by Kim Desalvo
She was witty, well-spoken, and downright modest about the whole situation, and she had the audience eating out of her hand. Maybe I was too hard on her, he thought as he crammed a handful of popcorn into his mouth. He watched with interest and even pride as she handled herself with more class than some of Granger’s usual guests exhibited. When the next round of commercials came on, he grabbed a Coke from the fridge, poured some more popcorn into his bowl, and settled back in.
He stopped with the can halfway to his mouth when Granger introduced the next guest and he watched as the band’s drummer, a huge black dude with a big white grin, picked Lexi up and called her ‘beautiful.’ She was so excited to see him that her smile about tore her face in half, and she practically sat in the guy’s lap when they got to the couch. A spark of jealousy scissored around in his gut as he watched the two of them talking—it’s not like the guy was Lexi’s type or anything—hell, he was a far cry from Miller’s league, but it was obvious that they’d forged some kind of bond while she was in Europe. Another thing she neglected to tell me, he fumed as he slammed down the Coke and went to the fridge to grab a beer. Just one more secret—one more freaking lie—how many more things were there that he didn’t know? He took a pull of the beer and watched as they laughed together, telling stories of shared times that he knew nothing about and suddenly wondered if they were watching the show together somewhere; and if he even knew Lexi anymore.
Lexi hit the send button on the text, and checked the bathroom once more to be sure she hadn’t forgotten anything. She knew sleep would be impossible, so she figured she may as well go home right now. Maybe the hum of the private jet would lull her into some sort of rest. It was late—well, early actually—but she’d summoned her courage and decided she was going to go see Bo before she left. She just couldn’t leave with things between them uncomfortable, so she was just going to say it…tell him that she hadn’t meant anything by her behavior, and that she considered him one of her very best friends and wanted to keep it that way. She didn’t even care if she woke him up—it was too important to her that his opinion of her wasn’t tarnished. He was an honorable man, she knew that, and if he thought she was behaving less than honorably tonight, she had to set the record straight.
With her bags in tow she stepped off the elevator and knocked on his door. She waited a minute before knocking again, in case he was getting out of bed. When he didn’t open it, she pulled out her phone and called his room, hearing the shrill ring through the door but getting no answer. Could he have already left, or was he purposely avoiding her? She was about to knock again when her phone vibrated in her hand. Her car was waiting at the front entrance, ready to take her to the airport. Although she hated leaving things this way, she had little choice, and she dragged her bags down to the lobby to head for home.
Bo hadn’t sweated this much since…hell, he didn’t think he’d ever sweated this much. He had a lot of nervous energy—no, sexual energy, damn it, he thought…may as well be honest about it—that he needed to burn off, and he moved from the treadmill to the weight bench and started doing curls. Maybe once he’d exhausted himself, a cold shower would wash the unwelcomed thoughts from his mind.
Lexi was his friend, damn it, and a good one at that. They had a rapport he’d never had with anyone else, and he wanted to keep it that way. There was no excuse for the images that were suddenly sprouting and growing in his mind…images of her lying on his bed, her golden hair spread around his pillow as he slowly spread her…Damn it! He pushed himself harder, adding more weight to the bar and switching to bench presses. Thank goodness the gym opened with his room key—he definitely needed this distraction.
Not only was Lexi his friend, he reminded himself, but she was an engaged woman—forbidden territory. He had no business thinking this way about her, and worried about how she’d perceived his sudden move to the chair. Did she notice his blatantly obvious ‘excitement,’ or did she think that all of a sudden, for no apparent reason, he wanted to get as far away from her as he could? Either way made him look like a complete idiot. Damn it, would she even care if he didn’t want to be close to her? She was the one who’d patted the spot beside her when the show was starting, but if she’d gotten a glimpse of the way the crotch of his pants was vibrating…
Shit. Shit, shit, shit, he thought as he pushed his muscles to the edge of overload. He couldn’t leave things like this, he just couldn’t. He needed to talk to her before she left in the morning—tell her that she was still his princess and that he was sorry he’d behaved like such a complete ass. He could make a joke of it; make it a typical Bo statement. And if he went while he was still sweaty from the gym, he wouldn’t be tempted to pull her into his arms and beg her to stay. Then he could finish off with a cold shower and try and get some sleep, although he had great doubts that he’d even catch a wink.
He mopped the sweat off his face with a towel and took a cautious whiff of an armpit. At least he didn’t smell like he’d just sweated out a couple gallons of body fluid.
He made his way to her room and knocked, the door swinging open when he hit it. Total darkness greeted him, and he stuck his head in and called out her name. When he got no answer, and heard no sounds coming from inside, he stepped in and turned on the light; his heart sinking. The closet was open and empty, there was no clutter of toiletries sitting on the vanity, and the bed was neatly made. No suitcase sat on the little valet stand, and a stack of bills sat on the night table—a tip for the maid, presumably.
Obviously he had offended her, he thought sadly, dragging himself back to his room. She couldn’t even wait until her scheduled flight in the morning to get away from him. Lexi was gone.
Chapter 18
The cooling evening air washed over them as they sat on the balcony overlooking the bridge and Sydney Harbour, sipping champagne and nibbling on chocolate-dipped strawberries and truffles, and awaiting the start of the New Year’s Eve celebration. They looked out over the bustling streets below them, all the crowds heading toward the water’s edge for the best view of the spectacular fireworks show that would mark the start of a new year.
The city simply hummed; Tia could think of no better word to describe it. Buildings were ablaze with lights, music of all kinds wafted up to their balcony, and the laughter and celebration of the people in the streets electrified the atmosphere with an anticipatory feel. She smiled and sat back in her chair, more than happy to participate in the party from a distance.
As she did on every New Year’s Eve she could remember, Tia reflected on the past twelve months, hardly able to believe all that had happened in such a short time. She recovered from the loss of Nick and made her way back into the world, found Dylan, fell in love again, toured the entire continent of Europe, lost Dylan, and somehow; whether by incidence or happenstance; reclaimed him into her life once again. She was thrust into the media spotlight and hesitantly embraced a new world; a new life with the man she loved. She very likely lost her career—she’d been putting off making a final decision, but she didn’t see how she could balance her old life with her new one. Tia Hastings—no doubt about it—was a very different person than she had been just a year ago. She turned and smiled at Dylan and without saying a word, he knew her mind and shared her thoughts. It had been an unbelievable year, but in the end, it had been the best year of her life; and it was all because of Dylan Miller. Sliding her chair closer she snuggled into him, fully embracing the familiarity and comfort level they shared. Just as much could be said in silence as can be said with words, she thought. Even Dylan was quiet tonight; preoccupied, almost; perhaps lost in his own reminiscing over the past 365 days.
He popped the cork on a freshly chilled bottle of champagne as the clock approached midnight and poured two glasses, setting them on the small table that sat on the balcony. He looked at her and smiled; a look in his eyes she’d never seen before—well, maybe once, at the top of the Eiffel Tower the night he first told her he loved her. Rolling the memory around i
n her mind like a favorite dream, she opened her arms to the love of her life.
They heard the music crescendo in the distance, and the countdown of the crowd below. Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Dylan and Tia counted along with them, and kissed right after they said, One! Then came the first whoosh! that signified the start of the fireworks display, which started with a bang off the Harbour Bridge; an explosion of color and sparks that filled the night sky with fire. Tia felt them more than she saw them as she was still attached to Dylan, their tongues mingling as they started a new year filled with more promise than either of them ever imagined.
Dylan pulled away and held her at arms’ length, looking deep into her eyes. There was so much love, so much intensity in his gaze; that she caught her breath and smiled. “I love you so much,” she whispered, her voice as light as the sparks that drifted down from the sky. “Happy New Year, baby.”
Dylan swallowed, and smiled back. “I love you too, Tia,” he breathed. “I can’t even form the words to tell you how much.” She leaned into him, but he held her back and kept her captivated with his stare. “This year has been so crazy,” he said. “I found you, I thought I lost you, I found you again, and now neither of us will ever be the same. And I don’t want us to be the same. You’ve made me see the world in a whole different light, and my favorite view is seeing it through your eyes. I’m a better man for knowing you, Tia Hastings. My life has been so incredible since you walked into it, and I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy.”
“Oh Dylan,” she whispered. “You make me so happy. Every day.” She smiled warmly, her eyes full of pure and unadulterated adoration.
“This is going to be the year of us, Tia, and it’s just the beginning of a lifetime together.” He raked his hands through his hair, and reached into the pocket of his jacket, his gaze never faltering. “The next time the tabloids print a headline that says ‘Engaged,’ I want it to have an exclamation point and a picture of us under it.” He pulled his hand from his pocket, and Tia saw the gold-embossed black box that he held and she inhaled on a gasp, unconsciously bringing her hand to her heart as Dylan dropped to one knee.
“I worship you, Tia Hastings. Life without you would have no meaning, and you would make me the happiest man on earth if you would be my wife.” He opened the box, but Tia couldn’t take her eyes off of his and all the sentiment she saw there. “Please. Say you’ll marry me.”
A flood of emotion washed over her in an instant, and in that moment, she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that she was the luckiest woman in the world. “Yes,” she croaked, then louder, “Yes!” Her voice dropped to a whisper as she fought tears of joy. “With every cell in my body, yes. Oh Dylan…” She held out a very shaky hand and looked down as he slipped the ring onto the third finger of her left hand. He kissed the ring and her hand before standing up and pulling her into his arms. Their kiss was sweet and tender, and the fireworks in the distance seemed just for them.
“I love you so much!” she whispered. “Oh my God…I’m going to marry you!”
“I’m so lucky to have you,” he said, his voice thin. “I can’t wait to make you Mrs. Miller.”
“Oh…Oh!” she said. “I can’t believe this! Once again, I’m going to tell you that you’ve given me the best night of my life! I don’t…even know what to say…except I love you...” The tears spilled then and Dylan kissed them away, picking her up and turning her in a slow circle as she buried her face into his shoulder and wrapped her arms and legs around him tightly. Just as she had shouted from the top of the Eiffel Tower when he first told her he loved her, Tia leaned over the balcony and yelled into the revelry, “I’m going to marry the most amazing man in the world!” A small group of people below heard her shout, and turned their faces up toward them. “Congratulations!” one called out, as the others clapped their hands together and sent up a “Whoo Hoo!” She turned back to Dylan and repeated the words; more quietly this time and only for him. “I’m going to marry the most amazing man in the world.” She took his face in her hands and planted a very shaky kiss on his smiling lips. “Oh my God, Dyl,” she whispered. “I…” but she could still come up with no words to articulate what she was feeling at that moment.
Dylan finished the sentence for her; “… can’t think of anything in the world that deserves a toast more than that,” he said, moving to the table to pick up the champagne glasses. Tia raised her shaking left hand to get a look at her engagement ring; the symbol of the love she and Dylan shared. When she saw the fireworks reflected in the crystal clear stone, she gasped out loud.
Dylan turned and saw her staring, gape-mouthed at the ring. “Do you like it?” he asked nervously. “I admit I don’t know a whole lot about jewelry, but the guy from Harry Winston said…”
For a second, she could only stare at her hand. The center stone was enormous—she’d never seen a diamond so big. It was an oval shape, and smaller diamonds surrounded it. The band, lined with even more diamonds, seemed insignificant to hold it. Dylan waited anxiously for her approval, and she caught her breath and threw her arms around his neck.
“It’s absolutely beautiful!” she breathed. “It’s also enormous—oh my God—did you rob the Crown Jewels?” she joked.
“They were all big… hell, I’ve never shopped for an engagement ring before and I had to sneak in the meeting while you and Jessa were out shopping. But you get the best, sweetheart. The best of everything from now on, and I’m so glad that I can give it to you. Are you sure you like it?”
She cradled his face in her palms and kissed his mouth. “It’s perfect. You’re perfect. I would have said yes if you offered me one of those lollipop rings, but this is…incredible!” She kissed his lips and then each cheek. “Oh my God,” she said again, still in shock. “We’re going to get married!”
He smiled and handed her a glass of champagne as the grand finale exploded the night sky. “A toast, then,” he said, “To the best year of our lives so far and the woman I love; the soon-to-be Mrs. Dylan Miller.” He raised his glass and they tapped the crystal flutes together, intertwining their arms to sip the bubbly as the final shower of sparks cascaded down over Sydney.
“I’m so relieved you said yes,” he admitted, taking a deep breath.
“Did you doubt it for a second?” she asked.
“Maybe for a second,” he smirked. “But let me tell you, no matter how confident I was that you’d say yes, that’s a big deal, asking someone to marry you. I’ve been sweating it all day!”
“Well then, be glad that you only have to do it once, because you’re going to be stuck with me forever, mister. I’m never letting you go.”
“I’m counting on that,” he said, and they slipped into the room to make their own fireworks.
Afterward, as they lay tangled in each other’s arms, Dylan could sense Tia’s anxiousness. “I’m reading your mind,” he said.
“Oh yeah?” she said. “And what am I thinking, besides that I’m the happiest woman on the face of the earth?”
He smiled. “You’re thinking about how you want to make some calls to tell a few other people that you’re the happiest woman on earth,” he teased.
“Can we?” she asked anxiously. “Oh Dyl, I’m so excited…”
“Of course we can,” he said. “I want to tell the whole world!” The truth of it was, very soon they would tell the whole world, and they both knew that it would bring even more attention to them. But neither of them minded in this case; not one bit.
They powered up the laptop and pulled up the video chat so they could deliver the news in person. They called Dylan’s parents first, since it was already past 1:00 AM in Melbourne. Of course, Dylan had told them of his plan, so they knew the call was coming. The video hadn’t popped up on the screen yet, but Tia heard the excitement in Kelley’s voice. “Happy New Year! Do we have some good news?”
“She said yes!” Dylan sang as the video feed went through just in time to see their excited faces.
&
nbsp; “Congratulations to both of you!” they said together. “Welcome to the family, Tia! We’re so glad to have you as our daughter!”
“I can’t think of a more incredible family to join,” she said, and they chatted for a few minutes before ending the call. Her parents were next on the list. “They don’t usually keep the computer on—maybe I should call them first,” she said. “It’s kind of early there, isn’t it?” She’d had the time difference down when Dylan was in New Zealand, but her mind wasn’t working at full capacity at the moment; and she was way too excited to dig up some paper and do the math.
“Oh, I’m pretty sure they’ll be online,” Dylan said with a smirk.
“They know?” Tia asked incredulously.
“Your dad does,” he smiled. “I couldn’t ask you to be my wife without his blessing, you know.”
“When in the world did you get his blessing?” she asked. “You only met them for a few hours!”
“Hell, he barely knew me a few minutes before I asked him,” he answered. “I was surprised and glad that he gave it—after asking you to marry me, it was the second most nerve-wracking thing I’ve ever done. Makes standing on stage in front of a hundred thousand people seem like a piece of cake, that’s for sure.”
“Oh Dylan,” she gushed. “That’s so sweet! I’m so glad you did that!”