when we emerge from our bedroom, usually to make love in other parts of the house or on the beach, or to cool off in the ocean.
The three days go by in a flash, and if I thought the island was busy before, that was nothing compared with now. Not only is my team here to do my hair and makeup and help me dress, but the guests are coming in too. Matthew’s grandmother is the first to arrive, and she looks at the place lovingly, like she hasn’t seen it in this lifetime. I help her inside and she sits on the couch.
“How were your travels?” I ask, sitting across from her.
“I don’t remember it being quite so long, but maybe that’s because nowadays, it’s a lot harder for me to sit that long. Or . . . maybe it’s because my handsome husband wasn’t sitting beside me, distracting me. I haven’t been here in almost 15 years. Once he got sick, we stopped coming and I couldn’t bear to come here alone.”
That breaks my heart. “I bet you have some good memories here, huh?”
She wipes a tear from her eye and nods. “As do you, and plenty more to come, hopefully.”
I smile at her sweetness. “I have to go finish getting ready. Will you be okay by yourself?”
“Of course, dear. I know I have some photo albums here somewhere. I’ll flip through them. That way, it will feel like Matthew is here with me.”
I smile. “Okay. But let me know if you need anything.” I stand and walk back into the bedroom to finish my makeup.
I hear boat after boat arriving but don’t bother to look out. I’m too focused on getting ready so I can marry the man of my dreams.
The sun begins to set and I know it’s finally time. The wedding planner walks into the room and looks down at me. “Everything is perfect. Are you ready?”
I turn away from the mirror. “More than ready.”
She hands me my bouquet of wildflowers and opens the door for me.
I walk through the living room to the glass doors that lead to the beach. Peeking out, all the chairs are full. I can see Matthew’s best friend and partner, Daniel, and his rock-star fiancée, plus my parents and