Chapter 16

Damon

Matt reached out and patted the side of Damon's arm. "Just make sure she knows that you're not at all interested in Bridget anymore. That's what will keep things on the right track."

"I already did." Damon ran his hand down his face and turned, feeling someone behind them. "I'll tell her a hundred more times if I need to."

"What are your plans?"

"I'm going to go find Beth and see if she wants to lie out by the beach with me. It's a lazy afternoon, and from what Dad said, we aren't due to dinner until late tonight."

"I'll come with you if you want."

"Yeah, sure." Damon walked out into the hallway and made his way down to Bethany's room.

Erica's voice surprised him as she walked up from behind them. "She's lying down. I just went to grab a Coke. You guys going to the beach?"

"Yeah." Damon turned to face Erica. "Is she all right?"

"I think so. She's just tired." Erica shrugged as her attention quickly turned to Matthew. It was almost comical to see how much the two of them liked each other, and yet neither of them were willing to say anything about it to the other.

It was childish and stupid. It was totally Matt's persona.

"How messed up is it that Bridget is here right now? Of all the places in the world..." Damon let his words die off as they walked toward the opening at the end of the hall that would lead to the beach.

"Things like this always happen to you." Matt moved up beside Damon and glanced over at him. "Remember that girl you tried to date in high school and your ex-girlfriend with the big boobs kept showing up everywhere."

"Tera. She did have big boobs. At least to a fifteen-year-old kid." Damon smirked, glad Bethany wasn't there to hear him and Matt acting like goons. It was a side of himself that he only allowed Matt to see. Now Matt and Erica it would seem.

"Really?" Erica gave them a look before walking to the edge of the water and sitting down. Her long legs stretched toward the water, and something seemed oddly intimate about the moment.

"We were boys." Matt snorted and dropped down next to her before glancing up at Damon. "Sit down, man. Take a load off."

"Yeah. I'm gonna walk down the beach, but I'll be back shortly. Just want a few minutes to myself." Damon turned and walked toward the far end of the beach, which was empty as far as the eye could see. He'd made the decision that Bethany was going to be his woman for the rest of his life, but something was nagging at him.

Maybe the older woman on the plane was right. There was no time like the present. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet to check for his large credit card. Everything was in place as it should be.

He glanced up toward the large resort where they were staying and took a sharp right. There was no way in hell he would mess up his father's special moment, but the minute it was over, he wanted his own moment. One with just him and Beth out on the beach. One that would seal the deal and make her forever his.

She wouldn't need to ask anymore if he loved her, or if he were interested in any other women. He'd show her.

The sand was soft between his toes, but the sidewalk was a little too hot from the afternoon sun beating down on it. He jogged across the pavement, cursing here and there about not grabbing his shoes. It wasn't as if he'd planned to be anywhere but along the water, walking down the beach.

He stopped outside of the main entrance to the hotel and pulled on the door, finding it locked.

"Damn." He'd left his key in Beth's room, not expecting to be gone from her side. He leaned in and cupped his hands around the glass. He pounded on the door with his hand and moved back as a woman in a black uniform opened the door.

"Forgot your key, sir?"

"I sure did. I appreciate your help." Damon walked in and blinked a few times as his eyes worked to adjust to the inside of the resort. "Do you by chance have a jewelry store on site?"

"We do. Just down that hall to the left." The woman glanced down at his feet and smiled before looking back up. "Unexpected purchase?"

"Something like that." Damon chuckled and moved past the woman toward the direction she pointed. The store was right where she'd said it would be.

A proper-looking gentleman in a suit looked up from one of the jewelry cases and gave Damon an odd look. "Um, might I help you, sir?"

"Yes. I'm going to propose to my girlfriend sometime this weekend. Can you show me your engagement rings?"

"Of course, sir, but our prices are honestly a little above market, at best. It might be advantageous for you to take a cab into town and-"

"I'm good. Thank you. Show me the most expensive ring you have, and the most beautiful. The most dainty." Damon pulled out his wallet and laid his platinum card on the counter. "I want her to feel like the queen of the world when I pull it out."

"Of course, sir." The man nodded and moved about with a little more confidence. Damon worked hard not to scoff at him. Maybe Beth was changing him from the inside out. A couple of months before and Damon would have ripped the guy a new asshole. Somehow it didn't seem that important in the middle of paradise to be a dick.

He bent over and unlocked a cabinet as Damon leaned over and let his eyes move along the various rings. All of them seemed too big, or too small. Too round or too square.

"How about this one?" The man pulled out a small box after they'd gone through what felt like a million rings.

"Let me see it." Damon pressed his hands to the glass below him and hoped like hell that the guy had something incredible to show him. Bethany deserved the best. She was going to make him a better man, and give him hope for something he thought he would never want. Love. Family. Commitment.

"It's one of a kind. It's very expensive." The guy held the box in his hand as he glanced up at Damon, but had yet to open it.

Damon met his stare. "Open the box. I have more money than I know what to do with. Stop dicking around and show me the ring."

Maybe Bethany had more work to do still.

"Of course. I'm sorry." The clerk popped the box open and lifted the ring toward Damon.

He knew immediately. "That's it. Put it in a bag and charge my card."

"Sir, it's three hundred thousand dollars."

"And?" Damon took the box and brushed his thumb over the top of the diamond.

"Okay." The guy took a shaky breath and extended his hand. "Anything else I can get you today?"

Damon glanced up and handed him the ring as his heart fluttered in his chest. He was going to propose to Beth. So soon. Without giving it a second thought?

"Yeah, a drink." He pursed his lips and let the truth sink deep inside of him. He belonged to her. They'd figure out the details later. Besides, he wanted to see her face light up when he dropped to his knee and offered her forever beside him.

Hopefully, she would say yes.

He smirked at the thought. "Wouldn't that be some shit?"

"Sorry, sir?"

Damon glanced over his shoulder. "Nothing. Nothing at all."