BREATHE: A Billionaire Romance, Part Five Read online

  And that was something that no one seemed very surprised with, especially Derek’s mother.

  Or even Fredrick, for that matter.

  “Ha!!” he jeered one evening as we unpacked Derek’s groceries and put them away. “Told you they were shit bags!”

  I could do nothing but laugh, but in her defense, she still hadn’t tried to kill anyone with rat poison.

  “So why are we unpacking Derek’s groceries? He’s not sick anymore!” I voiced, as I divided the food into categories so that we could put them up.

  “He’s lazy,” Fredrick grumbled. “Like always.”

  “I heard that!” Derek called, turning the corner. “Okay, I’m glad you’re here.” He looked at me and walked closer just before grabbing my hand. “Will you go on a date with me?” he asked, batting his eyelashes.

  “I think we’re well beyond that, honey.” I laughed, patting his thigh.

  “I should still ask,” he said cutely. “I should never assume.”

  I chuckled and flashed him a sideways smile. “You’re adorable.”

  “Seriously, will you go on a date with me?”

  “Of course.” I didn’t realize that I really had to say anything at all. It should have been obvious.

  He was cute when he wanted to be…really cute.

  He said that he wanted to recreate our first date. Why? I wasn’t sure. However, as I stood on the dock, my memory flashed back to that night almost completely. From the outside, he had rehashed the details quite perfectly, and I would know, because I remembered it so vividly.

  The yacht was as large and gorgeous as I remembered it. The beautiful lattice design was so distinctive that I knew—right away—that it was Derek’s. And I believed, truthfully, that I would have never questioned who owned it.

  I had no doubt, after knowing and understanding Derek completely, that it was one of a kind.

  The lattice design was beyond beautiful, as it reflected perfectly in the glistening water below. The warm mosaic lights danced across the entire surface of the water. It was like a disco light for the marina.

  He hung streaming lights on the rooftop of the yacht once again, and I knew, without a shadow of doubt, that he was definitely awaiting me at the top.

  My eyes shifted to look at the surroundings closer to me, as I glanced over to the end of the dock and saw Alfred—just like before—waiting with his arms tucked behind his back and a beaming smile atop his face.

  I could do nothing but smile in response, genuinely excited to see him, and to have him be a part of this date that Derek had so adamantly wanted to re-create.

  He nodded to me, knowingly, just before he gestured for me to come closer, using only his chin.

  “Hey, Alfred!” I giggled, the reenactment adorable in every way.

  He smiled at me once again, just before removing his arm from behind his back and looping it for my arm to rest inside of his.

  “Shall we?” he asked sweetly, so sweetly that a tear threatened to break from my eyelids. And I could do nothing but nod in response.

  I had to admit, I felt like a princess all over again. He led me to the vessel that I had learned to love—although I had only been on it one time. And upon entering the boat, everything was exactly the way it was the first time. The mosaic windows allowed for small glimpses of extravagant furniture, large fish tanks, expensive-looking paintings galore, and a flat screen—all within the cabin of the beautiful beast of a boat.

  I still hadn’t gotten the chance to actually go in and explore it all.

  Hopefully soon, though, I thought with a smile.

  We walked around the edge of the boat to the staircase once again. I smiled, reminiscing. I had to wonder why he chose to re-create our first date, though, and still wondered as I reached the top step and glanced around, knowing exactly what to expect.

  There were once again, candles all over the table and a few on the floor. Large round lights were strewn about, and twinkling stream lights glistened out into the night. And there he was.

  Standing there, his hands balled up in front of him as he rocked on his heels then his tiptoes and back again. He had a smirk plastered on his face just before he spoke. “Welcome,” he said, extending his hand out towards me just before gesturing to the table just a few feet from us.

  It was the dinner. The exact dinner.

  How could he have even remembered all of that?

  Unless it was literally the only thing he knew how to cook?

  But I knew better.

  No one knew how to cook duck and duck alone. Hell, most people that could cook didn’t know how to cook duck.

  “Shall we?” he asked, just before pulling my chair out for me.

  I smiled, accepted the seat, and looked at the meal he had so wonderfully prepared for me.

  “This looks so good, honey…,” I trailed, amazed as I looked on.

  “So do you,” he said and smirked. “So do you.”

  Chapter 12

  “Hey, Zoe?” Derek asked, dabbing his cloth napkin over the corner of his lips.

  I looked at him, questioningly. “Yes?”

  “I need you to take a look at something. Would you?” His voice was direct, to the point, and I wondered what it could possibly be.

  “Please don’t make this sexual and ruin it.” Immediately, he laughed.

  “No, no—nothing like that.” He smiled and excused himself from the table for a moment before returning with my tablet just a few seconds later.

  “Where’d you get my tablet?” I asked, confused, glancing up at him as he stood beside me. “Wasn’t that at the office?”

  “It was. I went in today and grabbed it because I needed you to take a look at a few things.”

  He leaned over my shoulder, the tablet just in front of my eyes—and I swear, my face immediately flustered with rage. “Are you really about to ask me to do work at a time like this?” I was almost shaking already, I was so angry. “We’re on a fucking date!”

  “Wow, that language doesn’t come out often but when it does…”—he trailed, holding up clawed fingers just before making cat noise—“…Rawr!”

  I rolled my eyes. He was making it worse.

  Just as I was about to get up and leave, he chuckled. “I just have a movie for you to watch, psycho!” He laughed even harder, before bringing the tablet closer to my face. “It’s not work.”

  “A movie?”

  “Yes.” he said simply. “A movie.”

  He tapped the screen and unlocked, and I saw my mama on the screen, paused. I crinkled my brows in confusion, just before he hit play.

  They were in my apartment, both on the couch, and Derek held the tablet directly on Mama’s face.

  “So, how do you feel about me asking to marry your daughter?” he asked, confidently, holding the camera still. My heart lunged forward at the question.

  There was no way that he was actually asking that question. He wouldn’t have put such an important question in the very beginning of the “movie”. There had to be a twist. But my God, he was an idiot for even putting that notion in Mama’s head.

  Her eyes brightened and a smile etched across her face, and I was immediately cringing—probably visibly.

  “I would love it!” she squealed, but then her demeanor changed. Her eyes narrowed and her voice grew deeper, “Now do it! Do it now!”

  “She’s not here right now!” He laughed, but that clearly wasn’t enough for her.

  “Call her up on the telephone!” she giggled, just before reaching into her pocket and pulling out her old flip phone. I cringed. She killed me.

  I could feel him smirk beside my ear as he leaned in close to me. His vanilla musk wafted into my nose, and I felt a sense of peace wash over me as I continued watching the video.

  “I can’t propose to her over the phone!” He laughed, off screen, just behind the camera.

  “Then get your candy ass over to the office and do it!” she demanded, and I could tell that she was only h
alf-way joking. The other half was completely serious. “Get her out of this dump; she needs to live in that swanky ass apartment of yours!”

  Did she really just call my apartment a dump?

  I loved my apartment with Polly….

  “You’re such an eloquent woman,” Derek said to my mama, likely in response to her ‘candy ass’ comment.

  “Oh honey,” she sighed, feigning exasperation. “I’m old and over the years I’ve lost my patience. Eloquence went out of the window as soon as I stopped giving a shit.”

  And all that was heard was a giggle before the scene shifted a bit.

  It was in a different area of my apartment. Instead of the couch, he was standing in the kitchen, aimed towards the refrigerator where Polly gathered food for what looked like a sandwich.

  “So how would you feel if I asked her to marry me?” he asked, laughter just under his words.

  “I would hate your guts!” Polly called in an outburst, slamming her deli meat down on the counter. “You’d be taking away my roommate!”

  “Shut up, bitch!” a voice called from behind Derek, and I could tell immediately that it was Laura, and that was before she actually appeared in the shot, intentionally. She stood beside Polly and wrapped her arm around her shoulder.

  She looked at the camera and smiled, as if she was some sort of politician. She had literally just called Polly a “bitch” a moment before; and now she was holding onto her, smiling.

  “Derek is hot…and rich,” Laura continued, and I watched, amused, as Polly rolled her eyes.

  “Oh. My. God!” Polly groaned. “Will you just go home already?!”

  “Wait, so I have your blessing, Laura?” Derek asked, ignoring Polly’s hilarious frustration.

  “Shit son, you have my blessing to marry me,” Laura scoffed, making me giggle audibly.

  I felt him smile as well, still clearly amused by their antics despite already knowing what happened.

  And then all of a sudden, the scene shifted again, but it wasn’t my apartment. It was Derek’s, and standing in front of the screen was Jim and Abigail with thumbs up just before the camera moved and Derek pointed it at himself in selfie fashion. He smiled and said, “They approve!” as his smile widened completely.

  “Oh,” he said again in front of the camera. “And so do these people….”

  The video’s scene switched all over again, and in front of the camera was every single person at work. Some were holding signs, others were cheering, but they all looked to be there with their banners and smiles of approval just before the focus cut back to Derek once again.

  “Well,” he said into the camera, “everyone seems to be in agreement…including me.” He breathed in and out deeply. “Now, look to your right.”

  So I did.

  And there he was, on one knee, with what looked like an old doorknob in his hands.

  “Wh- What?” I stuttered, not really understanding what was happening. “What’s that?” I asked, stupidly. I had no idea what it was. Was that supposed to be a ring?

  He laughed. “It’s a very old ring box.” He cleared his throat. “And this…” He opened the box. “This belonged to my great, great-grandmother….”

  The ring was probably the most gorgeous thing I had ever laid eyes on.

  It was white gold, with intricate designs all over the band and several diamonds littered throughout. In the center was one solitaire sapphire, deep and gorgeous blue.

  “Is that a sapphire?!” I squealed.

  “You don’t make this easy for a man, do you?” he laughed. “No, it’s actually a blue diamond.”

  “So wait, I don’t get a new ring?” I giggled, but in reality I just didn’t know what to say.

  I was so wrapped up in the video, that I didn’t even realize what was happening. I had it in my mind that he wouldn’t have actually asked the question in real life if he was asking it in a video—and it was asked at the very beginning.

  Didn’t men usually pour all of their love into the video and then ask at the end?

  I mean, sure, I had no idea what I really thought it was. Call me oblivious, but I really didn’t expect it to be real.

  Derek Sholts! Derek-fucking-Sholts was down on one knee. For the love of God, who saw that coming? He looked at me, eyes glistening, just before repeating the question.

  “Zoe,” he paused to take a deep breath. “Will you marry me?

  I blinked rapidly, still not believing or even understanding what was happening. Marry Derek? Become Zoe Sholts?

  I could barely wrap my head around the notion, much less believe it was actually happening. I was in love with him—beyond in love—and I could never deny that. But were we ready to get married?

  I could tell that his heart was pounding out of his chest, because he looked nervous, and the hand he used to hold my hand was clammy and shaking like a leaf. I sighed, here he was, down on one knee in front of me, asking to be with me forever, and I didn’t have a clue what to do or say.

  I was afraid. I was afraid that I wasn’t good enough; that he wasn’t good enough; that neither of us were good enough; that we couldn’t be who the other wanted and needed for the rest of our lives. Yet, more than anything, I was scared of what the silence was doing to him.

  Was he afraid that I didn’t want him? I did.

  Was he afraid that I didn’t want a future with him? I did.

  Was he afraid that I didn’t want to be called Derek Sholt’s wife? I did.

  And then I realized, I did want to be his wife. I did want to marry him. No matter what the future held; and no matter what obstacles we were to come in contact with.

  It didn’t matter what they were. I’d be there.

  Hopefully one of them wouldn’t be cancer, but even if it was, I’d be there.

  “Yes…,” I said, without even realizing the word was coming out of my mouth. I was glad it did, but I didn’t expect it.

  His eyes widened. “What did you say?” he asked, clearly unsure of if he heard what he thought he had; probably—just as I was—wondering if all of it was just an illusion.

  "I said, ‘yes’. I'll marry you, Derek.” And just like that, my face shined brightly, my brain immediately reaching overdrive as it flickered through images of what was to come. I had to admit, there was something incredibly beautiful about the image of walking down the aisle to meet him. And it was even more beautiful imagining the two of us, hand in hand, as we made vows of commitment forever.

  A sense of joy and warmth washed over me, and I swear I giggled.

  I loved him so much.

  And the image of us hand in hand down the aisle was as clear as day. So very clear that I wondered why I hadn’t seen it coming; why I hadn’t anticipated the proposal; and why on earth it had taken me so long to answer him.

  Derek stood and wrapped his arms around me, as if to thank me. But what he didn’t realize was that I should have been thanking him.

  He gave me hope for a future, a future of happiness…a future with him.

  Ever since he had gotten better, I felt myself truly wanting—more than anything—the promise of forever.

  And he was giving me that.

  We pulled away, both of us grinning from ear to ear.

  I knew the road ahead was long; and it probably wouldn’t be easy, but he was the only one I wanted to travel down the road of life with. Derek Sholts was it for me.

  Chapter 13

  We were married in the summer when the leaves and flowers were full in bloom and the weather was forgiving. My skin held a beautiful glow.

  Yet, the same could be said about his skin, too, which was unlike it had been for many months prior to the wedding.

  He was fully healthy now—perfectly tan with no pale yellow tint. He was strong, muscular, and weighty. He looked good.

  He looked damn good, and I couldn’t wait to lay eyes on him, as he waited for me at the end of the aisle.

  The ceremony was to be held in a church, located near the lake. I
wasn’t particularly religious, but my mama was, and so was his family. They preferred a church for the environment, and I was perfectly fine with it when I found this place.

  It had windows surrounding the entire main congregation room so that we could look out and see the beauty that surrounded us as we became man and wife.

  It was silly, really. Because as I stood at the head of the aisle and looked towards the front of the church with my brother-in-law on my arm, all I could do was look at Derek.

  Only Derek.

  Nothing else mattered, not even the beautiful view of the outside.

  But when I looked at him, I noticed for a moment, that he wasn’t looking at me. He was looking down, with his hands balled together in front of him, his fingers fidgeting and fussing with themselves.

  I would have been offended that he wasn’t looking at me had he not have been fidgeting. I could tell that he was nervous. I smiled; I guess I could forgive him.

  He looked so incredibly handsome as he stood there, Fredrick at his side.

  He wore a light grey suit, crisp white shirt, and a gorgeous blue tie. And to be honest, it was probably the most casual I had ever seen him.

  Laura walked towards him, and I watched as his eyes shifted up—but only for a moment—before gluing back down to the floor, his hands still fidgeting.

  But beyond all of that, despite his nerves, I saw nothing other than a smile wider than I had ever seen, and I could tell in that moment that he was just as happy as I was.

  And I was ecstatic.

  I was marrying my best friend and partner.

  The music began playing, and the entire room stood. It was show time. I took a deep breath and started down the aisle, feeling Stephen pull my arm as he took his steps with me. It was strange being walked down the aisle by a man that I hated not very long ago. However, now, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

  Stephen was a man my father chose for Laura; he was a man he allowed to be in all of our lives. As many faults as my daddy had, and as many issues I had with him, I knew now that he wouldn’t have steered us all so incredibly wrong by allowing him into the family.