He drops down on his knees and opens a box I didn’t see before. My vision grows blurry with tears and my heartbeat accelerates. I lower myself down and stare into his eyes. I see the same love and adoration I feel for him staring back at me. In this moment, I see our future.
“Yes, I will marry you.” My voice is low because my throat’s tight. I crash my mouth to his with a long, slow, emotionally charged kiss. Our tongues dance together perfectly. He yanks me down to him so there’s no space between us. Our bodies melt together as we pour out our thoughts through our kiss. He slows down and finishes with feather light pecks along my cheeks, lips, neck, and jawline.
He leans back and lifts my left hand to place a ring on my finger. The ring is an exquisite Asscher cut diamond with a halo of smaller diamonds surrounding it. It’s set with the band splitting in to two rows to wrap around my finger. I look up at him and see unshed tears in his eyes.
“Oh my God, Declan, it’s gorgeous. When did you get this?” He stands up and lifts me in his arms as he carries me to the bed.
“I bought the ring at the same time I bought your birthday gift. I’ve known for awhile that I was going to ask you, but I wasn’t sure when to do it.”
“You’ve had this ring for over a month? Why tonight?”
“Believe me. I tried to hold on longer because I thought you weren’t ready. I talked to your mom and dad yesterday to get their blessing so everything would be perfect when the time was right. I didn’t want to have a Christmas proposal, but when I opened your gift earlier today at Dad’s, I knew tonight was the night.”
“So you’re saying a picture made you decide it was the right time?”
“It may be just a picture to you, but to me, it represents so much more. I was a rebel at one time; there has never been room for relationships outside my family. That’s why I was a man-whore. Meaningless, faceless, nameless sex with women just to get off til the next girl threw herself at me. But when I fell for you, everything became so much more. Talking, listening, laughing, all became things I wanted to do with you. I fell hard. I knew from the first month we started dating that I was going to ask you to marry me. But today, when I opened that picture, I saw that you really understood me. You get me in a way that no one else does. You filled a hole today, Raven. A hole that I didn’t even know was there.”
I’ve never seen Declan this exposed before. He’s completely serious and humble. I lunge for him and he rolls us so I’m straddling him. I put my hands on his chest and stare at the rock that sits on my finger. He laces our fingers together and kisses my ring, never taking his eyes from mine. I slide down his body, paying close attention to his erection. I never wear underwear to bed anymore unless I have to, but Declan still has his pajamas on. I reach down to remove his pants, but he grabs my wrist and turns us over. He braces his arms on both sides of my face and smiles down at me.
“Sparkle, I love you.”
“I love you too. Now why don’t you show me how much?”
“I’m going to spend the entire night adoring you and your body. You’ve made me the luckiest man alive. I promise to spend the rest of our lives showing you how incredible you are. I will cherish the memories of tonight my entire life. Thank you.”
Chapter 33
Chance Meetings
It did snow on Christmas night which made it easier for Declan and I to hibernate for the last three days. We both got text messages every day from family and friends, but we replied with vague responses. We didn’t say anything about our engagement. Declan declared sex with a fiancé was better than sex with a girlfriend so we tested his theory often and everywhere.
We finally ran out of food this morning so Declan had run to the store. When he was gone, I decided to do our laundry and sanitize all the countertops knowing what we’d been doing on the kitchen surfaces the last few days.
The doorbell rings, but by the time I get to the door, there’s no one there. There’s just a package addressed to Declan leaning against the wall. I put it on the coffee table. I hear the garage door going up and then down as Declan opens the door to the house.
“Hey, babe, I’m in the kitchen cleaning.”
He lays the grocery bags on the table and we start unloading them. He smirks when he sees the 409. He’s probably thinking about our midnight romp last night that had my bare ass on the counter.
“Did you see anyone leaving when you drove in?”
“Not that I noticed, why?”
“There was a package delivered to you not two minutes before you came in.”
I motion to the box in the living room and he goes to open it. It’s a DVD.
He puts it in the player and starts the movie. The quality is shitty, but you can totally make out the two bodies fucking against a wall. Heavy metal plays in the background as the scenes change on the screen. It’s evident that each new scene is the same man having sex with different women. I gasp when I see the familiar tattoo on the guy’s arm. The environment changes with each new partner, but it’s clearly Declan. After the fifth girl, I scream at him to turn it off. I run to the closest bathroom and throw up. He leans down next to me, holding back my hair.
“What the hell was that?” I scream.
“I think you know,” he answers quietly.
“Who the fuck would send that to you? Do you even know all those girls’ names?”
“No, I don’t. And I have no idea who sent it. I never knew we were being filmed.”
“There was more than one girl, Declan. It was several girls at several different places. Were you being followed?”
“Apparently I was. But you have to believe me, all of that stopped in July. Nothing on that video is recent.”
“Oh my God! What if we’ve been followed? What if someone was watching us? We have to see the rest of it.” I’m hysterical now.
“I don’t think you need to see anymore at all. Why don’t you let me watch it and then I can tell you if we’re anywhere on it?”
“I actually think that’s a better idea.” I lean into him and let him rub my back. I feel empty. When I’m sure I’m not going to be sick again, he lifts me up and carries me to the bed to lie down.
Declan goes back to the other room to watch the video. The low music of the DVD seeps through the door and all I can do is cry and hope that we’re not going to be showcased on it.
A few minutes later, Declan comes back with a resolved look on his face. He sits next to me and hugs me tightly.
“The good news is we are nowhere on the DVD.”
“What’s the bad news?”
“This is a blatant threat. I need to hire an investigator tomorrow.”
“Why?”
He’s quiet for a minute, probably thinking of a way to lie to me about whatever it is. I shake my head, letting him know I won’t tolerate any secrets.
He sighs, “The end of the video has a note in deep red ink saying I need to break up with you. I think you’re in danger.”
WHAT THE FUCK! “You have to be kidding me.”
“Nope.”
I swallow; I’m scared of his reaction. “Are you going to break up with me now?”
He looks at me horrified, “Raven, you are not some fly by night hook-up. Whoever this is must not know too much about us. Three nights ago, you agreed to be my wife. That means vows, a honeymoon, babies, diapers, graduations, grandkids, and everything else that comes with marriage. No one is going to take that away from me. How could you even ask that?”
“I’m sorry; I panicked.”
He holds me tight for what seems like hours. I get an idea in my head, but I know I need to approach Declan about it delicately.
“Declan, I have an idea and I want you to hear me out before you say no. The people that work for my dad’s company are experts at this type of thing. He employs the best investigators in the South- possibly the country. Why don’t we talk to one of them confidentially and see what they can find out.”
“No way, I’ll never be able to
look at your father again if he finds out.”
“What if we work with Finn? Finn is fully trained and he knows his shit. He not only does the security, but he also does hacking and tracing as well. He’ll help us and keep it a secret. As long as you and I are not directly threatened, he won’t have to tell my dad.”
“FUUUUCCKKKKK!” He throws the remote across the room. “Those guys already know you’re too good for me and I’m going to hand deliver the evidence to Finn of all people? I don’t like your idea.”
“But you didn’t say no.” I point out. He knows I’m right, but won’t admit it.
“I didn’t say yes either. Give me tonight to think about it, okay?”
“Okay, sweetheart, you’ve got tonight. We’ll discuss in the morning.”
He lays back and throws a pillow over his face. I can’t help but feel relieved that I wasn’t on that video. The images of him are seared into my brain, but I feel worse for him. An image of his face from one of the slow shots pops into my head. I can tell that he didn’t feel anything for her. There was no emotion on his face. No compassion. No interest. At one point, one of the girls had tried to kiss him and he turned her away, plowing into her from behind, not wanting to see her face.
“Honey?” I say sweetly in his ear.
“Hmmm?”
“I have an idea to get our minds off this.”
“What?”
“Let’s pour some wine and call our parents to tell them our big news. I think we should call your dad first since my mom will probably keep us on the phone for the rest of the day.”
He lifts his head and grins at me, “Reason one million, I love the shit out of you. You can make the most fucked up situations better.”
“Come on.” I reach for him. “Let’s get started.”
I lead him to the kitchen and he opens the wine and I get the glasses. We call David on speakerphone first. He greets us warmly with happiness in his voice. Declan tells him I said yes to marrying him. David congratulates us and asks me if I was surprised. Apparently, when I walked in on them talking on Christmas, Declan had just finished telling his family he had bought a ring for me. That explains why Abbi and Ella wouldn’t look at me; they would have given it away. We ask him not to say anything to anyone for now because we want to tell everyone together. Before hanging up, we make plans to visit him next week.
“That wasn’t so bad. I was expecting him to tell us we’re too young or something.” I tell Declan.
“Are you kidding? He’s thrilled. I’m almost twenty-six. And before you, I had given everyone the impression that I wasn’t going to settle down, ever. Let’s just hope your parents feel the same way. Your dad kinda asked me to wait a while, but your mom was encouraging. I never had the chance to speak to Robbie.”
“Well, let’s find out what he thinks.”
I dial my mom. When she answers, I put her on speakerphone too.
“Hey, Mama, you’re on speaker with Declan and me.”
“Hey, guys, what’s up? Are you two safe with all this snow?” She carries on with small talk for about five minutes. Then I can’t take it any longer.
“Mama, I have some news. Well actually, we have some news; we got engaged!”
“Oh shit, this is great! JAMES, COME HERE NOW! RAVEN AND DECLAN ARE ON THE PHONE!”
My dad’s voice comes through the speaker and I swallow. Declan grabs my hand and tells him, “James, she said yes.”
My dad clears his throat a few times and I hear a barely audible sniff.
“Son, I thought you were going to wait a while, but nonetheless, congratulations.” He says gruffly, but I know he’s happy for me.
“I tried to wait, sir. But when we were at my dad’s and Raven gave me her gift, it just felt like the right time.”
“Oh wow, tell me about the gift.” My mom coos through the phone.
“Woman, stop that. Aren’t you worried about our daughter getting married at twenty-two to the only boy she has ever dated?” My dad barks at her.
“Number one, James Hayes, don’t call me ‘woman’ in a derogatory tone. Number two, our Baby Girl is engaged to be married to a man she loves. I married you when I was twenty-one and I’ve never looked back. Don’t make me start now.”
Boom! My mom just set him in his place. He mumbles something about Scotch and sports. I can hear his dragging feet as he walks away.
“Love you, daddy!” I scream so he can hear me. My mom laughs.
“Okay guys, so when are you getting married?”
I look at Declan with wide eyes; we hadn’t talked about it. I decide to sling it out there.
“Probably the summer after I finish school.” He looks at me and shakes his head.
“Next month, Jenna.” He tells my mom and she gasps.
“Summer, Mama. Don’t listen to him; he’s going for shock factor tonight.”
“Thank goodness. If you got married next month, everyone would wonder if this was a shotgun wedding.”
Declan breaks out laughing at the idea, but I feel nauseated.
“Do you think people will assume I’m pregnant when they find out I’m getting married?”
“Not really, but be prepared for nasty comments. I got engaged to your dad a few months after meeting him and people around town liked to gossip. Keep your head held high.”
“Thanks, Mom. Listen, we haven’t told Robbie or anyone else besides David, so please don’t say anything yet. Give me a little time.”
“Okay, but you need to call Harper soon. She was here yesterday to drop off a small present and said if you didn’t call her back soon, she was going to bust up your quote ‘love nest’ unquote.”
I blush, thinking that Harper outed me to my mom, but I also know my mom isn’t stupid.
She interrupts my thoughts, “So tell me everything.”
Declan kisses my neck and heads to the living room to watch TV, while I tell my mom about the rest of our Christmas and the proposal minus the sex. After an hour, I agree to help her with a charity event in February and we hang up.
I finally get the courage to call Robbie. I tell Declan I’m going to do it and he shrugs and says I’m solidifying his beat down next time were all together. Robbie’s at the gym, but takes some time to talk to me anyways. He tells me he’s happy for me. He promises to come over to my house early on New Year’s Eve so we can celebrate.
Declan’s band has had the last week off for Christmas. Unfortunately, it means the band will be playing three days straight including New Year’s Eve. After that, I have another five days until school starts. I feel like this whole break has flown by and is almost over.
I join Declan on the sofa.
“Baby, I know you want to finish school and I understand that, but do we really want to have a year and a half engagement?”
“It’s practical to wait. We can take our time figuring out what we want, and I can concentrate on finishing school. Besides, we have to work out so many details like budget, size, location, and everything else.”
“Baby, whatever you want, I’ll pay for it.”
“No way! I have money, Declan.”
“I know your parents have money, baby, but what I meant is whatever you want.”
“No, Dec, I have money. Robbie and I have a trust similar to what your dad had done for you. My grandparents left us money when they died and we got some when we hit eighteen. We get the rest at twenty-five. My parents are paying for my school and housing, but the rest is mine. I’ve also been working on and off for my dad since I was seventeen and I’ve put everything into savings. You don’t have to worry about taking care of anything.”
“I’m not worried; I want you to have what you want. If this band thing doesn’t go anywhere, I will quit so that I can provide you with the lifestyle you deserve.”
I’m pissed! “Excuse me- this band thing? You guys are awesome and I fell in love with ‘THIS BAND THING’! You guys will succeed and you’ll never ever quit because of me. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Ma’am- reason one million and one right there.” He pushes me down on the sofa and covers my body with his. “Let’s go to the courthouse tomorrow and elope. I won’t tell anyone; you can still plan the elaborate party next summer. Be my wife tomorrow.”
“Nope, I want the whole pomp and circumstance, and my mom would kill us. You’ll just have to be happily engaged for awhile.”
“You’re killing me, but at least know the offer still stands anytime you want it. Courthouse, Vegas, or full-on service with hundreds of guests and a huge party, you will marry me.”
“You do know how to melt my heart, Declan Collins.”
He moves to remove my shirt, but I stop him. “Not tonight, too many images running through my mind. Just hold me close.”
His face shuts down, but he carries me to the bed and holds me all night, whispering his love for me.
*****
I finally return home on New Year’s Eve. I had told the girls beforehand that a few people were coming over to hang out. They had gone in to party mode. Our bar is set up, the music is playing, and the food is laid out. It’s almost 5:30 when my brother stalks in and looks around.
“Where the fuck is he?” He spews at me.
“Who?”
“The asswipe I’m going to beat the shit out of. You know who.”
“If you are referring to, Declan, he’s in my bathroom; I’ll go get him.” This can’t be good. Maybe it’s about the DVD, but I don’t think Finn would have told him.
The morning after the DVD arrived, Declan called Finn over and we explained the whole situation including the threat. Finn didn’t watch the video, but he glared at Declan when he found out what was on it. He promised to keep it confidential. He told Declan to let him know when he wouldn’t be around me so he could be there instead. Finn took all the packaging with him so he could fingerprint it at the office. He also made sure Declan had his weapon too. Finn had a few choice words with Declan before he left, but hugged me tight. He had spotted the ring on my finger and told me how happy he was for me. I knew he was going to flip a lid when he watched the video, but I assured him I was okay.
Surrendering Page 31
