45. Jude
JUDE
“It’s going to be epic,” I say as we slow our pace, passing the giant gold doors, and coming to a stop in front of the store.
It’s late, and the windows are all lit up, glowing like glistening treasure troves in the night. We do this a lot, Slade and I—walk the city in the evenings, soaking it all in. It helps him to see it, to know that it’s all still here, and it’s not going anywhere.
“You like it?” Slade asks, kissing the top of my head as I gaze at the poster of Sinclair in the window of Beaufort Diamonds.
She’s standing on the shore, waves lapping around her feet, sun shining down on her slicked-back hair.
Strings of pearls intermingle with shells, hanging from her neck and arms as she leans back against the giant piece of driftwood.
“I love it.” I scan over the font they’ve used to advertise the upcoming collection and my chest bubbles with emotion.
The Truth Collection.
It’s what Slade’s been working on with Sullivan these past few weeks.
What they’ve all been working on. A family affair.
Sterling’s been at Beaufort Diamonds more, leaving his piano lounges to his managers, and Sinclair’s been styling the shoots.
These were taken in The Bahamas. The next set—featuring the collection pieces once they’re ready—will be taken in South Africa.
When Slade told me that, I wasn’t sure. He said doing it there, as a family, would be good for him. For all of them.
And I trust him.
“You’ve worked so hard,” I say, placing my hand on his chest.
I’m used to him being in the suits every day now.
He’s Slade Beaufort, the brilliant businessman.
The man he was destined to be before the last few years happened.
But at the same time, he’s still my cowboy.
A man who needs to feel loved, or he struggles.
A man who’s creative and passionate. A man who’s booked a skydive next week because he’s crazy and needs that rush.
A man who’s been helping his uncle work through his guilt.
Mal’s going to therapy, as well as having many late-night talks with Slade and the rest of the family.
He’s also awaiting news on what’s going to happen to him.
For now, the family has maintained the story that Slade had amnesia.
There are conspiracy theories circulating online, but mostly, people have accepted it, and the press has already moved on to chasing the next big story.
I thought Slade would still hate the idea of that being the angle they go with.
But as soon as it became about protecting his uncle, he no longer cared what the world knew.
He only cares that his family knows the truth.
They’re waiting for the South African authorities to conclude their investigations. Once they do, and Mal knows the consequences he will face, they’ve vowed they’ll tell the real story, as a family.
But that’s in the future, one not to worry about yet, not when they’ve just left the past behind and are desperately trying to live in the present.
Whatever happens, Slade isn’t going to be facing it alone.
“Is Sullivan still stressing over the final designs of the new pieces?”
Slade chuckles and the sound warms my heart. “Yeah. You know Sull; he’s turned all nightmare CEO on a mission over it.”
“He just wants it to be perfect.” I bite my lip, smiling as I say it.
Apparently, Sullivan’s been more demanding at work than usual.
Tate told me he’s been playing his piano past midnight most evenings—something he does when he has a lot on his mind, and that she’s been helping him unwind too.
But she’d smiled and blushed as she said it, so I can only assume what the two of them do together to help him relax.
“How about the bespoke boxes?” I ask, admiring Sinclair’s photo.
Sterling asked Slade if he’d be interested in carving a limited number of special edition gift boxes out of driftwood for those clients willing to join a waitlist.
The moment they announced it, they were inundated with requests, and the waitlist has surpassed five thousand already—a number which Slade cannot possibly fulfill.
So, instead, he’s agreed to make one hundred and fifty pieces to begin with.
And those wishing to receive one will now buy a ticket to be entered into a draw to win one.
All the proceeds are going to a sea animal charity that Molly chose.
“I’ve made a few. Do you want to see my favorite?”
“Seriously? We can go inside and look?”
I peer at Slade in excitement. I’ve been inside Beaufort Diamonds multiple times now, but each time still feels special. It’s the way Slade visibly relaxes a little more each time we cross the threshold that carries the magic for me.
He feels at home again. He’s happy.
His brow wrinkles. “No need. I have it here.”
“Oh, okay.” I push back my disappointment as I glance back through the window with longing. Even the giant fish tank in the center has had a makeover, with large shells being added, the luster of their inner surfaces gleaming beneath the lights.
“Jude?”
I turn to Slade, and he’s holding a small carved oyster shell.
“It’s like the one you made for me. It’s beautiful.” I smile.
He opens it, revealing a smooth mother-of-pearl interior to the lid, and their signature blue velvet making up the cushion pad where a ring would sit.
“It’s perfect. Imagine being proposed to with that. There’s no way anyone could say no.”
“You think?” Slade looks at the shell thoughtfully.
“Uh, yeah. Are you kidding? She or he would have to be crazy.”
“Or he or she would have to be prepared to take a risk,” he muses. “Agreeing to marry another person and spending the rest of their life with them.”
“It’s not really a risk if you love them.” My heart stutters as Slade’s eyes glitter like sun rays hitting the ocean. “A risk…” I echo, my mouth going dry as he smirks.
“A Risk Taker,” he says gently, pulling something from his pocket.
He drops to one knee, and my heart freefalls.
“What are you doing?”
“Proposing to the woman I love, so quit talking, New York City, and let me do it.”
Awed, I look inside the carved shell. It’s no longer empty. Inside is a sparkling ring with one central diamond, flanked by two pearls.
I gasp, clapping a hand to my mouth.
“No grit, no pearl,” I whisper. “It’s beautiful.”
“No grit, no pearl,” Slade echoes, his eyes intent on mine. “That first time you kissed me, you let me dream of a future again. You allowed me to believe that maybe there was still something good waiting for me.”
“Slade…” I swallow.
“I was a lost cause, and you were my saint.”
A sob bubbles in my throat, and I smile through it.
“If you’re lost, it means you can be found,” I breathe.
“And you found me, even when I tried to hide from you. And God, do I love you even more because of it. I’ll never convince myself I deserve you, Baby.
But I’ll never stop trying to prove myself wrong, either.
I’ll love you harder than you ever thought possible if you’ll let me.
You’ve given me back my family, Jude. You’ve given me back my life. And I owe everything to you.”
“I didn’t do anything—”
“You did everything.”
He gazes at me with an unspoken question in his eyes.
“Ask me,” I whisper.
He takes a deep breath. “Jude Yardley, will you take a risk and marry me?”
“No.”
His face falls. “Wh—”
“It’s not a risk when I know the man I’m marrying has a golden soul, and I love him more than I ever thought someone could love another person. Ask me again.”
“You want me to ask you again?” His brows hitch, but his eyes soften as he sinks his perfect white teeth into his lower lip with a smirk. “You’re fucking trouble.”
“And you want to marry me.” I beam, almost bouncing on the spot in excitement. “So ask me again.”
He shakes his head. “Jude Yardley, will you drive me wild every day and make me question my sanity?” He gives me a pointed look. “As well as being the love of my life and everything to me?”
I nod, and his eyes soften.
“Baby, will you marry me?”
“Yes,” I whisper, breaking into a half laugh, half cry, as tears prick at my eyes. “Yes!”
“We got there in the end,” Slade mutters, his mouth stretching into a wide smile as he stands and takes the ring from the box, sliding it onto my left hand.
I swat him playfully in the chest with my free hand as I stare at the ring, but he catches it and brings my fingertips to his mouth, kissing them.
“Do you like it?”
“It’s stunning.” I narrow my eyes at one of the pearls, noting a tiny imperfection in one. A small dent in an otherwise perfectly smooth surface. “Slade… these are…”
“Your grandmother’s. I hope that’s okay. I know how much you wanted to wear them on your wedding day. So now you can. And every other day as well.”
“It’s perfect,” I say, my voice drying up.
I curl my hands around the lapels of his suit jacket and pull him to me for a kiss. The warmth of his lips against mine sets butterflies raging in my core, and I break away with a pant before I get carried away.
“I love you.”
He tilts my chin up, pressing a soft kiss to my lips before resting our foreheads together.
“I love you too. Do you think your work can give you some time off to marry me now?” He grins, and from the look in his eyes, I know he’s already spoken with my boss and somehow got what he wanted agreed.
That’s something I’ve learned about the Beauforts.
When they want something, they make it happen.
“I think they might spare me a day or two,” I tease.
Since the new systems update rolled out, things have quietened down.
“Starting tomorrow,” Slade says.
“What?” I splutter.
“Tomorrow,” he repeats, his breath dusting over my lips as he strokes my lower one with his thumb. “You, me, our family and friends, and a wedding to organize.”
“You’re serious?”
“I waited long enough for you. I’m not waiting any longer to call you my wife. Call your mom. Go choose a new dress together, because I ruined the last one.” He smirks. “And then marry me.”
My smile splits my face. “Okay.”
We gaze at one another until Slade’s phone cuts through the moment. He pulls it from his inner jacket pocket.
“Dad?” he answers. His brows shoot up. “Okay, we’re on our way.”
“What is it?” I ask the second he ends the call.
“It’s Halliday.” Slade shakes his head, like he’s in shock. “She’s just had the baby. It happened so fast Dad had to help deliver it before the ambulance arrived.”
“Seriously? Oh my God. What is it?”
“A baby,” he repeats, looking at me blankly.
I laugh. “I know that. I meant a boy or a girl? Did you get a new brother or sister?”
Slade’s eyes widen as my words hit their target. “I’ve got a new sibling?”
“Yes.” I grab his face and grin. “Yes, you have. More family to love you and to love back.”
“Jude…” His face crumples and he crushes his lips to mine in a kiss filled with so much emotion my stomach flips.
“You’re okay,” I soothe. “Come on, let’s go and meet them.”