She nodded first.
Then hysterically laughed through it.
“Yes.”
As I slid the ring onto her finger, Brent let out a roar of a whistle that echoed off the surrounding buildings, and Mr. David gave me a single, slow nod of approval. The women clapped.
I stood up and pulled my wife-to-be into my arms, finally knowing exactly where I stood. Brent had to fuck up the moment “I bought the ring” he informed everybody.
Epilogue
Zio
The wind off the Gulf of Mexico was no joke.
We were standing on the sand behind the Don Cesar, the "Pink Palace" looming behind us like a giant castle. It was New Year’s Eve, and I had envisioned a tropical breeze with fireworks going off that we didn’t have to pay for. Instead, Florida decided to give us some bipolar-ass weather.
"I hate this," Sky whispered through gritted teeth, her shoulders hunched up to her diamond earrings. "I officially regret a beach wedding. My goosebumps have goosebumps, Zio. And the sand is clinging to my skin, it’s dirty," she whined.
I wrapped my arm around her, trying to shield her from the Atlantic chill. Our thirty guests were all blurred together in a sea of monochromatic white, huddled around flickering candles and heaters the hotel had provided, but they were losing the battle against the wind. It was intimate, elegant, and freezing.
"You look beautiful, though," I teased, kissing the top of her head.
"I’m fucking cold," she shot back. "Where is Felicia? I sent her up to the suite for my coat twenty minutes ago. Is she walking to Miami to get it?"
I looked toward the hotel. "I’ll go check."
I left Sky with her mother and headed inside, the lobby's warmth hitting me like a blessing. I took the elevator up to the penthouse, my dress shoes clicking on the marble. I had the spare key card in my hand, ready to grab the coat and get back to the party before the clock strikes midnight.
I swiped the card, the light turned green, and I pushed the door open.
"Fee? You find the—"
The words died in my throat.
Brent’s back was to the door. His hands were locked around Felicia’s thighs, spreading her wide as he drove into her with a slow thrust that made the headboard knock soft against the wall. Her head was thrown back, mouth parted in a breathless moan, nails clawing at his shoulder blades. The coat I came up for was crumpled on the floor by the bed, forgotten. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. Just stood there, swallowing the burn in my throat as Brent groaned her name. I stood there for a beat too long, paralyzed by the sheer audacity of them.
"Yo!" I finally barked, slamming my hand against the doorframe.
The reaction was instantaneous. Brent fell off the bed, grabbing Sky’s jacket to cover himself. I almost laughed.
"Zio!" Brent mumbled. "Man... we were just..."
"In my bed?" I asked. "On my wedding night? In the room I paid for?"
Felicia peeked out from under the covers. “I’m sorry.”
I walked over to the closet and grabbed a jacket that hadn’t touched Brent’s dick and headed back to the door. “I want a new room before the reception is over—and throw the jacket away,” I said with a chuckle.
Five minutes later, I walked back out onto the beach. Sky was waiting, shivering and impatient.
"What took so long?" she asked, snatching the coat from me.
I looked back at the hotel, then at the woman who had finally stopped running from me. I pulled her close as the first firework exploded over the dark water, signaling the start of a new year.
"Brent and Felicia were fucking in our room."
“Wait, what? On the bed?”
