26. Cannon
Isat in the living room waiting for Demi to finish getting ready, my knee bouncing. I rarely got nervous, but tonight I was definitely nervous. Tonight was the Vanderhall Capital company party, and I was bringing Demi as my date.
Victor had told me to bring the woman I had told him about, and that’s what I was doing. I just hoped it would go as smoothly as he had made it sound like it would. And I also had to hope that West wouldn’t blow up at me for lying to him.
I was serious about Demi. We’d only officially been a couple for three days, but they had hands-down been the best days of my life. We’d start our morning off by eating breakfast together, then I’d pick her up from hair school to go to lunch, and then we’d either go to The Bridger together when she worked or go home and spend the evening together, with plenty of teasing and kissing throughout the night.
She’d ended up giving Robby her two week notice. Now that she was in a relationship—with me—she didn’t love guys coming onto her and feeling like she had to flirt to get a tip. She was currently looking for another job, and I was happy she didn’t want to work at The Bridger any longer. Turned out I was even more territorial about Demi once she had become my girlfriend. I think Robby was grateful to eventually not have me hanging around, scaring customers away.
Demi stepped into the living room, and my gaze snagged on the way the emerald-green dress hugged her curves. Slowly I stood, my mouth hanging open, amazed at how classy and sexy she looked. The dress was simple, and I was sure if it were on a mannequin it wouldn’t get a second glance, but on Demi it was mesmerizing. The fitted long sleeves, the boat neckline, and the midlength cut looked amazing on her.
“Do I look okay?” she asked, slowly turning in a circle, giving me a view from all angles.
I about choked on my tongue when I saw the back. The deep V zip closure started from the bottom of the dress and ended at her low back, leaving the smooth skin of her back exposed. Her hair was in a low intricate bun, showing off the gold zipper detail and sexy back. I had no idea a back could be so sexy, but Demi’s definitely was.
Finally finding my voice, I said, “You’re gorgeous.”
She smiled, her cheeks barely turning a shade of pink. “Thank you.” Her heels clicked against the tile floor as she made her way to me. She laid her hands against my chest. “You look amazing, too.” She reached up and placed a quick kiss on my lips.
I didn’t look much different than I did when I went to work every day. I wore a suit and tie but I had picked out a tie that had some emerald green in it to match Demi’s dress.
We arrived at the harbor where the annual company party was always held on the Vanderhalls’ personal yacht. Victor liked getting the yacht all spruced up for the party after it sat idle all winter. Although it was still early March, the temperatures had started to get warmer, and it was a beautiful night, the air only carrying a slight chill.
I grabbed Demi’s hand, and we headed toward the ramp to the yacht.
She tugged on my hand, bringing me to a stop before we had reached the ramp. “Are you nervous?” She looked at me with a quizzical gaze.
“No. I’m good.” I didn’t actually know if that was true, but it was what I was telling myself.
“Then why are you squeezing my hand like it’s your lifeline?” she asked with a playful grin.
I quickly dropped her hand, not realizing I’d been holding onto her so hard. “Sorry.”
She grabbed my hand this time, her petite hand swallowed up in mine as she gave me a reassuring squeeze. “It’s okay if you’re nervous.”
“It’s just that we haven’t told anyone about us yet, and showing up as a couple…” I paused, letting out a heavy sigh. “I don’t want to upset your dad or your brother. Especially not at a work event.”
She started walking again, tugging me along. “They won’t be upset. They’re going to be happy for us. They love you, Cannon.”
Her confidence and use of the word love calmed me. She was right. Victor and West loved me like family. Yes, I had a reputation of going from woman to woman, but they knew me well enough to know that I’d never get into anything with Demi unless I was serious about her—about us.
I smiled down at her as we made our way onto the yacht. “Thank you.”
Music played on the speakers, servers moved around offering champagne and hors d’oeuvres, and soft lights glowed over the dance floor. People milled around, talking and laughing, looking to already be having a good time.
I spotted Victor and Rose near the ice sculpture in the shape of the Vanderhall Capital logo. The table was covered with flowers and desserts.
“You ready for this?” Demi asked.
As she looked up at me, those beautiful brown eyes conveying such devotion and maybe even a little bit of pride, I felt like I was ready for anything. She had a way of easing any fears or nerves I might be feeling, and it was one of the things I loved about her.
Yep. Love. I was ninety-nine percent sure I was in love with her, but I wanted to wait until I was at one hundred percent before telling her. I’d never been in love before, so I didn’t know for sure if all these feelings I felt for her added up to love. Either way, I was committed, I was all in, I had jumped in head-first, and any other phrase that could convey how devoted I was to this woman.
I leaned down and placed a quick kiss on her cheek. “Yes.”
Walking up to Demi’s parents while holding her hand was a surreal moment. I’d worked for years to hide my feelings from them, but now I was openly showing them that I liked her, that I wanted to date her.
A big grin filled Victor’s face, and any apprehension I had faded away.
“I’m glad you brought the woman you said you were interested in,” he said, giving me a wink.
Shock rippled through me. He had known who I’d been talking about. I guessed I hadn’t been as subtle as I had thought when I’d brought her up at the family dinner.
“Oh, Cannon, Demi,” Rose exclaimed, holding her arms out to both of us. “We’re so happy for you two.” She wrapped us up in a motherly hug, and I blinked furiously as I hugged her back, hoping to hold back the emotions threatening to surface at having been so warmly accepted.
I took Demi’s hand again. “Thank you.”
Demi looked up at me with a bright smile. “We’re happy too.”
I couldn’t help but smile back at her. I really was happy, and for the first time in my life I was beginning to feel whole.
“Oh, finally!” Halle’s voice came from my right. She motioned to our joined hands as she and West came to join us. “I was going crazy watching you two dance around each other like there were no feelings going on. I’ve known since September when you couldn’t keep your eyes off each other at the charity gala.”
Rose’s hand dismissed her comment. “Honey, I’ve known for years and have been praying these two would figure it out before I had to take matters into my own hands.”
“Now, wait a minute,” Victor cut in. “I’m pretty sure I knew about it before you,” he said to his wife.
“How come nobody told me what was going on?” asked West, looking from Halle to his mom and dad.
I stared at the four of them, not knowing how to take all of this. They’d all known—well except for West, apparently—about Demi and me having feelings for one another for that long? And here I thought I’d hidden my feelings so well.
“Hold on,” Demi spoke up. “You all knew we liked each other?”
“Yes,” said Halle, Rose, and Victor at the same time, while West said, “Kind of.”
“You two weren’t very good at hiding it,” Halle said.
“It was all over your faces,” Rose added.
“And the way you got excited having Cannon around,” Victor said to Demi, and then turned to me to say, “and then the way you looked like you wanted to break Aiden’s hand every time he touched Demi, it was pretty easy to piece it together.”
Okay, so I guess we hadn’t been as secretive and nonchalant about each other as I’d thought.
“I started to suspect something at Lake Tahoe,” West said to me. “But then when you told me nothing was going on, I believed you.”
“There wasn’t anything going on when you asked me, I swear,” I said. “Everything kind of happened after that talk.” I gave him a sheepish look.
“You could have at least told me you liked her.” He looked a little hurt that I hadn’t confided in him. “We usually tell each other everything.”
“I’m sorry. I should have told you,” I apologized. “But I didn’t know how to tell you that I liked your little sister. Especially with how you know I’ve never seriously dated someone before. I was worried you’d be upset and tell me to stay away from her, which I would have respected. I stayed away on my own because I didn’t want to hurt her. I wasn’t sure I could be the boyfriend type.”
“But now you feel you can?” he asked, his voice holding both genuineness and protective brother tones.
“Yes.” I looked over at Demi. “I’ve never felt like this before.” I turned back to West. “I care about her a lot and will do everything in my power to never hurt her.”
A smile spread across his lips, and then he was hugging me. “Congratulations, brother.”
I hugged him back, smiling too. “Thanks, man. Your approval means a lot to me.”
He pulled back, clapping me once on the shoulder before taking his place by Halle, putting his arm around her waist.
“Now that we’ve got all our family business taken care of,” Victor said. “It’s time for you guys to mingle.” He looked pointedly at me and West. “I need you two socializing and making sure everyone is having a good time and is happy at Vanderhall Capital.”
We all rolled our eyes.
“What?” Victor asked. “This isn’t me being crazy business focused. This is a work event, if you don’t recall.”
West smiled. “We remember, Dad. We’ll get to work.”
West and I separated and began to make the rounds with Halle and Demi. Demi was great at talking with people, always so polite and friendly, but also able to speak to the business since she’d worked for years to be ready to join the company.
Now there was a part of me that was a little disappointed she had chosen not to come work at Vanderhall Capital. It would have been fun to work together. But she was loving going to hair school, and I loved seeing her so happy.
Needing a break from all the small talk, I pulled Demi toward the dance floor.
Pulling her close to me, I took one of her hands in mine and then placed my other hand on her back, her bare skin sending a rush of electricity up through me, a low groan escaping me. “Did you wear this dress to torture me?”
“Maybe,” she said flippantly, but the coy smile was enough to tell me the truth.
“Well, it’s working,” I told her as we swayed to the slow song. “You know what’s been my favorite part of the night so far?”
“What?”
“Not having to force myself to stop staring at you all night,” I said, looking straight into her eyes. “I get to stare at you the entire night, drinking you in, knowing you’re mine.”
Her hand played with the hair at the nape of my neck, our eyes still locked. “I am completely and totally yours.”
The corners of my mouth lifted. “I’ll never get tired of hearing you say that.”
She let go of my hand, having her hand join the one at my neck, pulling our bodies closer. “And I’ll never get tired of being in your arms, of being the one you share your highs and lows with, of being the one you look at the way you’re looking at me right now.”
I wrapped my arms around her, the glowing lights above us reflecting in her eyes. The music was still playing, but I was too lost in Demi to tell you what song it was.
Gently, I pressed my lips to hers, the silkiness of them instantly sending me to a place of bliss. The tenderness of our kiss spread through me, filling more of the gaps and repairing more of my broken pieces.
Our future wasn’t set, it wasn’t guaranteed, but I vowed to myself to do whatever would be required to make her happy, to do what I could so I could always be by her side. Because Demi was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of woman, and I would be forever hers.
And by some luck, she was mine.