A VERGARA HONEYMOON (THE YOUNG BILLIONAIRES #2) (#wattys2015) COMPLETED

chapter fifteen

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

"Ella!"

Ella twisted from her chair on the board walk to see Lani waving and smiling. A huge grin broke off on her face as she bolted, reaching for her friend. "Oh my God Lani! How?..what are you doing here?"

"I had no idea I was coming to see you my friend." They were both grinning from ear to ear and were so caught up in their happy reunion that they forgot about the guys.

"Thanks man." Dylan slapped Bryan on the back.

"Any time bud."

"I on the other hand can't seem to let this opportunity pass by without enjoying a moment of it." Dominic said mischievously.

"So you and Lani eh?" Dylan eyed him knowingly.

"Yeah, he took his sweet time." Bryan said in mock irritation before going over to the girls and announcing that they were going into town and to come along if they wanted to.

"Welcome to Putrajaya, the garden city." Bryan announced chirpily the moment they got out of their cars. Lani and Ella smiled at each other, both Dylan and Dominic eyed him sceptically before Dylan asked, "How do you even know that?"

"Unlike you, I actually read something other than politics and business. Come on." They walked in his wake as he seemed to know what he was doing. Ten minutes later he had gotten them tickets for the cruise tasik but instead of riding the air conditioned, glass covered catamarans he opted for the hand crafted traditional wooden boat—the Malaysian equivalent of a gondola—which according to Bryan was known as the dondang sayang meaning love boat—now they all knew why he chose it, Bryan had taken it upon himself to be their tour guide for the day he said it was so he wouldn't be the third wheel and he was so good at it. He told them about the Putrajaya Lake which was handmade and occupies a stunning 650-hectares with nine bridges running across, the Tudor styled mansion–the Istana Darul Ehsan– which was the palace of the sultan of Selangor stood beside the lake, its grey colour a sharp contrast against the rising sun.

They stopped by the Taman botani—an exotic botanical garden, the largest across the country spanning across an impressive 92 hectares. The sight left them utterly speechless with its countless exotic plants of different species and beautifully scented flowers. Lani was grinning from ear to ear while Ella was simply dumbfounded. This ought to be one of the most beautiful gardens she'd ever seen.

"I could live in this place." Ella muttered.

"I totally agree with you my friend." Lani said resting her hand on Ella's shoulder.

They soon lost sight of the guys, but they weren't bothered only glad they could finally have some girl time. With the help of one of the gardeners, they explored the canopy bridge; a long walk way lined with trees whose branches intertwined intricately forming a cover like a canopy, hence the name. It was cool and relaxing like some kind of a magical realm cut out from a fantasy novel. There was the vine garden in all of its glory slowly crawling up the walls. The bougainvillea tunnel fascinated them the most, it was carefully crafted with curved iron pipes running across and between creating a basket-like look, there was a carefully trimmed flower bed at the top shielding even the slightest ray of sun. Flowery plants lined one side of it and there was a wooden pathway.

It was almost ten in the morning and the sun shone bright, evidently marking a beautiful and fun day.

They met with the guys thirty minutes later.

Bryan produced a large loaf of bread which he shared amongst them to feed the hungry fishes in the river.

Ella laughed with mirth as the fishes fought to be fed, each trying to jump higher than the other.

The sound of her laughter was music to Dylan's ears it made his heart constricted at how utterly happy she looked right then, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, her face glowed and her cheeks were tainted with colour, those luscious lips of hers were a sight to behold and he wanted nothing but to swallow her with his kiss.

Ella had turned right at that moment, and it was too late to look away. Her heart leapt a mile, that feeling they say is the most wonderful when you look at him only to find him already looking. Ella's tongue darted out to lick her lips as she managed a nervous laugh, ''Why are you looking at me like that? You should try it too, it's actually fun.'' She told him light heartedly hoping it would ease the tension already hanging between them.

Dylan didn't spare the left over bread she was offering a glance, he held her gaze intensely, ''I like it when you laugh like that,'' he told her truthfully. ''You look more beautiful.'' Ella swallowed nervously.

''Um...thanks.'' She murmured looking away and tucking a wayward strand of her hair behind her ear.

''I mean it.'' He assured emphatically like he knew she didn't take him seriously. They were so lost in each other that none of them registered the fact that Lani and Dominic as well as Bryan were watching their little show. Lani signalled both guys quietly and they were gone from there.

Dylan reached out tentatively and tucked her hair behind her ear once more and his fingers lingered. Gently, he caressed her cheek with his knuckles, a gesture that shot thousands of electric volts into her body and she knew the best thing to do was to break the spell of that moment.

Instinctively, she pulled back an inch causing his hand to fall back at his side. She cleared her throat, ''Um...I uh...think I should get back to feeding the fishes now, they must be starving.'' She laughed nervously, resuming the task at hand but she couldn't resist eyeing him from her periphery. Dylan didn't look angry, only hurt, none of them spoke a word and the silence stretched on for a while before Dylan said, ''Do you think you could ever learn to trust me?''

     Ella paused momentarily, before answering him guardedly, ''I don't know.''