by Sue Wilder
But they seemed lost in Luna’s world. She was telling a story, hands moving as she talked, and I wasn’t willing to intrude.
Tad stood beside Max, arms crossed, his expression defiant over the sparkling soda Garrett exchanged for the whiskey glass Tad tried to hide. My suspicions centered on Max as being the culprit who’d provided the whiskey. Tad formed a friendship with Max after the rescue, and it pleased me to see it—both for Max and for Tad. Missy seemed happy about it, too, and I decided if she could play matchmaker, I’d return the favor.
Garrett was heartbreakingly handsome. Magnetic. He drew people, friends and admiring women, and I tamped down the surge of jealousy when one woman touched his arm.
At the bar, Ethan refreshed the whiskey, refilling a glass for the woman in the black dress, who smiled coyly at Garrett. A glass was pushed toward Garrett, and I watched the easy way he picked it up and sipped. Then tapped the glass with the spoon Ethan handed him.
The clear chime settled the room.
“Thank you all for coming.” His deep voice was more intoxicating than any leading man I’d ever worked with. “It’s good friends we value most.”
Murmurs of agreement circulated the room. I smiled when Garrett glanced my way.
“You all know Luna,” he said. “And her twin, Soleil. You can tell them apart because Luna has that dark-haired threat hanging on her arm.”
Laughter while Connor grinned. “Gotta protect what’s mine,” he agreed.
“A year ago, Connor Lange asked Luna to be his wife. And that’s what we’re celebrating today. Finding love. Cherishing someone enough to spend a lifetime together.” He shrugged. “But that’s not all we’re celebrating.”
Garrett set aside the whiskey and made his way toward me.
“Twins have special bonds. They’re born together. Live their lives together. Share special events together. And the way Luna captured Connor’s heart. Completely. Thoroughly. That’s the way Soleil has captured my heart.”
When he paused in front of me, my smile wavered.
“As most of you know, Soleil and I have history. She’s always been the light that pushed back my darkness. The memory that kept me whole. I can’t imagine a life where I never heard her laugh, or watched her smile. Where I couldn’t feel her love, every day.”
He dropped to one knee, pushed one hand into his pocket and withdrew a black box. I was gripping my wrists as Garrett held out a glittering, bespoke double emerald-cut diamond ring.
“Soleil St. Clair—trouble,” he added, while the crowd chuckled and tears ran down my face. “I love you. I want to spend my life with you. Will you marry me?”
He took my hand, held my fingers to keep them from trembling. My eyes closed as the breath choked in my throat. The path Garrett and I walked these past months led us toward trust and forgiveness. We’d discovered a truth, that if we pushed through our separate guilts together, it was easier to find redemption on the other side.
That was where we stood, now. We’d crossed a bridge, using Luna and Connor as our guides, and what they did for remembrance had inspired our own ritual. One involving Oz.
The Ibiza’s repairs took two months of effort, but then we’d sailed out to the Yaquina reef and talked to Oz. Shared with him all the painful memories of Clayton Knowles, released the anger and fear, then drank with Oz, glasses of whiskey held, toasts made to the triumphs because they were the blessings.
I knew how hard Garrett pushed through his phobias. I admired his determination, and couldn’t imagine losing him. He saw me, who I was beneath the famous face. Accepted my flaws without judgment.
This boy—who made me wash hearts from his damn car in front of the entire football team—was now the man who held my heart. I refused to let him kneel before me.
Opening my eyes, I turned our hands and pulled him to his feet.
“Who you are,” I said, ignoring the audience because I wasn’t acting. Only truth mattered now, what Garrett needed to hear from me. “On the inside, Garrett. I cherish your spirit, your strength. I’ve never met a man with such honor. The way you make me laugh. The comfort I find in our quiet times, how I can look up and catch you staring, and know that you. See me.”
His hand trembled in mine, the hand I still held, the one I’d used to pull him from his knees. It startled me, how neither of us wanted to let go.
With my free hand, I reached up to cup his jaw. “You have been, and always will be precious to me. Irreplaceable. I want you to be happy. I can’t imagine life without you, in my heart, at my side.”
“I love you,” Garrett said, and the deep, rough sincerity in his voice was whiskey-dark. “Be with me, trouble. Live life with me. I know my faults. I haven’t been open. I’ve kept secrets—”
“Hush.” I rose on my toes and kissed him. His mouth slanted against mine, and I put my arms around him, stroking my fingers against his nape. “I want this to work. Make us work.”
“So do I.”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” I added, stepping back. “But I will. I’m stubborn. So are you. I’ll disappoint you at times, then you’ll disappoint me, and we have to fight like hell to get through it together. Not go our separate ways.”
Garrett straightened, and his nod was one of acceptance. “You’ve always been the memory, late at night. The regret, hitting when I least expected, reminding me of the hurt in your eyes, and the knowledge that I put it there. I’d see you walk away while I stood, too afraid to run after you, and I never let myself hope you’d find your way back to me. That I’d ever be worthy of you.”
“I gave you my heart fifteen years ago, Garrett, and I won’t take it back, no matter what you do. What you say. My love is the ocean, supporting you. Comforting you. I want to be there with you. Love you. Live life with you.”
We were both silent for a moment. Then the gentle warmth in Garrett’s eyes filled me with tenderness.
“Trouble.” He held his hand out to me.
He was waiting for an answer.
I nodded, whispering, “Yes.” My fingers were unsteady as he slid the gorgeous diamond ring on my finger. The room erupted in cheers and swirling congratulations, bringing me back to awareness with a jolt. I’d forgotten we weren’t alone. Garrett did that to me, though, drew me into our private world.
“It’s about dang time,” Gordy Hayes shouted from across the room. “Thought we’d all die before you got balls big enough to ask. And you’d better up your game, Garrett, since it took her so long to answer.”
Garrett smiled with both chagrin and relief, and my heart swelled with warmth and love. For him. And this extended family who offered him unwavering support. It made me realize how his life touched people in unanticipated ways, and I wanted that for him.
For myself, too, because laughter filled with love was more valuable to me than fame, and I lost track of the hugs. The slaps on the back, which Garrett took like a champ. Stories from high school, with all the good-natured ribbing, brought more laughter. After a time, Luna and Connor crowded in, and my twin whispered, “Sorry, sweetheart, but it’s time to go.”
I thought she meant time for her to go. But Garrett swept me into his arms and carried me to the bar door—where I insisted that he put me down.
“We’ll see you in a month,” he told the room, and I realized the talk of Connor sweeping Luna off was a ruse. I looked at my twin. She beamed. Beside her, the other cohorts grinned: Missy, Angie. Max and Connor. Caleb and Lis had their arms linked and glasses raised in our direction. Ty and Jack joined in. Too many faces after that, as if the entire town had been in on the plans.
I turned to Garrett. “You did this.”
“I did.”
I rose on my toes and kissed him, giggling at the support from the crowd, the suggestions that were bawdy, others hilarious, and my heart seized at the love from this family of friends.
“Where are we going?” I teased, and Garrett shook his head.
“I don’t know. But Connor promised it wo
uld be perfect.”
It was perfect. White sandy beaches, balmy air and swaying palms. A private island in the Caribbean, with a yacht at our disposal, although we’d had to fly in Connor’s private jet to get there. Garrett decided we should make love the entire time so he wouldn’t feel the fear. I didn’t object, and after that, we sailed and slept and made love again—on the beach, in the luxurious bed set up in the outdoor cabana. We tried the hammock for five minutes and giggled too much. He would sprawl naked, on his back. I would walk around in bikinis.
We talked, made plans I’d never imagined I’d be making with a man, and I loved every moment. Late at night, we’d drag blankets outside to the beach and stare at the stars. Garrett told me stories of Ibiza—both the island and the company. I listened, holding his hand, then told him stories of my own, about two twins who grew up to find the men who stole their hearts.
We laughed softly, loved deeply, and when it was time to come home, my mother sent me a text, with a link to a news article. Garrett and I read it together.
The headline was simple. Home health-care worker Clayton Knowles pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
The rest of the story wasn’t the whole story, but it was all the world needed to know.
The Crown Court in London accepted the plea from the defendant. In a statement, Knowles took full responsibility for the death of Elle Lange, sister of the powerful CEO of Blackthorn. The death, originally ruled as suicide, was reopened after evidence of foul play surfaced. The unexpected plea led to speculation about coercion, but when questioned in court, the defendant insisted the decision was his choice and requested no mercy. He faces charges in the United States, but extradition is unlikely, given the obvious mental imbalance, and the lengthy sentence imposed.
The guilty plea ends a tragic chapter that has dogged Blackthorn for over two years. There was no comment from Connor Lange as he left the courtroom with his wife and a bodyguard at his side.
I set the phone aside, turned, and cupped Garrett’s face. “Thank you.”
His eyes moistened. “Trouble…”
“Come on, Garrett, you can come up with a better name than trouble.”
And he did.
About The Author
Sue Wilder
Sue Wilder loves writing romances that keep her up late at night, filled with laughs, tears, and characters who hang around long after the books are finished. When she isn't writing, you'll find her listening to jazz, enjoying red wine and watching the sunsets.
She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family and a yellow lab named Maxine—otherwise known as Max.
If you enjoyed this story, please leave a review on the site of your choice. Amazon, Goodreads, BookBub. Thank you in advance for your support.
Connect with her through SueWilderWrites.com
You’ll find links to my newsletter on my website.
Sue Wilder Writes on Facebook, Instagram
Sue Wilder on Goodreads and BookBub
Follow on Amazon, Goodreads and BookBub
Other books by Sue Wilder
With Me Series—New Adult Romance
Risk
Scandal
Reckless
Enforcer’s Legacy Series—Paranormal Romance
The Darkness in Dreams
The Fire in Vengeance
The Danger in Justice
The Tears in Midnight
The Memories in Moonlight
The Smoke in Shadows
Books In This Series
With Me
The WITH ME series features connected characters, coastal areas in the Pacific Northwest, enemies-to-lovers, second chance at love, with unconventional billionaires and independent women.
Risk
Awkward is having a drop-dead gorgeous man charge into your bedroom just as you get out of the shower. With a deputy sheriff with him, who is convinced you're an intruder.
Even worse?
He had every right to do it.
Scandal
Scandal blew up my life, twice, and the third time shouldn't stand there looking so addictive.
So totally hot and dangerous. Sexy in a black suit that fits like armor.
Connor Lange, embattled CEO of Blackthorn, powerful, wealthy, gorgeous. I'm supposed to help him. But the only way I can is through a fake relationship.
Reckless
Why didn't I realize who he was before I got blindsided in his bar?
We have history. I need his help. He wants me gone.
