She laughed. “You don’t waste time do you?”
“There’s been enough time wasted already,” he confirmed, smiling. “But you didn’t answer my question, darlin’.”
Knowing she had no other choice in the matter, she nodded. “I haven’t been able to resist you from the moment we met and that hasn’t changed. Yes, Zach, I’ll marry you.”
The tears she’d been holding back spilled down her cheeks. She watched as he reached into the front pocket of his jeans and pulled out a black velvet box. He opened it, took her left hand in his, then slipped the ring on her third finger.
“How about tomorrow?”
“What about it?” she asked, loving the feel of his ring on her finger.
He chuckled. “If you’ll remember I told you that I’d like to get married on the weekend.”
“But I can’t possibly get everything arranged in such a short amount of time,” she explained, wishing with all of her heart that she could.
“Actually, there’s not much to be arranged,” he countered, giving her a sheepish grin.
“What have you done?” she inquired, loving him more with each passing second.
“You mean besides getting Juan Gomez to meet us in San Antonio to have your ring sized, decorating the courtyard and fountain, arranging for the resort to cater the reception and asking my old friend Judge Morrison to sign a waiver allowing us to get married without the required waiting period and to perform the ceremony?” He chuckled. “Other than that, I haven’t done a thing, darlin’.”
She marveled at how thorough he’d been. “When you showed me the courtyard, you were actually getting my approval for our wedding.”
“Yes. I was in denial at the time, but I realize now that everything I did, every plan I made, was because I love you and wanted to make that day as special for you as I could.”
“I love you so much, Zach. And I really appreciate everything you’ve done, but you weren’t supposed to press the issue of marriage,” she reminded, putting her arms around his neck.
“I love you, too. But technically, I didn’t press you about getting married,” he argued, kissing the tip of her nose. “I promised I wouldn’t talk to you about it. But I never promised I wouldn’t do something about it.”
As they sat on the couch holding each other, Arielle nibbled at her lower lip. If they were going to be husband and wife, there shouldn’t be any secrets between them. And she still had a big, rather bizarre secret she hadn’t shared with him yet.
“Zach, do you believe in fairy tales?”
“If you mean the happily-ever-after kind, I didn’t until today,” he confessed, resting his cheek against her head.
She smiled. “Let me tell you about my fairy godmother.”
Epilogue
The following evening, Zach stood by the fountain in the courtyard of his first resort with Arielle’s brothers—all five of them—and marveled at how much they looked alike. Except for the twins, Jake and Luke, the other three all had different mothers. But there was no doubt they were related. All five men were well over six feet tall, had muscular athletic builds and bore a strong facial resemblance. Each accepted Zach into the family, in his own way.
“You do know that our little sister is always going to be right and you’re always going to be wrong, don’t you?” Luke asked, grinning.
Zach grinned right back. “Yep.”
“And all she’ll have to do is say the word and one of us will show up to kick your sorry ass,” Jake proclaimed, laughing.
Nodding, Zach’s grin widened. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
Caleb Walker spoke up. “I think he’s going to work out just fine for our little sister, boys.”
“Looks like it,” Nick Daniels agreed.
“Welcome to the family, Forsythe,” Hunter O’Banyon added.
When Arielle told Zach about the discovery of her three half brothers, he hadn’t realized they’d all formed a bond in such a short time. But considering the mutually unique relationship they shared with Emerald Larson, they did have quite a bit in common.
His gaze drifted over to the white-haired woman sitting at one of the tables with her personal assistant, Luther Freemont. It was no wonder Arielle thought of the old gal as a real-life fairy godmother. She’d not only made Arielle’s dream come true of owning her own preschool, but Emerald had brought them together again. And that alone was enough to convince Zach that she could work magic.
Checking his watch, he glanced at the French doors. Where were Arielle, her brothers’ wives and Lana? As soon as the women had first congregated at his estate, they’d whisked Arielle off to find a dress to wear for the ceremony and he hadn’t seen her since.
“Getting a little antsy there, Zach?” Jake noted as the other men discussed the homes Luke’s construction company was building for them. “There’s still time to run like hell.”
“Nope. I’ve waited all my life to find your sister. I’m not about to lose her now,” Zach declared solemnly.
“Oh man, you’ve got it bad,” Jake observed, shaking his head. “And I thought Luke was lost when he figured out he loved Haley.”
“Your time will come.” Zach laughed. “And when it does, you’ll go down like a ton of bricks.”
Jake snorted. “Not me. Not when there’s a smorgasbord of women to choose from.”
“Never say ‘never,’” Zach advised as the French doors to the resort’s courtyard opened.
At the first sight of Arielle, dressed in a white knee-length gown, her dark auburn hair swept up into a cascade of curls, his heart stalled. He had to be the luckiest man alive and he intended to spend every moment of his life letting her know just how much he loved her.
Walking over to the terrace steps, he offered her his hand. “I missed you today, darlin’.”
“And I’ve missed you.”
“Do you have any idea how beautiful you are and how much I want you right now?” he whispered close to her ear.
Her pretty smile damned near knocked him to his knees. “Probably as much as I want you.”
“Then what do you say we get this little gathering started so that we can go upstairs to the bridal suite and get started on the intimate part?” he teased.
“Excellent idea, Mr. Forsythe,” she agreed as they walked over to the fountain where the Judge waited to make them husband and wife.