Chapter 26 #2
Regardless of the fairly easy time we’d had overall with the paparazzi, my fears for Brooke’s safety were by no means erased.
My team was on high alert now, as much as ever.
Plenty of freaks in the world obsessed on celebrities and tried befriending them.
In some cases they stalked and hurt them—their twisted minds justifying their needy, psycho behavior.
There was also the worry she could be taken and ransomed, which scared me the most. I trusted very, very few in my immediate circle, and those in it were either my family, or had earned their way in through years of proving it to me.
James still wasn’t convinced Patten’s family would stay away from Brooke.
He hadn’t found anything that could prove they’d act on approaching her, but we were both aware that she knew a little too much about their criminal activity.
It was a slight cloud hanging over us, but I had the luxury of unlimited resources to keep any unwanteds the fuck away from her.
The Pattens knew how to hide their shit, though, so we both took comfort believing they thought themselves impenetrable.
I’d made some progress on securing a place for us at the south-end of Blackstone Island.
My old friend, Asher, had pointed me in the right direction with a twenty-acre plot that abutted Brooke’s small property to the south.
I’d made offers on other surrounding parcels as well, so we could have a secured oasis, with a great view, and the privacy I required.
It would take some time to build a house, but the wheels were already set in motion.
I really didn’t care where I lived; as long as I had Brooke with me, it would be home.
She made it home. She wanted to live on the island, so that’s where we would live.
It was that simple of a decision for me.
Brooke was my most important priority now.
My life had changed dramatically in just two short months, and I knew I could never go back to how I’d been living before.
Every decision I made now was done with Brooke’s input or with her happiness in mind.
The more I thought about what my dad had told me on his deathbed, the more I believed him.
Despite my mother’s conviction Dad would’ve disapproved of my Brooke, I didn’t accept the idea.
He would have adored her. He would’ve told us to go off and be happy together, and make him a grandfather.
Someday.
I pulled up a new text message.
How is my sweet, beautiful girl feeling?
I hoped she was doing better now than this morning, when she’d woken up with a bad headache. I figured she would have let me know by now if she wasn’t feeling up to going out to the Autumn Ball.
Much better. Headache is gone. Winter and I are having our makeup and hair done. The bedroom is a beauty salon right now. When are you coming home?
I was thrilled about the fact Brooke and my sister had hit it off.
They had common interests, and seemed to find endless topics to talk about.
They shopped for clothes and decorator items for the remodel.
Winter had introduced Brooke to some of her colleagues at the South Boston Youth Center where she was interning for her master’s degree, and now had Brooke signed up to volunteer once a week.
Brooke really loved helping the kids, and I could see the potential for her to make an even bigger impact on the center in the future.
I’d not forgotten the story she’d told me about the woman who had helped her so much after she’d escaped her abusive marriage.
Marni Cole. I wasn’t crazy about the neighborhood where she went to volunteer and made sure she was fully protected when she went there, but so far everything was settling into a good routine she seemed to enjoy.
C: I have to pick up one thing and then I’ll be home. Can’t wait to take my Cinderella to the ball. xx
B: I can’t wait to be taken by my Prince Charming to the ball. xoxoxoxoxo
We still did the thing where we mimicked each other’s words. Somehow it never got old or felt cheesy, even though it totally was.
C: I’ll “take” you after the ball, baby.
B: Is my prince sexting me?
C: Yes he is. Send me a picture please.
She sent me a picture all right—wearing a strapless black bra with her hair in giant rollers, and blowing me a kiss.
B: That’s the best I can do with others in the room. Lol. Use your imagination.
C: Sexy. I always use my imagination when thinking of you. See you soon, beautiful.
B: See you soon, handsome.
I opened my desk drawer and pulled out the velvet box I’d been hiding inside there for weeks.
I’d bought the gift on a whim along with the bracelet when I was in Abu Dhabi for the conference.
I’d spent one evening browsing the shops in the hotel complex where the sessions were being held, when I discovered it in a window display.
A ring.
And a very unusual ring at that.
Giving a ring to Brooke seemed like it would have been too much, too fast, at the time.
So, I’d held on to it, knowing eventually the time would be right.
The ring had been an impulse buy, because it was so perfect for her—for how we’d met—and I hoped she’d understand my thought process in choosing it.
I hoped she would want it on her finger.
I’d be finding out soon enough.
I headed toward the elevators leading me down and out of the building, to where Isaac was waiting to take me home...to my very own Cinderella.