Page 57 of The Billionaire's Fake Fiancée (French Conquests 1)

Jacyn had had to hide a grin. Finally, she had something that was all her own, which her Delia couldn’t steal or spoil: the love of a good man, and the promise of a wonderful life of positivity, comfort, and adventure.

Gregg was conspicuous by his absence, as a few months ago he had dumped Delia for the squash instructor at his gym. It was too happy a day for Jacyn to feel vindicated, but she did, just a teeny bit.

Several of the new suppliers, purchasers and contacts she had made over the past year, since the launch of Napturally Beautiful, were also there.

After the honeymoon she and Alex were to take touring Asia, there would be many more meetings for Jacyn, with a view to deeper market penetration. Life was good.

She approached the grassy altar, and her handsome husband-to-be lit up, never taking his eyes off her as her father offered a hand and helped her down from the horse.

She stood, facing him, listening to the words of the priest and the soft whisper of the breeze in the topiary, and fought to keep her tears of joy at bay. She could feel the positive energy and good wishes emanating towards her, from everyone who had been a part of this journey.

Sienna, who’d had her back from the word go, fierce and protective. Madeline, who had welcomed her without questions. William, who’d been gracious and kind. And sweet, darling Willa. She was certainly the heart of this home.

The ring Alex placed on her finger wasn’t an antique, not the wedding ring of an ancestor as her engagement ring had been. It was made to order, and this was the first time she was seeing it. She gasped, and once again, the tears came, but this time, she didn’t try to hold them back.

The ring took the form of woven vines, and between them, twisting shoots of lavender. She remembered again that day in the fields of flowers where he’d taken her. The first time it had occurred to her that she could be happy here.

His eyes held a question. Hers held a thousand answers.Yes, yes, yes.

Much later, when the speeches were over and the sumptuous meal consumed, the guests were invited to dance on a parquet floor erected in the middle of the garden.

“Ready?” Alex asked, as he led her onto the floor.

She made a face. “Ugh. Why do the bride and groom have to dance while everyone watches?”

“So the whole world knows how happy we are.” He pressed his lips against her temple. “Now, we rehearsed this, so don’t get shy on me.”

“Me? Shy?” she began, but the first strains of the song they had selected came on, and their dance began.

She was aware of the surprised looks of their guests, the exchanged glances as Carrie Underwood’s “Before he Cheats” began to play. A few even glanced at the DJ, wondering if they should tell him he was playing the wrong song. Because surely a song about cheating and revenge couldn’t be the song a couple chose for their first dance!

Jacyn grinned mischievously as the lyrics she’d been waiting for came on:

I dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped-up four-wheel drive…

took a Louisville slugger to both head lights…

slashed a hole in all four tires

Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats

Who’d have thought that an insane impulse to destroy a car would have led to such happiness? Such perfect bliss?

Jacyn and Alex look in the confused stares of their guests and laughed, enjoying their little inside joke. He nodded at the DJ, who had been waiting for the command, and the real wedding song came on: Sara Bareilles’s “I Choose You”.

Tell the world that we finally got it all right

I choose you…

I will become yours and you will become mine

I choose you…

A cheer went up in the audience as guests rose to their feet to applaud. She could hear Willa screaming and whooping. It was all Jacyn had ever hoped for herself. All she had ever dreamed.

Perfect love. Perfect hope. Perfect joy.

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