Yasmin chuckled. “Rachel is a genius,” she said. “She’s the real deal, Derek. She’s a keeper.”“I still can’t believe that you’re here,” he said in wonder. “I feel as if I am dreaming.”“So do I,” she admitted. “Derek, I am so sorry for everything. I am sorry I didn’t give you a chance to get to know me but instead allowed your father to drive a wedge between us. I am not trying to paint your father as the bad guy because if I’m being honest, I also share in the blame. I am so sorry for abandoning you and letting you mourn my fake death while I lived my best life somewhere else.”“I didn’t have time to mourn you,” he confessed. “I was so angry at you and I drowned myself in work.”“I am so sorry,” she said again, crying openly. “I am so, so sorry, Derek. Can you ever forgive me?”Seeing his mother cry and express so much remorse broke something inside of him. It was as if she had smashed the block of ice that had held his heart in a death grip for years, into tiny pieces. Tears rolled

Just as Derek had predicted, Alfred was beyond ecstatic when they informed him of Rachel’s wish to be married at Rickman Manor.“What an honor!” He exclaimed happily. “What joy!”“Stop being so dramatic, Uncle Alfred. It’s just a wedding,” said Derek.“Uh-huh, Derek. It’s not a wedding, it’s the wedding,” said Taylor and he got a high five from Rob who yelled, “Dang right, it is!”Everyone laughed. They were sitting at a long dining table that had been set up by the hotel in the banquet hall where they’d had Derek’s birthday party last night. It was the only place that could contain the large family consisting of Rachel’s folks, Jonah and his family, and Uncle Alfred. Diane and the other guests had checked out of the hotel earlier after having breakfast in their rooms.This late breakfast was for family only and that included Elaine who was sitting beside Zoe and making sure the toddler was cared for while the adults joked and chatted playfully.“I am so happy for you two,” said Rosem

“There you are!” She exclaimed when she found him standing by the pool, staring off into the distance. “Are you ok?”“Yes,” he said and smiled at her. “I have never felt this much peace in my life.”“Aww, I’m glad you feel that way,” she said, embracing him.“Come on, let’s go inside and see what Elaine and Zoe are up to. The island manager will be sending in our private chef later today. In the meantime, I’m sure we can make do with whatever is in the kitchen for now.”“I don’t think anyone is hungry yet. This place is too good for you to think about eating.”“Zoe may not agree with you,” he said with a grin. “My daughter is a certified foodie.”“She got it from her momma,” said Rachel.“I’m not going to argue with that,” said Derek and he received an elbow jab in the ribs from his wife.They found Zoe and her nanny in the cinema room watching Moana. Derek and Rachel were immediately captivated by the exciting animation movie, and they too sat down to watch it. When it was over, they

A loud crash woke Rachel up and her eyes flew open with alarm. She could tell instantly that something was wrong.“What was that?” Derek asked groggily.“You heard it too? It sounded like something breaking,” she said and began to get out of bed.“No, you stay here and I’ll go and check it out,” said Derek, getting out of bed.“You go to the kitchen and I’ll go and check on Zoe and Elaine.”They quickly put on their dressing robes and ran out of the room to investigate the strange noise and make sure that the other occupants of the house were ok.Rachel was relieved when she was that both Elaine and Zoe were still asleep in their room and they hadn’t been disturbed by the crash that woke her up. She quietly closed their bedroom door and moved to Yasmin’s door, but as she raised her hand to knock on it, Derek showed up with a barely conscious Javier leaning on him. The chef’s head was bloody and he looked dazed.“Oh, my God! What happened to him?” Rachel asked, hurrying over to the hal