The Billionaire Playboy's Regret (Lark and Max)

Its A Surprise

Lark was in her parent's bedroom looking out over the back yard grinning. Max told them all they were there as a surprise. Their families thought they were there to see Max propose to Lark. She caught his eyes in the yard, and he went to Grady and whispered to him.

Grady gave a nod and a thumbs up and Lark almost laughed. She knew Max was telling him to get her and bring her downstairs. She quickly left the room and moved back to her bedroom knowing her father would look for her there. She barely had time to close her door when her father knocked. She pulled the door open, "hi."

"Hey, sweetie, Max is downstairs in the back yard." He looked at the white lacy sundress she wore. "Is that new?" "Yup. Max and I were supposed to have a date tonight. He's in the back yard?" She pretended to be confused.

"Yes, come on." Grady extended his arm.

They reached the back yard, and she stood on the steps of the back porch with her father. The group of people assembled screamed "surprise" and she threw her head back and laughed. The surprise was on them, and they didn't even know it yet.

Ollie, the only person who was in on the plans and who was able to actually keep the secret, raced to Lark and knelt in front of her and then began kicking a white roll of cloth to form an aisle. Ollie confided Santiago was planning a huge wedding now she told him the truth. He had also warned Johan to never again cover what was his and Johan had laughed in his face. Now there was a weird truce but at least things were on track for the other couples.

"What is she doing?" Grady asked.

Max gave a whistle getting everyone's attention, "surprise!" He laughed as a stranger approached him from the side of the yard. "This is Miss Thyme. She's a justice of the peace. She's here to officiate this evening." Max pushed a button on his phone and music started playing.

Lark looked at her father, the silence of the people looming loud over the quiet of the music. "Dad, would you do me the honor of walking me down the aisle? Max isn't proposing. He already did. We're getting married tonight."

She saw her father's eyes well with tears at her question.

"I would be thrilled, Lark." He kissed her cheek softly.

"Wait, you're getting married?" It finally caught up to Olivier as he looked at Max. "You're getting married right now, son?" Max's grin was wide, "Papa, I asked, and she said yes. Did you think I was going to waste a minute more?"

Lark walked down the small makeshift aisle as their family stood around them and she smiled at the officiant they'd met only days before.

Max smiled at Lark, his white dress shirt unbuttoned casually, the very tip of his scar poking out the top. The officiant greeted everyone and then told the crowd, "we know this is a surprise for you all. Max and Lark wanted to make sure you know how much you are all loved and wanted to include you in their celebration of love. They each wrote vows to exchange and then following their exchange of vows, they will share one more surprise with you." She turned to Lark, "Lark, would you like to begin?"

"I would," she cleared her throat. "when I was a little girl, I dreamed of this." She waved her hand around them, "to be standing here, in front of my friends and family, looking into your eyes," she smiled at Max, "pledging my life to love and grow old with you, Max. This is my childhood dream come true. What I never counted on as a little girl," she cleared her throat as emotions clogged it, "is how strong my feelings would be even after all this time. Max, I love you with each passing moment more than I did even yesterday and with an an intensity which makes me ache when we're apart. I know I am whole on my own but with you at my side side I feel invincible. I make these vows to you. I promise to put you first, even when you piss me off," she smiled at the chuckles. "I promise to hear your words, even the ones you struggle to speak. I promise to turn to you when I am hurting and to see you when you are hurting. I promise to support you in sickness and to celebrate your health." She reached up and wiped a tear off his cheek, "I will love you until my dying day."

Max coughed a bit and wiped his cheeks, "wow. Um, you're a tough act to follow." He looked at the officiant, "I'm having a hard time not kissing her already."

The officiant chuckled, "understood but I think the peanut gallery is anxiously waiting on you."

Max nodded to his family and then looked to Lark as he collected his thoughts, "I thought so hard of all the things I wanted to say to you this evening. All I can say is a lifetime isn't enough. There aren't enough seconds in a minute, minutes in an hour, hours in a day or days in a year, years in our lifetime to adequately give me enough time to make you understand how much I love you. There is no unit of measure large enough, no standard which holds up to the weight of the way I feel."

"Nerd," Ollie coughed from behind them followed by a tittering of their family.

Max pretended he didn't hear her. "Even if I live another hundred years, Lark, it is not enough. I vow to make every single day feel as if it were our last one together. I will spend the rest of my days making sure you know you are loved, respected, wanted, needed, adored and most importantly, mine."

She giggled at his words, "yours huh?"

"All mine. I love you, Lark."

"I love you." She wiped her tears.

The officiant motioned to Ollie for the rings, and she jumped towards them excitedly. "I'm the cutest ringbearer ever."

Miss Thyme motioned to Lark, "repeat after me. I Lark Hoffman, take you Max Villeneuve to be my lawfully wedded husband until death do us part. With this ring, I thee wed." When Lark repeated it and slid the ring on Max's finger, Max let out a sob making Lark bite her lip trying not to cry herself. The officiant then did the same with Max whose voice was so strained with emotion it cracked as if he were twelve again and his hand shook with such tremors Lark wasn't sure he could even get the ring on her finger. "With the power vested in me by the state of Texas, I now declare you husband and wife. Max, you can kiss your bride." The officiant said with a wide smile, stepping backwards as Max gave a growl and swept Lark clear off her feet to kiss her soundly.

The sound of their family clapping with exuberance made them break apart but Lark couldn't stop hugging Max. "We're married!"

"We are." He smiled at her, his dimples so deep she could lose her pinky in them. "Holy chère, I love you." He turned to face the group, holding her tight to his chest, "Lark and I have another announcement for you." He put his hand on her belly, "We're pregnant."

Fallon jumped up and down, "I knew it!"

Ollie blinked and staggered backwards, "you didn't tell me?"

"We're telling you now," Lark grinned at Ollie who suddenly leapt at her and Max and in only the way she could, wrapped her arms and legs around them both causing them to nearly topple over.

"We're having a baby!" Ollie screamed excitedly. "I'm going to be an auntie!"

Lark found herself hugged in a tight group of her family, everyone offering their congratulations and excitement at their news.

She watched from the corner of her eye as LJ who hadn't seen Max since the night of his heart attack and was home for the first time in more than six weeks stepped up to Max and extended his hand. "Congratulations, big brother. I'm happy for you." LJ bit his bottom lip, "um, I'm sorry too for the things I said before. I -"

Before he could finish speaking Max drew him into a hug and squeezed him, "I forgive you. I love you." Olivier wrapped his arms around the two men, "this is what your Papa likes to see. His boys getting along."

Ronnie cleared his throat, "Lark, I had a vision."

The entire family groaned, and Lark laughed, "go ahead, Ronnie. What did you see?"

"I already knew you were pregnant," he said biting the inside of his cheek, "there is more than one in there." He pointed to her belly and then he turned to Ollie, "in there too." He looked for Gracie, "you'll have one by

In

this time next year."

"What about me?" Fallon made wide eyes of terror as she reached nervously for Heriberto who looked

like someone kicked him in the balls. "I don't want one yet. I'm only nineteen!"

"I don't know. I didn't see you but," he looked at Mori, "you and the college professor need to have a chat too. You'll deliver before Lark does."

"Jesus Ronnie, just lay it all out

there," Margot snickered and ducked

under her shocked mother's arm.

"I'm glad I'm still a virgin lest my big brother share all my secrets and send mom back to the island

Ronnie looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "liar."

QUMS

As the craziness of the Villeneuve siblings took over, Lark stood with her arms around her new husband,

glowing in the love and happiness surrounding them.

"Are you happy, my love?" Max whispered in her ear.

"I've never been happier."

"What if it's twins?" he asked nervously. "Ronnie is the new Villeneuve witch you know."

"Then together, you and I, will deal with it. I'm not scared, Max. Do you know why?" "Because you have me?"

"Because I have you," she agreed standing on tiptoe to kiss his lips.

She wasn't fibbing, she decided. She

knew with the man standing beside her, there wasn't a thing they couldn't overcome. They were together for good and bad and there was nobody else on the planet she'd rather be with. She was finally home Where she belonged.

THE END