The sun starts to set and the sky behind Chad is a perfect mixture of orange and yellow. It takes my breath away. “It’s beautiful up here,” I say.
“It sure as hell is,” he says, not bothering to tear his eyes away from mine to look behind him. He reaches into the pocket of his pants and pulls out a small velvet box. My heart thunders harder than it ever has. My breath catches and I feel faint. Is this really happening?
As if he can read my thoughts, he nods at me. Then he drops to a knee and takes my hand in his. “I hope you won’t let the fact that I just had sex with another woman dissuade you from giving me the answer I desire.”
I laugh, tears rolling down my face in streams of pure happiness.
“Mallory, I love you. I’ve loved you since the first day I met you at the bus stop when you were only six years old. I loved you even when I moved away and we lost touch. I loved you the second I saw you at the club. And I’ll love you until I draw my last breath. My life can be crazy sometimes, you’ve seen a lot of that these past months. And I have to travel much of the time. But there’s nobody I want to come home to more than you. There is no one else I want to be holed up in hotel rooms with. There’s nobody else I want to eat pizza with and play HORSE with. There is no one else I’d rather go through life with. And I’m not giving any other guy the chance to keep me from the promise I made you at your aunt’s wedding. It was you and me then. And it’s you and me now. We were put on this earth to be together.”
He drops my hand to open the box. I squeeze my eyelids together to get rid of the tears clouding my vision. Inside the box is the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen. The diamond is tear-shaped. Big, but not too big. It’s surrounded by smaller diamonds lining a platinum band. He clears the frog in his throat. “Mallory Kate, will you marry me?”
My throat stings so badly I can’t speak. My heart gets so big my chest hurts. My eyes spill over and bleed my love for him. All I can do is nod and mumble, “Mmmhmm.”
He smiles, still on his knees. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I didn’t quite hear that. You’ll have to speak up for the cameras.”
It’s now I realize he’s having this filmed. By professional cameramen no less. He orchestrated and pre-planned this so one of the worst days of my life would become one of the best. “Yes,” I say. “Yes, yes, yes!”
He slips the ring on my finger and hugs me where he kneels. He wraps his arms around me and picks me up as I look down upon him. He gazes up at me as he twirls us in a circle. The sunset has turned into a brilliant mixture of red and orange hues. The claps and cheers from below echo off the rocks and canyon walls. There couldn’t be a more perfect moment than this if we searched a million moments in a million lifetimes. He lets my body slide down his until our mouths meet. Then he kisses me like it’s our first. Like it’s our last. Like this kiss matters more than any other because it’s sealing our fate. Solidifying our bond.
And I know right in this moment that this rock, this canyon, this place, will never be anything but a perfect memory. Chad knew that. He knew exactly what to do to make it this way.
He steps back, still holding my hand, admiring his ring on my finger. “No take backs,” he says, reminding me of the phrase he used often when we were kids.
I laugh and shake my head. “No take backs. Never. But what I want to know is, how are you going to top this? If I remember correctly, you have a few more movies coming up. What are you going to do the next time you have a love scene?”
His face falls. “Shit, Mal. I didn’t think of that. I’ve just set a big fucking precedent, haven’t I?”
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chad
Mallory’s head is propped against my shoulder in the car as Cole drives us home from the airport. She’s been staring at her ring, looking at her hand from all different angles. She thinks the surprises are all done, but they’re only just beginning.
“I was going to wait until we got back in L.A., you know,” I confess to her. “I had the ring all picked out and I was going to ask you on your last night here, before you went back to New York.”
She looks up at me. “What changed your mind?”
“It was something Hayden said when we were out to dinner one night. He said you would never like Sedona because of what I was going to do there with another woman. I didn’t want you thinking of that place as somewhere I cheated on you or anything.”
“I would never,” she says.
“I know. But still. My hope is that whenever your schedule allows in the future, you will join me on location. But if you’d had a negative experience, you might not want to. So I had Kendra get the ring from my house and overnight it to me.”
She giggles. “Well, you certainly accomplished your goal, Mr. Stone. I’ll be happy to join you on set whenever I can.”
I kiss the top of her head. “Mission accomplished, future Mrs. Stone.” Then I frown thinking maybe I shouldn’t be so assuming. “Uh, are you going to take my name?”
Her face breaks into a shy smile and she wrinkles her nose in embarrassment. “Do you know how many times I’ve written my name as Mallory Stone? Thousands. I used to doodle it in my notebooks in school. I was always afraid you’d see it but you never did.”
Hearing that makes me want to pound my chest and high-five someone. “So you’ll take my name?”
She nods. “Of course I will.”
“Mallory Stone,” I say, testing out the sound of it. “I think I like it. I think I love it.”
“We have a lot to figure out, you know,” she says. “I’m not sure I’m ready to leave New York. My job is there, my family. Mel and Julian. What are we going to do?”
I smile big. Because she couldn’t have picked a better time to ask that question. Cole pulls into my driveway. I get out and run around the car to open her door. When she exits the car and sees what’s in my front yard, she covers her mouth and squeals. “Chad, is that what I think it is?”
I look at the sign in the front yard. “If you think it’s a For Sale sign, then you’d be right. But I figured with you being a school teacher and all, I wouldn’t really have to spell it out for you.”
She slaps my arm playfully. “Not that, silly. Does this mean . . . ?” She looks at me hopefully.
I nod. “I can live anywhere, Mal. I know I’ll have to be on the west coast quite a bit, but I can crash with my parents. I don’t want home to be anywhere but where you are.”
“You’re moving to New York?” she yells, jumping into my arms.
“Where else would I possibly want to be?” I say right before her lips crash on top of mine.
I carry her to the front door. I have no choice; she’s wrapped around me as snugly as a latex glove. I try to put her down when we get to the door, but she won’t let me. “Don’t you want to carry me across the threshold?” she asks.
“I thought that was after we get married,” I say.
She laughs. “I think you need to practice.”
“You think I need to work out more, babe?” I tease.
“No. I just don’t want you to take your hands off me right now unless it’s to remove every stitch of my clothing.”
I laugh knowing what’s on the other side of the door. “You might change your mind in about five seconds,” I say.
I open the door and walk through, carrying my bride to be. Then she jumps out of my arms, startled when everyone yells, “Surprise!”
“What? What is this?” She looks around my living room. Everyone we know and love is here. My parents and brothers. Megan. Ethan’s wife, Charlie. Mallory’s dad and his girlfriend. Julian and Melissa. Kendra and Ana. Even Hayden and Noreen are here even though we just left them thirty minutes ago at the airport. I also invited some of the crew we hung out with in Sedona. There’s a huge banner hanging on the back wall that reads ‘Congratulations.’ Mallory turns around and looks at me, her mouth hanging open. “A surprise engagement party? Are you serious? When did you even have the time?”
“Kendra and my mom did most of it.” I pull her against me and whisper in her ear. “I’m holding you to what you said earlier, you know. As soon as they all leave, you’re mine.”
I feel a shiver run through her. Then she looks at me and her eyes tell me I’m in for one hell of a night once we’re alone.
Her dad comes up behind her, picking her up and spinning her around. “Congratulations, pumpkin.” She hugs him for a long time, eliciting tears from both of them. Then Richard holds his hand out to me. “I can’t think of a finer man for my daughter.” After I shake his hand, he pulls me in for a hug.
His girlfriend, Denise, congratulates us as well, and then my parents follow suit.
My mom fawns over Mallory’s ring, tears welling up in her eyes. “I must be the luckiest mother-in-law in the world. My sons sure do know how to pick ‘em,” she says. “Welcome to the family, dear.”
We make our way through family and friends, taking time to be congratulated by every one of them. Then the caterers circulate with trays of finger food and champagne.
“I hear you’re a movie star, Mal,” Julian says to my fiancée.
She shakes her head. “I still can’t believe he did that,” she says, elbowing me. “But I can’t wait to see it. I wonder how long it will take for it to be ready.”
I pull a DVD case out of a bag Cole left by the front door. “It’s not a good party without entertainment.”
She covers her mouth. “Oh, my God. Is that it? Can we really watch it? I was so nervous,” she says. “Everything you said was beautiful and perfect, but I can’t remember it exactly, because . . . well, because you were proposing and I was about to pass out from shock I guess.”
I laugh. “You bet your ass we can watch it. We can watch it a million times if you’d like. And whenever you forget how much I love you, I’m going to strap your beautiful behind to my La-Z-Boy recliner and make you watch it over and over.”
After everyone has some food and a few drinks, we get settled and watch the DVD. I normally don’t like to watch myself on screen. But this is one time I don’t mind it. I don’t mind it because it’s Mal and me. And it’s not me I’m watching. It’s her. I’ll never get tired of watching her reaction. Of seeing the excitement on her face. The love in her eyes.
“Well, shit,” Kyle says, when it’s over and all the women in the room are crying. “You’ve pretty much just ruined any chance the rest of us have at an epic proposal. How in the hell are we going to beat that?”
Everyone laughs. “I like to set the bar high, little brother.”
Julian corners me in the kitchen when I’m grabbing a bottle of water. “So I take it Courtney wasn’t invited. What’s going on with all of that?”
I think back over the past eight weeks of filming. How she never even made a pass at me after that very first comment in her trailer. She has changed. And I catch myself hoping she can find someone to make her happy. I know it must have been hard for her to see Mal and me together. And she was conspicuously absent for my proposal. However, she gracefully congratulated both of us the next day.
I shake my head as it dawns on me. “What’s going on is I think all the crazy is finally out of my life.”
Julian pats me on the back. “Well thank God for small favors. Or huge ones.” He laughs.
I look across the room at my gorgeous fiancée. “Yes,” I say, agreeing whole-heartedly. “Thank God for those.”
~ ~ ~
Mallory pulls the covers up to her chin as I spoon her from behind. “I don’t want to leave you,” she says, sadly.
“Then don’t,” I tell her.
I know her job is important to her and I’d never ask her to quit for me. On the other hand, it will keep us apart more than it’ll keep us together. The reality of it is sinking in now that she has to go home and prepare for the new school year.
She cranes her neck around, rolling her eyes at me. “You know I have to, Chad. School starts in a week and I have to get ready.”
I pull her tightly against me. “I know. I just want you with me all the time.”
“I want that, too. I wish there were a way to have you and my job,” she says.
“You can have both,” I tell her. “You do have both. We’ll make it work. After the next few weeks of voice-overs and L.A. reshoots, I’ll have a long break until Dark Tunnels filming starts.” I rise up on an elbow and rub my hand down her arm. “I just have one request, babe.”
“Anything.” She smiles over her shoulder at me.
“If by some miracle, I ever get nominated for anything, I’m going to need you there with me. I know the awards shows all fall during the school year. But I’m not sure I could handle—”
“Chad,” she interrupts. “That goes without saying. Wild horses couldn’t keep me away.” She turns around to face me. “And it won’t be by some miracle that you get nominated. It will be because of your talent. You’re a genius in front of the camera, Chad Stone. I don’t make many promises. But I promise you this: if you continue to perform like you did for this film, we’ll have to get a pretty big display case for our new pad because you’ll be filling it with all kinds of awards.”
“It’s you,” I tell her. “You bring out the best in me, Mal.”
She smiles. “We bring out the best in each other.”
I kiss the tip of her nose. “I’m glad you think so. But you were perfect before me.”
“There wasn’t a before you, Chad,” she says, her eyes glistening in the morning light. “I don’t even have any memories of a time you weren’t either in my life or in my heart. The day you walked up to my bus stop was the day I began living.”
She snuggles into the crook of my neck. “It’ll be strange, you know, not living in my dad’s house. There are a lot of memories there.”
“I’m sure he won’t mind if you visit a lot,” I say. “Maybe we could make it a thing. You know, Sunday dinner in the old ‘hood. I’d like to get you back on the court from time to time. I’m not sure we can find a place in the city where we can have one.”
“Do you want to live in the city?” she asks.
“I want to live wherever you do, Mal.”
“Really? Because I want to live there so badly,” she says, her voice perking up. “All my friends live there. I’ve always been so jealous over how they can just walk out their front doors and go shopping. Or get coffee. Or walk home from clubbing.”
“Then it’s settled,” I tell her. “We’ll live in the city.”
After looking downright giddy for a few seconds, her smile turns into a frown. “Are you sure that’s wise? I mean, you’ll get bothered all the time. You won’t be able to walk down the street, Chad.”
“I’m not sure I’ll be able to do that no matter where we live.”
“We’ll have to live in a place with good security,” she says. “That can be expensive.”
I stare at her with raised brows.
She rolls her eyes. “Right. Sorry,” she says. “Sometimes I forget you have more money than God.”
I laugh. “We do, babe. We have more money than God,” I joke. Then I trace the outline of her face with my finger. “Everything I have is yours.”
“And everything I have is yours,” she says. Then she winces, forming a wrinkle in her elegant nose. “Sorry. I know you’re getting the short end of the stick.”
I shake my head looking at the incredible woman lying next to me. “No. I’m definitely the winner here. I promise you that.”
My phone vibrates on the nightstand for the third time, so I roll over to check it.
Richard: I didn’t want to alarm Mallory. When I got home last night, there was something for her at the front door. I can’t even explain it, so I sent a picture.
I tap on the attached picture to expand it and my heart stops. There on the front steps of her house is a life-sized teddy bear with its insides ripped out and spilling down the front porch steps. It looks like it has blood all over it and it’s holding a sign that rea
ds, “Die, bitch.”
The news of our engagement has spread quickly what with the cast and crew all witnessing it. It was never my intention to keep a lid on it. I’m glad it’s out there. I want the world to know I’m with her. And I did expect some backlash, but I sure as hell didn’t think it would come in the form of an eviscerated teddy bear on Mal’s front porch.
I read his other text.
Richard: There were also a dozen or so cards stuffed in the front door and several photographers out front. I know she comes home tomorrow. I know you’ll do whatever is needed to keep her safe. Let me know what I can do to help.
I quickly scroll through the rest of my missed messages. They are mostly from Paul, who is pissed at me that I didn’t clear things with him first. As if I need his permission to propose to my girl. And my lawyer, Ron, is already bugging me about a prenup that will never see the light of day.
“What is it?” Mal asks, sitting up in bed when she reads my body language.
“Nothing,” I say. You have to tell her. “Well, not nothing, but I don’t want you to worry. We pretty much expected this with the news of our engagement.”
“What happened?” she asks. “Are women protesting in the streets? Are they mourning the loss of the world’s most eligible bachelor?” She giggles and I feel terrible that I’m going to ruin her good mood.
“Funny, but no. It seems you’ve gotten some, um . . . hate mail back at your house.”
She laughs. “Already? Wow, that was fast.” Her face falls. “Wait, how do you know about this?”
Stone Promises (A Stone Brothers Novel) Page 27
