“I think I need to explore this new hairdo more intimately.” He gave her hair another light tug before lifting her into his arms and carrying her down the hall toward the bedroom.
Two hours later,they made their way up to the castle for dinner. Ruby had changed into a multi-colored wrap skirt and a red top. Her hair blew in the spring breeze, light and carefree.
“Really love this.” Flynn reached out to tuck a strand of it behind her ear.
“Me too.” She leaned in to kiss him as they climbed the castle’s front steps. Inside, they followed the sound of Elle and Theo’s voices to the kitchen, where they found them engaged in a good-natured argument over whether or not the Fairy Tails Ball should become an annual tradition.
“Well, we’ve hosted it the past two years, so I think continuing the tradition is a no-brainer,” Elle was saying. “Oh, hi guys! Welcome back, Flynn.”
In between hellos, Ruby threw in her support for the Fairy Tails Ball, and Theo raised his hands in defeat. “Fine, fine, as long as I have no part in planning it.”
Elle rolled her eyes. “You’ve never had a part in planning it. Leave that to us. You just show up and look pretty.”
“That part I can definitely handle.” He leaned in to kiss his wife as Ruby and Flynn watched in amusement.
“Did we miss anything?” Megan appeared in the doorway with Jake at her side.
“Couldn’t get her off the computer,” Jake said with a smile. “She’s become obsessed with honeymoon plans. If you ask me, she’s more excited about the honeymoon than the wedding.”
“Hey.” Megan jabbed a finger into his chest. “I resent that.”
It had been over a month now since they got engaged, and Megan hadn’t stopped talking about wedding—or honeymoon—plans since. Ruby just shook her head. They’d jumped straight from Elle’s wedding into planning Megan’s. A pattern Ruby hoped might continue once she and Flynn were settled in their new home together.
They moved into the dining room for dinner, vegetable lasagna, salad, and garlic bread. Flynn entertained everyone with details of the new hotel in Dubai, which had celebrated its grand opening yesterday, before Megan told them about the private beachfront villas on Grand Cayman she’d decided would be the perfect honeymoon destination.
“Do you realize how far we’ve all come in two years?” Elle said, looking around the table with a dreamy expression on her face. “I don’t mean to be sappy, but my life was a hot mess when I got that call from the magazine telling us we’d won the contest.”
“And to be honest, I thought the contest was going to turn out to be a hoax,” Ruby said. “I mean, what kind of real-life earl would give away the chance to manage his castle in a magazine?”
“And what kind of earl has a castle in Virginia?” Megan added, laughter dancing in her eyes.
“I thought we’d come, play around for a few weeks, and go back home to Florida,” Ruby admitted.
“I did too,” Megan said.
“And you two tried so hard to get me to give up and leave.” Elle narrowed her eyes at them. “Imagine if I hadn’t fought for the chance to stay? If we’d just gone home when Theo tried to kick us out?”
“I didn’t try to kick you out,” Theo said, eyebrows raised. “Although I did try to buy you out.”
“Same thing,” Megan told him with a grin. “Elle’s right. We showed up here with nothing but a couple of suitcases and big dreams.”
“I never imagined it would all turn out like this. Imarriedthe earl.” Elle’s chest shook with laughter. “And Megan found Jake, and now Ruby’s got Flynn. It’s all just too good to be true, isn’t it?”
“No,” Jake said, reaching over to squeeze his fiancée’s hand. “I don’t think anything’s ever too good to be true.”
“Aww.” Megan leaned over to kiss him.
After dinner, Ruby and Flynn headed for the guest house. She could hardly wait to continue their reunion…in bed. But Flynn tugged her hand, guiding her toward the gardens in front of the castle, heavily in bloom, now that spring had arrived.
“Let’s go for a little walk before we turn in for the night,” he said. “I need to stretch my legs after the long flight.”
“Okay,” she agreed, walking beside him down the gravel path.
“This reminds me of the night we met.” He reached out to touch a rosebush. “Another garden, another continent, another Langdon property, and here we are.”
“Here we are,” she echoed. “See that fountain? Theo’s grandparents renewed their vows there fifty years ago. Theo proposed to Elle right there too.”
“Did he?” Flynn looked over at her, something unreadable shining in his eyes.
