“Bride? Have you lost your mind?” she asked as he set her down and untied the blindfold. When her eyes had adjusted to the light, she saw high ceilings, shining wood floors, and glass—lots and lots of glass through which there was a dazzling view of the ocean. “What is this place? Where are we?”

He put his arms around her and kissed her. “We’re home. Merry Christmas.”

“Home?” She looked around again. “I don’t understand…”

He took her hand to lead her into the kitchen.

Through French doors, she saw a stone patio around an elaborately tiled in-ground pool. “Did you buy this house, Jack?”

“Not exactly. I built this house.”

She whirled around to look again, realizing parts of what she saw were familiar. “Oh, God, you built it. You built my house, didn’t you?” she asked in a whisper, her eyes flooding with tears. “The house you drew for me after our wedding?”

He nodded.

She wiped tears from her face. “But how? When? When did you do this?”

“Many late nights with ‘clients,’ and many, many lies,” he said with the devilish grin that still melted her bones after thirteen and a half years together.

“The top, with the circle and the glass, did you do that, too?” she asked, filled with excitement as the details of the plans he’d drawn for “someday” came rushing back to her.

“Of course I did. Want to see?”

She nodded and put her arms around him. Whatever had she done to deserve this man—this amazing, thoughtful, generous man? “I want to see, but first I just want you.” She hugged him close to her. “I can’t believe you did this.”

He pulled back to look down at her. “Did you think I’d forgotten?”

“You’ve been so busy with the firm. I haven’t thought about this in years.”

“I’ve never stopped thinking about it, and when this property came on the market, I snapped it up.”

“It’s so beautiful, but it must’ve cost a fortune. Can we afford this?” She tipped her eyes up to his. The firm he and Jamie had founded almost six years ago had been wildly successful, but she didn’t think they had this kind of money.

“We can afford it. I did a lot of it myself to keep the cost down, but I don’t want to talk about that. Can I show you the rest?”

“Yes.” She reached up to caress his face. “In case I forget to say this later, thank you, Jack. This is the best surprise I’ve ever gotten.” She drew him down and kissed him with a thoroughness that left them both breathless.