Shay's POV
I held my first meeting in the morning, discussing some recent changes I had made to our new marketing strategy with the team. After the meeting, I went out to meet a new client who was highly interested in our cosmetic products. The meeting was successful, leaving me feeling pleased in the end.
When lunchtime finally arrived, I received a text from Jason telling me he had arrived and was waiting for me out front. I grabbed my clutch bag and phone from my desk before leaving the office. Once I reached the lobby, I effortlessly made my way out through the glass revolving doors, grinning when I saw him standing outside his car with a charming smile on his face.
I approached him, and he leaned in, quickly pecking my lips before wrapping his arms around me in a hug.
"I missed you," I murmured against his shoulder.
He pulled back and smiled down at me.
"Me too. I missed your beautiful face. Now, let's go because your surprise is waiting for you."
He turned around and opened the car door for me. I frowned in confusion while smiling.
"I'm really curious about this surprise. There's no special occasion today."
He stared back at me, his eyes scanning my face before his mouth curved into a smile.
"You sure about that?" he asked. I nodded.
"Yeah! What's the surprise then?"
He shook his head and smirked.
"Nice try, but I'm not telling you anything until we get there. Are you sure there's really nothing to celebrate today?"
I quickly racked my brain, but I couldn't think of anything special.
We left my workplace, and he started driving along the highway. For a moment, we were both completely silent, giving me time to think of possible places he could be taking me. I turned towards him and studied his side profile carefully.
"Can you at least give me a small clue about where we're going?"
He laughed and quickly glanced at me.
"Just hang in there, babe. We're almost there."
I scowled and turned back to the window. That's when he swerved the car onto a clear gravel road. He drove straight ahead, and my eyes widened in surprise when I saw the docks coming into view.
I had never been to this place before, and just seeing the number of boats and yachts aligned in rows near the docks made my heart race with excitement. Jason suddenly stopped the car, and I quickly turned to him with a smile.
"This is still part of the surprise, right?"
He grinned. "Yep."
We both got out of the car, and the warm summer breeze was the first thing to greet me as I stepped outside. My hair flew all over my face, so I quickly reached inside my clutch bag for a hair tie and pulled my hair back into a loose ponytail. Jason came to my side, held my hand, interlocked our fingers, and started leading me toward the docks.
We walked along the narrow wooden bridge between the towering yachts. I couldn't help but admire how amazing they looked. I had never been on a yacht before, so seeing one up close was truly exciting.
A man stood nearby on the side of a large white yacht with golden detailing. Jason greeted him with a smile and a handshake.
"Hello, James."
"Hello again, Mr. Cartwright. As you requested, everything is ready and just waiting for your further instructions. Shall we sail east?"
The word "sail" caught my attention, and I looked at Jason immediately, but he kept his eyes on James, smiling. I could tell he was enjoying my surprised reaction.
"East it is," Jason replied.
James left our side and hopped onto the yacht. Jason gently helped me get on board, with James offering a hand. Once Jason was inside with us, he grabbed my hand again and led me inside. We passed through a brightly lit cabin and stepped out onto the back deck.
As Jason moved aside to let me walk through, my jaw dropped open in shock. A round table covered with white linen was set in the middle, food already placed on top. Two golden bottles of champagne rested inside a silver ice bucket with empty flutes standing beside them. A small chocolate cake with a '25' candle stood in the center.
I had been so busy that I had completely forgotten it was my birthday today. Now this was what I called a surpriseâI never expected to be this shocked. And I couldn't believe that Jason had remembered.
"You... did all this?" I finally managed to ask after regaining my voice.
"Yeah. This is to celebrate your successful career and your birthday. What do you think?"
I stared at him, unable to form the right words. The sweet surprise was so amazing that I felt a little tearful. I embraced him in a hug, tightening my arms around him. He hugged me back.
I had never felt so grateful to have such an amazing man who would go to great lengths to do something this thoughtful for me. I tilted my head up and kissed him passionately. His arms tightened around my waist as he kissed me back. When I broke the kiss, I smiled lovingly at him.
"Thank you. This is really amazing. I love it. I can't believe you did all this."
He chuckled, and we turned toward the table. He held me close, my arm resting around his torso.
"I feel so proud of you for everything you've done these last few months. I thought we needed to celebrate that. But when I realized today was also your birthday, I came up with the idea to celebrate it all at once."
He pulled out a chair for me, and I sat down while he took the seat in front of me. He grabbed a lighter, lit the candle on the cake, and pushed it toward me before standing up and coming to my side.
"Make a wish, baby," he softly urged.
I chuckled and smiled up at him.
"What else should I wish for when I already have everything I want?"
He beamed and kissed the top of my head. I blew out the candle anyway.
James, the captain, sailed the yacht smoothly across the clear blue sea, away from the docks. We enjoyed our lunch, sharing small talks about everything. After eating, Jason filled our glasses with sparkling champagne and took me up to the open deck so we could look out at the sea.
With the wind rushing through my hair and my champagne glass in hand, I strolled across the deck, grabbing onto the railings and staring at the vast ocean, sparkling under the sunlight. Jason stood next to me, wrapping his arm around my waist. I leaned back into his chest.
"It's amazing, isn't it? How fast time changes? And here we are now. Can you remember the last time you ever wished for this exact moment to happen in your life?" he asked.
I nodded. "This is it. The moment I've always wanted... my moment of freedom."
He raised his glass toward mine, and I smiled, clinking our glasses together.
"To freedom and happiness," he said with a pleasant tone.
"To freedom and happiness," I echoed before sipping my champagne and leaning back into his embrace.
I closed my eyes for a few seconds, reflecting on all the happy moments in my life. Everyone experiences ups and downs, but somehow, they find ways to overcome them. Some struggle more than others, but they still find a way to be happy.
That's one lesson I have learned so far:
Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.
~THE END~
A/N
Thank you so much for all of you that have given my book a chance and following the story of Shay Falcon till the end. I really appreciate all of you for getting this book over 1k reads, thank you so much.
This is the end of book 1 in the (FALCON FAMILY SERIES). Now on to book 2 which I will write soon so make sure you follow me so you can keep up with the latest updates. I will also upload the book 2 announcement chapter here along with the synopsis and title and in case if you're wondering.......BOOK 2 WILL BE ABOUT SYLVIA! You'll all get to know how Sylvia is doing with her life and how her love interest will show up in the story so make sure to keep an eye out for book 2 once it's published.
That will be all. Thank you for reading!
~LUCY~