Playing for Rya

53. Unbroken Bonds

Song: Nothing breaks like a heart by Mark Ronson ft Miley Cyrus

Rya woke at the crack of dawn. The soothing sounds of gently rolling waves lapping against the boats hull, combined with the warm cocoon of Derek's warm solid naked body and the blankets that covered them, kept her rooted in place.

Her gaze fell on the hand that lay on top of Derek's chest, and she smiled as she admired the ring in the rising light of day. She lifted her middle finger, testing its weight. She didn't feel any different being engaged, except for the blissful feeling of deep contentment she felt within her bones.

Shifting slightly so as not to wake Derek, Rya watched him sleep. He looked peaceful, his oblivion lending him a boyish aura. Unable to resist the urge, she caressed the side of his face and pressed a gentle kiss to his chest. Carefully, she extricated herself from him, leaving him sleeping peacefully as she picked up her phone and quietly left the room.

Both her and Derek had stayed up until the early hours of the morning; talking, laughing, making love. At some point during the night they had toured the suite to blow out the still lit, scented candles before getting back into bed, and into each others arms.

She couldn't believe that he had worried, even for a moment, what her response would be to his proposal. Or the depth of her love for him. There was no-one else she would rather spend the rest of her life with, other than him. And she had spared no thought, or action, in showing him that, the rest of the night.

She had gotten barely two hours of sleep, but she felt too excited to remain in bed. There were a few people she couldn't wait to break the news to: her parents and her small group of unruly friends who had all known about Dereks impending proposal and had all but avoided her in an effort to keep his secret.

It all made sense to her now, Kris's sudden weird attitude, and Jace's adamant defense of Kris. The only one who had managed to escape her suspicion was Peter, whom, it appeared, was a much better liar than the other two!

She checked the time. Considering the time difference, it was late at night in New York. She dialed her mother first, and then Kris, and spent the next several minutes replaying the previous evening and Dereks proposal for her loved ones.

She laughed and cried with her mother and assured her father that she was and would always be his little girl.

Kris took the news a little differently screaming and babbling wildly as she took the news to Jace.

"It's been WEEKS," she wailed, "I was going half out of my mind not able to tell you. I thought he'd never ask.

"And the RING! Sheesh Ry, a fucking HARRY WINSTON! Send me a picture alright? I thought I was going to point at a ring and go *that one*, but nope. Your man picked stones and described settings and design and talked about shit like carats and cut and clarity. I mean other than knowing your ring size, I don't think I was much of a help to Mr Black. Oh gosh! Do I call him Derek now? You're getting married to a gazillionaire! We're BOTH getting MARRIED!!!

"And a YACHT!!!" She screamed after she heard that news. "You should have the wedding on it! People do that so why not?"

"Not me," Rya shook her head. "It's humongous, but I think it might be a little crowded having both Derek's guests and mine together on this thing." And then as an afterthought, she added, "You and Jace can have yours here, if you really want a yacht wedding."

"Can we really?" Kris said excitedly as she relayed the offer to Jason. "Isn't that like a destination wedding though?" She asked when she came back on the line, "because those are fucking expensive. Where will the yacht be? I should probably research this."