Step by Step Love: The Complete Collection (10 page)

It had been exactly one year since Ryan and Veronica had fled to Tahiti to live in their parents' summer-home. Just as Ted and Jacquelyn had promised, they made Vera the chairwoman of the company and sent the two of them a royalty percentage. The couple was living well, enjoying the sun and the company of one another. They had not expected the fiasco at the company to turn out so well for them, but they were grateful that it had.

“I can't believe we've been here for an entire year,” Veronica said, splaying her beach towel on the sand and laying down.

She adjusted her sunglasses as Ryan plopped onto the ground beside her. He kissed her forehead and smiled.

“Me either,” he replied. “Time flies when you're having fun, eh?”

Veronica smiled and nodded.

“Wouldn't be stuck in Tahiti with anyone other than you,” she said, taking a sip from her water bottle. She lowered her voice to a whisper and added, “This is a margarita.”

Ryan chuckled.

“Why am I not surprised?” he asked, amused.

“Want some?”

“Obviously.”

He took a sip of the alcoholic beverage and wrapped his arm around his stepsister. She looked up at him.

“Why are you grinning like an idiot?” she asked.

“I'm just thinking about how happy I am.”

She blushed.

“Me too.”

The waves crashed onto the beach and she closed her eyes, reveling in her stepbrother's touch. She took a deep breath of the air.

“You know, I never thought this was going to work out, honestly,” she admitted.

Ryan chuckled.