Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22

***THEO***

T heo woke just as the sun began to chase away the darkness of the night, rolled over on his side, and lay watching Eden sleeping for a long time, the love he felt for her making him warm all over. He wasn't looking forward to the day, knew that it would be punctuated by another fight with his parents, and the thought made him dread even getting out of bed. Wishing that there was a simple solution to make them all back off and let them be, he brushed the hair back from Eden's face, then gave her a quick kiss.

The gesture froze him as an idea began to form in his head, and only a few minutes later, not sure if he could pull it off, he slipped silently out of bed, dressed, and headed for Max's cabin. His friend wasn't happy to see him at the crack of dawn, but after a cup of coffee and an explanation, he agreed to help.

"Are you sure about this?" Max asked, picking up his phone. "This is a big step to take with a woman you've only known a week."

"Eden is the only thing in my life that makes sense right now," he said. "I love her, Max, I want to marry her. "

"Okay, I'll see what I can do," he said. "This is going to take a miracle and some cash to grease the wheels, if you know what I mean, and you'd better hope that Mateo is in a good mood this morning. He's the only one on the island who can perform the ceremony."

"Just call him, we don't have very long to put this together," he said, getting to his feet. "I have to go find Barbie. I hope she'll have something Eden can wear. Can you find someone to do something about some food?"

"Anything else, Your Highness?" Max asked, his voice full of sarcasm. "And just so you know, you will be getting a bill for all of this."

"You know I'm good for it," he said, grinning at his friend. "Thank you, Max, for everything."

"You're welcome," Max said, his face softening. "I'm happy for the two of you."

"Hey, sleepy head," Theo said, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "The sun is up, the birds are singing, I've got two cups of coffee in my hand, and we're going for a hike today, so up and out of that bed."

Eden groaned and opened one eye to look at him. "Does this mean we're avoiding our parents today?" she asked. "Because if not, I'm staying right where I am."

"Yes, but only if you get moving," he said, waving the coffee around. "I got you double cream and sugar just like you like it."

"Now, you've got me," she said, sitting up and taking the cup. "You're spoiling me."

"I like spoiling you," he said, leaning over and giving her a kiss. "But you'd better drink it while you're getting ready. We need to leave in half an hour or risk the parents finding us."

That got Eden moving, and they walked out of the cabin twenty minutes later. "I feel like a couple of kids sneaking away like this," she said. "But thank you; I really don't want to see my mother today. I'm not ready for another battle."

"I was thinking the same thing this morning," he said, taking her hand. "So, I did something about it."

"Where are we going?" Eden asked. "I don't think I've taken this path before."

"Max told me about this place. It's a bit like paradise, but it's also a secret," he said, grinning at her. "Wait until you see it, and you'll understand why."

They hiked for two hours, taking breaks to enjoy cool drinks of water, but also fiery kisses that kept their hearts pounding as much as the climb up the mountain in the middle of the island. Just as the sun reached it highest point in the sky, the trail looked like it dead-ended, and Eden looked over at him, her face full of confusion. He stepped in front of her and pulled back the vegetation revealing an even smaller path, and the sound of the waterfall reached them for the first time.

"Is that a waterfall?" Eden asked, an excited smile on her face. "Come on, Theo, you can tell me now. We're here."

He just shook his head. "I'm not saying a word," he said, hoping she wasn't going to hate what he'd done. "I want to see the look on your face when you see it."

They walked a little further, the sound of water getting louder, then he pulled her to a stop. "You have to close your eyes from here," he said, stepping behind her and putting his hands over her eyes. "I promise I won't let you trip."

"Theo, it's just a waterfall, I've seen one before," she said, but let him lead her down the path again. "This must be something special if you're making such a big deal about it."

"I hope you think it's a big deal too when you see what I've done," he said, pulling her to a stop. "It took a lot of work to put this all together."

He took his hands down from her eyes, but instead of looking around, she turned and looked up at him. "Theo, what are you talking about?" she asked. "What have you done?"

"Look around sweetheart, I did all of this for you," he said, gently turning her head so she could see the waterfall and the people all gathered on the grassy open space in front of the pool of water at its base.

"Theo, what is all this?" she asked, a look of surprise on her face. "What is Barbie doing here?"

"Well, you said you wanted a big romantic gesture when I asked you to marry me," he said, slowly walking around her, dropping onto one knee and pulling a ring out of his pocket. "I just decided to take it to the next level. Eden Bishop, will you marry me, right here, right now? I want you to be my wife, I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

It took her so long to answer he began to get worried, then two tears trickled down her cheeks, and a smile spread across her face. "Yes, yes, yes," she said, slightly breathless. "I'll marry you, now, tomorrow, or next week, I don't care when, I just want to be your wife."

Theo jumped to his feet, pulled her into his arms, and swung her around. "I don't think I've ever been this happy," he said, then put her back on her feet. "I've got everything arranged with a lot of help from everyone here. Mateo is going to perform the ceremony, Barbie and Max will be our official witnesses, and there's enough food up here for a big celebration when we're done."

***Eden***

That would make this better if Rose could have been here," she said. "It's fitting that we should be married here. Then Eden looked up at Theo, trying her best not to cry. "This is the only thing brought us together, and we should seal our connection here. Thank you for thinking of it."

"At first, I was just trying to figure out a way to get our parents to leave us alone, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to do it because this is the perfect place to pledge our love to each other," he said. "I was so scared you were going to tell me that you weren't ready, that your mother got to you."

"Not in a million years," she said. "I love you, Theo and nothing is going to change that, not time, not my mother, not anything in the world."

"I love you too, Eden," he said. "Let's go get married."

"Now, hold on, if you think I'm going to let my best friend get married dressed like that, you are crazy," Barbie said, interrupting them. "Come with me, Eden. We have a little work to do, and it wouldn't hurt you to clean yourself up a little, Theo."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, releasing her with a kiss. "But don't take too long, I've been waiting my whole life for this day."

"Gross," Barbie said, but there was a smile on her face. "If I'd known I was going to have to listen to that, I might have stayed home."

Barbie pulled her away from the waterfall to the far side of the clearing, shoved her into a little tent, grabbed a bag, and shoved it into her arms. "Put this on while I figure out what we're going to do with your hair," Barbie said. "I bought that the day we went shopping. When I got it home, I couldn't remember why, but now I know. It wasn't for me; it was for you."

She pulled a white bikini and an almost transparent cover- up studded with tiny sequins out of the bag and held it up. "It's a wedding swimming suit," she said. "But I couldn't wear this, could I?"

"Come on, Eden, you're getting married in front of a waterfall on a tropical island," Barbie said, rolling her eyes. "What could be more perfect? You're going to look amazing in that, and Theo won't be able to keep his hands off you."

She felt herself blushing, then quickly put the suit on, then slipped the cover-up over her head, and stood back to let Barbie look at her. "I knew it would be perfect," she said, clapping her hands. "You look like a bride now; I just have to do something with your hair. Turn around."

Barbie pulled and tugged, poked her head twice with a bobby pin, then declared her ready to be married. "I wish we had a mirror," she said. "I want to see what I look like."

"Who needs a mirror," Barbie said, producing her cell phone and snapping a couple of pictures. "You didn't think I'd let the day go by without taking a million pictures, did you?"

She gave Barbie a hug "Thank you for everything you've done," she said. "This wouldn't have been the same without you I'm lucky to have a friend like you."

Theo was waiting for her when she walked out of the tent. He was dressed in a pair of black swimming trunks, his chest bare, except for a black tie, and she couldn't help but laugh when she saw him. A wave of love swept through her, and she knew in that instant that nothing would ever come between them; that no matter what challenges they faced, they'd find their way through them together.

With bold steps she joined Theo in front of Mateo, took his hand when he offered it, and pledged her heart and soul to him, knowing the whole time that she'd given them to him long before. Theo had tears in his eyes when he said the words back to her, and the kiss he gave her when the ceremony was over was full of so much promise, she found herself fighting back tears of happiness as well.

When they'd been hugged by everyone, they all sat down and ate the feast Max's employees had provided, then swam in the warm water of the pool and played in the spray from the waterfall. The sun was just beginning to sink in the sky when their friends began packing up to go home, and she knew that it would be a day she would never forget.

"I wish we didn't have to go back," she said, taking the towel Theo offered her. "It all went by too quickly."

"I thought we might spend the night here," he said, pulling her into his arms. "As long as that's okay with you, Mrs. Mayhew."

She shivered a little when he called her that. "That sounds wonderful, Mr. Mayhew," she said, grinning up at him. "Just you and me and all that wonderful water."

By the time they were alone, the sun was just sinking below the horizon, and the moon had started to rise. Theo pulled her into his arms. "Looks like we're going to have a full moon tonight," he said. "Maybe I should get the fire started before it gets dark."

She ran her hands up and down his chest. "That can wait. It's going to be a warm night," she said. "I've been waiting to get you alone all day. Let's go swimming."

Before he could answer, she slipped out his arms and started slipping out of her bikini, throwing the pieces at him as she walked away. "Are you coming?" she called. "The water feels wonderful."

"You might be right," Theo said, his voice husky with desire. "The fire can wait."