I tell you how beautiful you look tonight, sweetheart?”
She smiled up at him as they walked across the ballroom floor to the four men and their wives. “Yes, you told me. Thank you.” She, Candy and Jamila had gone shopping in Miami. She’d known this was the perfect dress when she’d seen it on a store mannequin.
Within a few minutes, she had been introduced to Brisbane “Bane” Westmoreland and his wife, Crystal; Gavin “Viper” Blake and his very pregnant wife, Layla; Laramie “Coop” Cooper and his wife, Bristol; and Thurston “Mac” McRoy and his wife, Teri.
After spending time with the couples, Swan felt that just like her future sisters-in-law, the four women were genuinely friendly and Swan looked forward to getting to know them better. They loved her engagement ring as well and told David he’d done a great job in picking it out.
“So what do you think?” David leaned down to ask, taking her hand in his and leading her to where his parents, siblings and their spouses were getting ready to take a group picture.
She grinned up at him. “Um, for starters, I think I need to start calling you Flipper, since everyone else does. And then, Flipper, I think I am one of the luckiest women in the world right now. I love you.”
He chuckled as he pulled her to the side of the room and wrapped his arms around her waist. “And I, Swan Jamison, think I’m the luckiest man in the world, and I love you.”
“A very wise woman, my mother, once told me that when you meet a man who puts that sparkle in your eyes then you’d know he was a keeper. You, Flipper, are a keeper.”
He smiled. “You, my beautiful Swan, are a keeper as well.”
Flipper then lowered his mouth to hers.
A year later in June
Bane Westmoreland leaned close and whispered to Flipper, “Don’t get nervous now. You wanted a big wedding and you got it.”
Flipper couldn’t say anything because Bane was right. He stood flanked by his father, who was his best man, and twelve groomsmen—namely his brothers, best friends and cousins.
Only his SEAL teammates knew Flipper had a tendency to tap his finger against his thigh when he was nervous. He stopped tapping but not because he noticed that Viper, Mac and Coop were grinning over at him. But then he figured both Viper and Coop had reasons to grin since they’d both become fathers this year. Viper was the proud father of a son, Gavin IV, and Coop had a beautiful daughter they’d named Paris, since that was where he’d first met his wife.
It was a beautiful day for a beach wedding and so far everything was perfect and going according to plan. Swan had hired one of the local wedding planners and the woman had done an awesome job. She had thought of everything, including the super yacht that could hold their five hundred guests that they’d be using for the wedding reception. It was anchored in the ocean near Swan’s beachfront home. A fleet of passenger boats had been chartered to transport the wedding guests out to the yacht.
A ten-piece orchestra sat beneath towering balustrades draped from top to bottom in thin white netting. Chairs were set up on the beach, auditorium style, facing the decorative stage where Flipper and the men in the wedding party stood waiting.
Suddenly, the music began and all the ladies strolled down the beach and up the steps.
Swan had chosen her wedding colors of purple and yellow and Flipper had to admit the combination was striking. It took all twelve women long enough to do their stroll. His niece was a flower girl and Coop’s son and one of Flipper’s nephews were the ring bearers.
Flipper almost held his breath when what looked like a huge forty-foot golden swan was rolled onto the beach. When the orchestra changed their tune for the “Wedding March,” the swan opened and his Swan appeared in a beautiful, dazzling white gown. She looked beautiful, stunning and breathtaking all rolled into one.
Flipper stared at the woman who would be his wife and felt so much love in his heart. He hadn’t known until now just how much he could feel for one woman. They had spent the past year deepening their friendship and their love. He looked forward to returning from his covert operations, knowing she would be there waiting on him.
He watched as she slowly strolled toward him. All three of her godfathers participated in walking her up the aisle, passing her off to the other so many feet along the way. Then all three of them gave her away. When Swan reached his side and extended her hand to him, he accepted it while thinking she was his Swan.
His beautiful Swan.
The wedding ceremony began. What Flipper would remember most when he looked back was when the minister announced them husband and wife and told him he could kiss his bride.
Flipper pulled Swan into his arms and lowered his mouth to hers. She was his and he intended to keep her happy for the rest of his days. They would be flying to Dubai for a two-week honeymoon and then return to the Keys where they planned to make their permanent home.
When David released Swan’s mouth, the minister said, “I present to everyone David and Swan Holloway.”
Flipper knew they were supposed to exit by walking down the golden steps that led to the boat that would transport them to the yacht. But at that moment, he couldn’t deny himself another kiss and lowered his mouth to his wife’s again.
* * * * *
The Billionaires’ Club
Return of Her Italian Duke
Bound to Her Greek Billionaire
Whisked Away by Her Sicilian Boss
Rebecca Winters
Rebecca Winters
The duke she’s never forgotten...
When Gemma Rizzo applied to become pastry chef at the gorgeous Italian castello where she grew up, she never expected to get the job. But neither did she expect to find that her new boss was silver-eyed billionaire Vincenzo Gagliardi—the man who left her brokenhearted!
Her first instinct is to run, but when Vincenzo finally reveals the devastating truth of what caused him to flee eleven years before, Gemma must decide if she can trust the haunted man she never stopped loving...
To my darling daughter Dominique, a wonderful
romance writer who
