Bedding the Billionaire (Book 3) (Legacy Collection) (46 page)

Jake handed the rings to Dominic and said something that made the couple smile.

Dominic cleared his throat and said, “Abigail
D
artley
, today I take you as my w
ife. From this day on, I pro
mise to be faithful and honest, loving and supportive. I promise to listen to your wise counsel and confess when I decide to disregard it.”

Lil bit her lip to stop the laugh that his comment inspired.
Her family was never going to be the same.
Yes
, it was going to be much, much better.

Dominic continued, “
I promise
to
forgive more, destroy less, and
to
savor every day with you.
I give you this ring as
a
symbol that everything I am and everything I have will be yours now and forever.”
He placed
a
wedding band on Abby’s finger.

Abby held out his wedding band, took his hand in hers and said, “
Dominic
Corisi
, today
I take you
as my husband.
I promise to be faithful and honest, loving and supportive.
I promise to
adore you as you are and
gracefully accept your apologi
es
each time
you discover that I was right.
I promise
to risk more, judge less and to savor every day with you. I give you this ring as a symbol that everything I am and everything I have will be yours now and forever.”
She placed the gold band on Dominic’s finger.

The
officiant
said, “
By exchanging rings and vows today, Dominic and Abby you have sworn your life and your allegiance to each other.
Time and trage
dy will test this bond.
When it does, remember the love you felt this day an
d stay true to your commitment.
Dominic and Abigail, I now pronounce you husband and wife.
You may the kiss the bride.”

The crowd held their breath as a man who had once been known
only for what he had accumulated and threatened gently kissed the lips of his new wife and hugged her to him with such
love
that
it was impossible to look away.

Everyone stood and the
officiant
said, “It is a great honor for me to introduce, for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Dominic
Corisi
.”

Lil looked across to Jake and knew that, like her, had had been imagining their wedding, their vows…their first kiss as a married couple.
To music and applause, Lil linked arms with Jake and followed
Dominic and
Abby
down the ais
le and out of the tent to meet the
photographer.
They would have their day, but the next hour or so was all about filling Dominic and Abby’s wedding album.

After entering
the reception with Jake and the rest of the bridal party, Lil turned to him and said
“I want to run in and check on Colby really quickly before
everything gets started.
I
love the nanny we chose, but
I
–
”

Jake pulled her against him and whispered into her ear, “I’ll go with you.”

Lil laughed and pulled out of his grasp, “No way. I’m not missing the toast because we get distracted out there.”

“I love the way you distract me,” he growled and reached for her again.

She edged away, “That’s the problem. I am not going to mess this up. If you don’t come with me I can be
back here in ten minutes.”

“I could control myself,” he claimed.

She leaned in and snuck a quick kiss while he was defending his honor then slid back out of his reach. “But could I?” she teased softly.

His face flushed slightly with excitement. “
I think I could make ten minutes work.”

“That’s nothing to brag about,” Lil joked and loved how he opened his mouth, but didn’t have a witty comeback. It meant that she had indeed succeeded in shaking him up.
She snuck in for one
more quick
kiss and said, “I’ll be right back.”

His mouth curled in amusement.
“I’ll be here, plotting my revenge.”

She knew it was the kind of payback she would likely enjoy, so she felt safe enough to tease him more. “If you’re that sensitive, you’ve picked the wrong woman.”

This time he did grab her and hold her against his growing excitement.
“I wouldn’t change a thing about you, Lil, but that doesn’t mean I won’t prove to you later exactly how much I can accomplish in ten minutes.”

He leaned down to kiss her and she couldn’t think of a single witty response.
He kissed her until she
forgot what had been so funny and desperately wanted to beg him to leave with her.

When he raised his he
ad she touched a trembling hand
to his lips and stared at the
elegant
,
emerald cut
diamond on her left hand. Was this really her life? Could something this wonderful really happen to her?

He sensed her change of mood and tried to lighten it by saying, “Would it help if I
promised at least
twenty minutes?”

She smacked his chest lightly.
In the safety of his arms, she admitted her fear.
“Sometimes I still don’t believe this is real.
I mean, Abby deserves a happy ending, but I’ve done everything wrong.
I shouldn’t be this happy.”

Jake pulled her closer and kissed her on the fore
head.
Then he bent and let his words tickle her left ear. “If love was only for the perfect, what a sad and lonely world it would it be. We are the culmination of every good and bad choice we’ve
ever
made.
Your mistakes have made you into an incredibly fierce and loving woman; one I am head over heels in love with.
They have filled your life with friends who are willing to risk jail for you.
They brought Colby into the
world. One of your mistakes even saved our company.
So, don’t change, Lil. You keep making those mistakes and you just might save
us all
.”

The next kiss they shared had less to do with raw passion and more to do with two hearts reaching out to each other and promising each other forever.

The wedding planner broke into their intimate moment
and said, “Are you both ready to say your
toasts
?”

Lil smiled at Jake and nodded. “I guess I’ll check Colby after we do that.” She winked at her man. “We’ll go together.”

He groaned, “Are you trying to make me forget my speech?”

She laughed wickedly and whispered a hot suggestion into his ear.

Game on.

From a large stone patio, t
ucked beneath one of Jake’s arms, Lil wav
ed again at the private jet that was now only lights disappearing into the night sky. “She’s going to love Spain.”

Jake said, “Even more than you know.”

Lil looked up at him suspiciously, “What does that mean?”

He smiled.
“I’ll let her tell you.”

“Oh, no, we don’t do any more secrets.”

His smile turned wicked. “You might be able to persuade me to tell you.”

“You are insatiable, do you know that?”

He looked rather proud of himself. “Is that a complaint?”

Lil thought about how much she’d enjoyed the reason they had missed the dinner portion of the wedding and reluctantly returned just in time to see the cutting of the cake. “No, but now I won’t be able to use that elevator without blushing.”

“Especially if the security system has a camera in there.”

“Oh, my God!
I’m never going to be able to look the security people in the eye again.”

Jake laughed.
“I’ll talk to them and if there is a camera I’ll have the video erased.
Well, maybe copied and then erased.”

“Just erased!”
Lil elbowed him lightly.

Jake merely smiled.

Security cameras.
She should have thought about that when she told Zhang to wander on the wild side.

Stretching his neck a bit
to see more of the runway
, Jake said, “I don’t see
Rachid’s
plane anymore. It’s not like him to leave
without saying goodbye. When I
talked to him earlier he said he had something he wanted to ask me. That’s interesting.”

Lil shrugged. “The last time I saw him he was dancing, if you could call that dancing, with Zhang.
They looked like
they
were really hitting it off.”

Jake
scratched his cheek thoughtfully
. “Have you seen Zhang since then?”

Lil checked the contents of the clutch she’d carried with her through the entire evening. “No, but I still have
her phone. You don’t think…”

Jack cocked his head to the side
as if considering the idea
, then shook his head
. “
No, that’s not Zhang.
If her phone and her plane are here, she’s here somewhere. She’d never leave without them.” He shook his head again. “No. Not Zhang.”

Lil turned Zhang’s phone in her hand and considered the possibilities.
With a grin, she turned it off and placed it back within her purse.
Good for you, Zhang. I did pick the right dress.

Jake
returned his attention to
a
much more intimate topic.
He wiggled his eyebrows, likely
remembering her earlier promise
of how they would end their evening
as
he asked, “
Ready?”

His sexy question implied tonight, but she pondered past that.

Am I ready for all of this?
This man?
This life change?
Everything this means for me and for my child?

Jake entwined his
fingers
with hers and
the answer came to her–
strong and absolute.