He gently pushed me back and his blue eyes stared deep into mine, a soft smile brightening his handsome face. “Oh Beck, I already have.”
Then he leaned down and kissed me. Wrapped in his strong arms, his mouth pressed to mine, the stress and anxiety, the weight of the rash decisions I’d made based on years of regret, it all just melted away. Here with Sam, with the strong, sexy man who thankfully was no longer my boss, I felt safe and heard and loved.
He broke away much too soon for my taste.
“Come on,” he said, nodding toward his office. “I’ve got a surprise for you.” He took my hand and led me toward the closed door. “And don’t worry,” he said over his shoulder. “It’s soundproof.”
I was about to ask what that was supposed to mean when he pushed open the door, revealing a trio of very familiar faces.
“Beck!” Dorthea exclaimed as I came in. She rushed past Sam and wrapped me in a warm hug. “I’m so sorry, sweetie. I had no idea. I never should have been so cold to you.”
“Me too,” Anne said from behind her. “There’s been so much emotion these past few days, but we should have known better. Even if Sam was behind it all, you had nothing to do with it.”
I looked around the room at the three Bloom family members. They wore the smiles of people who were very much not about to lose their family home to blackmail.
“What’s going on?” I asked slowly.
“You can tell her,” Sam told Dorthea.
The woman beamed and squeezed my hand. “Sam is renovating our building for us. Out of his own pocket! We don’t have to sell!”
My eyes widened and I turned to Sam. “What does that mean?” I asked in astonishment.
“The only reason we needed to buy the building was to make it look nice enough to keep the Astor’s value from plummeting. If the Blooms had enough to renovate it themselves, then the company doesn’t need to buy it at all. They get to keep their home, and the shareholders aren’t shelling out any additional cash. Everybody wins.”
“And you’d do that for them?” I asked. I might not know much about real estate in general, but I knew that getting the Starling back together was going to cost Sam a hell of a lot of money. Probably as much or more than he was going to earn through the Astor renovation. But it seemed well worth the price to me. He was going to keep his position and he was going to have lifelong friends with this wonderful family.
Sam just shrugged. “Honestly I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner,” he admitted.
“He’s also going to pay for Mary’s treatments,” Michael told me.
Sam nodded. “It’s the least I could do after how I treated you the other night. I know there’s no guarantee of a cure, but we’re going to do the best we can to keep her around as long as possible.”
I moved closer to Sam, twisting my hand into his. I tried to follow the conversation as it turned to hopes and plans for the future, but really all I could focus on, all I wanted to focus on, was the feeling of his hand in mine. He seemed to sense my thoughts, because, when I turned to look up at him, he glanced immediately at me, locking me once again in those hypnotic eyes. It was just for a moment, a quick glance, and it was gone much too soon. But there would be plenty of time to be entranced ahead. The future still stretched before us, uncertain. But with Sam’s hand in mine, we’d get through it together. Our journey was just beginning, and I couldn’t wait to take the next step.
EPILOGUE
Sam
One Year Later
She was still the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. I lazed against the edge of the rooftop and watched Beck direct traffic across the dance floor. She was in full get-shit-done mode and I think that might be the time when I was the most wildly attracted to her.
I straightened my bow tie and took another sip of my martini. The year had gone by fast, too fast. A blaze of work and plans and coming home to my best friend every night. It had been perfect, almost too perfect, and I knew better not to take it for granted. There would be trying times ahead — anger, sickness, tragedy — but the good times would erase the memories of the bad until the only thing remaining was the legacy of a life together. That was something I’d never regret. And I was itching to get started, immediately.
I fingered the small box in my pocket.
“Nervous?” It was Mason. I’d already asked him to be my best man. He was in it for the long haul with me too, a lifelong best friend who knew how to call me on my shit.
“Not in the slightest,” I said. “Did the others make it?”
“I definitely saw Mac and Keegan,” he said. “Henry said he’s coming later and Twain? Well, nobody’s heard from Twain in two weeks so let’s hope he drags himself out of whatever gutter he fell into and gets his ass here pronto.”
I rolled my eyes, but I knew, instinctively, that he’d be there. He knew, like all the others did, that this was important to me. And for all the shit we gave each other, a Knight showed up for his brothers.
The Astor had sold last night, to much celebration from the board and shareholders, but as proud as I was, that event was far from my mind. No, tonight was significant because it was the informal one year anniversary of the founding of the Callahan Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing aid to struggling family businesses across the city. To be fair, the name and all the paperwork came a bit later, but one year ago today, I’d pledged my money to the Blooms and my heart to Beck. And that was the only anniversary I really cared about.
The Foundation had started with the Starling building, but over the months, it had blossomed into a machine of its own, headed by the only one I really trusted with my money: Beck. She’d stubbornly worked a job at a call center for six months until I finally convinced her that the Foundation would be a hell of a lot better use of her time and a huge weight off me.
In a way, this night celebrated another event for me. The Astor and the Foundation had taken up so much of my year that, going forward, I was laying off. I fulfilled my promises to the board, and, for the next year at least, I was going to spend a lot more time with Beck. Thankfully I didn’t have to worry about Tom breathing down my neck anymore; after I announced that I was taking on the Starling myself, he’d quit. Ed had replaced him as head and the fit couldn’t have been better.
I checked my Rolex and then shot Mason a wink. “It’s about time,” I said.
“Give her hell, brother,” Mason said, slapping my shoulder as I passed him by.
I made my way around the dance floor, giving a wave to work friends and donors and to each red-head I saw. A couple I didn’t see ran right in front of me and I almost tripped over the twins, racing after each other, toward their mother, Mary. A pale, slender woman, she didn’t notice me, instead getting right to one knee so that her babies could crash into her, their small voices mixing in shouts and laughter. Mary had been seeing some of the best doctors in the city and, as of now, her treatments were working well. She wasn’t out of the woods yet, but she was fighting for every day she got to spend with her children.
I moved on, finally reaching Beck. She was talking to the caterer, something about the cake and getting it out of the freezer.
“Steal you for a minute?” I asked as he moved along.
Her face broke into a smile at the sight of me. “No, sorry babe,” she said. “I can’t. There’s so much to do.” Even after a year in New York, she’d hung onto her Kentucky accent.
“It’s a party,” I said, reaching for a glass of champagne from a passing tray and giving it to her. “You should take at least a moment to enjoy yourself.”
“This is enjoyment to me,” she insisted. Her blue eyes drifted over my shoulder, searching the crowd. “Now where—”
“Beck,” I said firmly. “I will not stop bugging you unless you take a short walk with me.”
She looked like she might protest, but then she smiled. “Fine, you big baby. I’ll take a walk.”
I offered her my arm, just like I’d done so
long ago at the awful sex gallery, and we walked side-by-side through the party goers. I squeezed her arm tightly. The feel of her skin against mine… Well, I never wanted to let go.
Finally I led her to a section of the roof that was empty. It was a small patio, blocked by a half wall and adorned with lawn chairs and tiny, twinkling lights. The backdrop of the city opened up before us as the night lights started to flip on, one by one.
Beck looked out at it and I watched her, wondering what memories were turning in her head. I hoped they were good.
“I’ve always loved this time of day,” she said softly. “When the city keeps going while the sun goes to bed.”
“So do I,” I said. “It makes me think of the future.” I paused, turning to face her fully. “Beck, I never thought that I’d be the type of guy that settled down. No relationships and definitely no marriage.”
At the last word, Beck looked at me quickly. I smiled at the surprise on her face.
“That guy was an idiot,” I said. “I didn’t know that I was missing out on the best flavor of life. This past year has been better then I ever could have dreamed and I can’t bare to think of another spent without you by my side. Beck Harris,” I pulled the small box from my pocket as I dropped to one knee, opening it to show the glittering diamond. “Would you do me the great honor of being my wife?”
Beck pressed her hands over her mouth, her blue eyes wide as they flicked from the ring to my face, beaming up at her.
“Yes, oh Sam. Of course, yes,” she gasped, laughing even as tears sprung to her eyes.
She pulled me to my feet and I helped her place the ring on her finger. It seemed like an eternity to get to the part I was waiting for. I pulled her to me and we kissed, joined forever at last, surrounded by the twinkling lights of the city night.
Thank You for Reading!
The Boss (Billionaires of Club Tempest #1) Page 17
