Chapter 32
Sloane
The rest of the evening seemed to go fine. Rhys and I downed a couple of drinks, and bid on entirely too many items, but it was for the kids! How could we say no?
So, not only was I a little horny, a little tipsy, and extremely happy, but I was going to be all of those things on the trip to Italy Rhys bid on and won after his fifth beer.
It was nearing the end of the night. People started filtering out after the auction ended and the band started.
But Rhys slipped his hand into mine and pulled me into the middle dance floor, his other hand settling low on my back while we swayed to the soft music. I rested my hand on the back of his neck and pulled his body closer to mine.
My eyes drifted closed and I let myself feel the moment and savor the happiness. I had been living in terror for so long. Realistically, I knew it wasn’t over. But for just this moment, we were untouched by the scare tactics and the threats.
I smiled, slowly peeling my eyes open when Rhys’s lips pressed against my cheek.
“I have spent the past twenty-nine years admiring everything about you, Sloane. Everything.” He paused to take a breath, his voice wavering.
“I’ve spent the past ten regretting every single day that went by without telling you how beautiful you are and how damn much I love you.
I’m sorry it took me so long. I’m sorry I wasted so much time. ”
My eyes slowly filled with tears, my heart thumping rapidly in my chest.
Green eyes flitted across my face like he was trying to memorize every small detail about this moment in time. The corner of his mouth tipped up into the smallest smile. “It’s always been you, Sloane. No one else has ever stood a chance with you in my life. I love you. I always have.”
“Rhys…” My voice cracked under the weight of his confession. “The whole time?”
“Yeah, baby,” he answered with a smile. “The whole time.”
My fingers sifted into his hair as I pulled his mouth to mine.
All of these big, beautiful emotions fulminated in my chest and stole the breath from my lungs.
It hurt to think about missing out on so much.
It hurt to think about all the years we wasted being so scared of losing our friendship.
So scared that we refused to look at all the options in front of us.
But there was no other way to look at it now. Rhys was the love of my life. And neither of us were going to waste another second fearing how we felt.
Rhys smiled against my mouth and I pulled away to meet his gaze. “Are you gonna let me say it now?”
His smile grew while he let out a laugh. “You can say it now. I just needed to get that out first. I needed you to know.”
“I—”
“You guys!” Cami ran up beside us, bumping my hip with her own and knocking me away from Rhys. “God, you are so cute.” She reached up to pinch our cheeks. “I love you guys.”
I groaned and Rhys let out a booming laugh. I was never going to be able to get it out at this point.
“Hello, Camille.” Rhys laughed again at my deadpan response, but Cami was too drunk to notice.
“It’s almost last call. We’re gonna head to the bar. Would you like to join me?” She batted her eyelashes as Dom walked up behind her and placed his hands on her hips.
Rhys’s arm draped over my shoulders as he tucked me into his side. “We’re good. You guys go.”
“You’re sure?” Dom asked.
“Positive.”
I smiled as Cami and Dom exited the dance floor, their languid movements hinting at how much they’d had to drink tonight. One of us probably should have stopped them from grabbing another drink.
Thank god for that limo.
Rhys kissed my cheek gently. "I'm going to head to the bathroom. Want to get out of here after?"
"Mm, so romantic," I teased. “Yeah, that works. I'll stay with them until you get back. Cami’s a runner, and I don’t trust Dom to keep track of her right now." I gestured toward the two of them slowly making their way over to the bar.
He chuckled, his lips brushing against my temple before he turned away. I laughed behind my hand when he stumbled and bumped into a waiter. Rhys apologized profusely as he crouched down to help the poor guy gather the stack of napkins sent fluttering to the floor.
God, I was so in love with him.
I headed to Cami and Dom, smiling and nodding to a few people who lingered behind.
Thankfully, Stu wasn’t a problem for the rest of the night.
He’d made himself scarce, only popping up again when he tried to outbid Rhys on that trip to Italy.
Stu made a decent amount of money; he definitely wasn't hurting in his everyday life.
But his six-figure salary was paltry compared to the millions of dollars Rhys and I made each year.
He had no chance. Frankly, it had felt amazing to watch him lose.
Somehow, I was able to convince Cami and Dom to head over to coat check instead of grabbing another drink.
I honestly wasn’t sure the bartender would’ve served them anyway.
Once Rhys came back, we headed toward the doors to exit the ballroom.
I was so ready to get out of this dress and into a pair of sweats—only after he made good on his promises, of course.
I thought by now the press would've gone home for the night, but of course, when we pushed out of the doors, we were instantly blinded by the bright lights of flashing cameras.
Reporters hollered at the four of us as we made our way down the front steps. It was too late to answer any questions, and we were far too drunk to respond with anything remotely logical.
I stood with Rhys at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for the limo to roll up in front of us, his arm wrapped around my waist as his lips pressed lightly against my forehead.
"I love you. A kind of love I didn't ever think I was capable of feeling."
His words settled in my chest, stealing my breath for the second time tonight. How did he always say the right thing?
"Rhys..." I smiled, shaking my head. "I hope you know that–"
Before I could process what was happening, Rhys’s arm was around my waist, pulling me away from the street as four squad cars pulled up in front of the building, jumping the curb and screeching to a stop right where I was standing just a second ago.
Their lights blinded me, the sirens screaming in my ears.
What the fuck is happening?
"Yo, what the actual fuck! Are you kidding me?!" Rhys pushed my body behind him, shielding me in case they decided to get closer.
Dom and Cami both backed away, the confusion and adrenaline sobering them up almost immediately.
Two officers piled out of each car, the lights left flashing red and blue while they approached where we stood.
"Rhys Armstrong?"
I looked at Rhys, then back to the officers. "I'm his lawyer, what is this in reference to?"
"We got a call. Drug deal spotted in the bathroom just ten minutes ago."
I scoffed, crossing my arms over my chest. "Bullshit," I snapped, anger flaming through my body, heating my neck and face.
Rhys was pissed. His jaw clamped shut, fists clenched tight as the police stood in front of him and reporters behind him, capturing every second of this interaction.
One of the unis with a name tag that read 'A. Long' stepped towards Rhys. "I'm going to need you to come with me, Mr. Armstrong."
I stepped in front of Rhys, my arm extending over his middle. "Absolutely not. He's done nothing wrong."
Long raised an eyebrow, challenging me. "So, he wasn't in the bathroom ten minutes ago?"
My face hardened. I knew better than this. I knew Rhys better than this. He wasn't buying or selling drugs in that bathroom.
"We have reason to believe he has drugs on him now."
"Bullshit," I responded again. "This is a bogus call. He's not done anything wrong!"
"Pip, just let them—"
"No!" I snapped, knowing the second he gave consent, they could plant something if this were Stu's doing. "Absolutely not."
"Ma'am, again, we have reason to believe he is currently in possession of cocaine. Please step aside."
"No! He— This is illegal! He hasn't done anything wrong."
"It's not illegal if we have a witness. And his inebriated state gives us more than enough reason to search him."
My jaw flexed again because technically, they were right. An eyewitness and the fact that we were all pretty intoxicated was more than enough for probable cause. But everyone knew this witness was a load of shit.
Rhys lifted his hand to run his fingers through his hair, and Long's hand moved to rest on top of his holster. I swallowed, fear and adrenaline clogging my throat.
I looked over at Rhys, conflicted. There was a silent exchange between the two of us, a mutual understanding that he didn't have drugs on him, and what it meant if there were some found.
As his girlfriend, I wanted to tell him to let them look. I knew he was clean.
But as a lawyer, I couldn't let him consent to a search. Though at this point, it didn't seem like they were too concerned about following the law. Even with the cameras.
"I don't have anything on me. There was no drug deal. I took a piss, washed my hands, and came back out. Uneventful. Sorry, boys," Rhys spoke up, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.
"Then you won't have an issue with us searching you, then?"
I closed my eyes. “It's a trap," I whispered, my voice low.
"I don't have anything, baby."
"I know, Rhys. I know. But they could." I opened my eyes again, looking at the police officer seemingly in charge.
Long picked at an invisible piece of lint on his shirt, then fidgeted with a button.
He was nervous about something, searching the shadows with shifty eyes.
He cleared his throat and cast a furtive glance over his shoulder.
My stomach twisted with unease. "Well, as I said, we have probable cause.
Please step aside so I can search Mr. Armstrong. "
I took a step toward the officer, and Rhys and Cami both barked at me to stop. "We both know that this is a bullshit call. One made by a man who has it out for me because I finally told him no. Don't let Stu do this to you and your career," I pleaded in a low voice.