Her lips find mine, her hands slipping under my shirt. This is one thing Pinterest didn’t account for in the perfect proposal. Public proposals don’t get you laid after. Want to propose in front of a big crowd? Or have a photographer hiding in the bushes? Then you don’t get this moment right here. Suddenly, I’m very grateful she busted my beach proposal plan to hell.
Slowly, I start to unbutton her shirt and say, “I need you to promise me something, too.”
“Anything,” she whispers.
“Promise me that in fifty years, you’ll still let me undress you. Promise me we won’t turn into one of those couples who just takes off their clothes and gets to business.”
Smiling, she says, “In fifty years, you won’t want to undress me. My boobs will be at my waist, and my ass will . . .”
“Yes, I will,” I say, pushing her shirt off her shoulders, revealing her light pink bra. “Promise me.”
I find the hook on her bra, unlatching it. “In fifty years, you’ll probably have arthritis and not be able to do that,” she teases me.
Tossing her bra aside, I know I’m grinning like a fool. “Guess I’ll have to take my dentures out when I do this then,” I say, taking her to the floor and circling her nipple with my tongue.
She laughs. It’s the most incredible sound—happy mixed with hope and the promise of a lifetime.
Wearing nothing but the new sparkle on her hand, Ainsley rests her head on my chest. Forget making it to the beach, we haven’t even made it to the bedroom, still twisted up together on the living room floor.
Sadie walks over, plops down, then places her head on my shoulder. “Shoo,” I say, swatting at the air in her direction.
Ainsley giggles, giving her a scratch behind the ear. “Is it too early to talk dates?”
Honestly, I’ve given no thought to the date or ceremony or any of it, figuring that would be Ainsley and my mom’s domain. “Well, as long as it’s not a double wedding with Brody and Skye in a month, I think we’re good.”
She wrinkles her nose up at the terrible thought. “I’d like to do it on my parents’ anniversary. They were so happy together, and I think it would be nice to remember them that way. It’s about seven months from now. That would give me plenty of time, I think.”
“Perfect,” I say. “I’m going to talk to Brody tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” she asks, her eyes wide.
“Yep,” I say. “I don’t want you having to take your ring off and hide it. We’re done with all that. Plus, if I wait, it could be a distraction for his own wedding, and I don’t want that.”
“Can I tell you something silly?” she asks. I sit up a little, preparing myself. Sometimes when I woman says something is silly, it’s code for something much bigger. “I’ve been dying to change my online status to in a relationship, and tomorrow I can! It’s silly how happy that makes me.”
See, much bigger than silliness. This isn’t about online status or trolls on the internet knowing. It’s about her being mine and me being hers.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
FOURTEEN MONTHS AGO
Ainsley Rose Bennett sounds like that should’ve always been my name.
A. Rose
RHETT
I was supposed to be off today, thinking I’d be at the beach with Ainsley celebrating our engagement. Instead, I’ve worked a full day, just finishing up my last case of the day. I left Sadie with Ainsley today, thinking she could use the company. She’s a nervous wreck. Brody wondered why I decided to work today, but a simple shrug and a “my plans changed” was enough of an explanation for him. Once he hears the real reason for my change of plans, he may not be so accepting.
In some ways, talking to Brody is like going to a girl’s father before asking for her hand in marriage. After all, Brody is the only male family member in Ainsley’s life, but he’s not her father. I’m not here to ask his permission or for forgiveness for loving his little sister. This is happening, and everyone else will just have to deal with it.
I’m not quite sure how Brody’s going to react. He could punch my face. He could laugh and think I’m joking. He could go stone cold silent. I’ve known Brody almost fifteen years, but I’ve got no idea how this is going to go.
“You’re still here?” Brody asks, walking into our shared office and dropping some files on his desk. “I’ve got to meet Skye, some sort of seating arrangement emergency.”
“Fun!”
“Dude, I’m so ready for the wedding to be over. You have no idea. It’s all we talk about, and if we aren’t talking about the wedding, we’re talking about kids. She won’t be happy unless she comes back from the honeymoon pregnant.”
“You wouldn’t have it any other way,” I say, ragging him a bit.
“You know, you should try it sometime,” he says.
“Actually, I’m seeing someone,” I say.
“For more than one night?” he says, getting his own dig in.
“It’s serious,” I say. “I’m in love with her.”
“Fuck me,” he says, leaning back on his desk slightly. “Never thought I’d see the day. I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks, neither one of us expected to fall in love with each other. It just happened.” His forehead wrinkles up a little, not understanding why I feel the need to confess. “She’s brilliant, funny, and I’d do anything for her. Anything.”
“Man, I’ve never heard you like this. Guess Skye and I will have to meet this woman.”
Time to drop the bomb.
“That’s the thing. You both already know her.”
His eyes dart up. “Please tell me it’s not an employee, because . . .”
“It’s Ainsley,” I say. “I’m in love with Ainsley.”
He doesn’t laugh in disbelief. Not a trace of shock comes over his face, and I wonder if deep down somewhere he knew how I felt about his sister. Drawing a deep breath, it feels so good to have the truth out. The word secret has a negative connotation to it, so I’m relieved that Ainsley and I don’t have that surrounding us anymore, no matter Brody’s reaction, which at the moment is stoic.
“It started not long after she moved back to Charleston. I should’ve told you sooner.”
“Told me sooner,” he repeats, his voice louder than before. “How about you don’t touch my sister in the first place?”
“It’s serious between me and her.”
“She’s my little sister!” he barks. “I can’t believe this! I trusted you. You’re a shit friend, Rhett.”
I don’t mind him yelling and cursing at me. There’s codes between friends, and I broke one. The cardinal rule—you don’t mess with your friend’s sister—ever.
He steps closer to me. “The night of the engagement party. I asked you to drive Ainsley home.”
“Brody,” I say, trying to stop him from making those connections in his mind. Every time he caught me smiling into my phone, the day he and Skye showed up and he teased me I was up all night with some girl, he doesn’t need to know it was all about his sister.
“You lying bastard,” he yells.
“I hope you can get on board with this,” I say. “Because I’ve asked Ainsley to marry me.” He throws his hands up. The shock that wasn’t there before is definitely there now.
“Jesus Christ,” he barks. “Marriage? You do know that’s forever, right?”
Feeling the heat rise to the back of my neck, I’m doing everything I can not to lose it with him. That won’t serve my purpose here. Just because he and Skye have dated forever doesn’t make him the moral authority on relationships. He forgets I knew him before Skye. I could knock him down off his high horse, but I won’t.
“Have you ever heard me say I love a woman?” I ask him. We both know the answer to that question. The stiffness in his body relaxes just a tad. “I’ve said it at least twice now. I’ll say it again. I love Ainsley. I love your sister. You know I don’t say that lightly.”
“You lied to me. You made her lie to me,” he say
s.
“We both know no one makes Ainsley do anything,” I say. “We’re happy, Brody. She makes me so fucking happy.”
“It’s not your happiness I’m worried about,” he says. “It’s hers.” That’s a little below the belt, but I know he’s mad. Shaking his head, he walks toward the door. “I need to get the fuck out of here.”
Two nights in a row, Ainsley cried herself to sleep in my arms because her stubborn ass brother has yet to return one of her phone calls. I think she’d handle it better if he just yelled at her. It’s the fact that he’s cut off contact that’s killing her. Thank God, Skye is still speaking to her.
I wouldn’t exactly say that Skye was happy for me and Ainsley, but she didn’t freak out, either. I guess it’s hard for her to be too supportive when her fiancé isn’t onboard. Still, I think if Brody ever comes around, she’ll be happy for us.
Ainsley hasn’t asked Skye to intervene on our behalf. She wouldn’t take advantage of their relationship that way. She really wants her brother to come around on his own. But all this is wearing on her. We really need someone to be on our side, and I know just the people.
My parents.
Pulling in front of their house, I groan. God bless my mother, but why on Earth is she waiting outside? She hasn’t waited outside for me to come home since I was in grade school. When I called and told her about Ainsley and me, and asked if we could stop by, I didn’t expect a welcome home reception in the driveway, and they don’t even know about the engagement yet.
“Mom,” I say when I get out of the car. “What are you doing out here waiting for us?”
“Oh, I wasn’t waiting for you,” she says. “I was simply checking the mail when I saw you pulling up.”
“It’s Sunday,” I say, thinking I’ve caught her red-handed since the mail isn’t delivered on Sundays.
She simply shrugs her shoulders. “Forgot to get it yesterday.”
No matter how old I get, I’ll never get an upper hand on her. I walk around to get Ainsley’s door, taking her hand. The sunlight hits her ring, and the sparkle can’t be missed.
“You’re engaged!” my mom screams out, pulling us both into her arms. I look over at Ainsley, a huge smile on her face. She really needed this. Needed someone to be happy for us.
Without warning, my mom pulls back sharply, her eyes right on me. “Wait, are you engaged because you have to be?”
Leave it to my mom to not beat around the bush. “No,” I say, shaking my head. “We’re engaged because we want to be.”
“Well, darn,” she says. “I wouldn’t mind being a grandma in nine months.”
Ainsley’s eyes turn to me. We haven’t even talked about children, other than making sure we don’t have any right now. “Where’s Dad?” I ask, hoping for a change in subject.
She turns toward the house, walking up the steps to the front door. Wrapping an arm around Ainsley, I lean over and whisper, “I’m surprised she didn’t make a request for how many grandchildren she wants.”
Ainsley holds up two fingers to me. Guess that’s her request. I actually like being an only child, but I can understand why she’d want two. If she’d been an only child, she wouldn’t have had anyone when her parents died. At least she and Brody had each other. I hope things smooth over with him soon. She relies on him even if she doesn’t like to admit it.
“They’re engaged!” my mom yells right as she gets into the house. “Cliff! Did you hear me? They’re getting married!”
Before my dad can respond or even appear, my mom turns around, saying, “You should have the ceremony here! We could tent the back yard. It would be so pretty with the water. Oh, at sunset!”
She’s unstoppable today. “Mom!”
“No,” Ainsley says, taking my hand. “Diane, I’m hoping you’ll plan the whole thing with me. My mom’s not here, and I . . .”
“Oh honey,” my mom says, hugging Ainsley tightly.
My chest tightens a little, knowing my parents think of Ainsley as a daughter already. I know it doesn’t replace her own parents, but I can tell how much it means to Ainsley to have them.
“Married, huh?” my dad says, stepping into the den.
My mom holds up Ainsley’s hand, showing off her ring. He hugs Ainsley then me. “Did I hear something about a tent in my backyard?”
Mom and Ainsley both laugh. “Don’t you think that would be pretty?” my mom asks. My dad looks at me. We both know that tone in her voice. She’s about to get what she wants.
My dad simply smiles at her, reading her mind. “We wouldn’t want to step on anyone’s toes, but your mom and I would very much like to pay for the wedding.”
“What?” Ainsley cries.
“Dad, you don’t have to do that,” I say. “I’ve . . .”
“I know,” he says, “but you’re our only child. And with Ainsley’s parents gone, we’d like to step into that role.” Ainsley and I both thank them a couple times. “Do you think Brody would be okay with that?” my dad asks.
“I don’t know,” Ainsley says softly.
My parents exchange a glance. I haven’t filled them in on all that drama. “Ainsley, why don’t you and Mom go look at the yard and see what you think?”
She gives me a little nod, walking out to the backyard with my mom. My dad takes a seat in his chair, the one he always sits in to watch television, and I sit on the sofa. Angling his body toward me, he says, “Guess Brody doesn’t approve.”
“It’s a mess,” I say.
“Love always is,” he says, grinning at me. “Feels good to be right, though.”
“Right about what?”
“You and Ainsley,” he smirks. “Called that one.”
Laughing, I say, “Yeah, that’s what’s important here, Dad.”
“What’s important is that you and Ainsley are happy,” he says.
I glance out the back windows, seeing my mom’s arms in the air, her grand scheme coming to life. Ainsley’s soft profile comes into view, the curves of her body—happiness doesn’t seem big enough of a word.
“We are.”
“Give Brody some time,” he says. “It’s nearly impossible to stay mad at happiness, and even harder to despise love. He’ll come around.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
FOURTEEN MONTHS AGO
I promise to kiss you every day.
A. Rose
RHETT
My dad’s prediction that Brody would come around has yet to happen. Of course, I never asked how long he thought it would take. The past couple weeks have been total hell. He’s managed to give me all the crap cases, literally! I’ve had every anal expression, all the intestinal parasites, and even an extremely bad case of doggy colitis. If I wasn’t trying to smooth things over, I’d take Sadie to his yard to shit all over it.
He avoids the office when I’m in there. We haven’t had lunch together or swapped stories beyond what he absolutely has to say to me. By now, everyone at the office and all our friends know about Ainsley and me, so everyone knows why Brody is in a perpetually bad mood. The office staff will definitely get bigger bonuses for having to put up with all this drama.
It sucks, but I can handle it. It’s Ainsley I’m worried about. Ainsley’s gotten the same silent treatment from him, and she’s not handling it well. She’s used to him being up in her business, and he’s cut that out cold turkey.
She says she’s fine, wanting to proceed with our wedding plans, but her tossing and turning all night long tells a different story. Brody and I both love Ainsley, that’s our common ground. We just have to find a way back to that.
Walking into Ainsley’s condo after another shit day at work, I find her on the sofa with Skye. Sadie’s right there with them, looking like the three of them are having girl talk. I barely land a kiss on Ainsley’s forehead before she ropes me into their conversation.
“Tell me again what Brody said,” Ainsley says.
Not sure what new information she thinks I’ll have. We’ve been over it
at least six times a day, every day since I told him about Ainsley and me.
“You haven’t told Skye,” she says.
Both women stare up at me. There’s really not much to tell, but I recount the events for them just the same.
“I keep telling Rhett he should go to the bachelor party tonight,” Ainsley says to Skye.
“Ainsley,” I say. “I don’t want to push anything with Brody, especially on what should be his night.”
“No,” Skye says. “I think you should go. It would be wrong for you not to be there. Besides, Ainsley will be partying it up with me.” Sitting down beside Ainsley, I wrap my arm around her, seeing her ring catch the light. Skye gives us a small smile. “It should feel weird to see you guys together, but it really doesn’t.”
Skye’s right about at least one thing. It would be strange not to celebrate that night with Brody. I helped plan most of it, for fuck’s sake. I’m not sure it’s the best move, but I’ll do anything for Ainsley. Besides, I know I’ve got no chance up against these two. “All right, I’ll go.”
“You can blame me if it all goes to crap,” Ainsley says.
“Oh, I will,” I say, planting a sweet kiss on her lips.
The elevator opens to the hotel rooftop, overlooking historic Charleston. The hotel is only five stories high, but it’s enough to make Brody feel like a king for the night. One of his last nights as a bachelor. The thought of that used to hold no appeal for me, but Ainsley has changed all that. I’m counting down my nights as a single guy, and I won’t need a party like this to say goodbye to them. I’ll be happy to have them all behind me.
The electricity in the air stops me for a second. The place is lit up like a night club. Music is blaring, and every guy we know is here. Not to mention the women in the tiniest bikinis you’ve ever seen, hanging by the rooftop pool, serving the drinks. Skye made Brody swear on his penis that there’d be no strippers.
Technically, we aren’t breaking her rule, but I’m not sure Skye is going to see it that way. She doesn’t have anything to worry about with Brody. He’s not a cheater.
Just Love Page 10