32. Piper
32
PIPER
I watched out the window of Vincent’s jet as a crew member loaded our bags.
“Thanks for coming with me,” I said as Vincent settled in his seat. “I’m bummed Darcy got sick.”
I was on my way to California for a meeting with an influencer who wanted to partner with Strapped for a capsule collection. Mercedes had set it all up thinking that Darcy and I could turn the trip into a West Coast inspo trip, but a bad cold had sent Darcy to bed for days, and she wasn’t willing to get on a plane with painful sinuses. Vincent had stepped up to come with me at the last second, as a cheerleader.
“Of course, I’m happy to be with you.” He leaned over and kissed the top of my head. “I’ve got plenty of stuff I can accomplish while you meet with…Bebop Jones, or whatever her name is.”
I laughed at him. “Melody Jackson. Do you live under a rock? She’s everywhere!”
“Does she have any perfume deals?” he asked. “Because if not, I don’t know her.”
“Hey, maybe we can get her to sign on for a two-for-one?” I suggested.
“Please,” Vincent said with an eye roll. “I’m dealing with enough personalities; I don’t need to add a high-maintenance influencer to my list of headaches.”
The plane started to taxi.
“How long is this flight?” I asked.
Vincent glanced at his phone. “Uh, about six hours, give or take. Pilot said we’ve got some strong headwinds.”
I frowned. “They must be really bad, because I thought it was a five-hour trip?”
“Yeah, it’s really windy,” he said. “Plus, he said we might have to circle a few times once we get there. California celebrities, all vying to get in and out of the airport,” he shrugged.
I had every intention of working during the long flight, but the combination of a full meal, a few glasses of red wine, and the white noise of the engine lulled me into a deep sleep. I didn’t wake up until my ears started popping from the descent.
“We’re here?” I asked, rubbing my eyes and stretching.
“We sure are,” Vincent replied. “You were totally conked out. I’m glad you got to rest up, because it’s going to be a busy week.”
I shot him a look. “ Week ? Check your calendar—we’re only here for forty-eight hours.”
“Oh, that’s right,” he said with a nod, looking inexplicably mischievous.
The cabin crew came out to open the door, and I gathered my things.
“Piper,” Vincent said.
I paused to glance at him. “What’s up?”
“Welcome to Barcelona.”
I froze. “ What ?”
He gestured to the open door, and I walked toward it in a daze.
When I looked outside, it became clear that I was most definitely not in Santa Barbara.
“What…what’s going on?” I asked him. “I have a meeting!”
He smiled at me as he walked closer. “You have a meeting next week. Your team and I got together to pull this off behind your back. Everyone agrees you’ve been working too hard, and you need a vacation.”
He had a point. I’d been putting in twelve- and thirteen-hour days lately, but I was loving every second of it. But so had Darcy.
“Wait, is Darcy really sick?” I asked. “Because she might need me to take care of her.”
Vincent pulled me into a hug. “Darcy is a phenomenal actress. She is not sick; she’s currently at a spa in Arizona courtesy of yours truly, because she deserves a break, too.”
“I…I don’t understand. You really did all of this?”
“You should know by now, anything for you,” I murmured in her ear. “You dream it, I’ll make sure you get it. You mentioned you’d always wanted to visit Spain, so…off we go.”
I walked off the jet in a daze, still trying to square what I thought I thought I was doing with the new reality awaiting me just beyond the tarmac.
“But I didn’t pack right! I have weird, influencer-y outfits in my bag, so she’ll like me.”
Vincent took my hand. “Taken care of. You actually have an exquisite collection of vacation clothing so elegant, no one will know you’re a tourist.”
I turned to where the crew was unloading and saw an extra suitcase that matched my set.
“Do you always think of everything?” I asked as I went up on my toes to kiss his cheek.
“When it comes to you, yes,” he smiled at me. “All I want to do is surprise and delight you.”
“Done and done,” I said as we made our way into the waiting car, just beyond the plane.
Hours later, after we’d unpacked, made love, and catnapped, we were on our way to our first adventure, a dinner at Observatori Fabra, an astronomy observation tower. As expected, my wardrobe was flawless. I felt like a goddess in a tight white dress with a subtle baby blue toile pattern on it, and Vincent looked typically devastating in a dark suit and white shirt open at the collar.
“I hope it’s not too crowded,” I said as I glanced up at the dark sky on the way into the beautiful building. “I want to hog the telescope all night.”
The silver-domed building was situated on the edge of a mountain overlooking all of Barcelona. I was excited to get up to the outdoor observation area, so I could take in the beauty of the city and the sky, but Vincent seemed to be stuck in first gear.
“Come on, grandpa,” I joked as we walked through the garden to the main door.
“I’m just savoring every moment,” he answered.
Vincent looked at peace in a way I’d never seen before, and I loved that he seemed totally willing to unplug with me. He hadn’t pulled his phone out in hours.
When we walked out to the balcony, I was shocked to find it completely empty except for a single table for two.
“Vincent!” I turned to him. “Did you do this?”
“I did, I hope you don’t mind.”
I threw my arms around him. “Mind? It’s absolutely wonderful! I can geek out with the telescope all night long—I don’t have to share!”
I pointed at the large telescope he’d probably requested be placed right next to our table.
“It’s a perfect night,” Vincent said. “Not a cloud in the sky. We can probably use that thing to see into the next dimension.”
I laughed. “Do we need someone to show us how to use it?”
“I know a thing or two about telescopes,” Vincent said as he took my hand and pulled me toward it. “I was a bit of a geek in middle school.”
“I find that hard to believe,” I said.
“Then let me prove it to you.”
A waiter appeared out of nowhere with two glasses of champagne for us, then disappeared just as quickly.
I held mine up. “A toast to you, for pulling off an incredible surprise.”
He bowed his head as we clinked flutes. “I live to make you smile.”
“Aw,” I thrust my bottom lip out. “You’re going to make me cry instead!”
“You ain’t seen nothing,” he muttered, pointing at the telescope. “Now let’s check out some stars.”
I tuned out while Vincent explained the mechanics of the telescope until it was time to look through the lens.
“You’re going to see Perseus and Andromeda first,” he said as I peered in.
“It’s all black,” I said, squinting hard into the eyepiece. “I don’t see anything.”
“Huh,” Vincent said. “Let me check.”
He bent over and peered into it. “Well, I see the stars perfectly! They’re close enough to touch. Look again.”
I squinted into the eyepiece again. “Nope, still nothing. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”
“Oh, I know what’s happening now,” Vincent said while I stared into the eyepiece. “One of the stars actually fell out of the sky.”
I jerked away from it and scowled at him. “Huh?”
He walked to the front of the telescope tube, reached up, and pulled something from it.
A small black box.
My heart thundered in my chest. What was happening?
“Vincent…” I breathed as he walked back to me, clutching the box. “What…what is that?”
“It’s a symbol as beautiful and perpetual as the stars above us.”
He dropped to one knee in front of me, and tears instantly sprang to my eyes.
“Piper,” his voice cracked on the two syllables, which sent tears down my cheeks. “I can’t even begin to tell you how lucky I am to have you in my life. You changed me for the better, and I don’t even want to imagine how empty my world would be without you in it.”
I sniffled as he cracked open the box to reveal a heart-stoppingly huge diamond ring.
“I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy.” His eyes were shining as he gazed up at me. “Piper Doyle, will you marry me?”
I was nodding before he could even finish the sentence, and bawling by the time he did.
“Are you speechless?” he laughed, and I continued crying and nodding at him like a lunatic.
Vincent took the ring out of the box and held it up. “May I?”
More ridiculous nodding and crying as I held my hand out. And now I was hiccupping too.
He slid the ring on, and of course it fit perfectly. I gazed at it through bleary eyes.
“ Vincent ,” I breathed as I shifted my hand back and forth to take in the ring. “It’s so beautiful. I can’t believe this is happening!”
He finally stood up and wrapped me in his arms. I buried my face against his neck, breathing in the warm, woody Vincent scent I craved like a drug.
“I am so incredibly happy,” he whispered to me. “I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to get to spend the rest of my life with you.”
He brought his hand up to caress my cheek as he stared into my eyes.
“I love you, Piper,” he murmured.
I reached up to the back of his neck to pull him closer for a kiss. “I love you too, Vincent. You just made me the happiest person on the planet.”
“Then I guess we’re even.”
He kissed me gently, and it was then I realized I didn’t need a telescope to see stars.