The Legacy Collection Box Set

by Ruth Cardello

  Abby gave her a teary smile.

  Too late.

  Dominic stood tall and proud at his spot before the altar, waiting for his soon-to-be-bride to join him. The four men who flanked one side of him were an equally impressive sight and one that not many women in the audience, married or not, would soon forget. The female minister they had chosen as their officiant looked on with quiet grace.

  When Abby reached Dominic, he took both of her hands in his and they turned to face each other in front of the altar. Lil and the bridesmaids took their places on the bride’s side of the altar and the minister began to speak. As Lil listened to the officiant, she couldn’t help but look across at Jake and think that they would be making vows to each other one day soon. He winked at her as if he had heard her thoughts and had been thinking something quite similar.

  “Dearest friends and family, we are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the union of Dominic Corisi and Abigail Dartley in marriage. When they approached me about performing their ceremony, I wasn’t sure if I was qualified since my experience has been limited to small weddings in my local chapel. However, after two minutes with them, I saw that they were no different than any other couple I have married. They are deeply devoted to each other, passionately in love, and committed to making the world a better place through the strength of their love. They have written their own vows for today. Do you have the rings?”

  Jake handed the rings to Dominic and said something that made the couple smile.

  Dominic cleared his throat and said, “Abigail Dartley, today I take you as my wife. From this day on, I promise to be faithful and honest, loving and supportive. I promise to listen to your wise counsel and confess when I decide to disregard it.”

  Lil bit her lip to stop the laugh that his comment inspired. Her family was never going to be the same. Yes, it was going to be much, much better.

  Dominic continued, “I promise to forgive more, destroy less, and to savor every day with you. I give you this ring as a symbol that everything I am and everything I have will be yours now and forever.” He placed a wedding band on Abby’s finger.

  Abby held out his wedding band, took his hand in hers and said, “Dominic Corisi, today I take you as my husband. I promise to be faithful and honest, loving and supportive. I promise to adore you as you are and gracefully accept your apologies each time you discover that I was right. I promise to risk more, judge less and to savor every day with you. I give you this ring as a symbol that everything I am and everything I have will be yours now and forever.” She placed the gold band on Dominic’s finger.

  The officiant said, “By exchanging rings and vows today, Dominic and Abby you have sworn your life and your allegiance to each other. Time and tragedy will test this bond. When it does, remember the love you felt this day and stay true to your commitment. Dominic and Abigail, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may the kiss the bride.”

  The crowd held their breath as a man who had once been known only for what he had accumulated and threatened gently kissed the lips of his new wife and hugged her to him with such love that it was impossible to look away.

  Everyone stood and the officiant said, “It is a great honor for me to introduce, for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Dominic Corisi.”

  Lil looked across to Jake and knew that he, like her, had been imagining their wedding, their vows . . . their first kiss as a married couple. To music and applause, Lil linked arms with Jake and followed Dominic and Abby down the aisle and out of the tent to meet the photographer. They would have their day, but the next hour or so was all about filling Dominic and Abby’s wedding album.

  After entering the reception with Jake and the rest of the bridal party, Lil turned to him and said, “I want to run in and check on Colby really quickly before everything gets started. I love the nanny we chose, but I—”

  Jake pulled her against him and whispered into her ear, “I’ll go with you.”

  Lil laughed and pulled out of his grasp. “No way. I’m not missing the toast because we get distracted out there.”

  “I love the way you distract me,” he growled and reached for her again.

  She edged away. “That’s the problem. I am not going to mess this up. If you don’t come with me I can be back here in ten minutes.”

  “I could control myself,” he claimed.

  She leaned in and snuck a quick kiss while he was defending his honor then slid back out of his reach. “But could I?” she teased softly.

  His face flushed slightly with excitement. “I think I could make ten minutes work.”

  “That’s nothing to brag about,” Lil joked and loved how he opened his mouth, but didn’t have a witty comeback. It meant that she had indeed succeeded in shaking him up. She snuck in for one more quick kiss and said, “I’ll be right back.”

  His mouth curled in amusement. “I’ll be here, plotting my revenge.”

  She knew it was the kind of payback she would likely enjoy, so she felt safe enough to tease him more. “If you’re that sensitive, you’ve picked the wrong woman.”

  This time he did grab her and held her against his growing excitement. “I wouldn’t change a thing about you, Lil, but that doesn’t mean I won’t prove to you later exactly how much I can accomplish in ten minutes.”

  He leaned down to kiss her and she couldn’t think of a single witty response. He kissed her until she forgot what had been so funny and desperately wanted to beg him to leave with her.

  When he raised his head she touched a trembling hand to his lips and stared at the elegant, emerald-cut diamond on her left hand. Was this really her life? Could something this wonderful really happen to her?

  He sensed her change of mood and tried to lighten it by saying, “Would it help if I promised at least twenty minutes?”

  She smacked his chest lightly. In the safety of his arms, she admitted her fear. “Sometimes I still don’t believe this is real. I mean, Abby deserves a happy ending, but I’ve done everything wrong. I shouldn’t be this happy.”

  Jake pulled her closer and kissed her on the forehead. Then he bent and let his words tickle her left ear. “If love was only for the perfect, what a sad and lonely world it would it be. We are the culmination of every good and bad choice we’ve ever made. Your mistakes have made you into an incredibly fierce and loving woman; one I am head over heels in love with. They have filled your life with friends who are willing to risk jail for you. They brought Colby into the world. One of your mistakes even saved our company. So, don’t change, Lil. You keep making those mistakes and you just might save us all.”

  The next kiss they shared had less to do with raw passion and more to do with two hearts reaching out to each other and promising each other forever.

  The wedding planner broke into their intimate moment and said, “Are you both ready to say your toasts?”

  Lil smiled at Jake and nodded. “I guess I’ll check Colby after we do that.” She winked at her man. “We’ll go together.”

  He groaned, “Are you trying to make me forget my speech?”

  She laughed wickedly and whispered a hot suggestion into his ear.

  Game on.

  From a large stone patio, tucked beneath one of Jake’s arms, Lil waved again at the private jet that was now only lights disappearing into the night sky. “She’s going to love Spain.”

  Jake said, “Even more than you know.”

  Lil looked up at him suspiciously, “What does that mean?”

  He smiled. “I’ll let her tell you.”

  “Oh, no, we don’t do any more secrets.”

  His smile turned wicked. “You might be able to persuade me to tell you.”

  “You are insatiable, do you know that?”

  He looked rather proud of himself. “Is that a complaint?”

  Lil thought about how much she’d enjoyed the reason they had missed the dinner portion of the wedding and reluctantly returned just in time to see the cutting of the cake. “No, but now I won�
�t be able to use that elevator without blushing.”

  “Especially if the security system has a camera in there.”

  “Oh, my God! I’m never going to be able to look the security people in the eye again.”

  Jake laughed. “I’ll talk to them and if there is a camera I’ll have the video erased. Well, maybe copied and then erased.”

  “Just erased!” Lil elbowed him lightly.

  Jake merely smiled.

  Security cameras. She should have thought about that when she told Zhang to wander on the wild side.

  Stretching his neck a bit to see more of the runway, Jake said, “I don’t see Rachid’s plane anymore. It’s not like him to leave without saying goodbye. When I talked to him earlier he said he had something he wanted to ask me. That’s interesting.”

  Lil shrugged. “The last time I saw him he was dancing, if you could call that dancing, with Zhang. They looked like they were really hitting it off.”

  Jake scratched his cheek thoughtfully. “Have you seen Zhang since then?”

  Lil checked the contents of the clutch she’d carried with her through the entire evening. “No, but I still have her phone. You don’t think . . .”

  Jack cocked his head to the side as if considering the idea, then shook his head. “No, that’s not Zhang. If her phone and her plane are here, she’s here somewhere. She’d never leave without them.” He shook his head again. “No. Not Zhang.”

  Lil turned Zhang’s phone in her hand and considered the possibilities. With a grin, she turned it off and placed it back within her purse. Good for you, Zhang. I did pick the right dress.

  Jake returned his attention to a much more intimate topic. He wiggled his eyebrows, likely remembering her earlier promise of how they would end their evening as he asked, “Ready?”

  His sexy question implied tonight, but she pondered past that.

  Am I ready for all of this? This man? This life change? Everything this means for me and for my child?

  Jake entwined his fingers with hers and the answer came to her—strong and absolute.

  I am.

  I’m finally ready.

  “Yes,” she said and meant it with every fiber of her being.

  Hand in hand, they walked into the rest of their lives together.

  THE END

  Don’t want the story to end? Read on with Book 4 of the Legacy Collection

  Saving the Sheikh

  Book 4

  The Legacy Collection

  Rachid bin Amir al Hantan is fighting for the sovereignty of his small country. He needs to find some powerful allies—and fast. Attending the wedding of Dominic Corisi is as much about reconnecting with old friends as it is about celebrating nuptials. The last thing he needs right now is the distraction of a woman.

  Zhang Yajun is a self-made billionaire who can’t believe she accepted her friend’s dare to kiss Sheikh Rachid before the end of the wedding. When impulsive words lead to even more impulsive actions, these two will discover that sometimes the last thing you were looking for is the one thing that can save you.

  Chapter One

  Sometimes when you gamble, you lose.

  On the small island of Isola Santos, off the coast of Italy, a tuxedo-clad Rachid bin Amir al Hantan stood in the grass to one side of a flower-covered wedding arch, shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the most influential men in the technological world, and attempted to appear interested in the ceremony. Self-recrimination blocked his ability to share in the happiness that was apparent on the face of his old college friend, Dominic Corisi, as he exchanged vows with his bride.

  An ocean breeze blew through Rachid’s short black hair—highlighting his decision not to wear his traditional keffiyeh headdress. Mocking him. The undeniable truth that he was more at home in western clothing only intensified his sour mood.

  I shouldn’t have come.

  He spared a glance at the rows of smiling faces and winced. The actual ceremony was a small affair, no more than a hundred or so in attendance, but it was a high-profile wedding and would be talked about for months. Even though the press had been banned, there was no way to keep his participation out of the news.

  Which normally wouldn’t have been a problem, but Najriad, his home country, was verging on serious political upheaval, and his participation could easily be spun against him—presented as another example of how he didn’t care about his people. Even as the wedding crowd laughed over some joke Dominic made in his vows, Najriad’s borders were being tested with minor raids. It wouldn’t be long before those nips turned to deadly bites.

  The same natural resources that had brought them financial comfort were once again a dangerous temptation for their neighbors. His small country had a strong military and an aggressive political policy that had been enough to keep their enemies at bay for nearly thirty years.

  Until Father announced that I would be the one to take his place and called me home.

  And no matter what happens, that is what Najriad is—my family, my people, my home.

  Even if I am not the ruler they want.

  I will do my duty.

  I will make my father proud.

  Rachid understood his people’s concerns. A sheikh was as much a spiritual leader as he was a figure of authority. The title was attained through more than just lineage, and in his absence even his enemies had begun to think that his younger brother, Ghalil, would be ruler one day.

  Ghalil had been traditionally educated in Najriad.

  He was faithful to the teachings of his people.

  And, most importantly, he had never left them.

  Not that Rachid had been given a choice. It had been at his father’s request that Rachid had left home at the age of eight to attend private schools in England. Amir had asked his son to learn about the technological ways of the West and to bring the best of what he found back to Najriad.

  Some who wished to sow dissension between the family members had speculated that Rachid had been sent away so that his father could marry again—and this time produce a full-blooded Arab son, unlike Rachid. Some had whispered that Amir had never forgiven Rachid for his first, English wife dying in childbirth and that Rachid’s mere existence had been too much of a reminder of what he had lost.

  Whatever his father’s reasons, Rachid had excelled in foreign schools, finishing his education at Harvard in the United States. At the time, MIT had seemed like a better choice, but his English relatives had connections to the Cambridge-based Ivy League school, and in the end his attendance had proved to be immensely advantageous.

  After all, Harvard was where he’d met Dominic Corisi and Jake Walton. Unlike many he’d encountered, they hadn’t cared about his royal title or his country of origin. They had a vision of an empire they wanted to build and it was difficult to spend any time with either of them and not feel inspired to do the same.

  The concept for his business, Proximus Solutions, had come from one of their “think tank” sessions; once nothing more than scribbles on the back of a notebook, it now had headquarters all over the world, providing interfacing solutions for countless multibillion-dollar companies. Rachid had intended to base Proximus in Najriad, but opportunity and convenience had caused him to eventually locate its headquarters in Bangalore, India. There had always been a part of him that hoped if he made enough money his people would welcome him again.

  Outside of Najriad, he was a wildly successful businessman—both rich and powerful. He didn’t second-guess his decisions. His orders were acted upon immediately and without question.

  In his country, he was an outsider—someone who spoke English better than he spoke Arabic, appearing socially inept simply because he had grown up outside of his own culture.

  The exact opposite of his influential and beloved younger brother.

  Money hadn’t changed the reality of that.

  His father should have chosen Ghalil, but he hadn’t. When Rachid had privately questioned his father’s choice, the older man had simp
ly said, “Do this for me, Son.”

  That was all Rachid had needed to hear.

  A child blissfully allows his parents to carry the burden of the world; a son, a good son, gracefully accepts that burden when it’s time for his father to rest.

  Family. Responsibility. Loyalty.

  Once he would have added faith to that list, but that had been another casualty of the crusade his father had sent him on. More nights than he cared to admit, he stared at the ceiling above his bed and wondered what right he had to lead anyone when he himself was lost.

  Father, how could I have done everything you’ve asked of me and still be so wrong?

  During an interlude of music, the groomsman next to him pulled Rachid temporarily out of his dark reverie with a question. “So, what do you think of your date?” Richard D’Argenson, the brother-in-law of Dominic’s rival, Stephan, had an easy smile that spoke of a lack of stress Rachid couldn’t imagine. If this sandstorm ever settled, he’d have to ask Dominic about his odd choice of new friends.

  Right now, even the ridiculous was a welcome reprieve from his thoughts. “Excuse me?”

  “Zhang Yajun.” When he still looked confused, Richard added, “The woman you’re going to walk down the aisle with in a moment.”

  Rachid’s attention flew to the beautiful Chinese woman standing beside the three American bridesmaids. Her flawless skin and lovely neck were accentuated by the bun she’d swept her ebony hair up into and her charcoal strapless dress. He sucked in an appreciative breath as he allowed himself the brief indulgence of studying this delicately boned beauty. The tight fit of the dress hugged her small curves in a way every man there likely wanted to. He’d spent enough time in the West to be used to the casual way in which women displayed their bodies. Normally it didn’t bother him, but something about this woman made him want to hide her from the leering eyes of other men. He denied the strangely possessive thought.

  She’s nothing to me.

  “Date” was a deliberate exaggeration of what was a temporary pairing for the sake of the ceremony. “I hadn’t given her much thought,” Rachid said firmly.