Chapter 29
Forever
CHANCE
Suzuka, Japan
One year later
“Ok, I’m ready to go out. Sorry for the wait.” I run a hand through my hair. “My tux jacket had gotten all creased in my luggage.”
Lev chuckles from the plush chair he’s sprawled on in our hotel suite. “You’re such a pretty boy sometimes. It’s surprising how much you care about getting all dolled up.”
I flip him off, but he knows it’s all in good humor. “Whatever. When I get all the best endorsements in LA, you’ll see why it pays off to always look your best.”
“That’s two years away.” Lev reminds me. “We may have been drafted, but you know the deal. Our parents will support our NHL dreams as long as we graduate college first.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I sigh. “I get why your parents feel that way, since they’re hotshot lawyers, but I don’t get why my dad is so adamant. He should understand.”
Ares comes out of the bathroom freshly shaved, but his bow tie is still undone.
“Dad finished his degree too before his rookie season. He wants you to have something to fall back onto, if you get injured. He’s making me continue my degree online even as I race.
It’s tough, but I agree with him; racing, like hockey, isn’t forever. ”
I adore my older brother, but sometimes he’s such a stick in the mud. “Yeah, I’ve heard that a million times. I made the Dean’s honor list, so Dad can’t complain.”
He slaps me on the back. “We’re all proud of you. Now help me with this stupid bow tie. I should have gotten one that was already made.”
I stand in front of him, and I have his bow tie done in a couple of practiced moves. “By the way, I didn’t get to say congratulations on your podium in today’s race. Second place is nothing to sneeze at.”
“Especially when my girlfriend took first place. Zara is the only one I don’t mind coming second to.”
“Ladies should always come first.” I laugh at my own silly innuendo, causing Ares and Lev to roll their eyes.
Today has been an intense day on the racetrack.
“Is Zara ok?” I ask. “How did she take the news that was blasted on every sports network?”
I point to the TV that’s on without audio. A local channel in English is reporting about today’s breaking news.
The subtitles are on and I read them out loud: “Calvin Fox, a racer best known for his participation in the 250 cc category of MotoGP, was dropped by his team following a series of allegations by several women who accused him of sexual misconduct. An investigation is underway in California and several other states.”
Ares shakes his head. “It doesn’t surprise me one bit. Zara wasn’t surprised either. After all, this is how we met her, remember? Because that motherfucker didn’t get the meaning of the word ‘no.’”
“Turns out the fucker didn’t need Dad to blackball him to ruin his career. He can do an excellent job all by himself.” I snort.
Lev agrees. “Yup. I hope they lock him up and throw away the fucking key. Not a huge loss for the racing community, anyway. He was a mediocre driver at best.”
“Right. We’re all ready to go out, the ring is in my pocket, you booked a table at that restaurant Zara wanted to try, right Lev?”
“Yup.” He confirms. “Operation Proposal is ready to be rolled out.”
I turn to look at Ares. “Did you ask the concierge to book us a limo?”
My brother reassures me. “It should be downstairs any minute now.”
“Ok. We’re all ready, but… where’s Zara?” I ask.
We look at each other.
“I haven’t seen her since the press conference.” Ares offers. “She was doing an event with one of her sponsors, but she should have been done an hour ago.”
“I haven’t seen her either.” Lev muses. “Maybe she’s with John. But he knew we were planning to take her out to dinner to pop the question.”
Ares frowns. “Where could she be?”
The answer to his question comes one second later when all our phones ping with an alert.
Zara dropped us a pin.
“She isn’t very far from here.” I say, grabbing my key card and triple checking that the engagement ring we bought for our girl is still in my pocket. “I’m sure the limo driver won’t mind doing one stop on our way to dinner. Let’s go pick her up.”
A few minutes later, the black limo stops in front of a storefront.
“That looks like a tattoo parlor.” Lev says. “What in the world is Zee doing here?”
We ask the young guy at the front desk if he’s seen Zara, showing him a photo of her from my phone.
“Ah, yeah.” He smiles. “She’s on Midori’s tattoo table. She should be done. She asked me to take you to her if you got here before they were finished. Follow me.”
“The fuck?” Ares whispers, giving voice to the same thought that’s swirling around in my head. “Is Zara getting a new tattoo? Did she say anything to you guys?”
Lev shrugs. “Nope. I don’t know anything about her wanting a new tattoo.”
“Ditto.” I agree.
We get our answer when we enter the room where a gorgeous woman is wiping Zara’s lower back with an antiseptic wipe.
“Hey guys.” Zara looks at us over her shoulder. “You all look so handsome and your timing couldn’t be more perfect. I wanted to show you before she wraps it. Even though I didn’t add much to the only tattoo I have.”
We all look at her lower back.
“What did you add?” Ares asks, clearly perplexed.
“If anyone should know straight away, that’s you.
” Zara says. “I’ve always regretted getting Cal’s name tattooed on me.
The only saving grace is that it’s behind me, so I can’t see it unless I look in the mirror.
Do you remember what you said to me the first time I stayed over at your place? On your birthday?”
Ares’s sheepish expression says that he probably doesn’t. “Not really.” He admits, rubbing the back of his neck. “Remind me?”
“When I told you that I wanted to get rid of it with laser, you said that it would be easier to turn ‘CAL’ into your initials ‘C.A.L.’ So I asked Midori to add two dots, one after the C and one after the L.”
Holy shit.
I can’t help but smile. “That’s really sweet, baby. I love that you have my name tattooed on you.”
Lev rolls his eyes. “It isn’t just your name. And it’s just each of our initials, but I love it too, Zee.”
She looks at Ares, suddenly nervous. “What about you, babe? Is it ok?”
Ares closes the distance between them, brushing his lips against hers. “Princess, that’s the sweetest thing someone has ever done. For me and for those two.”
“So you all love it?” Zara asks.
“We do.” We confirm.
Her smile widens. “I’m glad you do. Otherwise, I would have felt really stupid asking you to marry me.”
“Wait, what?” I gasp. “You’re asking us to marry you?”
She nods. “Yeah, and having your initials tattooed on me forever is my way to do it. Will you guys make me the luckiest woman on earth and marry me?”
“Fuck yeah.” I chuckle, lifting her in my arms and spinning her around the small room.
“Yes, Zee. I love you.” Lev pulls her into his arms once I set her back onto her feet.
“I love you too.” She says, her eyes shining with barely contained tears of happiness.
She turns to look at Ares, who’s been staring at her without a word. “What about you? If it’s too soon…”
“Princess,” Ares takes her into his arms. “I love you with all my heart. And of course my answer is yes. I was just a little shell-shocked because we were just taking you out to dinner to propose to you. There’s a limo waiting for us outside, and we have a table booked at that viral restaurant you were so excited to try. ”
Zara covers her mouth with her hands. “Really?”
“Really. Chance has the ring in his pocket.”
Zara’s gaze lands on me. Her left hand is extended in front of her. “Yes! I’ll marry you. Put the ring on me!”
I chuckle, unable to resist the urge to tease her. “But we haven’t asked you yet.”
“Chance.” She scolds me. “I already asked you, and you said yes. We’re engaged.”
We all smile. We love the impatient side of her.
“Fine. But your mom will be disappointed that she isn’t going to get a proposal video.”
“If you give me the ring, I promise to give it back to you at the restaurant, and you can do your proposal. Then we can call our parents and give them the good news.”
That sounds like a winning idea. “Deal.”
“Let’s go now.” Zara says. “How do you guys feel about a spring wedding? We could get married between Silverstone and Catalunya. I’ve always wanted something super informal, on the beach.”
Lev beams at her. “I love the sound of that.”
“You can have whatever you want, princess.” Ares smiles.
We walk out of the tattoo parlor and climb into our limo.
“There’s only one thing we need to decide that’s quite important.” Zara muses. “I can only legally marry one of you. And I don’t know how to choose.”
I wink at her. “Don’t worry. Ares, Lev and I can race for it.”
I hope you enjoyed Zara’s story and her HEA.
If you want more RH stepbrother stories set in Star Cove, why not try the series that started it all?
Perfect For Them is a completed RH stepbrother series. Enjoy a sneak peek of Forbidden, the first book in the series: