My eyes moved over to the woman sitting next to David. My Jenny. She was gorgeous in a sapphire blue dress with long lace sleeves. It hugged her curves to perfection and dipped down in the front with just enough cleavage to make a man a little breathless, but not cross the line into inappropriate. Of course, it was hard for me not to entertain inappropriate thoughts about her no matter what she wore. Even after being together for five months, I still couldn't get enough of her. She was so damn sexy and absolutely perfect for me.
Jenny never went back to her apartment after the rape charges against me were dropped, and we'd been living together ever since. She made it official though at the end of October, when she announced that she wasn't renewing the lease on her apartment. I smiled wryly and asked her if that meant I had to ask her to live with me now. She'd given me a hard look that said I was an idiot. We'd packed up and moved what little was left in her apartment the next day.
She was smiling at me now, and my heart fluttered in my chest. I drank in the sight of her, from her long dark silky hair to her sexy blue stilettos. My eyes paused on the tattoo circling her left ankle. It was two ropes tied into an infinity knot. It symbolized the connection between us, both physically with my ropes and emotionally in our hearts. I'd given it to her a month or so ago. Right around the time I started thinking about proposing to her. I'd never been more sure of anything in my entire life. I was so happy our future was ours, and all the threats against us were gone.
Bennett was charged with multiple offenses after he was arrested, from blackmail to assault, and the biggest being the murder of his father. Gareth told me from what he'd heard through the grapevine, that he probably wasn't going to see the light of day again for a very long time if ever when all was said and done. The bastard deserved worse, but at least he wasn't our problem anymore.
Edward Holt was given a deal for rolling over on Bennett. He was still going to prison, but for him, there would be an end in sight. Detective Graves was fired and charged for her part in what happened, but her sentence was commuted to a lighter one due to the circumstances of her involvement. Thankfully, her daughter received her lung transplant in time and was doing well, so at least her child didn't pay for Bennett's blackmail with her life.
My tattoo shop was doing very well. After the mess she helped cause, the reporter Marie Hopkins wrote an in-depth article exposing Bennett's penchant for blackmail and destroying lives, mine being the main focus of the article. My reputation was redeemed, and now my business had never been better. It was a joy to be successful doing something that I loved and share it with my best friend, who was now my full business partner and sitting next to Jenny. Angel smiled radiantly at me next to her girlfriend, Raina, then threw a knowing glance over at Jenny.
Angel was the first person I told of my plans to propose, and she was almost more excited about it than my mother, and that was saying something. When Mom found out I was going to ask Jen to marry me, she had giddily insisted that I propose during the wedding reception as her wedding gift. I had balked at first since I didn't want to take away from Mom's day, but then relented when she kept insisting it was what she wanted more than anything. Besides, what better time to ask then with all our friends and family in attendance, including Jen's? Her parents were here seated right behind Jenny, as well as Andy and his obviously pregnant wife, Lydia. I couldn't wait to see their reactions.
Suddenly, the processional music started, and all eyes turned toward the back of the room. Mom began walking down the aisle alone with a radiant smile, dressed in a long elegant white gown that skimmed her tall slim figure and flowed to the floor. Her eyes were fixed on Tom, who stared back helplessly at her, pure love and joy on his face as he watched his bride. I glanced over at Jen then to see her smiling with tears welling up in her gorgeous sapphire eyes as she watched Tom take my mother's hand, and then both faced the officiant. I turned my attention back to the bride and groom as the wedding ceremony began, looking on in anticipation of the future.
Soon Jen, soon that's going to be us, and I can't wait.
**********
"Are you ready for this, irmão?" Nick said with a wide grin as he came up next to me. I was standing at the bar waiting for the drinks I'd just ordered for Jenny and me.
"I didn't think I'd be this nervous, but yes," I replied as I turned to face my friend and mentor. I blew out a deep breath trying to shake off the nerves. "I'm a jittery mess."
"It is normal," Nick told me with a smirk. "When I proposed to Holly, I thought I was going to throw up."
"Holy hell, don't say that." I grabbed the two beers that the bartender slid across the bar toward me. "I'd hate to end up barfing at my mother's wedding reception. She'd be mortified."
"You'll be fine," he reassured me as he glanced to the other side of the room.
I followed his line of sight to where Jenny was sitting at the wedding party table. My sister and Nick's wife Holly were sitting on either side of her right now, the three of them chatting animatedly. I smiled softly. Jen had fit into my life like she'd always been there. She and my sister were well on their way to a close friendship, and she and Holly had hit it off instantly. She made everything better, and I couldn't imagine my life without Jenny in it anymore.
She suddenly glanced my way and graced me with a warm wide smile, her blue eyes shining with adoration. My heart skipped a beat, and blood started to pool somewhere farther south. Damn, I had it bad. I wasn't going to let her get away. She was mine, and I was keeping her.
Suddenly, Gareth stood up from where he was seated further down the table next to his father. He began tapping gently on his wine glass. Shit, it was time. My nerves flared to life again.
"Wish me luck," I told Nick nervously.
He smiled in amusement as his eyes lit up. "Okay, irmão," he said indulgently as he slapped me on the back a couple of times, "but you're not going to need it."
I nodded then hurried away toward our table, sucking in several deep breaths to calm myself. By the time I returned to Jen, my seat next to her was vacant again, and I slipped into it just as Gareth lifted his glass and began to speak.
"They say good things come to those who wait." He glanced at his father warmly. "And my father has waited a long time for this. For the last eight years, it's just been the two of us, and we've learned to be content with our tiny family, but I knew my dad was lonely. I worried about him, but then my dad started working for Victoria, and everything changed. He laughed more, and smiled more. He found joy again, and I knew he was a goner because he talked about her constantly." Tom smiled broadly up at his son with love and pride in his eyes.
"I admit that I was skeptical at first. My father is my mentor, my hero, and my friend. I don't know a better person. I didn't think there was anyone good enough for the man who taught me what it means to be a man. However, that all changed the first time I saw him with Victoria. He came alive again for the first time in years. He was happy again. And it's all because of this woman who came out of nowhere to love him the way that he deserves." He turned to smile at my mother.
"Victoria," he said warmly. "I can't thank you enough for coming into my father's life." Mom's eyes flooded with tears. Tom wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he pulled a handkerchief out of his jacket pocket and gave it to her. She dabbed carefully at her eyes as she smiled up at Gareth.
"Thank you for being everything my father deserves and more," Gareth continued. "Thank you for giving me a new family." He nodded to Natie and me. "But mostly, thank you for loving my father. I know the two of you will be happy together for the rest of your lives." He raised his glass, and everyone followed suit. "I love you both, and I couldn't be happier for you. Congratulations." He took a healthy swallow of his wine along with the rest of the room as we toasted the happy couple.
Then it was my turn. Gareth nodded toward me and took his seat, grinning widely as applause filled the room. Holy hell, here we go. I stood, and the room quieted as all eyes turned toward me. Now I k
ind of wished I'd planned my speech. My intention to wing it suddenly felt overwhelming. What have I done to myself?
Then I looked down at Jen. Her gorgeous eyes were filled with love and pride. She believed in me. She loved me. Out of all the men in this world, she'd chosen me. After that, everything else but my love for this woman just fell away. It lifted me up and gave me the confidence I needed to quell my nerves. The words suddenly flowed out of me with little effort.
"A good friend once told me that you can't force love." I glanced over at David with a knowing smile. "He told me it wasn't logical or predictable. It can't be planned or orchestrated. It sneaks up on you when you least expect it." I glanced at Mom. "I think my mother would agree." She nodded as she teared up again. "She waited a long time for Tom to sneak up on her, but I'd say it was worth the wait. The first time I saw them together I knew they were in love, even before they both admitted it to themselves and each other." Mom let out a tiny sob, and Tom pulled her closer as he grinned at me.
"You have to be patient and let love happen when it's supposed to, no matter how long that takes. It was the same for me. I'd been single and happy with that for my whole life, until I realized I was missing something. Then I did what I always do when I want something bad enough. I tried to make it happen. I tried to control the uncontrollable. Needless to say, it was a monumental failure." A moment of laughter broke out across the room.
I looked down at Jen's gorgeous face. "Then one day a gorgeous woman walked into my shop to get a tattoo, and turned this reformed bachelor's world on its axis. She sneaked her way into my heart, and suddenly everything made sense. I knew where I belonged and where I was meant to be. She felt like home, and I finally knew what love really was." I reached down to take Jen's hand and coaxed her to her feet. Confusion filled her eyes as she stood. She had no idea what was coming.
"I love you, Jen, with every part of my being, and since the first moment that I saw you, I knew that you were mine. You're the other half that makes me whole." Her sapphire eyes welled with tears as she smiled up at me. I slipped my hand into my pocket and gripped the ring box. I pulled it out as I dropped down to one knee. I heard the room let out a surprised gasp as Jen's eyes widened in surprise.
"You're my everything, and I can't imagine a single day of my future without you in it. I can't imagine spending my life without you or making babies with anyone but you." I opened the ring box and took Jen's hand in mine again as I held it up to her. The ring was an infinity knot lined with tiny diamonds that wrapped around a perfect round cut solitaire. She gasped as her hand flew to her mouth. She stared at it in stunned awe.
"Jenny Purcell," my voice wavered with emotion and my eyes stung with unshed tears, "will you marry me?"
She gasped out a tiny sob as her sapphire eyes met mine. Tears trailed down her cheeks as silent expectation filled the room. Finally, she began nodding frantically, her hand dropping from her face to cradle mine.
"Y...yes, Ford," she answered in a quavering emotional voice. "A thousand times yes. Of course, I'll marry you."
A roar of applause crashed over the room, but I heard none of it. I took Jenny's hand and pushed the ring onto her finger with shaking hands. Jen flew into my arms as I stood, her arms latching around my neck as I lifted her up off the ground.
"I love you, honey," I whispered in her ear. "I'll always love you."
"I love you too, Ford," she whispered back, then added with a hint of mischief in her tone. "Sir." A shiver ran through me as both physical and emotional need fell over me. Holy hell, this woman did incredible things to me.
I set her down then and bent to kiss her with wild passionate abandon, oblivious to everything else but the woman I loved, and the glorious future we had spread out before us. I embraced our love for the beautiful thing that it was, and knew in my heart that I would never take it for granted.
COMING SOON...
Look for my next book, Dark Dominion: Dangerous Desire Book 1, in Spring of 2017. Read on to enjoy an excerpt from the first book in the Dangerous Desire Duet featuring Gareth Caxton.
If you loved this book or any of my others, please leave a review on my Amazon author page, http://www.amazon.com/Samantha-Wolfe/e/B0172GSQGY. I'd really appreciate it.
S.W.
GARETH
I stared across the table of the small holding room at Leonard Rigby, one brow arched meaningfully as I listened to him bark yet another demand at me. I was beginning to think he wasn't very bright, and I had very little patience for stupidity.
"You better be gettin' me outta this mess," he slurred out, obviously still high on whatever he'd taken to get into this situation in the first place. He shook his head jerkily, and his body twitched a few times out of nowhere before he continued. "My aunt said you're the best, so do whatever ya gotta do, and tell 'em whatever ya gotta do to get me outta this." He scratched at his greasy blond hair with long dirty fingernails, his collection of random meaningless tattoos scrawled across the skin of his gaunt arm like a drunken toddler had put them there. I noticed burns on his fingers, and his teeth were an atrocity I didn't care to acknowledge. Oh yes, he was definitely on meth.
His pupils were dilated, the irises a just barely visible ring of watery blue, even though the room was bright with fluorescent lighting. He was sweating excessively as well, and he'd been jittery and anxious since I came in to talk to him. He'd been babbling mostly nonsense ever since. Thankfully, I was already aware of the charges against him, since I was struggling to make sense of what he was trying to convey with his rambling narrative.
I leaned forward to rest my elbows on the table, and laced my fingers together. "So you want me to lie? Is that what you're suggesting, Leonard?" I asked pointedly. He was oblivious to my sardonic tone.
"Well, yeah," he blurted out in exasperation. "Ain't that what lawyers do?"
I suppressed an irritated growl. "How is that supposed to work when multiple witnesses corroborate the assault you're charged with Leonard?"
"You're my lawyer," he said, like that was an answer to my question. "You do whatever I say to get me free."
"No," I snapped out, not hiding my annoyance anymore. "I do not."
"But I'm payin' you!" he snarled, his tall lanky body inflating angrily in his chair.
"No," I replied. "Your aunt is paying me, and my job is to defend you and speak on your behalf, not lie for you. I'm your advocate, Leonard, not your sycophant."
His brow furrowed in confusion. "Advo...synco, what?"
"I'm here to look out for your best interests, Leonard, and at this point all I can do is try to plea bargain for a lesser sentence for you so-"
"No!" he interrupted me with a glare. "I'm not taking a fucking plea bargain, you son of a-"
I slammed my hands down on the table, and his mouth snapped shut. I was playing with fire since he was still high, but being disrespected infuriated me. Besides, I wasn't afraid of him. I'd dealt with far scarier criminals than a mere meth head like Leonard Rigby. I was starting to regret taking this case as a favor to Judge Rigby. Her soft spot for her brother's idiot son was completely misplaced. The man had a long criminal history of drug-related charges. Leonard was an addict and an imbecile. I was glad I wasn't a public defender and could decide which cases I took, or I'd be saddled with clients like this frequently.
"You assaulted a seventy-year-old woman, Leonard, in broad daylight surrounded by almost a dozen witnesses." I didn't even try to hide my condescension. "You're going to prison, again. It's up to you whether you let me keep you from rotting there this time."
"She wouldn't give me her purse!" he shouted as he slammed his fists on the table top. His eyes were wild as he worked himself up. "She kept fighting me! All she had to do was let go!"
His spittle landed on my hand and the sleeve of my dark-gray Armani suit. I growled beneath my breath as I clenched my teeth. I pulled my hands off the table onto my lap and wiped my left one onto my slacks. I'd about had it trying to get this fool to focus, an
d my head was beginning to throb as he continued ranting nonsense about being a victim himself.
"Leonard," I snarled out angrily, interrupting him with a hard intimidating glare. "Shut up."
"But-"
"No," I snapped out. "I'm going to talk and you're going to listen now, so try to focus if you can manage it."
His eyes glittered with anger, but he finally shut up. Thank the lord for small mercies.
"You are guilty," I continued fiercely. He opened his mouth, and I raised a finger to stop him. "You are going to prison. Nothing I do or say will change that fact. Do yourself a favor and admit your guilt, so I can help you, then keep your goddamn mouth shut. Understand? Or are you going to keep babbling incoherently like a fucking moron."
"You can't talk to me that way, you motherfucker!" Leonard barked out as began to stand up. "I'll kick your ass! You're just a fucking pussy in a goddamn suit!"
"Very well," I replied sharply. He could call me a pussy all he wanted. I knew it wasn't true. His opinion didn't matter to me in the least. "Then find your own counsel, Leonard. I'm not representing you."
His eyes widened in sudden panic as I stood to leave.
"Good luck with your public defender," I added sarcastically. "I'm sure you'll be in competent hands." Then because I was an asshole and couldn't seem to help myself, I added, "Enjoy the next decade of prison, Leonard. I'm sure a man like you will be very popular."
When I was halfway to the door, Leonard let out an incoherent roar behind me. I whirled to see him rushing across the room toward me, his eyes wild and mindless with rage. I reacted immediately, my body instinctively taking over thanks to my years of martial arts training. I fell into my fighting stance, my hips facing him, my hands up in front of my face in a guard position. Leonard came at me with a straight punch that flew toward my head. It was clumsy and completely telegraphed. This was too easy.
An Act of Redemption: Order & Chaos Book 3 Page 29