17. Ian
17
IAN
As I crossed the room to see who was at the door, my mind spun, tangled with the revelation Maddie had just dropped. Sweet Water, North Carolina. That was where she’d taken her pregnancy test.
Was it possible she was the girl I’d met on the beach? Could the girl I’d worried about through the years, hoping she would be okay after seeming so lost that night, actually be Maddie?
That night had been memorable, if fleeting—just two teenagers hanging out on a starlit shore, talking about the different sob stories we were currently wading through. She’d told me she was in college, visiting Sweet Water for spring break, just like me.
But had that been a lie? Had she only pretended to be in college to fit in with the crowd, thinking she’d never see me again? I remembered catching a hint of her perfume last week; the scent stirring up the memory of that night. I thought it was strange at the time that I’d suddenly been thrust back into that memory as it had been years since I’d last thought of it, but maybe it hadn’t been so strange after all—maybe it had resurfaced because I’d actually been reunited with that girl and just hadn’t realized it.
I opened the door, managing a smile for Mr. Calvin, the jeweler who’d handled my family’s jewelry needs for as long as I could remember. “Thanks for coming on such short notice,” I said, shaking his hand and inviting him in.
He chuckled, following me inside. “When a Hastings family member calls, I’ve learned it’s best to answer.”
“You’re probably right.” I laughed. “Diamonds and us—seems like a family tradition.”
“A tradition I’m more than happy to help you keep.” He winked.
“Go ahead and get settled in here,” I said, gesturing to the sitting area. “I’ll call Maddie in.”
He began arranging everything he’d brought in his briefcase, opening it to reveal a couple dozen rings that sparkled under the lights.
As he continued to put everything in its place, I stepped out onto the balcony where Maddie was still finishing her breakfast.
“Hey,” I said. “Could you come inside for a minute?”
Curiosity flickered in her eyes as she followed me back in. I introduced her to Mr. Calvin, and she gave a polite nod. For some reason, I felt a strange flutter in my chest, a mix of nerves and anticipation, even though this wasn’t anything as serious as a real engagement.
“If you’d like to sit down,” I said, motioning to the sofa, “you can take a look and see if there’s anything you like.”
Maddie’s eyes went wide as she took in the collection spread before her. “Wow,” she whispered. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen real diamonds that big up close before.”
“They’re something, aren’t they?” I chuckled. “I asked Mr. Calvin to bring some similar to the size of the ring my brother Carter got his fiancée last year, so…here we are.”
She bit her lip, eyes sweeping over the rings, each one a masterpiece. “They’re all so beautiful. I don’t even know where to start.”
Mr. Calvin stepped in, asking her about her ring size and preferences. They went back and forth, narrowing it down until she finally settled on a few options with gold bands, ones that kept the design simple yet elegant, just like her style.
“Would you like to try these on?” I suggested, nodding toward her hand. “Just to see how they look on your ring finger.”
Maddie hesitated, as if trying on an actual ring was crossing some invisible line.
Deciding she might need some help, I reached for the nearest ring, one with a thin gold band and a massive, oval-cut diamond. I paused as I offered it to her, silently asking if it was okay. She gave me a shy nod.
My heart thumped unexpectedly as I went through the motion of placing the ring onto her ring finger, and I braced myself for that old, familiar dread—the PTSD of my previous failed engagement.
But the hot flashes and panic I was waiting for didn’t come. Instead, there was something entirely different: a strange, poignant longing.
As if, for the first time in nine years, I wanted to actually settle down and get engaged.
Like maybe what I’d told Margot was truer than I thought and I actually did want to find someone to share the day-to-day moments with more than I’d let myself admit.
Maddie turned her hand, watching the diamond catch the light. And after a brief moment, she said, “I really like it.”
When her gaze met mine, just inches between us, I couldn’t stop my heart from pounding. She was so…breathtaking. And there was just something about an engagement ring on her finger that seemed right.
I swallowed, my voice dropping as I murmured, “I like that one, too.”
For a beat, we held each other’s gaze. Her lips parted, cheeks flushed in a way that made me want to touch her, to reach out and brush my thumb across her cheek. But before I could get too lost, Mr. Calvin broke the silence, asking, “Do you think this is the one?”
Maddie blinked, looking back at the other rings. “Maybe…” But after looking back and forth between the ring she wore and the other remaining options, she pointed to one with a diamond-encrusted band and asked, “Could we actually try that one, too?”
“Of course.” Mr. Calvin nodded, lifting a radiant-cut diamond ring from its place. “This one’s new—a four-carat piece I made earlier this month.” He handed it to me, and I carefully slipped it onto her finger, my chest tightening as the diamond settled in place.
Maddie stared at it, breath catching, and whispered, “I—” She bit her lip, glancing at Mr. Calvin, then back at me. “I think this is the one.”
I swallowed, meeting her gaze, and said softly, “I think it is, too.”
“Congratulations again, Ian.” Mr. Calvin smiled, shaking my hand after we’d settled up. “She’s a beautiful woman. And I know it’s probably not my place to say, but…I think she’ll suit you better than any of the others I’ve seen you with over the years.”
“Thank you, Mr. Calvin. I…” I blinked, momentarily caught off guard by his words and their meaning. But then, managing a confident smile, I finished with, “I’m just so thankful to have found her.”
Mr. Calvin nodded approvingly, then left with a small wink, promising his discretion with our secret engagement. Saying that until Maddie and I made our formal announcement, he wouldn’t mention this meeting to my family.
Which would definitely be good because I did not have the slightest idea how I was going to explain getting engaged to my assistant a mere three weeks after meeting her.
Well, meeting her again, I supposed. I was more sure than ever that we’d met for the first time long ago.
I closed the door behind Mr. Calvin and when I turned back, Maddie was waiting in the living room, looking slightly curious about the exchange I just had.
But since I wasn’t ready to dive into what he’d said about Maddie being better suited for me than my previous flings, I looked out to the balcony instead where my breakfast still sat and said, “I guess my omelet is probably too cold to finish now, isn’t it?”
“Probably,” Maddie said. “But I can reheat your plate if you like.” She tilted her head, smirking. “I know fancy billionaires like yourself probably don’t have to use these strange contraptions called microwaves that us normal folk use and love, but I promise it’ll still taste pretty good reheated. I eat second-day scrambled eggs all the time.”
“Well, in that case...” I laughed, liking her playful mockery of my pampered lifestyle. “I’ll let you handle it. I never learned to use a microwave, anyway. All those buttons are just too complicated for a spoiled trust-fund kid like myself.”
She laughed at my comment, giving me a teasing grin as she grabbed my plate and gingerly put it in the microwave. “Now, just watch me make some magic happen,” she said before making a big show of pushing a few buttons and pressing start .
“Amazing,” I said. “What witchcraft did you just perform? Whatever would I do without you?”
“Probably call room service for a new omelet,” she said.
And I couldn’t help but grin because she was exactly right.
As my food warmed, Maddie’s gaze went back to her left hand. And after playing with the ring with her thumb, as if checking the fit, she said, “I’m glad Mr. Calvin got my size right when he was picking rings to bring. Because with a diamond this heavy, I’d hate for it to slip off my finger and lose it.”
“Yeah, that’s a big diamond.” I nodded, looking at the size of the rock on her finger. Then, suddenly worried it may have been too extravagant, I asked, “Do you think it’s too much?”
“Too much?” She raised an eyebrow, her blue eyes going wide like my question surprised her.
I pointed at the ring. “I mean, if you were picking out an engagement ring for real, would you go for something like this?”
“A four-carat, custom-made diamond ring?” Her eyes glimmered with humor. “Yeah, I doubt any man interested in marrying me could ever afford a ring like this, Ian. This thing is huge.”
“Fair enough,” I said, laughing. “But if you did happen to meet a wealthy guy and fall in love, would you get a ring like this? Or something different altogether?”
“I don’t know…” She looked down at the ring again, her eyes seeming to watch the way it sparkled as she tilted her hand this way and that. “I guess if money wasn’t an issue, I’d probably be happy to wear a ring like this. It’s gorgeous.”
“Did you pick out your ring when you got married before?” I asked, suddenly curious what her ex had gotten her. “Or did your ex surprise you?”
“I actually never got a ring,” she said. She must have noticed my confused expression because she added, “Jaxon and I never actually got married.”
“Oh…I thought…” I let my words trail off, realizing I wasn’t sure if she’d ever actually said she’d married her son’s father. Trying to recall if she’d ever mentioned being divorced, I finally said, “Sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed.”
“It’s fine,” she said with a slight shrug. “I think most people would assume something like that, especially since we share a kid and were together for so long.” She took a deep breath, and her shoulders seemed to sag as she let it out. “But Jaxon never asked. And after so many years, it just…wasn’t a priority. We were too busy raising Grant and keeping our heads above water to worry about planning a wedding.”
I watched as her gaze drifted, a faraway look in her eyes, and I guessed that there was probably some disappointment there. Most little girls dream of a wedding day, and Maddie had never had hers.
I shifted, rubbing the back of my neck. “If I’d known this was your first time wearing an engagement ring, I would’ve put a bit more effort into the proposal.”
Her eyes brightened at my attempt to lighten the mood, and she let out a little laugh. “Well, since none of this is even real, I guess I’ll let it pass.”
The microwave beeped, and Maddie pulled out my plate, studying it for a moment before looking back at me. “Normally, I’d poke a finger in the middle to check if it’s hot enough, but I’ll spare you that.”
“How thoughtful of you.”
She smirked, handing me the plate. “I do try to be thoughtful now and then.”
Taking her suggestion to heart, I poked the center of the omelet, feeling it was warm enough. “Looks like your trick works,” I said, wiping my finger clean. “Might even come in handy if I ever crack the code on using a microwave.”
She laughed, settling into the chair Mr. Calvin had vacated, crossing her legs and watching me. “Now the real test is whether these reheated eggs are still edible.”
I took a bite of the omelet. “Not bad,” I said when it didn’t taste too much different from the bites I’d taken earlier. “It’s actually better than I expected.”
“Told you leftovers rock,” she said with a wink.
“Do you have leftovers a lot?” I asked, curious.
She shrugged. “Sloan and I share kitchen duties these days, but back when I was in Ridgewater, I doubled recipes just to have leftovers. It saved me from cooking every day.”
“Smart.”
I finished off the plate and set it on the coffee table. Then leaning back against the cushions, I decided we should probably get back to the conversation we’d been having earlier and said, “So, before Mr. Calvin showed up, I think we were talking about setting some ground rules for this whole thing, right?”
Maddie tucked some hair behind her ear. “I think that’s right.”
“And you said you’re not super into PDA, right?”
“Our first meeting aside? Then, not really...” She looked at me intently. “What about you?”
“Well…” I said, the back of my neck suddenly feeling hot. “I may have leaned more to the other extreme in the past.” Which was basically code for me having the inability to turn away from a good make-out session with a beautiful woman if the mood struck. “But I can definitely see the prudence in toning things back a bit. It would have certainly helped me keep my name out of the tabloids in the past.”
“Being discreet isn’t nearly as exciting to report on, I suppose,” Maddie said with a grin.
“And we both know what a fame-whore I’ve been in the past.” I winked. “But…in case we run into Margot or anyone connected to her…” I cleared my throat, keeping things as casual as I could. “Would you be okay with me holding your hand again? Kind of like I did last night?”
She nodded, a soft smile touching her lips. “I think that’d be fine.”
“What about putting my arm around your waist?”
“That’s fine, too,” she said, her voice steady, though there was a hint of pink on her cheeks.
“All right,” I said, nodding. “Good to know.” I hesitated, glancing sideways at her. “What about a kiss on the cheek? Is that okay?”
She blinked, and her smile softened. “I think that should be fine. Kisses on the cheek are sweet, anyway.”
“Good. Then I think that’s as far as we’ll need to go in public. We want this to seem professional—no hands all over each other.”
Her blush deepened at my mention of us having our hands all over each other and looked away. Which only reminded me of the delicate situation we were in.
Sure, she’d agreed to pretend to be my fiancée this weekend, wearing a ring and letting me keep her close. But I needed to be careful not to get reality confused with make-believe.
Because playing pretend with someone I was already so attracted to was a recipe for trouble—like tempting fate to pick up where we’d left off that night we first met.
And before I knew it, my mind betrayed me, flashing images so vivid it was like she was already in my arms.
I could feel the weight of her leaning into me at the bar, her lips just inches from mine, her breath warm and unsteady as her eyes searched mine with that unmistakable spark. I imagined drawing her closer, feeling the way her body would press against mine, every inch of her soft and willing as our mouths finally collided in a kiss that felt as inevitable as it was explosive.
We wouldn’t stop there; I’d lean in, whispering something about not wanting the night to end, about bringing her somewhere private. She’d nod, maybe with that shy smile she’d flashed before, the one that always tempted me. And in the next second, we’d be alone, behind closed doors in a room like this, where I’d lift her into my arms, our lips meeting in hungry, dizzying kisses as I carried her to the bed, ready to taste her laughter and every inch of her that she’d offer me.
Nope. We’re not going there. I cut off my fantasy before it could continue further down that forbidden path.
Maddie was my assistant. She was a mother.
And I was not going to even entertain the idea of treating this situation like I had other relationships in the past.
We might be about to fake an engagement, but the last thing I wanted was to make her life more complicated than it already was.
“So…should we come up with a story?” Maddie’s voice broke into my thoughts, thankfully oblivious to my momentary lapse. “You know, in case someone asks how we met and fell in love, or…how you proposed.”
“Yeah.” I cleared my throat, focusing my gaze back on her face. “Let’s come up with something good.”