Three Months Later

❦Kate❦

I stood in the lobby of the new Perez Hotel and Resort in Bali and looked around with satisfaction. There were still some minor things I had to oversee but all the main work was done.

I felt so proud of myself and the rest of my team, who had worked so hard to bring all my ideas to life. The hotel had 100 ocean view suites, 30 garden villas and 20 luxury water bungalows that came with infinity pools. All of them were decorated with a gorgeous blend of contemporary and traditional Indonesian décor. For the furniture, I had settled on bamboo, wicker, wood and other modern pieces to ensure proximity to the natural surroundings.

My favorite of all was the open-air lobby with the natural wood flooring. Combined with antiques, period artworks and vintage artifacts, the lobby had a rustic charm to it. One wall covered an indoor vertical garden. A classical Italian gilt-metal and rock crystal chandelier hung from the cedar wood ceiling dome.

With a happy sigh, I checked the time from my watch. It was 5 in the afternoon. I walked outside and spotted Erin, my assistant in the project, near the pool side cabanas. She had a clipboard in her hand and was talking to two other work crews. She was in charge of all the outdoor décor. It was her job to see if everything was done to my specification.

Erin and I spent the next three hours rechecking everything and going over last minute details. Jason was coming to Bali the following day to check our work and I wanted to make sure every little detail was to the highest pitch of perfection.

I felt myself smiling as I thought of him. It was hard not to. Even the mere thought of him made me happy. I glanced at the beautiful engagement ring on my left hand. He had taken me to Puerto Rico two months ago and proposed to me again while we were kayaking in Mosquito Bay. They bay's water glowed in the dark so it was an amazingly magical moment.

The past month without being able to see him had been horrible. He was travelling around Europe and Australia, visiting some of his hotels and resorts, while I was here in Bali. We talked every day on the phone but that was not the same as talking to him in person. I missed him like crazy.

I was outside on the front lawn of the hotel talking to one of the landscaping artists when a sleek black car pulled up in the driveway. To my surprise, it was Jason who climbed out of the vehicle. Excitement and surprise flashed through me and before I knew what I was doing, I was rushing towards him.

Not caring that Ben was there with him, I flung myself into his arm, clasping my arms tightly around his neck and wrapping my legs around his waist. "Oh, I've missed you so much." I murmured allowing myself the pleasure of breathing in the scent of him.

"I've missed you too, baby." He supported my weight with one hand and fisted the other hand in my hair as he kissed me long and slow.

I was breathless when he finally broke the kiss. "I thought you were coming tomorrow. Why didn't you tell me?" When we talked early that morning he was in Sydney and made no mention of coming here.

He flashed me a boyish smile. "I wanted to surprise you."

"Well, you have." I couldn't wipe the happy grin off my face. He gave me another kiss before placing me back on my feet.

"Have you had dinner?"

"Um..."

A frown touched his gorgeous face. "What about lunch?"

"I had a coffee in the morning."

He sighed, opened the car door and gestured me in. "I'm taking you to dinner."

"Okay, but let me just go back inside and tell Erin I'm leaving."

I told Erin and the rest of my team to stop for the day. When I came back Jason was leaning against the car. Dressed in a perfectly tailored navy-blue black suit, he cut an imposing and formidable figure. And the frown on his face made him look more intimidating. As soon as we settled in the backseat of the car, Ben started driving.

Jason pulled out his phone and called Andrea. "Get me a dinner reservation at the Mozaic restaurant, please. Yeah. For Two. We are heading there right now."

When he finished the call, I touched his jaw. "Are you upset?"

"I don't like it when you skip meals, you know that."

"Okay, tell you what, when we get to the restaurant, I'm going to order the biggest meal on the menu and finish it. Would it help to wipe that scowl off your face?" I asked with a teasing smile.

"Am I scowling?" His lips tugged up in a half smirk. "Come here." He pulled me sideways on to his lap, holding me against his chest and wrapping his arms around me. "You've got to start taking better care of yourself, baby. I don't want you getting sick."

"I know. I'm sorry." His arms felt so good around me. Tucking my head into the crook of his neck, I snuggled into him. "I love you."

"And I love you." He kissed my hair. "By the way, mom called this morning. She wants us to fly down to Palm Beach this weekend. To discuss the wedding plans."

"Sure, sounds good."

"And she also mentioned that she's hired a wedding planner for us."

"Who?"

"Sylvie Leroy. I think that's her name."

My mouth opened in surprise. "I've heard of her. She is the best in the industry. Her work is amazing."

"You know my mom. She would only settle for the best. Besides she is determined to make our wedding the biggest event of the year."

I felt my stomach clench. I didn't want a big societal wedding. I wanted something low key and average but I knew it wasn't possible. There was nothing average about the man I was marrying or the family I was marrying into. They were all used to the most luxurious lifestyles, extravagant parties and the best money could buy. So it was no surprise Jason's parents' wanted our wedding to be the biggest event of the year.

Soon after our engagement, they had thrown us a lavish engagement party at their mansion in Athens. People from all over the world had flown in to be part of our celebration. The media was present and our engagement was made public. We had managed to keep our relationship out of the public eye for so long and then suddenly being flung into the spotlight was overwhelming.

There were speculations about our wedding, where we would have it, what I would wear, who would be invited and whether or not we would sign a prenuptial agreement and so on. It seemed as if the whole of America was waiting to see how the wedding would turn out. One of the most eligible bachelors in the whole world was getting married so it was no wonder everyone was so hyped up.

Jason shifted, gently tilting my head up. "Something is bothering you. What is it?"

"No, I'm okay." I said quickly.

His gaze was intense as he studied my face. I had a feeling he could see right through me. Without saying anything he leaned forward and pressed a button that sent the privacy screen up between us and Ben.

He lifted me up easily and adjusted me on his lap so I was straddling him. "I can tell when you're hiding something from me." His voice was soft and his touch gentle as he cupped my face. "Talk to me, baby. Whatever it is, I'll fix it."

I knew he wouldn't give up unless I told him. "It's just that I don't want a big societal wedding." I murmured. "I don't want a guest list in the hundreds. I just want something simple, you and me with our family and only the closest friends. Something intimate, away from the media eyes."

"Why didn't you tell me that before? I thought you wanted a big elaborate wedding."

"You didn't ask me. You just assumed that."

"My mistake. I'm sorry." He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ears. "If you want a small wedding that's what we are going to have."

"I don't want to disappoint your mom."

"She'll understand. All she wants is for us to be happy." I still looked worried and he kissed me lightly. "Don't worry about it. I'll talk to her."

"What about you? Is it okay with you?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

I smiled at the confusion on his face. "It's your wedding too."

"Baby, I don't care where we get married, or how big our wedding reception is. I just want to get married to you and start a family with you." He dropped a kiss to my temple. "And speaking of families, how do you feel about adoption?"

A trickle of excitement went through me and I lifted my head to look at him. "Are you suggesting that we adopt a baby?"

"I've always wanted to do it. But if you don't want to..."

"I'm all for it." I interrupted him with an excited and happy grin.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

He looked so relieved. "Have you heard of the Miracle Foundation?"

"Yeah. They are an NGO who operate a lot of orphanages all over the world. Apparently they have an anonymous benefactor who donates millions of dollars to them every year." Suddenly something struck me and I felt my eyes widen. "It's you, isn't it? The anonymous benefactor."

"Not only me. Nathan and Cheryl also make equal donations along with me."

"Wow, that's amazing. But why are you guys keeping your names anonymous?"

"We don't want any media attention." He said simply. "My parents already run the Perez Foundation and Nathan and Cheryl each have their own charity foundations. But the three of us wanted to do something together so we decided to form the Miracle foundation. We are not doing it for PR, that's why we hired people to run the foundation and kept our names anonymous."

"I'm so proud. You guys are incredible." I kissed him lightly, feeling such love and adoration for the incredible man that he was. He was just simply perfect in every way.

❦❦❦

Two days later, we flew back to LA after completing the hotel project. It felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Jason loved all the work my team and I had put into the hotel and in our last night in Bali, he had rented a yacht and held a congratulatory dinner party for us onboard.

After spending a day in LA, he whisked me onto his private jet again and took me to Vancouver, where we spent three glorious days in a cozy waterfront cabin he owned in Quadra Island.

From there, we flew straight to Palm Beach to his parents' place.

"Jason tells me you want a very private and intimate wedding." Lily said as we sat outside in the garden having lunch on the day we arrived.

"If that's okay with you." I said quickly.

She smiled, her eyes twinkling. "Kate, darling. It's your wedding. We are going to plan it exactly the way you want. Sylvie will be here later today. You can discuss what you want with her and she will make sure it's done perfectly."

Jason had my mom fly over to Palm Beach and I was glad he did that. I wanted mom to be part of the wedding planning. Paige couldn't come because she had already taken so much time off work when I was in hospital and she couldn't get any more time off. It was the same case with Hal.

I discussed with everyone and in the end settled on a simple bohemian theme beach wedding. I wanted a relaxed, colorful and fun atmosphere and Sylvie assured me it would be exactly like that.

Our guest list was extremely short. From my side it was only mom, Paige, and Hal. I thought of inviting my dad, who lived in Malaysia, but decided against it. He hadn't contacted us since he divorced mom and left years ago so there was no need to bring him back into our lives when he obviously didn't want to.

From Jason's side it was his parents, Cheryl, Nathan, Ben, Annie, Andrea, Nik, Alex, and his COO, Lisa.

Jason chose the venue and he decided to have the ceremony in a gorgeous golden beach in Ibiza. It took five days to finalize everything. Even though, our wedding was going to be small, there were so many little details that were important. And Sylvie needed my opinion on every single one.

A day before we headed back to LA, Jason and I were having lunch at a small sea side diner. While we talked over a delicious meal of roasted lamb and charred broccolini, I decided to bring up a subject I had been thinking of for the past few weeks.

"I want to sign a pre-nup."

He stilled, staring at me as if he couldn't believe I had said that. "What are you talking about?"

"Wealthy people do it all the time when they marry. To protect their fortune, you know."

"I know what a pre-nup is. And I don't need to protect anything from you."

"But if something happens and we get..."

"Jesus, Kate. What the hell do you expect to happen? For me to leave you?" His voice was low with barely controlled fury. A muscle jumped in his jaw as he fixed his furious gaze on me. It had been so long since I had seen him lose his temper like that. "We aren't even married yet and here you are thinking of divorce."

"I didn't mean it that way." I mumbled out, feeling worried. "I shouldn't have put it like that. I know we are going to spend the rest of our lives together. It's just that I don't want people to think I'm marrying you for your money."

"I don't care what the fuck people think. You're not signing a pre-nup. This is not up for discussion anymore, Kate."

He was still angry as we left the diner a few minutes later. I understood how he was feeling. I had given him the impression that I didn't believe in us. Didn't believe in him.

He held the car door open for me, but instead of climbing in, I moved into him, locking my arms around his neck. "Please don't be upset with me."

His hand came to rest on my hips, holding me close to him even though he was angry. "It just fucking hurts to know that, after everything we've been through, you still don't trust me."

"I do trust you, I trust you more than I've trusted anyone else in my whole life." I whispered caressing his face. "I wouldn't be marrying you if I didn't. I'm sorry about what I said before."

Without saying anything, he wrapped his arms tightly around me, crushing me against him. I breathed in the masculine smell of him. He always smelled so incredibly good.

"Are we okay?" I asked when he finally released me.

"Always." He traced his thumb across my bottom lip. "I just wish we were somewhere more private right now."

As the meaning behind his words struck, I felt my face heat up. "Is sex all you think about?"

"Pretty much always when it comes to you." He smirked, then ushered me inside the car. "Let's go." I was so glad he was back in a good mood.

Before he pulled out of the parking lot he handed me a black plastic card. "Here. This is for you."

It was an American Express Centurion Card and my eyes widened when I saw my name embossed on it.

"Why is my name on it?"

"Because I had it made for you."

"And why do you think I need a credit card?"

"So you can buy whatever you want."

"Jason."

"Yes, baby?"

I stared at him in exasperation and he sent a playful smirk my way.

"Giving a woman a credit card is a very dangerous thing to do you know."

His smirk deepened into a grin. "Is that so?"

"Yeah. Would serve you right if I went on a shopping spree and maxed out the card in one day."

"It won't max out." He said smugly. "It doesn't have a preset limit, meaning you can buy whatever you want even if it costs several million dollars. And at the end of the month, your bill will be charged to my personal account. So you have nothing to worry about." He just said it so casually as if several million dollars were just chump change for him.

When I didn't answer, he took my hand and squeezed. "Don't think so much. Just accept the card, please. I want you to be able to buy whatever you want, whenever you want it."

I knew I didn't have a choice. Besides, I could see it meant so much to him. "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you when you suddenly find your personal account empty."

"There's no way that could happen." He laughed as if I had just told him a joke. "You have no idea how much I'm worth, do you?"

"Well, I did look you up on the internet once." I said with an embarrassed smile. "I mean, I didn't necessarily go on google to find out your net worth but it was there on your Wikipedia page." And that was how I came to know he wasn't just filthy rich, but among the ten wealthiest men in the world. "But just so you know, I don't love you for your money."

"I know that." He stopped at a red light, took my hand and brought it to his lips. "And just so you know, everything I have is yours too."

"All I want is you. You're worth more to me than anything else in the world."

His mouth curved up in a wickedly sexy smile that accentuated his dimples. I felt my whole body react to it. His attractiveness magnified when he smiled like that. "You've got me, baby." He said leaning over and kissing me before gently nipping at my bottom lip. "I'm all yours."