Chapter 28
TWENTY-EIGHT
DECLAN
After my divorce from Annabelle, if anyone had asked me if I’d ever be married again, I’d have said no.
I would have done Zoe the elaborate wedding of her dreams, but in the end she just wanted a simple ceremony with her parents, Caitlin and Brandon, and our village of people. So that’s what I gave her.
We waited until Zoe was ready. I would have married her at her parents’ place in Taupo if she’d been ready, but she wanted to marry in the backyard of our home.
And it is a home now.
It’s still ridiculously big, but the warmth that she’s brought to my life shines through in the décor and the atmosphere. I told her to go crazy redecorating, and while there’s still a lot to do, it’s a place our family will call home for years and years to come.
I stand at the floral archway in my backyard with Josh Carter at my side as my best man. While I turned my back on acting, I owe him so much for giving me a chance when others wouldn’t. The movie we did together was one of the biggest hits of the year, and Nikki fielded all kinds of offers afterward.
To her annoyance, I turned down every single one.
But I have no regrets.
Zoe’s contracting. She’s doing the programming work she wants to do when she wants to do it. She sets her own hours and she takes a break whenever she wants family time.
And me? I spend every day with my daughter, watching her as she grows, and revelling in being a father.
I never thought this was how my life would turn out. All because I wanted to blow off steam as my career was ending.
Checking my cufflinks for what seems like the thousandth time, I’m a bundle of nerves. Zoe’s my dream, but until I see her at the end of that aisle, I’ll worry about her changing her mind.
I catch my breath when Zoe appears.
Her mother’s sitting nearby with Daisy in her arms. Her father’s walking arm-in-arm with Zoe who’s dressed in a short, cream lacy wedding gown. She didn’t want anything fussy, and Pania begged Zoe to let her design it.
And she’s staggeringly beautiful.
I want to drop to my knees and worship my woman, but that can wait until tonight. Tonight, when I have a surprise for her.
Her eyes meet mine as she walks toward me, and she smiles. I’m sure I have stars in my eyes as I watch her. When she joins me, I link our fingers and give her hand a squeeze .
She draws in a deep breath, but the love in her eyes settles any nerves I have.
It’s not a long ceremony, but when it comes time for me to recite my vows, I’m so ready.
“Zoe. You turned my whole world upside down. I never thought I’d ever love anyone the way I love you. You’re my whole heart. And you’ve given me the greatest gift I could ever wish for in our daughter. I swear to you today that I’ll always love and cherish you. I’ll never take what we have for granted, and I’ll never get lost again.”
Tears fill her eyes. “I love you,” she whispers.
“I love you too.”
Once the rings are exchanged, and the celebrant declares us husband and wife, I pull her into my arms and kiss her senseless. Our small crowd cheers, and when I pull away, her eyes are glistening with happiness.
I always want her to be this happy.
We have a luncheon for our reception. My plan is to whisk my bride off for our night away before it gets too late in the evening.
Delaney and Pania cater the food for our small group, and I think I even get brownie points from Brian for the meal they provide.
We’re in the dining room, and the women have all deserted the table for the living room. The sound of laughter floats in the air, and happiness settles over me at how well the day has gone.
Brian sits back, content and full, patting his stomach and smiling. “You’re doing good, O’Leary. Keep it up.”
I grin. “I’m glad to hear it.”
“I had my doubts—you know I did, but you’ve been nothing but good to Zoe. It’s a little weird given our ages, but I’m proud to call you my son-in-law.”
“Thank you. That means a lot.”
He narrows his gaze. “Now, are you going to tell me where you’re taking my daughter tonight? She tells me it’s a secret.”
I chuckle. “It’s a surprise for her. But I’ll have her back tomorrow as planned, and she can tell you all about it.”
His brows rise. “Okay. I’ll let you keep your secret.”
“She’ll be blown away by it. I promise.”
Serena enters the room and places a hand on my shoulder. I look up and smile at her. “Good day?”
She nods. “It was beautiful. I’m so glad we’re here.”
“Couldn’t do it without you two. Especially tonight.”
Brian wraps his arm around his wife when she sits next to him. “Declan won’t tell me where he’s taking Zoe later.”
Serena rolls her eyes. “It’s their wedding. Besides, we get to spend the night with Daisy. I’m looking forward to it.”
“It’ll be good,” I say. “I know Zoe’s a little nervous as it’s our first whole night without her, but I’ll keep her distracted.”
Brian shoots me the side-eye. “I do not want to know.”
Serena and I laugh. It feels good to have family.
By mid-afternoon, I’m done. I want to drag my wife out of there and have my way with her. There’s some travel time ahead of us, though, so I have to be patient .
“It’s time for us to go,” I murmur in her ear, my hands on her waist.
“Oh. I need to see Daisy before we leave.”
“I know. I’m not a total monster. Even though I want to get my wife alone as soon as possible.”
Zoe’s face lights up. “Your wife.”
“Yes. You, wife. Me, husband.”
Her eyes flash with laughter. “That’s going to take some getting used to.”
“I know. And now I really want to get to where we’re going so I can fuck my wife. So say your goodbyes and let’s get out of here.”
She turns and cups my cheek with her palm. “You’re so cute when you’re bossy.”
“You’d best get moving then, Mrs O’Leary.”
Zoe grins. “I like the sound of that.”
I swat her butt. “Go on.”
She kisses me hard, and then does the rounds, thanking Delaney and Pania for the food and the dress and for coming, and giving Daisy a cuddle and a kiss before saying goodbye to her parents.
And then finally, we’re waving as we head toward the car that’s waiting to take us to the airport.
Zoe wanted to organise the wedding—I took care of the wedding night. For all she knows, we’re going to a nearby hotel to fuck all night while we make the most of her parents having Daisy.
But I’ve kept our real destination a secret.
When the car takes the turnoff to LAX, Zoe gasps.
“We’re going to the airport? I thought we were heading somewhere close.” Her eyes are wild.
“Take a breath, babe. Your parents have Daisy and a ton of expressed milk. I packed your breast pump. Our flight is just over an hour and we’re only going overnight. Trust me?” I take her hand in mine.
Her brows are knitted, but she nods.
When we arrive at the airport, we’re escorted onto the private jet I’ve booked.
“Our destination is a surprise.” I shoot her a wink, and her eyebrows rise. “But I promise you’ll love it.”
She leans back in her seat and looks around our surroundings. “I’ve never been on a private plane before.”
Leaning over, I place a gentle kiss on her lips. “That’s what I love about you.”
“What?” She gives me a confused smile.
“You’re so down to earth. You did that insanely huge deal for your app, but flying on a private plane is the last thing from your mind. You’re just you.”
Her brows twitch. “I’m not sure how to take that.”
“Being with you? It’s everything. I got so carried away with the lifestyle in the past, but I love nothing more than just being at home with you and Daisy now. You give me a sense of belonging.”
Her lower lip wobbles, and she cups my cheek. “Of course you belong.”
I kiss her palm. “My whole life, I’ve never felt this way. You’re my home.”
“Declan,” she whispers.
“So let me treat you like the queen you are tonight. ”
I kiss her softly and she smiles. “Okay.”
She closes her eyes during take-off, and I’m only sad the trip isn’t longer to make full use of the bedroom onboard. But we’ll be arriving at our destination in an hour, and I want to take my time worshipping my woman’s body. We have all night.
It is weird leaving Daisy behind. We might have had evenings out, but this is the first time we’ve been away from her for a whole night. I just have to do my best to distract Zoe.
And I have so many plans for that.
It’s also the first night I’ve been alone with Zoe in months.
My wife.
It’s weird, but though I’ve been married twice before, the title feels like it should be uniquely Zoe’s. I was too young to get married the first time—too drunk to get married the second.
This time, my head is clean and sober, and I’m mature enough to know I’m doing the right thing.
Zoe’s my end game.
The bright Las Vegas lights give our location away as we approach, and I smile to myself as her eyes widen and she claps.
“Oh, Declan. This is amazing.”
“Wait until you see what else I have in store.”
After we’re off the plane, I lead her to the limo waiting for us. Our luggage is placed in the back, and I snuggle in the car with my wife.
She squeals when the car pulls up into the familiar circular drive.
“The Bellagio? ”
I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her close. “Returning to the scene of the crime.”
Zoe laughs. “This is insane.”
“This is where you changed my life.”
She looks at me with tear-filled eyes. “And you changed mine.”
“I remember you telling me the morning after to give you something to remember me by. I’m pretty sure you meant an orgasm, but instead …”
She buries her face in my neck as we pull up outside.
“Let’s get out of the car. The porter will take the bags up. I even managed to book the same suite.”
“No way.”
I step out of the door and hold my hand out to help Zoe from the car. Her whole face is lit up with excitement.
When we’ve checked in, we make our way to the elevator and up to the suite. I swipe the card to open the door and then push it open. I dip and sweep Zoe into my arms as she laughs.
“What are you doing?” she asks.
“Everything properly.” I grin, carrying her through the door and kicking it closed.
After carrying her all the way to the bed, I gently lower her down and kiss her like my life depends on it. I love this woman with all my heart—I never, ever want another.
Our love story started here and it will continue tonight.
“This is where we make memories—new ones. I know our first time here is hazy for you because of the champagne, but I remember every moment. If I’d realised?— ”
She grasps my arms. “You had just as much to drink as I did. I remember enough.”
“What do you remember?”
Zoe bites her bottom lip “How talented you were with your tongue?”
I pull my tie off and drop it on the floor. “Glad I impressed you.”
“Maybe you should get over here, and I’ll show you how impressive I can be with my tongue.”
“Why don’t you do just that, Mrs O’Leary?”
She reaches for my belt. Her fingers make light work of the buckle, and she slides it through the loops on my pants and throws it to the ground.
“The one thing that annoyed me about our first night together was that my memory doesn’t match yours for the first night we spent together. You might remember my lips wrapped around your cock, but I don’t.” As if to stretch out the anticipation, she runs her tongue across her red-painted lips.
She fiddles with the button on my slacks, undoes it and slides the zip down.
I’m hard as a rock by the time she releases my cock from my boxers.
I let out a moan as she slides her warm, hot mouth along my length. Closing my eyes, I let my wife do whatever she wants with me, her tongue flicking up and down the side of my cock, and I jolt as she licks my tip.
She sets up a rhythm. I want so badly to be buried inside her pussy, but she grasps my balls and rolls them gently in her hand, and I lose control .
I run my fingers through her hair. She fixes her gaze on mine, and I’m a goner. My body tenses, my balls tighten, and I come down her throat. Zoe stays there, her hand around my cock, her mouth around the tip until she gets every last drop before she sits up and licks her lips. Her hair is mussed, but it’s the satisfied grin on her face that gets me.
Everything’s sweeter the second time around.