"Thanks Dad!" I called with a teasing smile. "Now, please relax?"
"Dad. Still getting used to being called that," he grimaced, and put on his shades.
Just then Jasmine and Kiki burst through the door and stopped dead. Kiki clapped her hands and let out a squeal. "Oh Shay it's gorgeous!"
Jasmine was still standing open-mouthed. Kit, noticing her silence, handed her a glass of wine which she downed quickly. I had to laugh. "Your silence is always the best compliment, Jazzy," I told her affectionately, hugging them both.
"Here darling, I saved you some of the Riesling. I would like my medal now," Kit poured a glass and handed it to Kiki, who took it with a smile and went back to staring.
"Champagne for you," Liam said, producing a bottle from out of his coat like a magician. "But let it sit for a sec please?"
"Erm okay," I said. I kind of wanted a drink now, but I could tell Liam had something up his sleeve. That dimple was on mischief overdrive.
"Are we all here?" Mrs. Young poked her head in from the back room.
I opened my mouth to answer and was a bit perplexed when Liam stepped forward, holding up a quieting finger. "Yes, Mrs. Young, thank you. Everyone's here."
Mrs. Young nodded, eyes twinkling merrily, and disappeared back into the back room.
"What's going on?" I asked.
Liam held up a finger, and then raised his voice. "I'd like to propose a toast," he held up his empty glass. "To Shay."
"You're not drinking anything."
"You're interrupting," his eyes glimmered devilishly. He would spank me for this, that was certain. My legs went to jelly at the thought and I almost missed what he said next. "Shay, from the moment I met you, you were it for me. No other woman could measure up to your fire, your drive, your sense of loyalty and purpose." The back door slammed, but I was too mesmerized by Liam to look. "You make me better. In every way. In every place." He cleared his throat.
Then he sank to one knee.
My heart tripped over itself as I watched him take my hand into his. "I need you. I know this. And I will need you for the rest of my life. I want to spend it with you." He smiled, "No secrets. I'm asking you out here in the open, in front of everyone you love, honey. Will you marry me?"
The burst of applause nearly drowned out my "Yes!" Liam kissed me, long and hard.
"Wait, where's the ring?" piped up Jasmine.
"Yeah, we want to see it!" Kiki hiccuped between sobs.
"Look over here, dear," Mrs. Young said.
I turned and gasped. A massive, ruffled arrangement, nearly as tall as I was. Peonies, the flower of a happy marriage.
And nestled in the topmost bloom was the sparkle of my ring,
I kissed him as he slid the ring on, and pressed tightly to him. "Now we can open the champagne," he smiled gleefully."
I was crying and laughing and shaking, but he held me close. I pressed into him, feeling the warmth of his weight against me, and he felt it too. "I'm sort of regretting not being more private about this," he growled into my neck, voice tight with desire.
Just then, the phone rang,
Lily, who had been clapping along with everyone, froze, eyes shining.
"Go ahead, Lily," I urged her, wiping away a tear off the end of my nose. "I don't think I could answer coherently anyway."
She walked to the phone, carrying herself straight and tall and proud. "Thank you for calling Language of Flowers, this is Lily. How can I help you?"
THE END
Hey everyone, Mia Caldwell here. I want to thank you again for reading another of my fun and sexy novels! Don’t forget to leave me a review by clicking right here, I appreciate all of your kind words and your awesome reviews help keep me writing!
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The Billionaire’s Desire
(BWWM Billionaire Steamy Romance)
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www.amazon.com/author/miacaldwell
© 2015 Mia Caldwell
All Rights Reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locations is purely coincidental. The characters are all productions of the author’s imagination.
Please note that this work is intended only for adults over the age of 18 and all characters represented as 18 or over.
Kindle Edition
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DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to Theresa. You know why.
-Mia
The Billionaire’s Desire
Prologue
"Yes, thank you. Wednesday at eleven. See you in four days."
My hands are shaking so badly that I can barely hang up my phone.
Camilla Easton. I just landed Camilla Easton's wedding.
I stand up from the desk and look around my home office. It is as neat as a pin, of course. The walls surrounding me are hung with my vision boards and whiteboards. But the wall over the desk has the most important decoration of them all.
My timeline.
"The Path To Success," I titled it so long ago. Three pieces of posterboard laid end to end, with a single red line stretching from twenty-three years old to twenty-seven years old. Four years seemed ample time to me back when I first started Sanniyah Jones Events. Four years to build my business into a corporation with real employees and licenses to franchisees along the coast.
Now I was nearing twenty-seven, in three months as a matter of fact, and I could finally tick off something that had been lagging all this time.
Land a heavy-weight wedd
ing that would propel me into the pages of the Styles section.
Idly, I run my finger along the red line. Everything is finally going according to plan. I trace the line lovingly, making a tick sound with my mouth as I check everything off, one by one. I have everything laid out just the way I like, and now that I've landed the Easton wedding, nothing is going to change that.