Chapter 30 Stella
THIRTY
STELLA
Galas exhausted me.
I’d gone to so many for work, they’d all blended together. I’d spend all night attempting conversation with executives so they’d remember me for that next big company-fixing assignment, and I’d posed in front of a wall of logos at the end of a fake red carpet.
But the Brooklyn Bats’ annual charity gala was different. Anxiety coiled in my gut while I stuffed my boobs into a strapless bra and pulled up what I hoped was a fancy-enough cocktail dress.
The entire team would be in attendance with all its management. Lee had mentioned some local celebrities would be there too and probably the mayor, but that wasn’t why I was nervous.
This would be the first time we went anywhere as a couple, other than our night at Coney Island. I’d met most of the Bats, and Lee had said they’d teased the hell out of him about me. Seeing me on his arm wouldn’t be a shocker for anyone.
Maybe getting so dressed up had upped the ante.
It seemed almost like prom. I’d spent my real prom with Finn, one of the few high school friends I still kept in touch with.
He hadn’t been able to go to prom with the guy he’d been in love with and neither had I, so we’d joked about having the perfect lavender prom date.
We’d had a blast that night, dancing and laughing with friends, but it had always felt like a hollow memory.
Looking back, most, if not all, of my relationships had seemed hollow too. Fine for presentation purposes, but nothing of value inside.
I was too old for prom and too young to look back on my life with so many heavy regrets.
“Hey, can I come in?” Lee knocked on my door. “I’m finished, but I can wait downstairs if you need more time.”
Debbie had come in for a weekend visit and was staying until Monday.
She was staying with Bennie in the vacant basement apartment tonight after spending the day with Lee’s mother at the senior center.
It was perfect timing since Lee had said the galas sometimes ran late and it would be hard to ask Taylor to stay until after midnight.
He’d brought Debbie and Bennie back to the house, gotten dressed, and I still wasn’t ready. The dress looked great, and my hair was curled in loose waves. I had a few hours before my strappy heels started killing my ankles.
My neck was bare since all my necklaces were gone.
They were just things, meaningless—other than the one. It could have been worse, and it still could be worse if Zach made bail, so a boring neckline was the least of my potential problems.
“As ready as I’ll ever be. Come in,” I said, fluffing my hair one last time and stuffing a few things into my tiny evening purse.
“Wow,” Lee said as I met his wide eyes in my dresser mirror. “You’re fucking stunning.”
“Thank you. You can never go wrong with a little black dress, I guess… Holy shit, Lee.”
Lee wore a simple black jacket and tie, and he was so gorgeous my mouth went dry. His jacket tapered to his broad chest, and I looked forward to what his ass looked like in dress pants. His beard was cropped enough to bring out his full lips, now stretched into a wide smile.
“I should have warned you I’d look hot tonight.”
As if I hadn’t already known. He’d been so achingly handsome at his wedding that I hadn’t been able to look directly at him for the entire night.
But I wouldn’t think about that tonight. This night was about us, not my parade of sad dates and mediocre men or anything in the past that made me doubt the present.
“So, two things. One, I got us a hotel room for tonight, so pack a little bag for the morning. I figured we didn’t have to rush home, so why not stay out all night?” He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me flush to his body. “I’m thinking room service and breakfast in bed would be nice.”
“Very nice,” I said, drifting my hand down the lapel of his jacket. “Give me ten minutes. I’ll be quick.”
“And the second thing,” he said, holding my gaze as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a long black velvet box. “This is for you.”
“This feels very Pretty Woman. Is it on loan?” I joked. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”
“You own it, so it’s not on loan. It’s not exact, but I’m hoping it’s close enough.”
I squinted at him while I took the box.
“The suspense is killing me—oh my God,” I breathed out, my eyes going cloudy when I realized what this was.
“I went by memory since you wore it all the time. The heart pendant is a little bigger, but I think I got the diamonds on the side right.”
I drifted my hand along the delicate white gold chain and the diamonds lining the right side of the heart pendant, an almost replica of the heart pendant my father had given me for the last birthday I’d spent with him and the one Zach had stolen and sold.
“Hey, don’t cry,” Lee crooned, plucking a tissue from the box on the dresser and dabbing it under my eyes. “I ordered this a while ago, and as luck would have it, it came yesterday.”
“Did you order this before…” I trailed off, too choked up to speak or breathe.
“Before you and I finally gave in?” He chuckled. “Yes, I ordered it for your birthday. But I thought you’d want to wear it tonight. I mean, if you don’t think it goes with your dress—”
I grabbed his face and kissed him, my hands shaking while I tried not to both sob and scream that I loved him, that I’d always loved him.
Because he was the most beautiful man I’d ever known, a man who always did things like this, a man whom I could never cut out of my life because I couldn’t not have him in it, no matter how much it had hurt sometimes.
And now, he was mine.
“It’s not the same, but maybe you can think of it as from both of us. Don’t cry, sweetheart.”
“You’re a pretty amazing man. Even out of the smoke show suit.” I pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “Thank you.”
He laughed and kissed my forehead.
“You’re very welcome. I’ll help you put it on, and then I’ll let you pack.”
I picked up my hair while he fastened the necklace, dropping a kiss to my nape when he was done.
“I’ll be downstairs, waiting for you.” He winked before he opened the door and headed into the hallway.
I smiled at my reflection as the necklace twinkled back at me. I was glad I’d only loved one man like this in my lifetime because my heart wouldn’t have been able to take more.
“Did I really leave you that speechless?” Lee asked as we drove toward Manhattan. “You haven’t said a word since Brooklyn.”
“A little,” I confessed. “A good speechless, I promise. You’re kind of amazing.”
“No, you are,” Lee said, smiling while he slid his hand up my thigh. “I know you loved that necklace. I can’t undo everything he did, but I can help you forget a little.”
His sweet smile was going to make me bawl all over again.
My gaze drifted out the window, all the skyscrapers twinkling against the East River whirring by as the rest of the world outside of this car and this man faded away.
“I have the hottest date tonight,” he said, bringing me in for a quick kiss after we parked. “I wish we could skip this thing and head up to the hotel room.”
“Delayed gratification can be fun,” I said, skating my hand down his chest.
“I like a different kind of edging.” He kissed the corner of my mouth and climbed out of the car.
I was about to float into the hotel lobby from swooning so damn hard as we headed upstairs to quickly drop off our bags.
“Doc, hey,” Nate called out to Lee as we stepped off the elevator on the gala floor. “Nice to see you again, Stella. You look great. Don’t hit me, Lee. Just complimenting your date.”
“It’s all good.” Lee chuckled, pulling me closer. “She does look great.”
“Hello, Lee.” A man with wire-rimmed glasses came up to Lee, holding out his hand. “Thanks for coming tonight.”
“Kent, hi,” Lee said, shaking his hand. “Stella, this is Kent, the Bats’ general manager. Kent, this is my girlfriend, Stella.”
“Nice to meet you, Stella.” Kent offered his hand. He was nerdy with a pretentious vibe. Rachel had told me that Kent was all about promotion and social media and still played up Silas’s online popularity any chance he got.
I wondered if he was behind Lee’s DILF photo.
“Very nice to meet you too,” I said after taking his hand.
“There’s a lot of good stuff in the silent auction, so you should take a look. Have a great time,” he said, sending us a smile before he stalked to an older man in a bow tie.
“That’s the owner,” Lee whispered to me. “Nice guy. Kent is all about viral exposure, and the owner is just happy he owns a real baseball team.”
I laughed and followed Lee toward the cluster of purple balloons.
“Hey, Lee. Want to pose for a photo?” one of the photographers asked as we were about to make our way inside.
“Sure,” he said, sliding his arm around my waist as we posed in front of a Brooklyn Bats’ logo backdrop.
“You’re famous,” I whispered.
“He’s the team photographer. He knows all of us.”
“Did he take the DILF shot?”
“I sure did.”
I cringed when he caught my loud whisper.
“That photo was pure gold. Can you smile one more time?”
“Sure,” I said, my cheeks heating when Lee pulled me closer.
“Isn’t she beautiful?” Lee said, his gaze on me as the camera flashed.
“Yes, she is. These will go on our page, and you can get a copy at the end of the night if you’d like.”
“Thanks, Ray,” Lee said, pulling me inside the main hall toward our table.
“Stella, hi!” Rachel waved from her seat next to Silas.
She stood and gave me a hello hug.
“You look amazing. I had to get a princess-waist dress since my middle is already expanding,” she whispered and motioned down her body.
“You look beautiful and seriously glowing already.”
“Today is the first day in over a week I haven’t puked after breakfast, so I guess that did the trick. Come on, we can check out the silent auction, and I’ll give you some tea on everyone here in between.”
“That sounds like the best plan. Lee, we’ll be right back.”
“Have fun, sweetheart,” Lee said, leaning over to kiss me before heading back to Silas.