Chapter 6
COLE
Six Months Later
The light shifts through the blinds of Meredith's office as she speaks.
Her voice carries through the room, clear and commanding, but I'm distracted by how beautiful she looks.
Six months of watching her transform into this powerhouse, and still I find myself staring, unable to look away, often losing my train of thought.
"Listen, Marcus, I understand your concerns about the deadline, but the Tokyo presentation is in three weeks, and I need those projections by Friday. Not Monday. Friday."
I lean against the wall, scanning the room in the way that's become second nature. Even here, in the heart of Ashton Collective, I never let my guard down.
Force of habit.
My phone vibrates in my pocket. Dex. I consider letting it go to voicemail, but with my brother, it's easier to deal with him immediately than suffer the barrage of messages that will follow.
I pull out my phone and answer quietly. "What?"
Meredith glances up from her desk, catches my eye. I mouth "Dex", and she smiles, returning to her call.
"So, when are you finally ready to assign Meredith to another security detail?" Dex asks, without preamble.
"Go to hell." I keep my voice low, but the corner of Meredith's mouth twitches. Her hearing is selective. Terrible when I'm telling her we need to leave for a meeting, perfect when I'm having a private conversation.
My perfect woman.
Dex laughs, the sound irritating. "Come on, brother. You've been her personal bodyguard for two and a half years. Don't you think it's time? Come back to the office."
"No." I turn slightly away from Meredith's desk, but I can still see her in my peripheral vision. She's drawing something on her notepad while she listens to Marcus.
"I don't really know how I manage to keep up with you. Just marry the woman already. If you won't, I will."
The small velvet box in my jacket pocket feels suddenly heavier. It's been there for three weeks now, burning a hole in my chest, waiting for the right moment.
"Fuck off, Dex." I end the call abruptly and slip the phone back into my pocket.
When I look up, Meredith is fully engaged with her call again. I study her, taking note of all the small changes that have accumulated over these months.
She sits differently now—back straight, shoulders squared, taking up the space she deserves. Her hands move with purpose as she speaks, gesturing to emphasize points, no longer tucked nervously in her lap or fidgeting with her pen.
"I need this handled, Marcus. The board has expectations, and I won't walk into that meeting unprepared." She pauses, listens. "Yes, I understand your team is stretched thin. Bring in additional resources from Sandra's department if you need to. I've already cleared it with her."
Her hair is pulled back today, exposing the elegant curve of her neck. She's wearing a deep blue dress that hugs her curves. Now she dresses for herself, not to disappear, and it makes my mouth fucking water.
"Good. Send me a progress update Wednesday." She nods. "And Marcus? I know you'll deliver. That's why you're leading this division."
She ends the call and leans back in her chair, running a hand through her hair.
"Problem?" I ask.
"Nothing I can't handle." She smiles, and there's not a hint of the uncertainty that used to shadow her eyes. "Marcus needed a bit of ... motivation."
I snort. "Is that what we're calling it now?"
"I believe the technical term is 'lighting a fire under his ass,'" she says primly, but her eyes sparkle with humor.
I remember the first board meeting I attended with her as the CEO—how she initially looked like she wanted to disappear, how her voice trembled slightly at the beginning, how she glanced at me for reassurance.
Now she runs those meetings like she was born for it, cutting through bullshit and making decisions without second-guessing herself.
I look at Meredith now and see a completely different person. No, not different. The same woman, but now she has come into her own.
"What did Dex want?" she asks, standing and stretching. The movement pulls her dress tight across her body, and my mouth goes dry.
"Nothing important."
She raises an eyebrow. "That 'go to hell' sounded pretty emphatic for nothing important."
I shrug. "It's Dex. He brings it out in me."
Meredith walks around her desk, leans against it facing me. "One of these days, you two are going to admit you actually like each other."
"Not likely."
She laughs, and the sound still hits me in the chest every time I hear it. Genuine laughter was rare when I first met her. She used to police herself so carefully, like someone might take offense at her joy. She only ever laughed in the presence of her father.
"What was that bit at the end? The 'fuck off' part? I don't think I've heard that particular tone before." She cocks her head, studying me. "Almost like you were ... embarrassed?"
I hold her gaze. "Dex was being Dex."
She steps closer into my space. "Which means?"
"Which means he has opinions about things that aren't his business."
She reaches up and straightens my tie, though it doesn't need it. "About me?"
"About us."
Meredith smiles, her fingers linger at my collar. "I like the sound of that. Us."
The box in my pocket feels like it weighs a hundred pounds. I've been waiting for the perfect moment, which is ridiculous because there's no such thing. I've faced down armed men without hesitation, but the thought of pulling out this ring has my heart pounding against my ribs.
"What's up with you?" she asks suddenly. "You're acting weird."
"I'm not weird."
"You're hovering more than usual."
"I don't hover."
She gives me a pointed look. "Cole, you're literally standing in the same spot you've been in for twenty minutes, just standing there, watching me. That's hovering."
“No, that’s standing still. Hovering implies movement. I’m not moving.” I grin despite myself. Two and a half years ago, she never would have challenged me like this. "I'm just doing my job."
"Your job is to make sure no one shoots me, not to burn a hole in the wall with your staring. Seriously, what's going on? You've been off all week."
The smart move would be to wait, take her to dinner, and do this properly. But looking at her now, confident and beautiful and completely herself, I suddenly can't think of a single reason to wait another minute. Besides, I've never been that smart when it comes to Meredith.
I reach into my pocket, fingers close around the small velvet box. "I have something for you."
She blinks, clearly not expecting that. "Okay?"
I pull out the box but don't open it yet. Her eyes widen as she recognizes what it is, but I need to say this first. "I've been carrying this around for three weeks."
"Three weeks?"
"Waiting for the right moment." I take a deep breath. "But I'm starting to think there's no right moment, just right people."
Her eyes never leave mine as I open the box, revealing the ring inside—a deep blue sapphire surrounded by smaller diamonds, set in platinum. Not traditional, but then, neither are we.
"Meredith, I've watched you become exactly who you were meant to be.
Not because I changed you or anyone else did, but because you finally stopped letting the world tell you who you should be.
" I take her hand in mine. "I loved you before …
when you were quiet and uncertain and hiding.
But Christ, Meredith, watching you step into your power has been the privilege of my life. "
Her eyes shine with unshed tears, but she doesn't look away.
"I want to be by your side while you keep taking over the world. Not as your bodyguard, though I'll always protect you. Not as your employee, though I'll always have your back." I swallow hard. "As your husband. As your partner. In everything."
I go down on one knee and tilt my head back to look at her. "You told me once that you've always been mine. Now I want to be yours, officially, permanently. Marry me, Meredith."
She doesn't answer immediately, and for a terrifying second, I think I've misread everything. Then she cups my face in her hands, and I see the answer in her eyes before she speaks.
"Do you remember the day the will was read?" she asks quietly.
I nod. How could I forget? The day she joked about marrying me instead of that asshole Brian. The day everything changed.
"I asked you to kiss me, and you said that once you claimed me, the next man who touched me would lose his fingers." Meredith chuckles. "You said you don't share. That if I were yours, I'd be yours until the day you died."
"I meant it."
"I know you did." She brushes her thumb across my cheek. "That was the moment I knew I loved you, Cole. Not just wanted you, but loved you. Because you saw me when no one else did." She takes the ring from the box and examines it in the light. "It's beautiful. Perfect."
"Like you," I say, and immediately feel like an idiot. That's the kind of line Dex would give me shit about for years.
But Meredith just smiles wider. "I love you, Cole. Yes, I'll marry you."
I slide the ring onto her finger, and it fits perfectly, which isn't surprising. I memorized her ring size the first time I held her hand. The sapphire catches the light, sending blue reflections dancing across her skin.
"I love you," I say, the words still new enough that they feel raw coming out of my mouth. I've thought them a thousand times, but saying them aloud is different.
She pulls me up for a kiss, her body pressing against mine, her newly ringed hand at the back of my neck. I lose myself in the taste of her, the softness of her lips, the heat that flares between us just as hot as the first time.
When she pulls back, her eyes are bright, and a laugh bubbles up from her throat. "Dex is going to be insufferable about this, isn't he?"
I rest my forehead against hers. "Beyond insufferable."
"Worth it."
"Worth anything."
We stay like that, holding each other in the quiet of her office. Six months ago, I watched her claim her power. Today, I watch her claim me, just as I claim her. Equals. Partners. Forever.
And as she grabs me for another kiss, I know with absolute certainty that this—us—is exactly as it should be.