Page 122 of Shattered Veil

“That’s part of the surprise.”

My throat tightens. “What?”

“You pick, butterfly. These are your wings.” Balor kisses me.

“I don’t deserve this,” I say on a shaky breath.

“Yes. You do. You’re my woman. I want to do all this for you.”

“Why?”

“To prove to you how I feel.”

I back into a seat near the door. “It’s just so much.”

He lowers in front of me. “It’s not. You’ve just been conditioned to think that.”

Maybe he’s right. Looking around the plane, I think of Jillian, Katya, her sister, Ana, Priscilla, and Isabella, Balor’s brothers’ wives. With those stories of what their husbands did, it comes into focus. They’re not celebrities. They aren’t supermodels. They just had something about them that made their husbands fall for them.

By talking to each of them at the bridal shower, I discovered how different they all were. And down to earth.

Is it possible that Balor and I just connect as well as they did? I feel how we fit together.

This extravagance is how he shows what I mean to him.

I deserve this the same as all the O’Rourke wives.

Good Lord, I’m going to be one of them.

“Ready, butterfly?”

“Absolutely.” I smile and say, “Let’s figure out where to fly this thing.”

THE ANSWER IS OBVIOUS.

While heading south, Balor and I shower in the private bathroom suite.

Feeling fresh, I go through the packed bag and dress in a casual pair of jeans and a light lavender sweater.

Looking out the windows, Balor says, “Are you sure you don’t want to go to Paris, or London, or maybe Italy?”

“No.” I press my back into his chest while we curl up on one of the leather sofas. “Not right now. This is perfect.”

“You’re perfect.”

Looking down, I smile. “The Gulf of Mexico looks so amazing from up here.”

“Sure does,” Balor answers, talking on his phone. “All taken care of? Great.”

“I can’t believe this!” My heart kicks up to a crazy beat. And I don’t think it will ever stop.

FIVE DAYS LATER, WEclimb back into the plane wearing mouse ears, beads, and for me, a pair of Tinker Bell wings.

“That had to be the fastest trip around the Magic Kingdom,” I say about our guided tour on a golf cart and skipping the line for every ride we missed the first day, because all we could do was walk around and stare in amazement.

Balor rented an Airbnb in an exclusive high-rise that overlooked the park.

We also hit Epcot, Universal, Sea World, and finished with a visit to Cape Canaveral where we met with astronauts and got to sit in a spacecraft!