Chapter 21
21
JULIAN
A muffled chorus of women’s laughter sounds through the door of my office, and I have to bite back a smile.
Apparently, Honor is not so against using my money that she can’t be convinced on occasion. Panic outweighed her independence for today, anyway, and I was allowed to make a call. An hour later, stylists were pulling rack after rack of ball gowns through the door of the suite, where an overwhelmed Honor was already halfway through a haircut, tiny trimmings of blonde hair falling around the salon chair set up in the suite’s kitchen area as she talked on the phone to the hotel’s kitchen about a shortage of miniature egg rolls.
Not long after, there was yet another knock, and I opened it to allow Sophie inside, followed by Honor’s dark-haired sister Lenora, leaning heavily on a pair of crutches. I expected to hear a lot of oohing and ahhing over gowns, but there’s been laughter instead, and I feel my spirits—which were previously at what I thought to be a record high—lifting even further.
I hadn’t allowed myself to believe it would happen.
Even as I felt us growing closer, felt Honor’s defenses slipping away and the tiny ember of “ what if ” growing to a wildfire of hope, I half expected her to run for it. Christ, I wouldn’t have blamed her. She didn’t though, because somehow, the beautiful young woman who swept in out of nowhere to change my whole life, fell in love with me too. And, after tonight, the whole world will know it.
Never have I been so excited to put on a tuxedo. I dress quickly, glancing at my watch as the sky darkens, interspersed with flashes from cameras on the street outside the hotel. Guests have been arriving for fifteen minutes now, and we need to get downstairs, but when I open the door into the living room to ask Honor if she’s ready, time stands still.
The staff are all packing up, chattering warmly, and the atmosphere in the room is calm and happy. Lenora is the first to notice me, glancing over her shoulder, she catches sight of me, frozen in the doorway.
“Thoughts, Ballard?” she asks cheerfully, nodding toward the woman in the center of the room, the one who has robbed me of all cognitive function.
Jesus. It’s faintly ridiculous how gone for this woman I am. Already, I’m deducing that if we could come this far in six days, I doubt I’ll make it two months before I’m putting a ring on her finger.
Maybe less, if she keeps smiling at me the way she is right now.
“What do you think?” Honor calls, a sweet smile curving her bright-red lips.
I step forward, eager for my first unobstructed view of her in that dress, and I’m not disappointed.
The garment is bright red and simple, a corseted bodice which meets a full, dramatic skirt. Her hair is arranged in some kind of meticulous, old-fashioned waves and I can’t fucking believe she’s mine . We love each other. We’re going to have a life together.
“You’re perfect,” I croak, realizing there are at least seven women in this room, watching me and waiting for my reaction. The corners of Honor’s eyes wrinkle as she beams at me, glowing brighter than anything or anyone else in the room.
From the couch, Lenora and Sophie start up a round of golf claps.
“I’m pretty sure this is as good as it’s ever going to get,” she teases, gesturing to herself. “You’ll be dealing with frizzy hair and sweatpants more often than not.”
“Has he seen the ones with the eggplant on the butt?” asks Sophie, fanning herself. “Because those are pretty hot.”
“Don’t listen to her!” Honor squawks, raising her voice above her friend’s cackling. “There are no sweatpants with an eggplant on the butt!”
I’m filled with something almost too large to contain as Honor steps toward me, raising a hand to flip off Sophie over her shoulder. “Are you ready?”
“Ballard?”
We all look around to find Grey standing at the edge of the room, his expression grave. Having worked with the man for so long, I know what that look means, and he doesn’t have to say a word. Nodding stiffly, I gesture toward the office, and he heads through, leaving me to turn to Honor, offering her my hand in wordless invitation.
“Are you sure?” she asks quietly as she breaks away from the other women in the room, coming to stand at my side. “That looks important.”
“It probably is.” Definitely is, or Grey wouldn’t be here. “There are no parts of my life I don’t want you a part of, Valentine.”
Her hand slips into mine, and I barely have time to appreciate the sweet, soft look that crosses her face at my words before we’re turning toward the office where Grey is waiting in front of the desk. As soon as I close the door quietly behind us, he clears his throat gruffly.
“I just got off the phone with your attorneys. They’ve finally managed to get a hold of the hotel security footage from two days ago, and we have the name of who took those pictures.”
My hand tightens on Honor’s. “Anyone we know?”
For a moment, Grey seems to struggle to find the words, until finally, they burst from his lips. “It’s my fault. I missed something. I had the room swept for any other entrances, and there was only one. It was locked, so I moved on. I meant to have someone cover it, but it fell through the cracks. The photograph was taken by a maid, who happened to be sitting on the stage during her lunch break. She sent it to a friend, who sent it to a friend, whose husband is some kind of influencer and, well.” He winces. We all know what happened next.
All the fight goes out of me. In the days since those pictures came out and changed our lives for good, I’ve thought a lot about who might have been responsible. Business competitors, angry former employees, and even my ex-wife crossed my mind. I never imagined it could be something so mundane as a nosy, gossipy maid who happened to be in the right place at the right time.
“I understand if you would like my employment contract to be terminated. If that is the case, I request you allow me to stay on until a new firm is in place, so there are no gaps in your safety.” His expression is wooden, a man determined to take whatever is coming his way, no matter how little he likes it.
“Grey.” I laugh weakly, still thrown off by the news. “I ignored you when you told me to give you twenty-four hours to get ready for this trip. It’s on me. You did your best with what you had given the circumstances.”
He looks reluctant to accept this, but nods tightly, his eyes turning to Honor. “I’m sorry, Miss Vogel. Truly. I’ve developed several new systems which will be implemented team-wide to close gaps such as these. If you have any concerns about your personal safety in my?—”
“I have no concerns,” she interrupts him, looking a little startled at his words. Her hold on my hand tightens. “People make mistakes. I know you wouldn’t allow that to happen again.”
His chin lifts, and with a sharp nod, he starts for the door. It’s only when his hand is resting on the knob that he pauses, looking back at us. “Your legal team wanted me to ask if you wanted to pursue legal action. Against the maid.”
Now, it’s my turn to look to Honor. “It’s your decision, Valentine.”
She doesn’t need time to think about it. “No.” A tight smile pulls at the corners of her lips. “No, I don’t want to do that.”
I can’t say I’m surprised.
“We need to get downstairs,” I remind her gently, and she nods. The two of us follow Grey out into the living area, where most of the staff is packing up, and Honor’s sister and friend are preparing to leave. Both of them were invited tonight but declined. Sophie mentioned something about a Valentine’s Day date with their father. Leni told us she would rather chew rocks than put on a dress.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been around the last few days,” Honor tells her sister, who is fitting her crutches under her arms. “Things should be dying down now.”
Lenora waves her off. “Don’t worry about it. I’m doing better. Onward and upward, right?” Her wry smile doesn’t reach her eyes. “You can’t put your life on hold because I fucked up mine.”
Honor’s expression falls. “You didn’t fuck up your life, Len. You got hurt.”
Lenora ignores her, already heading toward the door with Sophie on her heels. “You look gorgeous!” calls the latter, waving at us as they duck out the door and out of sight.
“Are you ready?” I ask, turning my gaze back to the stunning woman at my side, my heart thudding unevenly as she turns her eyes to meet mine, smiling in her soft, reassuring way that always seems to remove my doubts or worries.
“I’m ready,” Honor confirms, curling her hand over my arm. With her wearing heels like this, we’re nearly the same height, and I smile when we take our first step toward the door and she wobbles slightly, her hold on me tightening.
She makes a face. “If I trip and fall in front of everyone at that gala, you have my permission to buy an island for me to hide out on until the end of time.”
“I already own an island,” I report promptly, “so we can leave immediately.”
The woman on my arm sighs heavily, shaking her head. “I’ll take unnecessary purchases for ten million?—”
I chuckle, leading the way out into the hall, which is empty apart from several members of my security staff. “Maybe I’ll have to sell it. I’ve recently entered into a relationship, and she’s exceptionally expensive. Fifteen million for one date, can you imagine?”
“She sounds like a gold digger,” Honor replies, not missing a beat as she hits the elevator button.
Have I ever been this happy? After a lifetime of doing what I thought was right, it seems so clear now that there is a tremendous difference between thinking and knowing, and right now, I know . This woman is my future. I’m going to marry her, make a family with her, and someday, when I die, I’ll know I contributed something to humanity beyond several tech companies.
We step into the elevator, and a quick glance at Honor confirms her expression is still relaxed. Though I’m nearer, I let her hit the button that will take us to the hotel lobby.
“I love you,” I tell her, feeling so full as the floor beneath our feet starts to move.
Honor looks over at me, and the hand she still has on my arm tightens briefly, a show of reassurance. She isn’t afraid. “I love you too.”
When the doors to the elevator slide open with a gentle chime, the photographers waiting on the other side greet us in a flurry of camera flashes. There’s no going back now.