Unwanted Heat

Kenzie

I am beyond stunned: shocked and floored by Nicholas’s wedding gift to me. I never expected a wedding gift, let alone him to give me the deed to the bakery. I had always dreamed of one day opening my own bakery, but I never thought it would happen. Yet here I am holding the deed to Sweet Dreams bakery in my hand.

I’m speechless, yet there’s so much I want to say. Thank you just doesn’t seem like enough; those two words don’t seem like they would convey what I feel right now. How do you thank someone for giving you something you’ve dreamed of for so long but never thought would ever happen? I feel guilty for even accepting this-I can’t begin to imagine what buying the bakery even cost. I don’t know why he felt the need to buy me a wedding present, let alone one so damn expensive.

He seems to think that he is the only getting something out of our new arrangement, but he’s not. In two years when this is all over, I’m going to be walking away with a condo, I will never need to worry about paying for, and a college degree. Those two items are priceless in themselves, especially the apartment. Having a place of my own, a place that is safe, is something I never had. I wish he would see what he is giving me the way I see it. I wish he would realize that I’m getting just as much from this new arrangement as he is.

“I had the flight crew put an overnight bag in the bedroom for you; there should be a change of clothes and any toiletries you might need for the trip,” Nicholas pulls me from my thoughts as I realize my head was still resting on his shoulder.

I quickly wipe away the tears that had fallen before sitting up. I want to say more about the bakery, but I can’t find the words. I want to refuse to accept it, I want to give it back to him and tell him to sell it someone else. But, I have someone handing me the dream I never thought I would achieve. How do you turn that down? Especially when the person is asking nothing of you in return than what you already agreed to? Except, how do I not feel like I’m taking advantage of him? How can I ensure he doesn’t think I’m like his ex who only wants material items from him? Who was willing to exploit him for his money?

“Nicholas… I want you to know that I never expected this,” I gesture to the envelope holding the deed to the bakery. “I never expected anything more than what we already agreed to when you asked me to marry you. I cannot thank you enough though for this gift; you are making a dream of mine come true, one that I never thought I would see. Part of me really wants to tell you that I can’t accept such extravagant gift-”

“Please. You say that I’m making your dream come true, but you fail to see that you are doing the same for me. You are helping me keep my dream alive. Without you, I don’t know how I would change things for PFS. This is the least I can do to try to thank you for everything you are doing for me.”

“I… I just don’t want you to ever think that I expect things like this from you. I don’t want you to think you need to constantly spend money on me to thank me for marrying you.”

“I can’t and won’t promise you that I will not spend more money on you over the course of our marriage, but trust me… I know you don’t expect it.”

“Just don’t feel like you have to constantly thank me. Can we just call it even after this?”

“Sure,” he chuckles. “If that will make you feel better about this, yes I will agree to that. We are even now.”

“Thank you,” I don’t feel completely relieved, but at least it’s a start to get him to not think that I expect him to constantly spend money on me. “Now, can you tell me where we are going and when we’re going to get there?”

“We are going to Turtle Island.”

“That doesn’t help me; I have no idea where that is.”

“Fiji.”

“We’re going to Fiji?!?!” Holy shit!

“Yes, the flight should take about 15 hours, but because of the time change we actually lose almost a day going there. The first day is probably going to be rough: because of the time change as we are arriving at about 3 a. m. local time. Once we land, we will change planes and take a small sea plane over to the island.”

“Have you ever been there?”

“No, but I did a lot of research on Turtle Island before agreeing to my travel agent’s recommendation. This island is very popular amongst those who value their privacy. It can only be accessed via plane or boat, so the chances of the press sneaking onto the island are very slim. We won’t be staying in a typical hotel either, which helps with the privacy. Instead, we will be staying in a villa that is pretty secluded, even from the other. We have direct access to a private section of the beach, and the villa itself is surrounded by trees and wildlife. From what I’ve seen there are plenty of things to do on the island. Meals can be brought directly to our villa or we can eat at one of the many restaurants. Julie and Carter will be staying in a room at a hotel that is on the island, just in case we want to go off the island.”

“Julie?”

“She wasn’t able to fly out with us today as she had already made plans for tomorrow with her sister, but she will be flying out on Monday to join Carter. It’s a working vacation for him, but I expect it will be a lot less work once we arrive on the island. This way they get to enjoy some time alone and he isn’t completely bored for the next week.”

“I’m sure Julie is excited about the trip.”

“With everything those two do for me, it’s the least I can do.”

I don’t think Nicholas ever realizes how kind he truly is; he constantly gives to others yet doesn’t expect very much in return. The wedding today is a perfect example of that; he gave me the wedding I told him I dreamed about when I was younger. And now, he’s taking me on what sounds like the absolute perfect honeymoon. I’m touched that he has gone through so much trouble for an arrangement that is designed to save PFS. It’s funny, when we entered the arrangement with Bridget, I thought of it as a business transaction and tried to convince myself that he would never see it as anything more than that. I think with this new arrangement, neither of us are that blind.

“How long are we going to be in Fiji for?” I ask.

“One week. I would have liked to stay for longer, but getting away from PFS on such short notice wasn’t easy.”

“I’m… I’m just excited to be going for any length of time!”

“I hope you like the island. There are tons of things to do, in addition to beach access, the villa has its own private pool that we can use.”© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

“Thank you, Nicholas, for doing all this. You didn’t have to go through all this trouble-”

“It wasn’t-”

“We could have just gone away somewhere for a night or two after the wedding. You didn’t have to fly me to another country and take so much time off of work for the honeymoon. I just want you to know that I appreciate everything you did today to make the wedding special and now for giving me a honeymoon that any girl would wish for.”

“You said you never thought you would ever get married, so I

wanted to make this wedding and honeymoon something that you could happily look back on,” he shrugs as if it’s no big deal what he did.

“I will always remember it; I’m touched that you wanted to make it special for me.”

He doesn’t respond and after a few minutes, he takes out his phone and starts checking his emails. I don’t think he’s comfortable with the focus being on him. I’ve noticed that he tends to try to change the subject when someone tries to recognize something nice he has done. He’s told me multiple times he prefers not to be recognized for donations he has made. I vow to do something special for him when we return back to New York to thank him for this.

“I think I’m going to go change, the bedroom is back there?” I gesture toward the back of the plane where he indicated it was when we flew to North Carolina the other day.

“Yes, I’ll show you.”