The Billionaire's Island Romance (The Romero Brothers, Book 3.5) (13 page)

Ned’s face went beet red. He looked as if a
heart attack besieged him. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“Oh, dear. Was that supposed to be your
little secret, Ned?” Christian feigned surprise. “You know, our investigators
estimated you owe probably $20 million or so in back taxes and we both know you
don’t have that. Geez, what do you think the IRS would do to you, Ned, if they
found out and you didn’t have the funds to pay them back?”

Ned flinched. He got up from his chair
stumbling. He straightened himself up. “How did you…you…wouldn’t…
”

Christian lowered the magazine to his lap
and glared dangerously into Ned’s eyes. “You’re not going to do anything that
would hurt Arianna. Understood?”

Ned looked to Arianna and back to
Christian, defeat in his eyes. “Understood.” He grabbed his jacket from the
back of the chair and placed his sun hat on his head. He walked out of her
office without so much as a glance back.

“Oh, my God! Christian?”

“What? How did you…what just happened?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I just had my
guys
do a bit of research on your uncle. I wanted to know
what he was about and what he was hiding. You should know me by now, Arianna.
I’m a Romero, and we don’t mess around when it comes to protecting those we
love and care about. I’d do damn near anything I had to just to make sure you
were okay. Understood?” He arched a brow and looked so sexy when he did. She
reached over to hug him.

He embraced her tightly and pressed his
lips to her forehead. She felt a delightful spark of energy rush through her
from the soft, magical touch of his lips on her skin. God, she loved the way he
felt.
All the time.

“Oh, Christian. I’m so sorry that I never
trusted you before.”

“Why wouldn’t you?”

“You heard Uncle Ned. Mental illness can
run in our bloodline and…I…I mean, you would want to have children with me
knowing that…?”

“Hey, don’t even finish that sentence. And
don’t insult me. I love you, Arianna. My love for you is unconditional.
Besides, you don’t suffer with depression.”

“I did once. Not like that. I mean, Dad has
delusional disorder and so did Grandma. The trouble with that disorder is that
sometimes it can go undetected because, depending on how severe, most people
can function in their day-to-day lives. I didn’t want it to get out-”

“Hey, it’s okay. We’re going to make sure
your dad gets the best treatment and we’re going to move forward, okay?”

She nodded. “Okay.”

“God, Arianna.
You’re
so…amazing
,
you know that
? It must have torn
you up inside, seeing your father like that. You kept up the pretense with him
not just because you didn’t want to have him humiliated but you didn’t want him
to lose his business. You’re one brave woman. As painful as that was, you did
it for all the right reasons. Who could fault you for that? Heck, if that’s the
kind of genes you have, I’d be honored to procreate with you.”

She smiled appreciatively and hugged him
closely.

He glanced at his watch. “Come on. Let’s go
check on your father.”

“I love you, Christian Romero.”

“I love you, too, Arianna. Just don’t ever
hold back on me again. Don’t ever take on anything like this on your own
without giving me a chance to help you. Promise?”

“That, I promise.”

The next couple of days, Arianna had
addressed some members of the hotel staff, including Tiff, about her father not
being well, though not going into details. Many of them had suspected something
was wrong. Although her mother rarely left her room when she was…around, the
staff never saw her since Dad returned from Murumba. Even during drills in the
past, she would explain it off that her mom had stepped out.

Arianna sat at her desk in her office
flipping through some files and sifting through invoices while thinking about
the events of the past few days. She was more grateful than ever to have
Christian by her side, supporting her. He was the greatest thing that had
happened to her. She didn’t know what she would have done if he wasn’t in her
world. Oh, God! She could have lost everything. Her father would have been gone
completely if her uncle had stepped in with a dramatic hostile takeover of her
father’s beloved “home.”

Thankfully, her uncle agreed to sign official
documents, declaring it best that the hotel keep its current management since
he would not be in a position to manage the facility. After all, he had new
issues surrounding unpaid taxes that he would have to face. Arianna wasn’t at
all against helping him out whenever she could. He was still her flesh and
blood,
she just wanted her uncle to get the help HE needed
for his gambling addiction and hostile behaviour, or more accurately, anger
management shortcomings. She just wanted everyone to be okay. She didn’t like to
see any one knocked down in life.

For now, her father was her
priority—as he’d always been.

The truth was that Arianna had an
explosive, crippling fear that her father, if anyone knew the truth about his
“bout” of delusion, would be hauled off by men in white jackets and locked away
in a padded cell.

The thought imprisoned her, paralyzed her.
She would have died if that had happened. She knew from speaking to medical
professionals that the delusions he was having could very well be a prolonged
denial that would eventually subside.

And the truth was, her mother’s body was
never found, so they weren’t lying overtly. It hadn’t even been a full year
yet.

The fear of losing her father, too, was so
great and painful. So much so that Arianna would do anything she could to make
sure that he got the help he needed. She had seen therapists, when he wasn’t
ready to go in the past, and talked to them about a “friend” who was going
through delusional episodes after a tragedy. She had taken their advice and
tried her best when not working to work with her dad in orienting him to
reality as much as possible. At times, she would go along with him gently in
order to not have him traumatized any further. She had spoken at great lengths
to the doctor in Murumba who had initially treated him for shock when her
mother vanished beneath the water. The doctor knew the truth since he’d seen
her father before they left the island.

Thankfully, now her father would get the
additional help he needed. Tiff had agreed to handle more responsibility so
that Arianna could spend more time in Florida with her father while he went
through his treatment.

Currently, Arianna had the wedding to think
about, ensuring that the banquet department and
event
planning
department had everything in place. The wedding was taking
place soon.

There was nothing more romantic than
walking on the golden orange sand on the beach. It was Saturday morning and the
guests were getting ready to enjoy a memorable beach marriage ceremony, with a
sea of aqua in the background, enjoying the soft music playing. The bright sun
shone in the cloudless blue sky, as the calming whispers of the waves washed up
on the side of the beach shoreline. The white-painted wooden arch of the
wedding gazebo was tastefully decorated with pulchritudinous yellow flowers.

Heated anticipation rushed through
Arianna’s blood, thinking about Christian and how they would enjoy another
passionate night after the ceremony. She just couldn’t get him out of her mind,
for one minute of the day. She straightened out her cream-colored satin dress
and took her seat near the front. She reached down and brushed some small
grains of sand from the simple, strappy flats she wore. That was the thing
about beach weddings, one had to make sure they had the right elegant foot wear
so as to keep shoes from sinking in the sand. She learned that the hard way
some few years back when she’d attended another friend’s wedding on the beach.

What a glorious, cloudless summer day it
was to get married by the beach. Thankfully everything was in place. It had
been a mad rush that morning getting last minute details together for the event.

Christian looked so hot and delicious as he
stood in his tailored white tux along with his brothers and cousins as groomsmen
in the wedding party. He always had a compelling presence, even in a crowd.
Christian, with his radiant tanned complexion, smooth skin and devilishly
handsome face, seized her heart every single time her eyes captured his.

Arianna sat beside Venus on the white satin
covered chairs watching. She noticed Venus glancing up at Carl every so often.
It was so obvious Venus liked Carl. Why didn’t she just admit it? Arianna
smiled to herself. There were about two hundred guests present, mostly family
members and close intimate friends. The Romeros were extremely popular but
wanted to keep this a small—by their definition—and intimate
occasion. She didn’t blame them.
Two hundred guests?
Family only? The family was massive on their own. What a close-knit group. She
longed to have a large, close family just like the Romeros.

James Ingram’s beautiful, romantic soul
ballad “Forevermore” played as Blue walked down the rose petal-lined aisle. Blue’s
sister, Courtney, was her maid of honor. Arianna never heard this song being
played as the bride walked down the aisle. It was a classic love song. If only
she could walk down the aisle one day. This would definitely be her song to stroll
right into the arms of a handsome man who loved her. Christian.

Blue looked so gorgeous and stunning in her
elegant beach bridal gown, an A-line strapless chiffon chapel train wedding
dress. Classy, magnificent, and Zack, oh, Zack looked so perfect for Blue,
handsome in his white tuxedo. He, like his brothers, who were so tall they
towered over the minister, lined up waiting for Blue to reach the altar.

An ache crept in Arianna’s heart for Blue
that Blue’s father was no longer around. She wondered if Blue thought about her
father as she walked down the sandy pathway alone. The flower petals placed
strategically down the walking path, as Blue made her way down, looked so festive.

“Please be seated,” the young minister told
the rest of the guests.

“We’re all here to celebrate the love and
union between Zack Romero and Blue Monroe,” the minister continued with the
ceremony.

Arianna felt joy dance through her heart.
She knew how hard it had been for Blue in her life. She couldn’t be happier for
her. Arianna’s eyes then glanced at Christian and her heart jolted again. She
wondered if they would ever have a chance to be…joined in holy matrimony. As
the waves rolled on the side, beating on the shoreline she continued to watch
his sweet physique as he stood by with his other brothers in their white tuxes.
To her surprise, he glanced directly into her eyes, as if he could feel her
eyes on him. For a moment their eyes locked, and oh, her heart turned over in
response. A quiver surged through her blood and she tingled in her belly.
Oh, Christian. You have no idea how much you
mean to me.

His lips curled slightly into a handsome
grin and his dimpled cheek caused waves of excitement to rush through her. She
glanced around quickly, hoping no one would catch their little exchange, but of
course, they were focused on the bride and groom.

Arianna had a vision of Christian up at the
altar, only not as one of the groomsmen, but as the groom. Her groom. Would
that ever happen?

*
    
*
     
*

The beach ceremony was a blast! Arianna
couldn't remember the last time she had so much fun at a high-energized wedding.
They’d feasted on an exquisitely prepared dinner in the professional garden at
the resort with a captivating view of the sea making the moment all the more
memorable. Arianna couldn’t keep her eyes off Christian all afternoon.

Later, she slow-danced with Christian at
the wedding
dance,
her arms snaked around his neck as
they both swayed to the love song and as usual, Christian flirting with her,
singing adoringly off key. She giggled when he nibbled her earlobe. His sexy
aftershave scent made her feel so romantic. He smelled, oh, so good.
All the time.
She enjoyed the heat from the silky feel of
his skin on hers as he ran his hand over her back. Her dress at the back
revealed a bit of skin in a classy way with its low-cut design. “You are so
beautiful, Arianna, do you know that?”

“You tell me all the time!” She grinned
sheepishly.

“Believe it,” he said in a low, seductive
voice, looking deeply into her eyes and heat slithered down her spine. Oh,
Christian.

Earlier at the wedding ceremony, Zack and
Blue did the romantic unity sand moment. Just like the unity candle, only they
each had separate bottles of sand symbolizing their separate lives and all that
they were as individuals before today, of course. Then, the romantic part that
melted Arianna’s heart was when they poured the sand
together,
the individual containers of sand were no longer in existence but joined
together as one.
As one.
Exactly as
marriage should be.
It was so magical. Breathtaking. Just as this moment
with Christian was, she mused with delight.