Chapter 52
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
Dylan
“Dylan Colt.” I hold out a hand to the man because I’m a decent human being, and I can’t exactly tell him to go straight to hell with Eden and another woman looking on.
“Hey, buddy.” Chet Richmond ignores my hand and goes all in for a full-on hug.
I let him take it where he needs to because Eden is beaming like sunshine.
The guy has some strength in his arms. When he finally lets me go, he gives me a quick pat on the cheek with his palm.
I swear to fuck it’s almost as hard as a slap. I consider lifting my hand to his face to return the favor, but I step back and wrap my arm around Eden’s shoulder.
She’s mine, dude. Back the hell off.
That’s the intended meaning of my actions.
I think the message got lost somewhere because Chet does the same with the tall blonde he’s standing next to.
“We’re getting married,” he declares.
I look down at Eden because her reaction is all I care about.
The smile on her face says it all. She’s happy. She’s genuinely happy that her on and off again boyfriend is taking the plunge with someone else.
“I didn’t even know you two were dating.” She leans forward to check out the diamond on the blonde woman’s hand.
No one has bothered to introduce us yet, so I take that small matter into my hands.
“Congratulations.” I offer her the same hand I offered her fiancé, but I take a step back so there’s no chance she’ll rush in for a hug. “We haven’t been introduced yet. I’m Dylan.”
“June Bug,” she says.
I furrow my brow because I have no idea if that’s her actual name or a nickname. Eden doesn’t flinch, and Chet’s about to shed a tear, so I go with it.
“It’s good to meet you, June.”
“Bug,” she adds.
“June works with us.” Eden looks up at me. “She started in the office about three months ago, I think.”
“Three-and-a-half,” June corrects her. “It was love at first sight.”
“Instantaneous,” Chet chimes in. “I knew it when I first saw her. She’s my forever.”
“When is the wedding?” Eden bounces on her heels.
“Soon.” June smiles. “You’ll come back for it, won’t you?”
Eden’s gaze meets mine. “We’ll come back for it, won’t we, Dylan?”
I nod because I’ll go anywhere with her.
It’s the reason I followed her out of the bedroom when the doorbell rang. I joked that the doorman would get it. Eden scoffed and told me that I was spoiled rotten.
We had both just finished getting dressed. It’s barely nine a.m., but Eden didn’t mind the intrusion. She invited Chet and June in as soon as she swung open the door to her condo.
“We want you to rest.” Chet reaches for Eden’s hand. “I was worried, Ed. I told everyone at work that you were too tough to let an accident keep you down for long.”
Eden squeezes his hand briefly. “I’m glad you both stopped by.”
“We ordered some flowers.” June wraps a hand around Chet’s bicep. “They’ll be delivered this afternoon. If you need anything, you’ll call us?”
Eden slides her hand into mine. “I have everything I need right here.”
“I can brush your hair if you want,” I offer once Chet and June Bug take off.
Eden runs her right hand through her hair. “Why? Is it messy?”
Beautifully so.
“It’s perfect.” I sigh. “You’re perfect.”
She looks down at the simple light blue sundress I helped her get into earlier. I slid on her lingerie first, taking special care with her sprained arm. I adjusted the sling so there wasn’t too much pressure on her neck.
I put on a new pair of jeans and a plain black T-shirt I bought yesterday.
“You can ask me the question,” she says matter-of-factly.
“I don’t have a ring yet,” I say with a smirk.
A blush creeps high on her cheeks. “Oh, no. Gosh, no. I didn’t mean that.”
“You don’t want to marry me?” I tease because I know damn well that if I dropped to a knee right now, she’d say yes.
I have the perfect ring in mind. I doubt it exists, so when I’m back in Manhattan, I’m going to visit Ivy Marlow-Walker.
She’s the owner of Whispers of Grace. She helped me design a necklace for my mom’s birthday two years ago.
I trust her with the task of bringing my vision of an engagement ring to life.
A brilliant sapphire will take center stage. Small diamonds will line the band.
I’ve given this some serious thought.
“You know the answer to that question.” She glances down. “Don’t ask me until the time is right.”
“That’s a deal,” I agree with a nod of my head.
“I was talking about the question about what June meant when she asked if I’d be back for their wedding.”
I’m a reasonably smart guy.
I noticed the cardboard boxes near the front door. I saw the business card of a Buffalo based real estate agent sitting on her kitchen counter.
I didn’t give a lot of thought to the missed call on her phone yesterday from a guy named Darrell Carver.
I looked him up early this morning.
He’s an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan.
Eden’s going back to her roots.
“I emailed June yesterday to ask her if she would be willing to take over two of my open cases here.” She smiles. “I told her I needed time to recover from the accident, but it’s more than that and I want you to be the first to know.”
I don’t interrupt because I want to hear the words from her.
“I’m going to accept a job at the prosecutor’s office in New York. They offered me the position right before I came back here.” Her gaze drops. “I’m not good at this divorce thing. I’m really good at putting bad guys away and keeping them there.”
“You’ll move in with me.” I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “If you hate the place, we’ll find a new apartment.”
“I love your place.” She smiles. “I didn’t want to assume that we’d live together, but I have started packing.”
“I’ll finish that up.” I flex my arms. “We’ll get you moved in as soon as possible.”
“I have work here that I need to see through to its end, and there’s the Alcester case.”
I tilt her chin up with my hand. “Griffin talked to Trudy. She’s willing to agree to your most recent offer.”
“You’re not serious?” Her eyes light up. “Dylan, are you serious?”
Griffin told me that Eden’s accident hit a chord with Trudy. Her dad had been in a car wreck when she was a kid, and she lost time with him during the recovery. It made her realize that shutting Troy out of their daughters’ lives isn’t the right thing to do.
“Griffin and Martin will close the case out.” I breathe a sigh of relief. “It’s over.”