Ruby
One Month Later…
“I’m glad they didn’t get married,” Jett said as we left the church where Stuart and Lia were supposed to get married.
“She’s heartbroken,” I told him.
“No, she’s not,” Jett argued as he opened the door of the sedan and waited for me to get into the car.
Pete had parked outside the church and he looked startled when I jumped inside.
Jett explained to his friend and driver that the ceremony never happened, and we’d be headed back home.
“No woman wants to be left at the altar,” I admonished.
As the car started moving, Jett said, “Better that than married to a jerk. I expect we’ll get another wedding invitation pretty soon.”
“From who?” I asked curiously.
“Zeke and Lia,” he explained calmly. “Zeke will make his move now that Lia has to get married or lose her inheritance.”
“She doesn’t love Zeke,” I pointed out.
“If she doesn’t now, she will. Those two were meant to be together. She didn’t really love Stuart. I think she just talked herself into loving the idea of being married to him.”
After watching Lia as the wedding approached, I couldn’t exactly say that Jett was wrong. Honestly, I didn’t think Lia loved Stuart, either. “I hope she ends up with Zeke,” I conceded.
It was obvious that Zeke adored Lia, and he’d treat my friend right. Unlike Stuart, who sounded like a complete jackass.
I leaned back against the leather seat and watched the city roll by as we headed back toward downtown.
The last several weeks had been busy, and I was exhausted, but in a good way.
Things had irrevocably changed between Jett and me since Dani’s wedding. With all our fears out in the open, we could help each other finish healing.
I had moments when I got scared, but Jett was there to keep me grounded. In return, I tried to alleviate any issues he still had from his accident.
I talked to Harper almost every day, and Dani was due back from her honeymoon soon, so she’d be back in the loop, too.
Carter and Jett had buried the hatchet, and surprisingly, Carter had become one of my greatest supporters. He was almost like the big brother I’d never had to defend me, and he took those duties seriously.
Nothing like two alpha men to drive a woman crazy.
But honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I had to admit that I’d had a soft spot for Carter since I’d realized that his intentions were good. It was just his execution that had been bad.
Mason was gone again to international sites, so we hadn’t seen him since Dani’s wedding.
I’d been busy with the bakery stuff, so Jett had become my willing mentor, teaching me the management side of having my own business.
Everything had happened quickly after I’d started doing regular work for Lia’s shop and preparing for a second Indulgent Brews. I was still supplying Jett’s office, and he wanted me to take over for all the offices. It was going to be a huge job in addition to all of the other businesses that were approaching me every single day.
I’d wanted to break out.
And I thrived on being busy, but everything had been crazy the last few weeks.
I was finally going to be making a ton of money. While I loved the fact that I’d be independent, being wealthy hadn’t been my goal. I’d wanted some kind of safety, and I’d wanted independence.
Now that I was accomplishing those goals, all I wanted was to be doing something I loved.
I’d received the enormous insurance settlement. It had been deposited into my account with very little fanfare, and since Jett refused to take a penny of it or to take back the money he’d deposited, very little had changed.
The car came to a halt and Jett got out and held the door open for me.
“You’re quiet,” he observed. “Everything okay?”
I answered when we got into the empty elevator, “I’m more than okay.”
He grinned at me as he hit the button to the penthouse, and I smiled back.
Jett had brought more joy to my life than I could have ever imagined when I’d been homeless.
We entered the penthouse and Jett took my coat as he said, “I can’t wait to give you something.”
“No more vehicles,” I cautioned.
He shook his head. “It’s not another car. But it comes with a catch.”
I followed as he wandered toward the kitchen. He stopped in the living room.
“What’s the catch?” I asked eagerly. “Does it involve anything kinky?”
“Unfortunately not, but I could make it that way,” he answered as he reached into his pocket. “Right now, it pretty much involves taking me if you accept it.”
I had to catch my breath as he opened the red velvet box in his hand and the light caught the beautiful diamond inside. “I’m hoping this time you’ll say yes. I love you, Ruby Kent. Marry. Me.”
I had a brief flashback of the one other time he’d asked the same question. It was so familiar, but so different.
When he’d asked me the same question when we’d first met, he hadn’t done it with the same adoration and fire in his gaze. But I did see a little bit of the same apprehension I’d seen back then.
“Yes!” I said immediately, my heart galloping inside my chest as I threw myself at him.
He caught me with a laugh. “If you would have given me that answer when I asked the first time, we’d be married by now.”
“It wasn’t right,” I shared.
He moved back to put the gorgeous ring on my finger. “Maybe it wasn’t, but I was willing.”
I gaped at the enormous diamond for a moment before I said, “It’s right because I love you.”
Jett kissed the ring on my finger and then dipped down and gave me a kiss that tasted like forever.
“I was going to take you out to dinner tomorrow,” he said after he lifted his head. “But when I picked up the ring this morning, all I wanted was to see it on your finger.”
“I can live without dinner,” I said as I stroked his cheek. “Take me to bed.”
“Demanding woman,” he grumbled, but I could see the desire written all over his face.
“Are you complaining again?” I teased.
“Never,” he said hoarsely as he took my hand. “Just the fact that you want me as much as I want you is a fucking miracle.”
I followed him as he tugged on my hand. I knew he wasn’t putting himself down because I felt the same way, too.
Sometimes, love really was a surprising phenomenon that could make a person think about how lucky they were to have somebody who felt the same way.
As I followed Jett into the elevator, I realized that my Cinderella story had ended. But I was more than ready to start a new sequel.
I was going to be laughing, loving, and spending the rest of my life with my soul mate.
I already had a real life fairy tale, and it didn’t get any better than that.
~The End~