Mr. Knightsbridge

by Louise Bay

  My brother wouldn’t be here to celebrate with me.

  And I wouldn’t have an engagement ring in my pocket.

  But how could I have not noticed her? In a roomful of priceless jewels, she outshone them all.

  We had thirty minutes until the start of the party, and I’d convinced my family to be here early. I was just waiting on the final stragglers.

  “Well done, the place looks incredible,” my brother said, tipping his head back to take in the glass-domed roof of the triple height ceilings. My mission when it had come to this place was to communicate calm and relaxation. The carpet was a deep, lush cream, the furniture classic and sophisticated, and the jewelry was displayed in the walls, as if it were the art in an expensive drawing room. “Mum and Dad would be so proud of you.”

  “They certainly would,” Primrose said. “They’d be very proud of both of you.”

  I swallowed down my ever-fresh grief and nodded. “Thanks. I’m just grateful they gave me this passion.” The only thing wrong with this evening was their absence.

  “But you put in the hard work,” David said. “This is all you, Dexter.”

  The hard work opening the London store hadn’t been physical, it had been emotional. Getting to the point where I felt comfortable opening in this city had taken years and longer than it should have done.

  “Did you show David the cabinet?” Primrose asked.

  I guided my brother over to the middle of the room, where there was a large, waist height, mahogany display cabinet lined in black velvet that was the centerpiece of the store. “Do you remember this?” I asked, pointing at the brass plate screwed into the back of the case. Both the case and the plaque were a replica of the original that had been in our parents’ shop.

  “Is this from their shop?”

  “No, I had it made. But I wanted to honor them, you know?”

  Hollie’s familiar hands slid around my waist as she came to stand by my side. “You do that every day by being the man you are,” she said.

  “You’re biased,” I replied.

  “She’s right,” my brother said. “But I like this too,” he said, brushing his fingers over the brass. “It’s a nice touch.”

  “They’re with me in everything I do.”

  My brother nodded, blinking back the tears. In his eyes, I saw sadness that my parents weren’t here, regret that he and I hadn’t reconciled sooner, and disbelief at the passing of so much time. It all stuck in my throat too.

  “Here’s the rest of your crew,” Hollie said, glancing over to the door where Joshua, Andrew, Gabriel and Tristan made an entrance. Beck and Stella had already arrived and knowing Beck, by now he’d have convinced Stella she needed another piece of jewelry.

  “Thanks for coming,” I said as my friends all approached, each of them pulling me into a hug.

  “Wouldn’t miss it,” Tristan said.

  “Right,” I said. “Now that everyone’s here.” I slipped my hand into Hollie’s and led her to the top of the three stairs that led to the private rooms and overlooked the rest of the shop.

  “Are you making a speech?” she asked.

  “I think I should, don’t you?”

  “Absolutely.” She twisted her hand out of mine. “But I don’t need to come with you. This is your moment.”

  “Not a chance.” I scooped up her arm. “You’re the reason I’m standing here with so many people I love. You’re staying with me.”

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” I started. Gabriel had asked me if I was nervous and I had to answer no. He’d said when he’d proposed to his wife, he’d shaken like he was jelly. But it wasn’t like she was going to say no. She loved me. I loved her. It was that simple.

  “You’re all here to help me celebrate the opening of the first Daniels & Co London store.”

  “Finally,” someone shouted out. “About time,” another person commented.

  “I think you’ll agree we’ve found a great space. It doesn’t hurt that it’s a five-minute commute on foot from where we live. Not that that influenced my decision at all.” Hollie and I had found a perfect home on Montpelier Square, which meant I was close to the office and to the new store. I’d insisted that we convert the entire top floor to a studio for Hollie. She’d decided she enjoyed being her own boss and wanted to produce her own line, so she worked on that while I went to the office. I kept trying to invest in her but she insisted on using my contacts but not my wallet. She still didn’t get that everything I had was hers.

  “But the reason we’re here is because of the woman standing next to me,” I said.

  “Dexter,” Hollie whined. She hated to have the spotlight shone on her but she deserved it—tonight and every night.

  “Hollie Lumen, you captivated me from the first moment I saw you and you continue to make my world a better place every moment you’re in it. You’re the most thoughtful, giving, generous, wonderful woman. And I am very grateful that you put up with me.

  “The first time we spoke, I interrupted as you were mesmerized by a ring my mother designed and my father made. And I’m pretty sure you were wondering whether it would suit you.”

  Hollie widened her eyes. “I was not!”

  I grinned at her and pulled out the black ring box from my pocket. “I suggest you try it on to be sure.”

  Hollie’s mouth opened like it did when I caught her checking me out coming out of the shower, which I positively encouraged.

  “This is for me?”

  It turned out the queen of Finland was sentimental. And when I’d met her to present the princess with her wedding jewelry and told them both about my parents, they had offered me the ring. I’d insisted on making a substantial donation to their foundation in return, but whatever I’d paid wasn’t enough for the look on Hollie’s face now.

  I didn’t take my eyes off her as I opened the box.

  “Will you marry me?” we both said at the same time.

  The crowd dissolved into laughter.

  “Dexter,” she said. “It’s so beautiful.”

  Hollie’s eyes and the emerald, princess-cut solitaire were a perfect match as I knew they would be. That ocean-deep green with hints of blue was as ethereal as the northern lights, as unique as Hollie Lumen.

  I took the ring from the box and slid it onto her ring finger. A few months ago, she would never have accepted jewelry from me, let alone anything so beautiful. She kept saying that I’d changed her but she’d completely upended who I was.

  “All I can do is try to make you happy. And if I succeed, it still won’t be enough because you’ve made me a better man.”

  “You’re perfect to me already,” she said. “I love you so much.” She looped her arms around my neck and pressed her lips against mine.

  “Is that a yes?” I asked.

  “That’s a yes. In American.”

  Hollie

  I pressed cancel on my phone. “It’s impossible. I couldn’t have just had that call.”

  A knock on the door of my office interrupted the conversation I was having with myself.

  “You don’t have to knock,” I called out. Dexter insisted on knocking every time he came up here, even though I’d told him repeatedly he didn’t have to. We’d gotten rid of all the walls on the top floor of our four-story house and it was one enormous studio. Dexter had bought me a computer with all the best software for jewelry design, and he’d put me in touch with people who could fabricate my designs so that I could then sell. It took years to perfect the engineering and craftsmanship and that wasn’t where my passion lay, so I’d decided to concentrate on designing. If I got a chance to expand, I’d eventually employ someone who could manufacture the designs in-house. Dexter told me I had an eye for what worked, and given I’d never known him to tell a lie, I was prepared to believe him, even if I didn’t have the confidence in me that he did.

  “Do you know a Clarissa Michaels?” I asked, wondering if Dexter was behind the phone call I’d just received.

  “D
oesn’t ring a bell,” he said, stalking toward me, his hair a little ruffled but his starched white collar revealing the most edible neck. “Should I know her?”

  “I thought you might. She’s the fashion editor of Vogue in the UK,” I said, trying to sound casual.

  “Why would I know—never mind, why are you asking?” he asked, flopping on the small gray couch under the window.

  “She just called me.” I spun in my chair to face him. “I wondered if you’d mentioned me to her.”

  “Well I didn’t. Did she say I had?”

  “No, she said someone had given her one of my bracelets for a birthday present and she loved it. She wanted to talk about me supplying them for a couple of photo shoots.”

  “In Vogue?”

  I slid off my seat and went to join him. “Yeah. Is that even possible?”

  “Sounds like the kind of advertising money can’t buy.” He reached out his arms to me.

  “Right. And I’ve only put out those twelve pieces.”

  “But they’re beautiful, Hollie.”

  I beamed and took a seat next to him, hooking my legs over his while he draped his arm around me.

  “You’ve clearly caught people’s attention, which I told you would happen.”

  London was definitely some magical fairyland where everything that happened was almost unbelievable, it was so amazing. “I can’t believe it,” I said, giving way to a shy grin.

  “Well, I can,” Dexter said, shifting to pull me onto his lap just as the doorbell rang.

  “That will be Gabriel,” I said.

  Dexter glanced at his watch. “He’s always right on time.”

  “He’s making the most out of the babysitter.”

  Dexter chuckled. “Speaking of which—”

  “I booked in to see the gynecologist a week on Wednesday.”

  “Who would have thought the word gynecologist would make me want to bang my fiancée?”

  I sprang to my feet and hauled Dexter up after me. “Come on. It’s bad enough we have a chef for nights like these. The least we can do is show up and say hi to our guests.”

  We rarely took the elevator, although Dexter had insisted on buying a house with one. He said we’d need one when we had kids. But we used it now to go down the four floors to the kitchen.

  “Gabriel,” I cried, pulling him into a hug. “Thanks for coming.” We were having the gang around for a “casual Friday supper” as Dexter referred to it. To me that meant a bowl of Cheerios and a night in front of America’s Got Talent, rather than a seated dinner for ten with a private chef and a server. I was still getting used to life with Dexter. At least no one was dressing up.

  “Did I tell you Autumn is coming over next month?” I said to Gabriel while Dexter answered the door to the next arrivals.

  “Really?” he asked. I could have sworn I saw a hint of pink in his cheeks. She’d never mentioned anything but there was definitely something between them when they’d met during her birthday visit.

  “She’s on a graduate trainee program that has international assignments. She’s going to spend six months here.”

  “That’s great,” he said, nodding. “She’s staying with you guys?”

  “I nodded. How sweet is my fiancée to have her here?”

  Dexter’s arms came from nowhere to circle my waist. “She’s family. Of course she should stay with us.”

  I greeted Beck and Stella and noticed that Stella was wearing the earrings I gave her. They looked beautiful on her. I was still getting used to people actually wearing my jewelry; the thought that Vogue might be featuring me was just surreal.

  “We should get married while she’s here,” I said.

  “If that’s what you want,” Dexter said. “But we can get her a plane ticket over anytime. And your parents.”

  “I just want it low key. Like, you and me and, you know, your gang—”

  “That better include me,” Stella said.

  “You’re in the gang,” Beck said as he placed a kiss on Stella’s head.

  “I don’t care how we do it as long as I get to marry you,” Dexter said.

  “Bethany has said she wants to be a bridesmaid,” Gabriel said. “I’m warning you because she’s probably going to ask you. Don’t worry, I’ll be the one to shatter my four-year-old’s dreams. I seem to do it on a daily basis at the moment, so I’m well practiced.”

  “Bethany’s part of the gang,” I said. “We can pick out a pretty dress and a posy,” I said. “It will be nice.”

  I glanced up at Dexter to check he didn’t mind but he was just beaming at me.

  “So, we’ll go to the Knightsbridge courthouse?” I suggested. “We’ll pick a Saturday and just have a casual supper back here?”

  Dexter grinned at me. “You’re wonderful,” he said.

  “What did I do?” I asked. Dexter seemed to find the wonderful in everything I did, and I was still getting used to being someone’s priority. I felt constantly spoiled by him—not just materially, but simply by getting to share my life with a man as special as Dexter. Married or not, it didn’t matter. He was the man who saw the light in everything, including me. There was no one else I wanted to spend forever with.

  * * *

  Thank you for reading Mr. Knightsbridge.

  * * *

  Look out for Gabriel’s story coming soon!

  * * *

  Have you read Stella and Beck’s story in Mr. Mayfair click HERE

  * * *

  Loved Dexter Daniels? You’ll love Alexander Knightley from The British Knight click HERE or read on for a sneak preview.

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  The British Knight

  Violet

  Men and cocktails were two of my favorite things to waste time on, and I made sure my day always had plenty of either one or the other. “Cheers.” I raised my drink and clinked it against the glasses of two of my most treasured people in the world—my sister, Scarlett, and her sister-in-law Darcy. We were at some fancy bar in SoHo where the drinks were twice the price of a car. It was Darcy’s first night in New York City, and I wasn’t going to worry about how I was going to pay for anything tonight when I had no job to go to tomorrow. I adored her and didn’t get to see her as often as I’d like as she lived in England, so I was all about the positive. Maybe I could get her laid as a welcome gift? Sex always put me in a good mood. I was certainly going to find someone to go home with. I needed to forget what a terrible week I’d had, and I wasn’t sure just one of my favorite things was going to be enough. It was going to take alcohol and a man.

  “Is there anyone special in England at the moment?” Scarlett asked Darcy. “Someone to sweep you off your feet?”

  I groaned. “She’s not Cinderella. She’s a capable, confident woman who needs no sweeping. The question you should be asking is whether or not she’s had any good sex lately.”

  “I’m not saying she’s not capable and confident, but a knight in shining armor is always a good thing,” Scarlett replied.

  “I wish I had sisters,” Darcy said, grinning at the two of us.

  Scarlett and I bickered because we were opposites. She was married for a second time. I had no desire to tie myself down to one man. Scarlett had a successful career whereas I couldn’t even keep a waitressing job. She had two kids and I wasn’t allowed a cat.

  She was going to kill me when she found out I’d been fired.

  But she was my sister and I loved her.

  “It’s the best,” Scarlett said, “though I wish she’d listen to me a little more often.”

  “You just need to accept that not everyone wants the house in Connecticut with the perfect husband and two perfect but very loud children.” I glanced around the room. What I wanted was ferocious sex with someone who could make me forget about what was or wasn’t going
to happen tomorrow. But no one had caught my eye so far.

  “I just want you to be happy,” Scarlett said, tilting her head to the side.

  “Well that makes two of us.” The last thing I needed was my sister’s pity. Especially today. “Anyway, what are you going to do while you’re in New York?” I asked Darcy. “I can come on the tourist trail with you if you’d like.”

  “Don’t you have work?” Scarlett asked.

  The problem with being close with my sister was that as much as we might be dissimilar, we couldn’t hide things from each other.

  “Sure, but I can fit my shifts around Darcy. I want you to have a good time.” I took another sip of my cocktail, avoiding my sister’s burning gaze.

  “Oh, Violet. You didn’t quit your job again, did you?”

  From the corner of my eye, I caught the sag of Scarlett’s shoulders and the bow of her head.

  “Not exactly,” I said.

  I didn’t want to see that look of disappointment in her eyes. Couldn’t she just accept that I wasn’t interested in a highflying career? Life had taught me more than once that the moment was to be enjoyed and that tomorrow could be figured out when it arrived.

  “Not exactly?” she asked. “I thought you liked the girls at that place?”

  “I did.” The other waitresses had been a lot of fun and the tips had been amazing. “But I don’t think I should put up with it when my ass gets grabbed at work.”

  “Who grabbed your arse?” Darcy asked.

  “This regular we have. He does it to all of us, but I don’t see why it’s okay.”

  “It’s totally not okay. So you quit?” Scarlett asked.

  “No, I called him a sleazy prick and I got fired,” I explained, ready to move on. I’d dealt with enough assholes in my time—I didn’t want to waste any time thinking about them. “Hopefully it will mean he’ll lay off the other waitresses. At least for a while.”