by Ella Goode
Gavin understands this. “Fine but you’re doing this for nothing. She doesn’t want your money.”
His words hit me like a second blow to the face. She doesn’t want anything from me. I’d found my true mate and she believed I’d taken something from her. My chest feels like it’s caved in. I have a hard time breathing. I shrug into my jacket, tighten my tie, and jerk my chin in Gavin’s direction. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”
I never realized how big my office was but the walk across it from my desk to the door seems endless. The dark blue carpet stretches out in front of me like a dark, angry lake. Gavin falls in behind me, my sullen escort.
Outside my office, Jason gets to his feet as I exit. “Did you need something, Major?”
“I’m going to be out of the office for the rest of the week,” I reply. “You may want to look for another job.”
“Major?” he asks in confusion.
“I’m liquidating, Jason. As of tomorrow morning, I’m liquidating.”
His jaw falls open. He sputters but has no response. Good thing because there’s no explanation I can provide for him. This is my penance. No, it’s merely the start of my penance.
“Maybe you should call your lawyer,” Gavin murmurs from behind my shoulder.
“No. If what you say about your sister is true, there’s no need for any further judgment. I believe her.”
Gavin clears his throat. I turn to see him tugging at his tie.
“What is it?” I ask, suspicion tingling in my spine.
“It’s just that...I don’t know….She didn’t exactly…” He can’t finish an entire sentence.
I narrow my eyes but before I can blurt out an accusation, the elevator doors slide open and there, in the middle of the car, stands Maple, holding a bouquet of flowers. Her beautiful lips part and her eyes volley from her brother to me and back again.
“Oh no,” she says.
Chapter 16
Maple
“What are you doing here?” I ask my brother but rush over to Major. I shouldn't be shocked to see Gavin here but I am. I’d showed up at his place late last night. Not to talk to him but to Levi. I knew his fiancé could give me more rational advice about everything.
I see a red mark on Major’s face. “Did he hit you?” I accuse my brother. “Are you okay?” I fire off a bunch of questions.
No one says anything. They both stand there in what looks to be shock that I’m standing here. I’m not going to lie, I might be a little surprised too but Levi reminded me that I always lead with my heart and something about Major is pulling me toward him. It’s encouraging me to find out exactly what the pull is. It isn’t like me to not listen to what my body is trying to tell me. I still need to make his mother the necklace. I know I agreed to it under a settlement but after meeting her I am more than willing to create it. It is going to be my honor to do so.
I stand here waiting for answers but no one gives me any. “Can you get me ice?” I ask the man standing behind Gavin and Major. His eyes are bouncing between all of us. He looks a touch panicked about everything. I have no idea what’s gone down but I can only imagine pure chaos, if it was only my brother and Major going head to head. These two need a buffer. Me or that lawyer of Major’s. I don’t think they are able to have a rational conversation. I find it hard to have one with Major sometimes and I’m not even hotheaded like my brother.
“You do as she asks. Always.” Major finally speaks.
The man, who is probably my age, maybe a few years older, darts off. I grab Major’s hand, pulling him back into an office with my brother following suit. I already know without him saying anything that he has no plans of leaving this office unless I’m with him. He often forgets that I’m a grown woman who can make my own choices. I know I’ve leaned on him a lot over the years but he’s taken it upon himself to watch over me. Maybe it is time that I started to venture out from the bubble he’s crafted around me. I’ve grown used to staying there because it’s easy and safe. I couldn’t get too mad at my brother because he is only trying to look out for my best interest.
I push Major down onto the large sofa in the random office I’ve pulled us into. It might be a conference room for all I know. He starts to pull me down with him but then stops. It shouldn't bother me that he didn't pull me down into his lap but it does.
“Why are you here?” I repeat, looking over my shoulder to my brother.
“To get him out of your life. You showed up distraught last night.”
I let out a long sigh. Of course Gavin jumped to conclusions. This is exactly why I went to talk to Levi to begin with. “I was not distraught.”
“It was two a.m. What was I to suspect?”
“That I couldn't sleep and I wanted someone to talk to,” I rebuff. “A conversation I’m guessing you listened in on.”
“I might have overheard a few things.” My brother stands a little taller, straightening his tie. It is something he does when he’s trying to play it cool, like he’s done nothing wrong.
“I would have helped you sleep,” Major says. I’m still holding his hand and he gives it a squeeze, drawing my attention back to him.
“You motherfucker,” Gavin growls.
“Don’t,” I snip over my shoulder at him, knowing without looking that he is charging our way.
“I shouldn’t have said that.” Major looks down almost sheepishly. I don’t care for that either. I set my flowers down next to him. They arrived this morning, bright and early. I drop down into his lap, the way I know he wanted to pull me into it earlier.
“Why is my brother here and did he hit you?” I form a small smirk as I press my chest into Major. He is, after all, the one who taught me about my secret weapon. I might as well use it. Finally I get one of those smirks that a week ago I wanted to smack off his face but now warms my insides.
“He came to issue me a restraining order that you wanted against me.” I turn to gape at my brother.
He shrugs unapologetically. “You said you needed to stay away from him,” he points out.
I likely did say something along those lines when I first arrived at Levi and Gavin’s last night. I was all over the place and I thought space from Major was what I needed but the more time I'm away from him the worse I feel. This weird hollow feeling has taken hold in my stomach.
I look back to Major, my finger brushing along his jaw where the red mark has started to form. “Major didn’t do anything to me that I didn’t want,” I say. Major leans into my touch. It is the only reason I can think of to explain why my brother would hit him.
“Besides forcing me into working for him,” I add with a small tease.
“You don’t have to make the necklace,” he gives.
“Damn you, Major Bennington. That only makes me want to make it more.”
“My mother is hard to say no to.”
I smile. “That she is.” I don’t tell him I’m starting to have that same problem with him. He doesn’t need to know that.
A moment later the man from before comes rushing back in with a bag of ice, handing it to me. He starts rattling off a list of things he will be doing at Major’s request. I sit there in shock at all the things my brother had gotten Major to do. I swallow back the lump in my throat. He was willing to throw everything away because he thought he’d truly hurt me. Behind all those arrogant smiles, suits and fancy cars is a man with a heart as sweet as they come. I’m starting to think Major is a little like my brother. He puts on these fronts to protect himself. To keep people at bay. Then when he finds someone that he doesn't want to keep at arm’s length they are not really sure how to handle it.
“You will be doing none of those things,” I tell the man as if I have any say in Major’s business. The man’s eyes bounce between Major and me.
“As I said. You always do as she asks.”
The man visibly relaxes. “I thought you’d lost your mind.” He walks over to my brother, grabbing something from his hand. I see it’s a check and he
rips it in half multiple times before then throwing it in my brother’s face, who stands there shocked. “I’ve always wanted to do that,” he says.
“Then I’m glad you got the chance to live out one of your dreams, Jason,” Major says. I bite my lip to keep from laughing as Jason leaves the office. Gavin doesn't move. I turn back to Major to put the ice on his face.
“I think it just needs a kiss.” He takes the ice bag from my hand, tossing it away.
“My brother did hit you.”
“You’re not kissing him,” Gavin says from behind me.
I give Major one of his own smirks as I lean in and kiss the spot my brother hit. I’m not going to marry him in a week because that's just crazy, no matter how good the idea may sound, but I can explore this. Explore all these things he is making me feel. I am going to let my heart lead. It usually does right by me.
Major turns his head and before I know what’s happening we are full-on making out. This is why I was so out of sorts. I get near him and I close my mind but is that such a bad thing? Everything to me is about life and he makes me feel alive. Why would I try and stop the very thing I try and bring to people?
“I’m here for wedding planning.” I jerk away from the kiss at the sound of Major’s mother’s voice.
“We aren't getting married in a week.” My words are breathless and not at all filled with confidence. I also notice I say week and not at all. “We need to focus on your necklace,” I remind her as my brother starts to carry on about prenups and so on.
“No prenup,” Major says dismissively. I’m sure if his lawyer were here she wouldn’t be too happy about that.
“Of course no prenup,” Major’s mom says in agreement. Gavin stands there looking shocked for a moment. He was demanding one but I think Major said so quickly that he didn't want one, Gavin doesn't know what to do. Let’s face it, if there is no prenup that is in my favor.
“I want it in writing you can’t touch her jewelry line,” Gavin finally spits out.
“I just tried to hand over everything I own to her five minutes ago. Make up whatever outlandish prenup you want. I’ll sign it,” Major says. “It will never be used so you’re wasting your own time. Why would I give a fuck?”
I can see that he and my brother are always going to butt heads.
“Language,” Major’s mom scolds with a smile.
“Sorry, Mom,” he says before he kisses me below the ear. “Look how happy she is.” His hold on me tightens. I melt into him. He told me on the car ride home how his mother has been a shell of herself. What his asshole father did. It breaks my heart not just for her but the whole family. “Hell, I’ve never been so happy. No wonder people want your jewelry so badly. You put a little of yourself into it, don’t you? I get it now because I want all of you.”
Right then, I know they have me. I am getting married. But not in a week. I mean really that’s just crazy! I’ll stall. My eyes meet Major’s. I almost want to laugh because if I know one thing about Major it’s that he always gets what he wants. One way or another. I’ll be no different and sooner rather than later he’ll have my hand in marriage.
Chapter 17
Major
“I’m not marrying you this weekend,” Maple insists, her voice slightly muffled as she bends over her worktable, which is strewn with a host of torture type implements from pliers to wrenches to hammers. She used the hammer earlier to strike off a chunk of silver off an old, ugly sculpture. From there, the precious metal went into a furnace to be melted down and then poured into a mold she’d created before I arrived this morning. When I got here with donuts, coffee, and milk, she wanted to turn me away but her stomach growled and I was able to blackmail my way into the room.
After a brief break for breakfast and lunch she didn’t like, she’s been working steadily. It’s been a pleasure to watch.
“If you say so. The veil looks beautiful, by the way. Good choice.” I flip through the photos on my tablet that the wedding planner has sent over.
Maple jerks upright and lunges for the tablet. “What are you doing? Those aren’t for your eyes!”
I hold it out of her reach. “Someone has to make decisions for us. By the way, tonight, we’re getting a delivery of mini cakes so we can decide what we want for the reception.” Wedding planning isn’t all that bad.
She shakes her head. “The wedding that isn’t happening, you mean.”
“Yes, that wedding. Besides, if you don’t think it’s going to happen, why do you care if I see you in a big poufy white dress?”
Stymied by my logic, she heaves a sigh and returns to her work. “I don’t know why you’re here,” she mumbles. “I never let anyone watch how I make my pieces.”
The admission takes me off guard and I’m inordinately pleased. “I like being your first.”
“I’m sure you do,” she says in a wry tone. “Aren’t you bored, though?”
“Not at all. This is interesting. I didn’t realize it was so complicated or that you used so many tools.” In her work room are grinders, torches, acid washes. Jewelry making is a dangerous business. The most weapon-like thing in my office is the letter opener. “I could watch you all day. I like seeing how your tongue pokes out between your lips when you’re doing something that requires particular detail. You have this satisfied smirk when things turn out the way you like and the lines on your forehead tell me how irritated you are. One line means only mild frustration and three is intense dislike.”
She rubs a self-conscious hand over her brow. “You got all that from today?”
“No, from the first time I met you until now. You had three lines the first day. You were really annoyed, weren’t you?”
She shoots a glare over her shoulder.
“But now it’s different,” I continue. “Your three lines are mostly being saved for your work, although you were mad when the delivery person dropped off sweet and sour pork and not sweet and sour chicken.”
The remains of her Chinese takeout lie forlornly on the desk to the side.
“No one likes sweet and sour pork over sweet and sour chicken,” she declares, her head bent over a magnifying glass. She’s placing the jewels in their settings. The whole process has been fascinating.
“I’ll remember that.” I have a whole file in my head of all the things that Maple London likes and dislikes. “No sweet and sour pork. Good thing I picked prime rib and stuffed hens for the wedding. There’s a vegetarian option, too. Since we’re short on time, we’re going to make every entree available to every guest and what doesn’t get consumed will be sent to the food kitchen on 45th. I’m also making a donation under your name to the organization that runs those shelters.”
She puts down a small setting tool and swivels around to face me. “You’re really planning to go through with this?”
I peer at her over the tablet. “Absolutely.”
“How can you be so sure? We just met a couple of weeks ago and now you want to marry me? It doesn’t make sense.” There are two lines now, ones of confusion but not anger. She doesn’t understand it all. Despite being an artist, her brain needs logic. Or maybe it’s that she needs everything to fit, like the jewels in a perfect setting.
“I saw you and I knew.”
“But how?”
I spread out my arms. “How does anyone know about anything? You know the sky is blue when you first open your eyes. It’s that simple and that obvious.”
“The sky isn’t actually blue.”
“Looks blue.”
“What if you fall out of love?”
There’s the real fear. She finally gives voice to her apprehension. “The sky is blue to me and always will be blue to me just like I love you now and will tomorrow. These things won’t change.”
She holds up the necklace, a breathtaking piece of art. The reclaimed metal has been transformed from the misshapen mass she started with into a delicate, but strong abstract version of an orange tree with the rough cut jewels serving as the fruit. It
’s magnificent, much like the creator.
“I’ve always thought love is like this,” she muses, studying her art work. “Art put together one painstaking piece at a time. You can’t create this immediately. It takes time.” She drops her hand into her lap and looks up at me with confusion.
“Isn’t that what a relationship is? We take the raw materials and every day we work together to perfect it into a glorious creation? The jewels are our children affixed in the setting we’ve made.” I capture her hand and bring the necklace and her fingers to my mouth. “Today, we might be the lump of silver but in ten years or twenty years, we’ll be this perfect piece of art.”
“How do you know?”
“Because there’s no other option in my life. And not yours either,” I add, pressing a kiss to her knuckles.
“You could be wrong,” she replies, but her protest is faint and without substance.
“If I was, I wouldn’t be sitting in this room, would I? Because you don’t let just anyone into your workshop—only the people that you love.”
Her cheeks burn, but she doesn’t deny I’m wrong. Instead, she pulls her hand out of my grip and grabs her polishing cloth. “I suppose I do love you but that doesn’t mean I’m marrying you this week.”
I return to my tablet since the only answer I have is one she doesn’t want to hear.
Chapter 18
Major
“I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.” I have Maple’s veil up and my mouth is affixed to hers before the priest finishes his sentence. Keeping in mind that there are children in the audience, I keep the kiss as PG as possible. My hands stay at her waist instead of drifting upward to cup her tits or downward to clasp her ass and bring her closer. Still, it’s Maple and I’m in love so I can’t stop myself from deepening the kiss or bending her backwards as I eat every dab of lipstick off her cherry-flavored lips.