by Sian Ceinwen
At first, they were speaking to just the normal hotel worker, but they soon put them on to the manager, after taking a deposit for the room from Gabriel’s card to ensure they weren’t being pranked. This manager wasn’t the one they’d dealt with in the past, who had since moved on from the hotel, but they had heard the story of the ‘I LOVE YOU.’ Apparently, it had become an urban legend amongst the hotel staff, and the manager was delighted to get to be a part of the sequel.
After that, they booked a private plane to fly Ariana and Gabriel to Washington next Saturday and a limousine service to take them to the airfield. Once that was all done, it was time for Gabriel’s appointment with the jeweler.
“Are you sure you want to come?” he asked her.
“You’ve got to be shitting me. In for a penny, in for a pound. I’ve worked too hard on the proposal itself, now. Don’t think I’m going to miss out on helping you to pick out the ring!” She laughed.
Heather told Callum that he was free to take the black SUV to her apartment building, and they would go with Ethan Jackson, Gabriel’s bodyguard, to the jeweler. Once they were in Gabriel’s SUV, Heather pulled out her phone and saw a text from Hayden. She’d practically forgotten that she’d texted him many hours ago.
He’s coping. We’ve got a meeting with Cooper today about Games We Play.
She looked up at Gabriel, “You saw Harrison today?”
“Yeah, we had a meeting about the release for Games We Play.”
“How is he?” She bit her lip.
“Honestly?” She nodded. “He’s pretty bad, Heather. I think today’s one of the few times I’ve seen him sober since…” He didn’t finish his sentence.
“He’s drinking that much?” Heather was concerned.
“Possibly more, I can only speak for when I’ve seen him.”
“I’ve seen the pics, I was kind of hoping that it wasn’t as bad as they make it seem,” she sighed. It hurt to hear that Harrison was struggling as badly as she suspected he was.
“Have you read any of the stories?” Gabriel asked her.
“Not really, Zoe thinks it’s bad for me. I just search his name sometimes to look at the pictures of him,” she admitted.
“They’re going hard on this thing about you and Sebastian having an affair; I assume they’re still going at you about it?” he asked her.
“Yeah, all the time. Although they like to ask me more about Maddy, whatever they think will get a reaction, I guess,” she rolled her eyes.
“Okay, well, they go fucking hard on him about you cheating on him. They say the most disgusting things about you and Seb. I’m worried that he’s going to snap soon. Michael has had to physically restrain him a couple of times when he’s been drunk.”
“God, I hate this”—Heather dropped her head to her hands and shook her head—“it’s the worst.”
He put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a hug, “Hey, I know it’s really bad right now, but don’t lose hope that you guys might be able to work through this.”
She sighed deeply, then lifted her head to look at him, “You’re right. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be a downer. This is an exciting day!”
“Don’t fake it for me, Heather,” Gabriel smiled kindly at her, “you can be sad. I know you’re still happy for us.”
Heather was grateful that Ethan pulled the car into a parking bay in front of a row of elegant stores, one of which was the jeweler they were going to visit, so she didn’t need to respond to his comment.
“Thank god, there’s no paparazzi. I was worried someone would see us going in and ruin the surprise,” Gabriel said.
“Hey, just because I’m fucking Seb doesn’t mean I’m not free to become your fiancée. I’m sure Ariana will be fine with that!” Heather laughed.
“She just might be, you could take some of the heat off her by being my intended, instead of her,” he grinned.
“Why not, then all I’d need to do is just blow Hayden in the middle of Grant Park or something to complete the Cruise Control set. You know…make sure that I catch ’em all!”
They were both laughing as Ethan opened the door to the car, and they got out. There was a security guard at the entrance to the jewelers, and he swiped a card to open the doors for them. This was the type of place that could only be visited by appointment.
Once inside, they were seated at a desk. There was a couple at another desk, talking through the design they were looking at getting made. The woman who’d shown them to the desk offered them tea or coffee. Heather asked for a coffee, but Gabriel, who looked incredibly nervous now, declined.
After a few minutes, she came back with Heather’s coffee, escorted by a man who introduced himself as Julian.
“I’m one of the head jewelers here, and I’m honored that you would choose us to create your engagement ring, Mr. Knight,” he said with a smile.
“You come very highly recommended. I have to ask, is there any chance of getting the ring by, say, Thursday next week?”
Julian frowned but replied, “Well, if you’re happy to pick one of the diamonds that we have in stock, we can certainly accommodate your request, depending on the design. There will be an additional fee for the quick turnaround.”
“Not a problem,” Gabriel smiled, “as long as we can get the ring by Thursday, that would be amazing.”
Julian asked Gabriel a few questions about what type of design and diamond he was looking for. After taking some notes, he walked away before coming back with two large, wooden boxes of rings, one sitting on top of the other. Each box had cushioned velvet lining, and between each cushion, a selection of rings had been placed. He sat the boxes side by side and allowed Heather and Gabriel to look through them.
There must have been around sixty rings all told, each completely unique in design and stone. Eventually, Gabriel came across the one he was looking for.
“It’s perfect,” he looked up at Heather, the delight evident in his face.
“Yes, darling, it really is.”
The ring was fairly simple; it was set with a large, round, brilliant-cut diamond in the center. Down the sides of the band was a twisting pattern with smaller diamonds dotted either side of it. Unlike the engagement ring that Harrison had chosen for Heather, it was understated but very much suited Ariana.
“This one has a matching wedding ring if you’d like to see that?” Julian asked him, and Gabriel nodded.
Julian came back with a wedding band that sat perfectly against the engagement ring. It had the same twisting pattern, with diamonds dotted either side of the twists.
“It’s glorious!” Heather gasped.
“We can also make a matching eternity band, should you feel the need for one,” Julian assured Gabriel.
“Yes. This is it. Both the engagement ring and the wedding ring, please.”
“Not a problem, sir. I’ll take these away and bring a selection of diamonds for your choosing.” He took both boxes away, leaving the chosen engagement and wedding ring in front of them on a piece of velvet material.
Gabriel couldn’t stop staring at them. He was picking them up, placing them together, and then spinning them around to look at every facet of them.
“So, you’re getting the wedding ring as well, huh?” Heather smirked at him, “What if she says ‘no’?”
Gabriel snapped his head around to her, looking suddenly panicked, “Oh my god, what if she does?”
Heather laughed, “Don’t be stupid, Gabriel. She’s not going to say no. I’m just teasing you.”
“You’re right. Fuck, Heather. I didn’t think I’d be this scared to ask her,” he cringed.
“Surely you saw Harrison sweating like a motherfucker when he asked me? Just because you know she’s going to say ‘yes,’ doesn’t mean it’s any less scary.”
Again, the painful reminder of the night that the only man she’d ever loved had proposed to her. Still, she was here to support Gabriel, not
dwell on the past. Julian returned with another wooden box, this one was also lined with velvet and contained roughly twenty diamonds for Gabriel to choose from.
Each diamond had a matching Gemological Institute of America certificate that gave information about the cut, color, clarity, and carat. They had narrowed it down to a choice between two diamonds. Each was quite large, but the slightly smaller one was better quality overall.
Heather looked at the GIA certificate for the smaller diamond and laughed, “Hey, this one is dated the fifteenth of June. Wasn’t that the date you guys first went out?”
Gabriel looked at the certificate and went completely pale, “2018. This was literally certified on the day of our first date.”
“Gabriel, you have to get it!” Heather gasped.
“Yes. This one, please,” he indicated to their choice, “it has to be this diamond.”
“Very good, sir. I completely understand. What a crazy, random happenstance!” Julian grinned as he took the diamonds away again.
Gabriel handled the rest of what was required of him. He paid an exorbitant sum for the ring that made Heather wonder, vaguely, just how much Harrison had paid for hers, considering it was so much more extravagant, and they headed back to the SUV.
Once they were on their way to Heather’s apartment, Gabriel turned to her, “I can’t thank you enough for helping me today, Heather.”
“You’re one of my favorite people in the world, darling. I’m just honored that I got to be a part of it.”
It really was the truth.
Chapter 21
AARON, AARON HAMILTON
AS SHE WALKED OUT of the bathroom, toweling her hair dry, Heather noticed that her phone was buzzing on the bedside table, just as it fell silent. It was Thursday morning, and she was about to head to Serenity—the new designs she’d started a few weeks ago were coming along nicely. She and Rachel had started making a few prototypes. Heather was surprised to see the name ‘Cooper Powell’ on the screen as her missed caller.
She didn’t have any press events going on at the moment; it was odd for him to be calling her. Heather finished getting dressed, headed down to the parking garage with Callum, and called Cooper back as they were on their way to Serenity.
“Hi, Cooper, I missed your call. What’s up?” Heather greeted him when he answered the phone.
“Heather, I need you to come to my office at two today,” he said in his usual terse manner.
She rolled her eyes at the way he ordered her around; it was almost like she was his client and not the other way around, “That’s not going to work for me. I’m busy today, and you need to give me some advance warning if you want me to come to your office.”
“If I’d had advance warning, myself, I’d have given it to you. Harrison suggested that you might want to come, but I suppose you don’t have to be there. We’re being given a briefing on the state of the investigation into what happened.” He sounded very tense as he said it.
Heather felt shocked, “Have they found out who did it?”
“I don’t have details, but I believe an arrest has been made. Are you coming or not?”
Cooper Powell, all business.
“Yes, holy shit, yes. Of course, I’ll be there.”
They hung up swiftly after that, and Heather realized that she hadn’t even had a chance to ask him who else would be at the meeting. She sighed, knowing that Harrison would almost certainly be there, and rightly so, of course. With a horrendous, sinking feeling, she wondered if Maddy would be at the meeting, as well.
Heather thought that she might be sick. Before all of this had happened, she’d like Maddy well enough. They hadn’t had massive amounts to do with each other, but she’d always been polite and friendly. It was strange. Because of her daily nightmares, now, Heather felt as though she knew Maddy so much more. Even though she understood that, of course, the woman in her dreams was not the woman in reality.
She picked up her phone again and dialed Zoe’s office.
“Hello, it’s Heather York calling. I was wondering if there is any possibility of speaking to Zoe at all?” she asked when the receptionist answered her call.
“I’m sorry, Miss York, Zoe is with a client at the moment. I can get her to give you a call back if you’d like?”
“Yes, please,” Heather sighed, disappointed even though she had known that this outcome was likely, “if it could possibly be before two o’clock, that would be great. Please tell her that it’s important.”
“Of course, Miss York.”
No doubt, Zoe’s receptionist got calls like this frequently. It must be tough dealing with people who were stressed and anxious all the time. Heather decided to send a text to Sebastian.
Hi, darling. Did you hear from Cooper?
She’d be shocked if he hadn’t, since Cooper had obviously told Harrison. Sebastian’s reply came through.
Yeah. Are you coming?
At least she’d have Sebastian for support, and Ariana would be there, too, hopefully. She cringed as she replied to his text, not wanting to ask but needing to know the answer to the question that was running through her brain.
I am. I’m sure Harrison will be there. Any idea about Maddy?
She held her breath while waiting for his response. The dots on her screen told her that he was typing, and after a tense thirty seconds, she got her answer.
Yes to Harrison. Yes to Madeline. I asked.
Damn it. Fuck, Sebastian was amazing. It was nice that he’d thought to find out on her behalf.
I didn’t think to ask. Thanks. Good to know.
Her phone started ringing, and she laughed as she saw that it was Sebastian.
“Hey,” she answered him.
“Are you okay, lover?” He sounded worried.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I mean, I’m not looking forward to it, but I need to know what they’ve found out, and you guys will all be there,” she bit her lip, though. This was an incredibly stressful proposition for her.
“Let me talk to the others. Are you going to Serenity today?”
“Yeah, we’re almost there. I didn’t call Cooper until I was already on the way, although the distraction will be nice, I guess,” she sighed loudly.
“Okay, well, we’ll pick you up from there. You don’t have to go alone. You’ll have us.”
“God, I love you, Sebastian Fox.” She smiled, even though she actually felt like crying from the relief of knowing that she would have company on the way to Cooper’s office.
“Most women do,” he laughed.
They ended their call as the car was only a minute or two away from Serenity. Heather opened the browser on her phone and did an image search for ‘Harrison Fletcher’. She didn’t do this often, now, because it was still incredibly painful when she did, and Zoe told her off for it in every one of their sessions when she had to admit that she hadn’t stopped.
There he was, her ex-fiancé, looking tragically beautiful in the pictures of him. These pictures seemed to be from last weekend, and he was leaving yet another nightclub. Hayden was dutifully by his side, and he was being escorted out by Michael. He looked wasted, as usual. Heather didn’t think she’d seen a single picture of him lately where he didn’t look drunk. Not even on the pictures of him entering the clubs. It was clear to her in those pictures, even if it was perhaps not obvious to anyone else, that he had been drinking before he’d arrived.
It was this kind of knowledge that killed her. The fact that she knew him so well, it made it obvious to her that he needed her in his life as much as she needed him. Perhaps, if she had managed a single full night’s sleep in almost four months, she could give them both what they needed.
Heather made her way into Serenity, met up with Rachel, and they set to work. It was an excellent distraction, and she really dove into what they were doing to keep her mind busy—cutting fabrics, pinning them, sewing the designs.
Sometime mid-morning, her
phone rang, and Zoe’s name was on the screen. Heather answered, walking swiftly away from where they’d been working and closing the door to her office behind her as she entered it.
“Hi, Zoe, thanks for calling me back,” Heather didn’t want to waste Zoe’s time with pleasantries, knowing that she was interrupting her workday with an unscheduled call request, “Cooper rang me this morning. There’s a meeting this afternoon at his office. They’ve arrested someone for the drugging. Harrison and Maddy are both going to be there.”
There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds before Zoe replied, “I see. You must be feeling quite a lot right now.”
“Yeah, I am. It’s the first time I’ll be seeing Maddy…” she didn’t know what else to say.
“Have you thought about what you might say to her?” Zoe asked.
“What? No. I don’t want to talk to her at all,” Heather frowned; she hadn’t thought about talking to Maddy. She’d assumed that she’d just stay as far away from her as possible during the meeting.
“Do you think that it might be beneficial, at all, to talk to her?”
“No. I don’t want to talk to her. I have nothing to say,” Heather pursed her lips.
“Okay. Well, what about Harrison?” Zoe was calm in the face of Heather’s tense tone.
“I’m not sure that I’ll talk to him that much, either. I don’t really want to go, but I need to know what they’ve found out,” Heather cringed at the impossible situation she was in.
“Of course, that makes sense. Well, I would suggest using grounding techniques if you find yourself becoming overwhelmed. Focus on your breathing. Have something to drink. I’m assuming this meeting isn’t just you, Harrison, and Maddy with Cooper?” Zoe asked.
“No, it’s everyone that was affected, I think. Sebastian, Ariana, and Gabriel are picking me up, and we’re going together.”
“That’s a good choice; having support will be very beneficial. Does Harrison have support as well?” Heather could practically see Zoe’s head tilting to the side as she said it.
“Yes, he does,” Heather replied, somewhat defensively, “Hayden’s taking him. I would never want him to have no support while I had all the support!”
