Page 40 of Loving Her Enemy

She noted everyone was in a seat and not necessarily in the ones they’d been in at take-off. Some were asleep, while others were on their tablets, and then there was Bristol, who was sitting in the seat she had vacated earlier.

The smile on her friend’s face made it clear she knew what happened in the bedroom. Halayna hoped the room was soundproof but doubted it.

“Not a word,” she said to Bristol and quietly sat across from her before buckling her seatbelt.

“What? All I was going to say was that your shirt is inside out.”

“Oh crap,” Halayna mumbled, thinking she’d have to go back to the bedroom, but when she glanced at her shirt, it was fine. She narrowed her eyes at Bristol, and her friend burst out laughing. Then hurried to put her hand over her mouth.

“Oops, sorry. Just messing with you.” She glanced down the aisle as if looking for Sloane before saying. “Whatever you guys did, make sure you keep doing it because you look refreshed. Damn near glowing.”

Halayna couldn’t help but laugh, but before she could say anything, she heard a door opening at the back of the plane.

Bristol leaped out of her seat and mumbled something about sitting somewhere else.

Seconds later, Sloane reclaimed his seat next to Halayna. Once his seatbelt was fastened, he linked his fingers with hers and brought her hand to his mouth. As he placed a lingering kiss on the back of her hand, he stared into her eyes.

“I can’t wait to marry you,” he said, and Halayna couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across her face.

She might’ve been hesitant at first to go along with Sloane’s plan, but the more time she spent with him, the more excited she got.

“I can’t wait to marry you too.”

Chapter Eighteen

Today was the day.

Today was Halayna’s wedding day, and her emotions were all over the place. Since waking up that morning, she had experienced every one of them from anxiousness, excitement, and even sadness. But right now, she was a little tired. Considering the wedding was going to be a small and intimate event, a lot of decisions had gone into the planning.

“Does everything look okay to you?” Lindsay asked through the cell phone.

“Everything is perfect,” Halayna said,

They were talking via FaceTime since Sloane’s assistant hadn’t traveled with them. As Halayna stood under the white, floral wedding arch, she marveled at the breathtaking views of the ocean and the gardens, as well as the work Lindsay had done to Sloane’s yard.

Even long distance, the woman had managed to create the most beautiful wedding setting Halayna could’ve imagined. While the back of the wedding arch faced the ocean, in front of it was a makeshift aisle with a white runner and bouquets of white roses in numerous pots, with baby’s breath, lined on each side of the aisle.

It looked like something straight out of a bridal magazine. Halayna didn’t even want to think about how much had been spent on flowers alone. Like with everything, Sloane didn’t care about the cost. He had told her he wanted every aspect of their wedding to be something that she’d love.

Of course, him saying that only made her fall for him even more.

“Thank you so much for all you’ve done to make this day special,” Halayna said as her gaze moved around the outside of Sloan’s home.

She had known Sloan’s house would be gorgeous, but it exceeded her expectations, even more so than the house in Georgia. It didn’t have as much square footage as the other home, but it still had five bedrooms and six bathrooms. While the inside was impressive, it was the outside that was jaw-dropping. There wasn’t another home visible for at least a mile, and the home was angled in a way to where the ocean could be seen out of almost every window.

But it was the flowers, the lush yard, and mild temperature which had Halayna spending almost all her time so far outside.

“Okay, one more thing before I let you go,” Lindsay said. “The three-person band, or I guess trio, will arrive at five-thirty. I wanted to make sure they were all set up before the wedding at—”

“Wait. A band?” Halayna said, looking at Lindsay through the small screen. “I thought we decided on a DJ.”

Had it been up to Halayna, they would’ve just used the play lists on their cell phones for music during their reception. The wedding and reception would be small and intimate. A band wasn’t needed, especially since they wouldn’t have more than twenty guests, which included a few people who worked for Sloane and lived on the island.

“Yeah, Sloane told me the other day to find a small band who could play and sing the songs on the playlist he sent me.”

Halayna snorted and shook her head. “It’s a super small wedding. I’m not sure why he feels we need a band.” She would ask him, but he had left a couple of hours ago with Hershel to take care of something last minute.

Lindsay smiled. “He said he wanted your wedding day to be perfect, and a DJ wouldn’t fit the aesthetics of the romantic reception that was planned.”