Chapter 5
Silver
“Okay, what the hell was that all about?”
Heart hammering against her ribcage, Silver tilted her nose in the air, doing her best to seem unaffected by Ice’s words despite her entire body feeling very affected indeed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
But clearly, Ruby wasn’t buying it. Her eyes narrowed slightly as Silver settled back in her chair. “What are you keeping from him?”
The best news. The worst news. I won’t know until I tell him.
“Who says I’m keeping anything from him?”
“Me. I say you’re keeping things from him. Why?”
Because what if I tell him and he doesn’t want our baby? Doesn’t want me? “I have my reasons.”
“C’mon, Sil, I told you my thing! Tell me yours!”
Clearly, Ruby wasn’t going to drop this. And Silver couldn’t blame her. She could be just as dogged when she knew one of her friends was hiding something.
But this wasn’t just any secret. And it wasn’t right for anyone else to find out before Ice.
With a quiet sigh, she reached over and gave Ruby’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “I would if I could, I promise. And I will, when it’s time. But today isn’t the day, which is why I haven’t even told Ice yet.”
Worry flickered across Ruby’s face. “Can you at least tell me if everything is okay? You’re not sick or something?”
Despite her own concerns about Ice’s reaction, joy welled inside her, so bright and shining she wondered how it didn’t simply beam out from every pore.
“Everything is more than okay, I promise. Don’t worry about me, honey.
You should be worrying about the state of your ass once Beckett gets a hold of you. ”
Groaning, Ruby leaned back in her chair. “Trust me, I won’t be thinking about anything else until he gets here.”
Silver pressed a hand to her stomach. I know the feeling.
They fell into a companionable silence as the stylists worked on their hair, and Silver’s mind once again drifted to the life growing inside her. To the life she and Ice had been building together, a life that would never be the same after she told him the truth.
And for just a few minutes, she let herself imagine the best-case scenario.
Ice pampering her and fussing over her through every stage of her pregnancy.
Ice in the delivery room with her, telling her what a good job she was doing, how brave she was, how proud he was of her as she panted and screamed her way through labor.
Ice, holding their baby in his arms, tears in his eyes and an exhausted grin on his face. Look what we did, baby. She’s perfect.
Birthdays, Christmases, first days of school. All of it flashed in front of Silver’s eyes as she stroked her palm over her soft stomach.
Maybe if she held on tight enough to that version of the future, it would come true.
Maybe.
The door to their suite opened again, this time with Jacob poking his head in, that shy, sweet smile on his face that Silver had fallen head over heels in love with the moment she’d met him.
She didn’t know how Cordelia could stand to do anything but snuggle him when he looked at her with those big puppy-dog eyes.
Then again, Silver wasn’t a Domme, despite Cordelia’s insistence she’d make a good one. So she could indulge herself in the ‘Auntie’ role she and the other girls had all taken on with him, and spoil him to her heart’s content, no matter how many daggers Cordelia glared at them when they did so.
“Can I crash the party for a minute?”
From where she’d planted herself on the couch after her own hair and makeup had been completed, Cordelia raised a brow. “Depends on if you have a good reason, baby boy.”
Silver knew better than to get between a Domme and her sub, but her protective instincts welled at Cordelia’s tone. It was everything she could do to keep her butt in her chair as color flooded Jacob’s cheeks.
“Ah… Is ‘Braden sent me and I couldn’t tell the groom no’ a good enough reason?”
Luckily for Jacob, a sly grin stretched across his Daddy’s face. “Good enough. For now. Come on in, baby.”
Looking distinctly relieved, Jacob straightened and stepped further into the room. “He sent me to come get Lottie. He needs to talk to her.”
“Me?” Lottie frowned, the move earning her a scolding ‘tsk’ from her makeup artists. “Why does he need to talk to me?”
A good question. One that had Silver sitting up straighter in her chair, her attention riveted to the scene playing out in front of her.
“Um, I can’t really tell you that.”
“Jacob Aaron. Are you keeping secrets?”
There was enough steel in Cordelia’s voice to have Jacob’s cheeks turning an even darker red as he shifted from foot to foot. “Yes, Ma’am. But it’s for a good reason, I promise.”
“Well, you can go tell Braden that his bride is getting her makeup done and if he knows what’s good for him, he won’t bother her again.” When Jacob didn’t move, Cordelia somehow managed to raise her brow even higher. “Go, Jacob.”
“I, um, can’t do that. Ma’am.”
Complete and utter silence fell as Cordelia slowly rose to her feet. Ivy, who had been tucked up against her Daddy and watching the entire scene unfold with open curiosity, now looked rather panicked.
“Did you just tell me no, boy?”
“I don’t think that’s what he meant.” The panic in Ivy’s eyes echoed in her voice as she hopped to her feet. “He just, um… Well, tell her, Jakey.”
“Ivy Mae, unless you want some of what our boy has coming to him, you’ll stay out of it.”
“It’s for a good cause, Ma’am.” Poor Jacob’s cheeks looked like they could cook an egg, red as they were. “I promise I’m not just being a brat.”
“A good cause?” Head tilted to the side, Cordelia studied her submissive. “I assume Braden put you up to this?”
“He did. Well, um, they all sort of did, Ma’am.”
“I see. I’ll be right back.”
Without giving Jacob a chance to respond, Cordelia swept out of the room, leaving the rest of them in stunned silence.
“Holy crap.” Eyes bright, Aria shattered the silence with an excited whisper. “I wanna be her when I grow up.”
The quip broke the tension in the room as laughter rippled through the bridal party. But even as everyone went back to what they were doing, Silver’s gaze flickered back and forth between Jacob and the door.
Clearly, she and Ruby weren’t the only ones keeping secrets.
Ice
Holy shit.
Beckett was actually popping the question, here and now.
He’d known it was coming, of course, because he’d helped Beckett pick out the ring, and he’d been holding onto that secret for weeks not, not even telling Silver. But there was something about knowing it was happening now that made it feel so much more real.
Cordelia, the icy, badass Domme of Club BDE was currently squealing over the ring, telling Beckett how beautiful it was while Beckett grinned like he’d just won the fucking lottery.
And perhaps he had. Ruby was perfect for him, despite how they’d fought each other in the beginning.
Fucking hell. Beckett Stone was getting married.
Cordelia ducked out of the room again to head back to the other suite and fetch Lottie as soon as she was done with her makeup. While they waited, Beckett dropped down onto the couch beside Ice and let out a breath that seemed to come from his very soul.
“You doing okay?”
“Yeah.” Another breath, this one a bit more shaky. “Nervous as fuck. Which is stupid, because she’s already seen the ring and she told me herself she’d say yes whenever I asked her. But fuck me, I feel like I’m going to puke.”
“Of course you do.” At Beckett’s surprised look, Ice just rolled his eyes. “You’re not nervous that she’s going to turn you down in front of a room full of our closest friends. You’re nervous she’s going to say yes.”
“Why the hell would I be nervous about the woman I love agreeing to marry me?”
Ice cocked an eyebrow. “Do I really need to break that down for you?”
The corners of Beckett’s mouth dipped down. “You think I’m nervous because of Grace.”
“I think you’re nervous because you still carry a lot of guilt about something that wasn’t your fault and deep down you’re terrified you’re going to fuck it up somehow. You’re wrong, of course, but I get why you’d be feeling that way.”
“Maybe you’re right. I thought I’d worked all that out in therapy but… this feels so much bigger, you know?”
“I get it. But even without the ring, without the vows, without the paperwork, Ruby would still be it for you. You’d spend the rest of your life loving her and protecting her. You’re just… making it a little more official, is all.”
“Right.” Beckett blew out another of those deep breaths. “Right. I love her, and she loves me, and even though she’s a huge fucking brat who makes me want to tear my hair out at times, I want to spend the rest of my life with her.”
“You want to spend the rest of your life with her because she’s a huge fucking brat who makes you want to tear your hair out.”
A grin stretched across Beckett’s face. “You’re not wrong.”
“Am I ever?”
“Arrogant jackass.” Beckett glanced over, his expression sobering a bit. “You’re gonna be my best man, right?”
“I better be.”
Lottie burst through the door, her eyes wild with excitement. “Where’s the ring? I wanna see the ring!”
“I swear I’m going to spend the rest of my life spanking some manners into you,” Braden said with a chuckle and a shake of his head for his exuberant bride.
“Duh. I assumed that was half the reason you wanted to marry me,” Lottie shot back with a cheeky grin before turning back to Beckett and jabbing a finger in his direction. “Now, show me that damn ring.”
She jumped and yelped as Braden landed a hard swat to her ass. “Charlotte.”
Her responding sigh was dramatic enough to have Ice coughing to cover up a laugh. “May I please see the ring you bought for my friend, Master Beckett?”
Cheeky brat.
Obligingly, Beckett rose from the couch and pulled the box from his pocket to show her. And it amused Ice to no end that Lottie’s reaction was identical to Cordelia’s right down to the squeals and sighs and teary-eyed exclamations over how perfect it was.
“Okay, so, here’s what I’m thinking.” Bouncing on her toes, Lottie clapped her hands together. “When the ceremony is done, and we’re ready to walk back up the aisle, I’ll stop and give Ruby my bouquet. That gives Beckett time to get down on one knee and do his thing.”
“What about the reception?” Braden asked. “During the bouquet toss. I’ve seen a bunch of videos of brides just passing off the bouquet for a proposal.”
“Exactly. You’ve seen a ton of videos because everyone’s doing it. We’re not going to do that because people expect it. Nobody is going to expect this.”
It was a fair enough point, and one that was so incredibly Lottie, Ice couldn’t help but grin.
There was some more heated discussion over timing and where everyone would be standing. But then Lottie was hugging Beckett’s neck and telling him he better be nice to her friend or he’d have her to answer to, and then she was gone, leaving Beckett looking a bit shell-shocked once again.
Emotion lodged in Ice’s throat. One of his closest friends was getting married in just a few short hours, and his best friend was about to propose to the woman he loved.
Everyone was getting the happily ever after they deserved. And when it was all over, he’d finally get to tell his own babygirl that their wildest dreams were about to come true, as well.
He couldn’t fucking wait.