Chapter 31
JAMISON
Dori’s ghostly white as we drive home from her doctor’s appointment. I give her the courtesy of silence so she can settle into all the information she was given today.
Her life is spinning at a million miles an hour. I can’t imagine what she’s thinking right now.
She chews on her thumbnail and stares out the window. Once we get to our place and are on our way up to the penthouse, I take her hand in mine and squeeze.
“When you’re ready to talk, I’m here for you.”
“I know. It’s just a lot to take in.”
The elevator doors open to our floor, and we proceed quietly until we’re inside. She places her purse down and runs directly upstairs.
I go to my office and check on things in case anyone needs me. I prepared everyone for what I needed done today well in advance, so they shouldn’t have many questions for me.
Once I answer a few emails, I search the place for Dori. I find her behind the bar, pouring a glass of wine.
She lifts the bottle to me. “Would you like some?”
“That depends.”
“On what? ”
I slide my hands into my pockets, trying to get a read on her. “I need to know your state of mind.”
“What do you mean?”
“You just had to make a decision you weren’t expecting to make today. I’m checking in with you. Where’s your head at with it all?”
She finishes pouring two glasses of wine. I guess she thinks I could use one. She’s not wrong, but I want to know if we’re on the same page.
She lifts the two drinks and rounds the bar, holding one out to me as she approaches. “I’m nervous, but I’m doing well.”
I take the wine from her. “That’s a start, but I’d like to keep discussing this.”
“Me too. Let’s go out onto the balcony. The weather is perfect, and I love our view.” She leads the way.
Once we get outside, we sit at the patio table. I place my drink down with my shoulders stiff and sore.
“Dori, do you have any regrets?”
Her emerald eyes shine my way. “None. Isn’t that wild? I’m in a daze because the whole thing is surreal.”
My tense muscles release and all my fears fall away. “You’re so brave and strong. You steal a piece of my soul every day.”
“Jami, all I did was remove my IUD. It didn’t even hurt like she said it could. How does that make me brave and strong?”
“Don’t downplay what you did. You’ve had a lot of fears and concerns about getting pregnant, so taking out your IUD without much time to think about it is astonishing. Give yourself some credit.”
Her face lights up as she takes a sip of her wine. She rests back as she places her glass down and gazes out to the ocean.
“You know, Jami, you’re right. I’m going to give myself some credit for making that decision without running away, but this feels right.”
“It does for me too.”
She stands and strolls over to the railing, then turns to flash a smile at me. “I’ve done a lot of work in therapy around my miscarriages. There have been times I didn’t think I was making any progress, but the way I feel now is intoxicating.”
I get to my feet and stand before her, resting my hands on her hips. “Why do you think that is?”
“It’s like I’ve had this green monster standing over my shoulder, whispering he would take away everything I’ve always dreamed of having if I let myself go there. By making a firm decision today to go after what I want, he disappeared.”
“And what if things don’t go how we want?”
“Then at least we tried. This way, we’ll know for sure what’s meant to be.
I’m done trying to control the outcome and having the need to make things picture perfect.
” She places her palm over my heart. “I want this life with you, Jami. And that includes trying to get pregnant. I’m ready to take a chance. ”
“No matter what happens, you’re always my first priority. I only need you in my life. Everything we dream of having that comes along is icing on cake. I need you to understand that.”
“I do. That’s why I decided to get my IUD taken out.” She circles her arms around my neck. “I’m not saying I’m not nervous. But like Dr. Maddox said, let’s take one day at a time and deal with what happens as it comes up.”
“It’s good advice.”
“It is.” Dori gives me a quick peck. “Now all we need to do is get married. I would prefer to be your wife if I get pregnant.”
My heart leaps out of my chest, and I cock a brow. “I can arrange that.”
“What are you saying? ”
My pulse speeds up. I’m about to do something impulsive again, and it could backfire.
I stare deep into her eyes. “You told me the other day you don’t want a big wedding. Your birthday is Saturday. Why don’t we go to Vegas and elope?”
Her eyelids flutter, and she tenses. “That’s two days away.”
Shit.
This is probably too much for her to take for one day.
“We don’t have to. It was just an impulsive thought.”
Her gaze scrolls across my face as she takes a moment to answer. After a few beats that feel more like an hour, a smile spreads across her face.
“Jami, I think it’s a great idea.”
“Yeah?”
“Why not? The only person I want there is Melanie. I’m sure she’d love a trip to Vegas.”
“What about Aiden?” My insides clamp down.
She lowers her head and steps away. I hope she’s giving my question careful consideration. This isn’t something to take lightly.
She sits and takes a drink of her wine. As she ponders over that, I find my way back to my seat.
The breeze blows her hair into her eyes, so she tucks it behind her ear. “I’d like Aiden to be there, but I want our day to be spent with people who support us. He doesn’t, so it’s his loss.”
“I always thought he’d be my best man,” I admit.
“Is that right?” She twirls a lock of hair around her finger. “Tell me about this wedding you were envisioning.”
I take a sip of my drink and think about it for a moment. Pictures of a big wedding dance in my head, but in that vision, my parents are there.
A big wedding would’ve been for them. My mom would’ve fussed over every detail, and I would’ve pretended to be annoyed. But in the end, she would’ve made it perfect .
I sigh at the dream. “It’s funny. I don’t really care about the ceremony, but I know my mom would’ve, so I pictured it like any other traditional wedding—too big and a lot of people I don’t know in attendance.”
“And now what do you see?”
“Just you with a smile on your gorgeous face.”
“Did you see me in this vision before today?” she teases.
“There was never a face. Maybe that’s because it was always you, but I didn’t know how to make it a reality.” I run my finger and thumb along the stem of my wineglass.
“But you were going to marry Lauren.”
Fuck.
Dori and I have never discussed any of my relationships, let alone the topic of my engagement to Lauren. With Dori’s jealous streak, this conversation could turn out poorly. My throat closes at the thought.
I remove my fingers away from the stem of my glass. “Even though we were planning on getting married, I never saw it taking place.”
“Really?” Dori leans forward, resting her arms on the table. “Why?”
“We never talked about it. I asked her on a whim. She said yes, and that was about the extent of it. We were both more focused on the baby.”
“You’ve had a rough couple of years when it comes to kids. I’m surprised you’re so calm about us trying.”
I huff a laugh. “Sweetness, I have a good poker face. I worry about it a lot more than you realize.”
“Really? Why don’t you talk about it?”
“Do you really have no clue? It’s the only thing you’ve been asking from me since I met you,” I deadpan.
She settles back in her chair. “Ah, yes. You think you can rule the world if you fix things on your own. Talking about your feelings isn’t warranted because that will only bog down the system. ”
“Something along those lines.”
“That stops now, Jamison Stone. I’m going to be your wife in two days, and what I say goes.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Is that so?”
“Yep. And that means communicating with me about everything.”
“Everything?”
“Take it or leave it.”
“I choose to take it.” I push my chair back and pat my thighs. “Now get over here and sit on my lap. I need your lips on mine.”
She slinks over to me and climbs into my lap. “Before you get carried away, this is one kiss only. I need to call Melanie and get ready for Saturday.”
“In that case, one kiss it is.”
And while she coordinates with Melanie, I have two pressing issues to take care of. If I’m going to make her wedding day as special as it can be, these need to be addressed. Otherwise, the day will be a bust.
I come out of my office in our penthouse to make sure Dori and Melanie are preoccupied. I don’t want them anywhere near me when I do the next thing on my agenda. There needs to be plenty of space between us when I do.
I step out of the hallway and find them eating pizza in the living room. “What’s this? Pizza, and you weren’t going to tell me about it?”
Mel drops her slice on her plate. “We know your weightlifting diet doesn’t include pizza, so call it us watching out for you.”
“Um-hum.” I glance at Dori and wink.
“Sorry, babe. We were starving, and I wasn’t sure how long you were going to work.”
“It’s not a problem. I only came out for a quick kiss, then I’ll let you two get back to your wedding plans.” I reach her side, bend over, and plant a peck on her lips.
She blushes and smiles like it’s the first time I’ve kissed her. “Do you want us to save you a piece?”
“Nah. I’ll just snag one right now.” I reach over and take a slice. “I’ve got to make a few more calls, and then I can help out.”
“No, sir, big guy. We are done.” Mel sinks back into the sofa.
“That was fast.” I take a bite of my pizza.
“It’s a tiny wedding, so there wasn’t much planning to do.” Dori stands and hikes her thumb over her shoulder. “We’re going to take a walk on the beach. Do you want to join us?”
I swallow. “Not right now. I’ve got more things I need to clear off my calendar. Maybe later.”
“Okay, but when you’re done, I want to double-check on what you want to wear on Saturday. We need to coordinate.” She picks up the pizza box and moves it to the bar area. “I’ll leave this here in case you want more.”
“Thanks.” I start to retreat down the hall. “Have fun and be safe.”
Dori hollers back, “We will. We shouldn’t be too long.”
I get back into my office and shut the door behind me. My heart rate speeds up.
I sure hope this goes well.
I set up my computer and steady myself as I send the video chat request. The computer rings, and within a few seconds, it connects.
Aiden comes into view on the other side of the screen. “A face-to-face request. This must be important.”
“It is. Thanks for accepting the call. ”
He nods as he takes a seat on his couch. “I’m glad you reached out. I have some things I’d like to discuss.”
“Yeah? Well, I’m all ears.”
“You called, so you can go first.”
I rest back in my chair. “We need to talk and clear the air.”
“I was hoping that’s why you were calling. I can relax now.”
“Why else would I reach out?”
“I don’t know, but I haven’t made it easy on you, so…”
There’s a moment of silence. He seems receptive, so maybe this will go better than I hope.
“Aiden, you need to know that me falling in love with your sister wasn’t about betraying you. I’ve loved her for a long time, and we couldn’t fight our feelings anymore.”
He glances down and stays silent. I can’t read him. He’s got his FBI shield up, so I give him time to respond.
After a few beats, he looks back at the screen. “You know, they say therapy helps, but from my experience so far, it’s been a bitch.”
Okay, not where I thought this would go, but I’ll work with it.
“I know it can be hard. Sometimes Dori comes home after an appointment and is more down than before she left. It’s not easy to sort through those emotions that come up in therapy.”
“No, it’s not. But my therapist says that’s a sign of being committed to change.” His cheeks grow red. “Who would’ve thought I’d be talking about this with you?”
“I can’t say I ever pictured it, but you’re like my brother, so I hope you can accept my support.”
“Yeah, I’ve always considered you my brother too.” He pauses for a few seconds. “I saw your proposal online. Well done.”
My stomach knots, but I should’ve known some fan would’ve recorded it and uploaded it to social media. I just didn’t expect it to go viral like it did. I didn’t know about it until Melanie called Dori, squealing about her magical moment in the spotlight.
I run my hand over my stubbly beard. “You saw that, huh? I probably should’ve asked you for her hand, but…”
“Yeah, Hunter sent me the link. He said he thought I would want to see it. He was right. You did good.”
“Thanks. I wanted her to feel adored.”
He shifts then clears his throat. “You didn’t need my approval.”
“But I wanted it. I still do.”
That hangs in the air as he stares at me through the computer. I’m not going to beg him. It was just an olive branch.
He pinches the bridge of his nose then makes eye contact. “I know you’ll treat her well. That’s all I can ask for.”
“You know I will.” I brace myself as I step into my armor. I’m prepared to fight if I have to. “Look, I didn’t call to grovel. I called to see where you stand. If you want to be a part of Dori’s life, you need to come around and accept our relationship.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’ve treated her like shit for years, and she didn’t deserve it. I need to know if you plan on making it up to her. She’s going to be my wife, and if you can’t treat her right, I’ll do what I need to do to protect her.”
Anger flares in his eyes, and his body goes rigid.
I guess we’re getting to the meat of the issue. I knew this conversation was going too well. Now I just have to wait to see how far out of hand he goes.