by C. C. Piper
I’d been spoiling her from the moment she woke up. Breakfast in bed after some extremely enthusiastic morning sex. A picnic lunch at Kerry Park in the autumn sunshine with red, orange and yellow leaves strewn along our path. And now we were about to head to dinner at Palisade, a fine dining restaurant that overlooked Elliott Bay.
“Mason, it’s so flowy. It’s like wearing a cloud,” she said, swishing the soft fabric back and forth as she revealed herself to me. Ever since she moved into my townhouse five months ago, I’d gotten pretty good at finding clothes that fit her curves perfectly. I couldn’t remember the designer’s name, but it was a gauzy pink number that made her creamy skin glow.
“Come here, gorgeous.”
Sitting at the foot of the mattress, I took her hands in mine, one thumb tracing over the delicate infinity ring she always wore on her right hand while the other skimmed over the light surgery scars present on the back of her left. It’d taken her a lot of practice and tenacity to regain the mobility she’d lost due to her injuries – luckily, she was right-handed – but she’d done it. Not that her strength surprised me. I’d always known she was remarkable.
What really astounded me was that she was mine.
I took my time just staring at her. Her wavy blond hair was loose around her shoulders, and her beautiful hazel eyes looked bluer again today. They did that whenever she was at her happiest.
Or her most sated.
Behind her on our dresser was a collection of three framed photographs. Two were from my parents’ house. One was from my high school graduation and the other was from the last fourth of July picnic my folks and I had shared. It had taken time, but I could now study these images and feel fondness instead of sorrow.
The third was a picture of Alaina and I together. We’d taken it on a whim the day she’d moved in with me, and the elation on both our faces said it all. Right after that, I’d taken off her clothing piece by piece and…
There I went again, letting my mind wander down dangerous roads. Better focus.
I released the woman I adored and reached into my suit’s breast pocket, retrieving the slim box within. I’d had the shop giftwrap it in shimmery silver paper. I hoped she’d like this present as much as she liked the dress.
“But you’ve been pampering me all day,” she objected, offering a faint sigh even though her lips were quirked upwards.
“Are you complaining?”
Those bow-shaped lips curved all the way into a smirk. “Never.”
I stood up and kissed her. I couldn’t help it. But then, I backed off. “Open it, already.”
Her smirk became feral as she tore the paper apart with gusto. I’d learned over the past Christmas that Alaina wasn’t the type to sedately remove each piece of tape as if to preserve the wrapping. Instead, she ripped into her gifts like the Tasmanian Devil before conscientiously placing it in the recycle bin.
Good God, I loved her.
The box had springs on one side, so it would remain braced open. Her expression flicked from excitement to gratitude.
“Oh, my Lord, it matches my ring.” Inside on the silky fabric was affixed a simple golden chain bracelet with an infinity symbol gleaming from the center. “It’s so wonderful, like they came from the same set,” she whispered, and I put it on her wrist. “And we’re going to go to dinner next. You are going so overboard. What am I going to do with you?”
I waggled my eyebrows at her. “I have some ideas.”
Her hands then framed my face as she sucked on my bottom lip. “Me, too.”
God, she made me want to reconsider staying in. But these plans were too important.
She brought one finger up to the bridge of my nose. Because I’d refused to get my broken nose treated, it’d healed slightly off-center. Alaina said it made me look like a badass, which made me glad I’d kept it. It also reminded me of that macho Evel Knievel quote, “Bones heal, pain is temporary, and chicks dig scars.” Maybe it made me more of a Neanderthal, but I adored her having this new perspective of me.
I also had a new perspective of myself. I was in the process of leaving Williams, Williams, and King. As much as I’d loved being a partner there, it was time for a change. I hadn’t realized it, but I’d let my attachment to Bryant and Andy keep me in a professional rut. There were aspects of my work in commercial law that I didn’t like, but I hadn’t been able to see myself doing anything else.
That wasn’t the case anymore.
I’d made ludicrous amounts of money while there, and I wanted to do something more worthwhile with it. So I’d begun working with my colleague Trevor Keller to create a nonprofit.
The nonprofit would support anyone in need, focusing mainly on the young and destitute. It would provide scholarship money, grants, housing, food, shelter and medical care to any applicant aged eighteen to thirty who qualified. Trevor and I managed to get four other backers interested: Richard Boswell, Christoff Green, James Carter, and Jaxson Liddell.
All of these men were billionaires like me, and all had benefited from the Wish Maker and her services in some form or fashion. When Trevor and I had initiated a conference call asking them to pay it forward, they’d all agreed. It felt good to know my time and resources were going to be used for such a wide-reaching cause.
Once at the restaurant, I leaned in toward the maître ‘d. “Reservation for King?”
The man in a white shirt and black vest perused his list. His features became carefully blank when he peered back up at us. Good job. “Right this way, please.”
We followed him through the unique architecture of the five-star eatery. Palisade had a concentric circular design on its ceiling, as well as hidden areas that appeared as we traversed around stone-covered walls. Once we passed through one of the labyrinthine corridors, maple beams came into view, as well as a staircase leading up to a loft-like structure. From this loft came the combined voices of twenty or so people.
“Surprise!” they all shouted at Alaina, and she gasped beside me. She jerked her head around to gape at me as everyone burst into the most tried and true rendition of the birthday song, accompanied by a lovely young redheaded woman playing a cello.
“Happy birthday to you…”
Alaina put her hands up to her cheeks, and I embraced her as we made our way further into the room. I took in all the faces smiling down at the woman I loved and remembered the highs and lows of how we got here.
Though it’d taken some finagling, we’d worked with the administration and professors of SU so she could catch up on her coursework while still receiving physical and occupation therapy at the skilled nursing center. Through a combination of online correspondence and some deferment of her tests and projects, she was able to finish her marketing degree on time. Caroline, Andy and I had all pitched in to assist her in this.
We knew how vital getting that degree was to her.
From there, Liddell Industries had contributed the startup capital she’d needed. Alaina had been in business for four months. All of her handbags so far had sold on Amazon and on the website she’d created, called ButtercupCarryallCreations.com.
When I’d said, “I thought that nickname bugged you,” she’d shrugged.
“Eh, it grew on me, and this way I get to call you ‘hot stuff’ with impunity.”
With her mom’s help, she’d also held her first charity event, selling off ten of her handbags and donating one-hundred percent of her earnings to the National Eating Disorders Association. The organization provided a toll-free helpline, free videos to improve body image and overall confidence, preventative education and individualized counseling for anyone suffering with anorexia, bulimia and other eating disorders.
Bryant, Caroline and Andy were all here, of course, and so was Alaina’s friend from college, Josie. Everyone from my former law firm was here, too, including Kyle, the receptionist. All the backers had been kind enough to attend with their families in tow. While Skyping I’d come to discover that the six of us had a few link
s outside of the Wish Maker.
Richard and James were buddies from their time at Harvard, while Trevor and Jax had essentially grown up together, just like Andy and I had. Trevor and Christoff also happened to be cousins. Even though those guys all hailed from various different cities – Chicago, New York and New Orleans, among others – they’d agreed to meet up here in Seattle for Alaina’s big day.
And for the surprise she still didn’t know about.
Another thing the six of us had in common was that we each adored our better halves. Jax’s wife Roxy spearheaded getting the wives and girlfriends together a couple of months ago, and it went so well, they’d all stayed in contact since. Alaina had joined in the fun with them, and the women had become fast friends.
I peeked over to the bottom of the curved stairway where Trevor’s wife Jessica was smiling down at their son, Joshua. He was giggling gleefully as he watched the fish in the koi pond with Jax and Roxy’s two little ones, Callie and Alec.
Richard and his wife Chrissy stood near to the kids, too. She was a sweet little thing, a bit younger than her husband, and full of smiles. James and his wife were conversing with Richard. James wore a suit similar to mine, while his wife Emma wore a leather dress that exposed the swirling tattoos on her arms. The two seemed an odd match upon first sight, but I recognized how they looked at one another – like they’d won something priceless – as the way I saw Alaina.
It proved to me that no matter who someone was, love was love.
When I’d emailed everyone about the surprise party, Christoff had mentioned that his wife Rachel was a professional cellist. I’d asked him if she’d play for us, so now the festivities were enriched with the rich chords of her music.
After we’d all sang to the love of my life, a big chocolate three-tiered birthday cake was delivered on a rolling tray, the top two tiers covered with twenty-two sparklers. We all watched as the fireworks illuminated the dimly-lit room, then the waiter lit two wax candles which spelled out “twenty-two.” The candles had been situated on a ceramic platter that had “Happy Birthday” written in chocolate cursive.
“Blow it out, B.C.” I nudged her forward. She seemed a little shell-shocked to tell the truth.
“This is too much,” she told me. But she hadn’t seen nothing yet.
“I think you should totally taste your birthday message,” I said, nodding toward the cursive letters. Casting me a puzzled expression, she dipped a finger into the chocolate, then caught sight of what I so hoped she’d find.
At the end of the birthday message was an exclamation point, and the bottom dot of the point was encircled by a piece of gold. It was a diamond solitaire surrounded on both sides by two infinity signs embedded with smaller diamonds. I picked the ring up, placed it in my palm, and dropped to one knee.
Despite the background noise, I heard Alaina gasp even louder.
“Alaina Williams, I love you more than life itself. For a while, I let my fear of losing my loved ones stop me from loving again, but then you came along and reminded me to be brave. I will love you now and forever, and I’d consider it an honor and a privilege if you’d consent to be my wife.”
Tears welled in her eyes and slipped down her flawless face. “My Lord, Mason…”
She lifted the ring and the light of the facets glimmered so brightly that I was sure everyone in the room could see it. I watched her, my heart rate skyrocketing the longer she stayed silent. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore.
“So, is that a yes?”
Her eyes widened dramatically as she dashed into my arms. “Yes, of course. So much yes!”
And I knew that no matter what I had lost, today was all about what I’d gained.
THE END
About the Author
C.C Piper is the collective pen name for two young guys who happen to absolutely love romance. The pair have been reading romance novels for years and will rarely be seen without a romance novel in their hands, or on their Kindle close by.
After swapping notes, the pair decided to try their hand at writing their own romance novels. Over the last few years the duo have been working tirelessly to improve their writing skills and to publish unique and enthralling stories that readers can really connect with.
Here’s a link to our Facebook Group if you want to interact with us on a daily basis and find out when our new books in the Dark Billionaire series and beyond are being released:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ccpipersreadergroup
