MARRYING MR. RIGHT (The Brides of Hilton Head Island Book 3)

by Sabrina Sims McAfee

  When Pierre had mentioned ‘hotel’, Taylor couldn’t help thinking of Zeke’s father, Mr. Colton Balfour’s hotel in Hilton Head Island. Although she’d been very young when she’d lived in Hilton Head Island, she’d known that Zeke’s father owned a hotel and was a very wealthy gentleman; however, it wasn’t until she’d gotten older that she realized Zeke’s father was a billionaire. “When are they looking to do the billboard for the hotel?”

  Pierre shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t have much information on that yet. According to the advertisement agency, they haven’t even started building it, so it’s still early in the game.”

  “Oh. Well, about this toothpaste commercial. Who’s it for?”

  “Colgate, baby!”

  Taylor laughed when she heard the excitement in Pierre’s voice.

  INSIDE Rue des Ecoles breakfast eatery, the waitress lowered Zeke’s breakfast plate in front of him. “Is there anything else I can get you at this time?” the pretty dark-haired young lady asked.

  Zeke shook his head. “No, thanks.” Smiling, the waitress turned and walked away. Sitting across from the architect named Francois, Zeke eyed his plentiful breakfast. Eggs, bacon, sausage franks, and French toast covered his dish. “This looks good.”

  Francois lifted the ceramic cup of hot green tea sprinkled with black pepper to his mouth. “It is good. Wait until you taste the French toast. It just melts in your mouth.”

  Zeke blessed his food, then forked the French toast into his mouth. A buttery, sweet maple flavor burst onto his tongue. “This is delicious.”

  “I come here all the time, just for the French toast. Tried to make it myself, but burned the heck out of it.” Francois sipped his tea, then lowered the cup to his napkin. “Back to what I was saying earlier…as you requested, I sketched the ceiling for the hotel to reflect an ornamental mural. The cartouche is going to look great painted in acrylics, with twenty-three gold karat leaves.”

  “I can’t wait to see the final designs.”

  Leaning back in his chair, Francois crossed his legs at the knee. “If you don’t mind me saying, normally the CEO isn’t as involved with the minor details, such as the arts, as you. They normally just hire someone to do it for them.”

  Zeke agreed. “Normally, I wouldn’t partake in the minute details such as this either; however, this hotel is very important to my father. It’s a representation of my grandfather and his dream for his legacy. That being said, I’m going to be involved in every single part of the building’s structure.”

  Francois curled a finger over his mustache. “Wow. So this building was your grandfather’s dream, huh?”

  “Yes.” Zeke scooped cheesy scrambled eggs onto his fork, then held them to his mouth. “I want the hotel building’s interior to reflect the women ancestors in the Balfour family.” Although my mother didn’t carry the Balfour name, my father loved her as such. So the penthouse suites will reflect her sweet personality. “And I want the exterior to reflect the Balfour men…strong, determined, passionate, creative, complicated.”

  “I think I can handle that,” Francois stated.

  Enjoying his breakfast, Zeke peered out the window next to where he sat. Zeke found the structures of the surrounding buildings in Rue de Rivoli-Le Marais captivating, like the Hotel de Ville building across the street. Located in the fourth arrondissement, the building held large receptions, housed local city administrators, and the Mayor of Paris. Yes, all of that was interesting, but so were the many details in the structure. What a beautiful building.

  Arched windows, thick white columns, tall, spacious, refined with light, Hotel de Ville had taken years to build, and he saw why. Wanting the new Balfour Hotel in Paris to have detailed structure like the one across the street, Zeke came up with some great ideas. “Francois.”

  “Yes.” Francois uncrossed his legs and leaned into the table.

  Zeke’s eyes went back to the Hotel de Ville across the street. “See how the roofs over there have different elevations?”

  Francois nodded. “Let me guess, you’d like something like that for the Balfour? I can definitely come up with something like that. I think that’s a great idea. If we paint the roof a nice gold and…”

  As Zeke sat listening to Francois, a tall, beautiful woman wearing a long white coat gracefully walked past the window along the sidewalk. Zeke’s breath caught. His heart lurched as his eyes followed the woman. Jesus Christ. From the side, the woman had a striking resemblance to Taylor. A much older Taylor, but still Taylor.

  “Excuse me!” Zeke leapt from the table, stormed out of the breakfast eatery, and began following the beautiful woman. Slinking in and out of tourists walking along the jammed sidewalk, Zeke kept his eyes trained to the woman’s backside.

  Wearing a pair of red high heels, the woman eased her hands into the pockets of her white winter coat. The rich, brown curly hair parading down her back blew with the wind.

  Trying to catch up with the elegant woman, Zeke’s heart beat like drums inside his tight chest. Oh God. Is that Taylor? No. My eyes must’ve been playing tricks on me. Wind whipped at Zeke’s cheeks. Anxious to catch up with the woman, his heartbeat escalated. Walking faster and faster, in and out of people, he watched the woman make a sharp left at the corner and disappear. Damn.

  Desperate to catch up with the woman, Zeke jogged the long length of the sidewalk. When he reached the end, he made a sharp left turn. Thank God she didn’t disappear. The beautiful, elegant woman’s long hair covered the side of her face as she stood at Jaubalet, a custom made jewelry store, peeping at a piece of jewelry through the window. Head almost touching the glass window, she brought her hands up to the sides of her head, covering her face more.

  Heart pounding, Zeke took slow, purposeful strides towards the woman. Passing chic shops, he swallowed. From the side, the woman looked every bit like Taylor. His high school love. His one and only true love. The love of his life. But because he hadn’t seen Taylor in so long, in years, since he was a young boy, he couldn’t be sure if it was her or not. No way in hell it’s her.

  Heart about to pop out of his chest, Zeke now towered over the woman. With her hands positioned sideways to the sides of her head, she didn’t bother looking up at him; she kept looking at the sparkling diamond ring.

  “It’s a beautiful piece of jewelry, isn’t it?” Slowly, the woman turned her head and gazed up at him. Shock coursed through Zeke’s veins. His knees buckled. The pecan brown complexion on her face looked like satin. Curly, rich brown hair hung over her shoulders. Sensual caramel eyes glowed. If this woman wasn’t Taylor, then she damn sure was Taylor’s twin. Zeke slapped hard hands to his chest. “Oh. My. God…Taylor.”

  Chapter Nine

  “Taylor,” Taylor’s name rolled off the handsome tall man’s lips standing in front of her like a whisper in the night. Her head tilted back, Taylor’s eyes bore into the man’s gorgeous, tanned face. Strong and muscular looking, dark brown hair grazed his broad shoulders. As he towered over her, a misty sheen covered his brown, coffee-colored eyes. “It’s you. It’s really you. My sweet Taylor.”

  Shock engulfed Taylor. Stole her breath. Water filling her eyes, Taylor stood speechless. Her limbs weakened. Feeling faint, her eyes remained glued to the man. Feeling like she was dreaming, she cupped the sides of her face. “Zeke,” she whispered his name. A tear rolled from her left eye.

  A strained chuckle erupted from Zeke’s lungs. A single tear rolled down his right cheek. “Oh God, Taylor. I found you. I finally found you.” Zeke wrapped his arms around Taylor’s shoulders, drew her form to him, and held her tight. “This is the happiest day of my life. I’ve dreamed of this day for so long.”

  Head to his chest, Taylor closed her eyes and sank into Zeke’s warm embrace. His woodsy cologne traveled up her nose. Memories of the last time she’d seen Zeke came charging into Taylor’s head. It’d been right before she’d been kidnapped.

  With her arms draped around Zeke’s waist, she sobbed. She
held him tight. Continued inhaling his woodsy fragrance. Felt the muscles of his rock hard chest pressing against her face. God, she’d waited forever for this day. Thought it’d never happen–and yet, it had. “Oh, Zeke. You’re here. You’re really here.” I’ve waited forever for you to come back to me.

  “Let me get a good look at you,” Zeke said, prying her from his body. Gently cupping the balls of Taylor’s shoulders, Zeke’s eyes raked up and down her figure, covered by the white trench coat.

  Zeke gently palmed the back of Taylor’s head with one hand, grazed his knuckles over her left ear, covered her cheek with the other. “You’re even more beautiful than I remember. Are you in a hurry? Can we go somewhere and talk?”

  This is a miracle. Taylor swiped at the tear rolling down her face. “Sure. I’d like that,” she cried, her gaze dropping toward the ground.

  Standing on the sidewalk, overwhelmed and crying, Zeke put a finger to Taylor’s chin, tilted her head back. Gazing lovingly into her weeping eyes, he cupped her face, then dried her tears with the pads of his thumbs. “I’m here now, Taylor. Regardless of what’s going on in your life, I’m going to make sure you’re always taken care of.” He cupped her head.

  Shaking her head in his big, strong palms, thin trails of snot ran from Taylor’s nose. “My apartment is fifteen minutes away from here. We can go talk there. We’ll have to catch a taxi.”

  Zeke and Taylor walked to the corner of the street, across from the traffic light. Constantly staring at Taylor, Zeke flagged down a taxi. The taxi rolled up on the curb. Zeke pulled open the rear door for Taylor, and after she climbed in, Zeke did. Mild conversation took place inside the taxi.

  Minutes later, the taxi pulled up on the curb in front of Taylor’s duplex. Zeke reached into his pocket, paid the cab fare, then exited the vehicle. He hurried to the other side of the taxi to pull open the door for her.

  Zeke’s passionate eyes held her still as he extended his hand towards her. As Taylor placed her hand in his, sparks of electricity shot through her arm. Still disbelieving her eyes, she flung her feet to the concrete and eased out of the cab.

  Listening to her heels click against the ivory marble flooring, Taylor waved at the concierge, then began crossing the small courtyard overflowing with live plants inside her duplex. As Taylor and Zeke ascended the spiral staircase toward her luxurious apartment, silence fell upon them. Whether from Zeke’s front, back, or his side, she couldn’t stop gawking at him. And he couldn’t stop staring at her either.

  Wondering if Zeke was married, Taylor stuck the key in the lock of her apartment’s front door and clicked it open. “Welcome to my home,” she said, entering.

  Zeke stepped inside Taylor’s luxurious apartment behind her. “Wow. This is some apartment. You’ve done quite well for yourself, I see.” Zeke stalked over to the tall floor-to-ceiling window and drew back the white sheers covering the view. “This is some view.”

  After taking off her white trench coat and laying it on the sofa, Taylor walked closer to the window and stood behind Zeke. “I love it. Waking up to this view is what has kept me sane for many years. It’s so beautiful and peaceful.”

  Zeke kept his back to her while he absorbed the breathtaking view. Although she woke up to this view every day, she could never get enough of it. A former mansion, her upscale apartment had dark, wooden parquet floors. Tall floor-to-ceiling windows. High ceilings. Cream colored walls and golden details sculpted by a French noblesse. Located on a quiet side street near Quai d’Orleans, it had stunning views of the left bank, Ile de la Cite, and Notre Dame. “Look at the structure on the Cathedral.” Zeke seemed in awe.

  Dressed in a black fitted dress, Taylor folded her arms across her breasts. “It’s gorgeous. Sometimes I sit here on the windowsill and just stare. Dream. And think.”

  Letting the sheers slip from his fingers, he turned from the window and peered down at Taylor. “Do you ever think of me, Taylor?”

  Taylor nodded. “I think of you every day, Zeke.”

  Remorse filled his pupils. “I’m so sorry for what happened to you. It should’ve been me. If I could go back and trade places with you, I would. I’d take all the pain you endured as my own. Take all the fear. Erase all the horrible images out of your head.”

  Taylor sniffled. “He was beautiful. Our son was beautiful, Zeke.”

  Moisture coated Zeke’s eyes. “I hired a private investigator a long time ago to look for you and our son. But after years of trying, the investigator quit. I guess I should’ve hired another one. Anyhow, ever since I’ve learned about our son, I’ve thought of him and you every single day.”

  Taylor’s heart squeezed with grief. “Me, too. He’s alive, Zeke. Our son Zavier is alive.”

  A smile came on Zeke’s face. “Zavier. That’s what you call him? I like that name. Zavier Balfour. He’s ten now?”

  “Yes. Ten. Born right after Christmas. I celebrate his birthday every year. Are you married, Zeke? Children? Family?”

  “No, Taylor, I’m single. And you?”

  Relief flooded Taylor’s insides. “I’m single, too. I’ve never been married.”

  A rush of air expelled from Zeke’s lungs, as if he were relieved. “Me either. God, you’re so beautiful.”

  Taylor’s lips spread into a smile. “Thanks. You’re very handsome, Zeke.”

  Zeke’s hearty chuckles floated in the air, enticed her female senses. “I don’t know about all that. But hey, thanks for the compliment.”

  For the rest of the day, Zeke and Taylor stayed in her apartment, catching up on each other’s lives. Sitting beside him on the expensive couch inside her den, she told him all about how she was discovered as a model. Told him about how she’d modeled for Victoria’s Secret, Vogue, Chanel, and other elite fashion icons.

  Zeke shared with Taylor about how he’d come to Paris to build a hotel at his father’s request. In honor of his grandfather. Told her about his time at the University of Oxford and how he’d been a star football player for the prestigious school. He’d said he was honored to be the CEO of Balfour Enterprises. Although his brother Antonio was pissed, Zeke expressed that he couldn’t have been more pleased with his father’s wise decision.

  They’d both shared their dating experiences over the years. They talked about everything, except for how it’d been hell living with mean Mildred and scary Kelvin. Maybe one day she’d give Zeke a detailed breakdown about that, too, but right now she didn’t want to relive the horrible experience. Right now, she wanted to enjoy the moment of reconnecting with the only man she’d ever loved. And from where she sat at this very moment, she’d always love the kind and powerful—Zeke Balfour.

  As they sat on the sofa conversing, a gleam of interest came into Zeke’s eyes. “We have so much catching up to do, Taylor. If you let me, I’m going to spend every minute of my waking hours pampering you. Making up for lost time. Giving you the life that should’ve been given to you a long time ago.”

  Taylor desired to lay her head on Zeke’s chest and let him hold her. “But Zeke, we’ve only come back together a few hours ago. How could you say you want such things already? I’m not the same sixteen-year-old girl you remember. I’ve changed. And so have you.”

  “You’re right, Taylor. You’ve changed, and so have I. A lot has changed about me. Except for one thing. One very important thing.” Peering into her eyes, Zeke tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. “And that’s how much I love you. I’ve never stopped loving you.”

  Flattered by Zeke’s admission, Taylor cupped his jaw. This is too good to be true. “I’ve never stopped loving you either, Zeke.”

  Zeke bowed his head and gently lowered his lips to hers. “A man knows when he’s met his mate. I met mine when I was eighteen. Unfortunately, she was stolen from me. But now that she’s returned to me, I’m never letting her go. Never, Taylor. Never.”

  Desire radiated Zeke’s dark eyes. He cupped Taylor’s neck, pulled it forward. Heat swooned inside his eyes as he slink
ed his think pink tongue into her mouth and kissed her erotically.

  The strong hardness of Zeke’s lips caused desire to course through Taylor’s veins, set her soul on fire. A hoarse moan rattled inside her throat.

  Oh God. Tongues curling, his firm lips gliding across hers felt heavenly. Please stay true to your word, Zeke, Taylor thought, drinking his saliva.

  Zeke broke their heated kiss. “For me to find you in Paris, of all places, is not a coincidence. It’s fate. Fate, Taylor. Fate. This is God’s doing.”

  “I agree, Zeke. God brought us back together. There is no other explanation.”

  Zeke ran the pad of his thumb over her swollen lips. “Let me spend the night here with you. We don’t have to have sex. All I’m asking is that you let me hold you, Taylor. Just let me hold you all night long, baby. Please.” Zeke’s husky voice enticed Taylor. Sent chills skittering up her spine. Made her hot, and aroused.

  “There’s nothing I’d like more than for you to hold me. All…night…long.” My Mr. Right is really here. And he still knows how to make everything in my world right.

  “Yes!” Zeke gathered Taylor in his strong arms, cradled her to his muscular chest, and held her so tenderly for the rest of the afternoon, and all through the night. And Taylor Spelling couldn’t have been happier.

  Chapter Ten

  Lying on her back sleeping, Taylor felt something hard nudge into the thin pajama bottoms she wore. Awakening from a mild sleep, her eyes fluttered open to the wonderful feel of Zeke’s hard erection pressing into her sheathed buttocks. With her back to Zeke, he threw a heavy arm over her waist and snuggled his masculine body into her form.

  Wrapped in Zeke’s strong arms, loving the feel of his thick erection slapped on her clothed behind, tingles twirled the pit of Taylor’s stomach. A dull ache settled at her entrance. Her nipples tightened beneath the thin fabric bra she wore. Refraining from making love to Zeke hadn’t been a challenge last night, but that was only because he didn’t try to have sex with her. If he’d tried to make love to her, there was no telling what might have happened.