Chapter 49
Forty-Nine
JASPER
V iolet’s more nervous than when she ate lunch, though she’s doing a really good job of hiding it. She twists a finger in the corner of her napkin and hums to the low music playing in the restaurant’s speakers. Maybe it’s because we took her out somewhere public, though the secluded table at Dominic’s favorite restaurant is hardly the place to find wandering eyes. Maybe she’s worried about talking about the fundraising event. Or maybe it’s the unsigned match finalization that has her so anxious she won’t even look at us.
I reach across the table and squeeze her hand.
“You good?” I ask her.
Her gaze snaps to me, her cheeks darkening with a blush. She nods and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.
“I’m fine,” she says.
Rylan leans into her, letting his shoulder brush hers as he palms her thigh. His throat is still covered in hickeys that he didn’t even try to hide, but so is Dominic’s where he sits beside me. Every single one she put on me is low enough I can hide it with ease. A flash of heat shoots down my spine at the memories of her putting them there over the last few days.
I force my mind away from the thought. We’ve had a six day sex-fest. There’s absolutely no reason to be consumed with more right now. Besides, I only get to watch her sign this document once. I want to fucking enjoy it without a boner distracting me.
The waiter drops off our ordered drinks and appetizer before disappearing into the rest of the restaurant, sliding the frosted glass door closed behind him.
Violet blows out a breath.
“I know that you guys planned this so signing the finalization feels special,” she says.
Rylan smirks even as Dominic raises an eyebrow.
“And the fact that you guys managed to thread the needle between public enough I feel special and private enough I don’t feel like it’s just a damn display is impressive.” Her voice goes a bit ragged as she continues. My chest loosens at the compliment, and I take a quick sip of water. “But I can’t sign it.”
I choke. Dominic runs his hand down my spine as I try to calm my sore throat without making a giant scene. Rylan leans back, his eyes just as wide and shocked as I’m sure mine are. Before any of us can decide what to say to break the awkward as fuck silence, Violet grimaces, her nose scrunching.
“Shit, that came out wrong,” she groans. She drops her head into her hands, rubbing at her eyes as she takes a deep breath. When she drops them back to her lap, she laces her hand with Rylan’s and looks first at Dominic and then me. “I meant that I can’t sign it until we talk about Saturday. I can’t have my mom hanging over this memory.”
Dominic clears his throat and leans forward, resting his elbows on the table and his chin on his clasped hands. I rest my hand on his thigh, and he hums, his purr kicking to life for the first time in days. More of the nerves fall away from me.
“All right,” Rylan says. “We’ve figured out that she’s the one who did it. And we’re marginally sure as to why she thought something like that was excusable. What I don’t understand is why she thought Fuckboy Extraordinaire was a better match for you than us.” He smirks and brings her hand to his lips, kissing her wrist. “But I’m probably biased.”
I laugh. “I mean… I’d let your dick cloud my judgment, too. Pretty sure you get to be biased.”
Violet giggles, her nose scrunching again. The sound is lighter than it’s been all day. I can’t help but smile, and Dominic relaxes beside me.
“I imagine it’s because on paper he’s perfect,” she says, wiping her eyes before her happy tears can smudge her makeup. “He’s young, attractive, and apparently the heir to a sizable ship construction company here in LA. It would have reflected back on her really well. And I imagine she would have positioned herself so that Dad felt he had to try and acquire the company once we were—” She chokes on the word, coughing. “Once we were bonded. She’d probably even frame it as a way to get retribution for him overstepping.”
“She’s truly only concerned with her own image,” Dominic says, disgust warring with anger in his voice.
Violet nods.
“I have to ask,” I say. “Why the hell are you calling him Fuckboy Extraordinaire? Do you know him from somewhere?”
She grimaces. “He went to UCLA.”
Rylan chuckles, but it’s not a happy sound. “He forced her into a very loud public conversation the first time I took her out. It’s what I named him after the fact.”
Dominic grunts. “That explains why it looked like you’d been punched when you realized who he was on Saturday.”
“Didn’t expect him to be at something like that, to be honest,” Rylan says, scratching at his tattoo. “Figured he was playing at being rich, not actually rich.”
“What happens next is up to you, Sirena ,” Dominic murmurs. “Do you want to confront her about it?”
Violet purses her lips and messes with the Old Fashioned sitting untouched in front of her. “It won’t be made public?” she asks.
“Unfortunately, it’s not an option,” I say. “The detective made it clear that the odds of her actually being convicted are extremely low.”
She mutters a curse and sighs. “Then yes,” she says, looking at each of us in turn. “I’m ready for her to be out of my life. I think confronting her is best. The sooner the better.”
Dominic nods, then reaches into his suit jacket where it’s draped over the back of his chair. Rylan turns, too, grabbing the folder containing the finalization paperwork. Blowing out a breath, I pull the small ring box from where I’ve had it stashed in the pocket of my slacks since getting ready this evening.
One thing I’ve still not adjusted to with having access to substantial wealth is the incredible speed at which expensive items and events can happen. A single call to the jeweler this afternoon, and the stacking rings were ready and delivered to Dominic before we ever left for dinner.
Violet’s throat ripples with her swallow.
“You didn’t have to get them,” she says, her voice now shy and unsure, like when we realized Sienna had fucked us over in her dorm room. “It’s not… I mean…”
She trails off as Rylan turns to her, twisting in his seat until his knees brush her thigh. He sets the form in front of her, a single pen resting on it, and then digs out the ring box from his pocket. With a flick of his wrist, he opens it and lays it on the paper, twisting it so the ring inside faces her.
“We know we didn’t have to get them, pretty Omega,” he says. Her cheeks darken, and he smirks. “Just let us spoil you. It’s going to happen anyway, so you might as well get used to it.”
She cocks an eyebrow, and I know she’s about to say something sassy that has me wishing we were alone so I can fuck her. I cut in before she can really get going, opening my own ring box and setting it on the form beside Rylan’s. Dominic’s not nearly as flashy about it, sliding his beside mine and then taking my hand, running his thumb across my knuckles.
Violet stares at the rings and the paper, her eyes darting across all of them like she can’t quite decide where to focus first. Tears flood her eyes, and she wipes one away as it falls over her lashes.
“Fuck, I’m not a damn crier ,” she mutters even as another tear slowly tracks down her cheek. “I just… I didn’t think it would be this emotional.”
She picks up my ring first, pulling it from the box and slipping it onto her finger. The light pink stones set around the gold band blaze against her skin. She pulls Rylan’s next, his nearly identical to the one I chose, though the gemstone he picked made for a darker pink. Dominic’s is entirely different, though it complements ours. She pulls it last, twisting it around in the dim light of our secluded table. The two gold bands intertwine, small white stones set between the curves. She adjusts how they sit on her finger, letting Dominic’s sit between mine and Rylan’s.
Before any us dare to break the silence, she signs the paperwork and moves it away from her still full drink.
“Thank you,” she murmurs. “This is better than I imagined it could be when I filed for matching in March.”
My heart soars. Because that? That’s everything I’ve ever needed her to say about being with me for forever.