Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
Six Months Later
Simon
Six months ago, before I professed my love to Bella, I’d stood at Daisy’s wedding and wondered why the hell anyone voluntarily put themselves through all of it.
The planning, money, flowers, seating charts, vows.
And standing in front of a room full of people and promising one person the rest of your life.
To me, marriage was nothing but a legal contract in a relationship with a party thrown in to make everyone feel better about it.
I’d spent my adult life convinced I was smarter for staying out and away from it.
Then something happened that night at the wedding.
Somewhere between the ceremony and the end of the night, a thought entered my head that had no business being there.
What would that feel like? That stayed with me these last six months, and I understood why.
I didn’t want to keep calling Bella my girlfriend anymore.
I wanted to call her my wife. I wanted the one thing I’d spent my entire life swearing I’d never want.
I wanted to put a ring on her finger and have my name beside hers.
I wanted the promise that neither of us was going anywhere.
For the first time in my life, the thought of spending forever with someone didn’t feel like losing my freedom.
It felt like knowing exactly what I wanted to do with it.
I walked into my father’s office and shut the door. He looked up at me and smiled.
“Good morning, son.”
“Are you busy?” I asked.
“Well, considering you’re standing in my office, I’m guessing it doesn’t matter. Have a seat.” He gestured. “What happened?”
“Nothing happened.” I furrowed my brows.
“Is Bella okay?” he asked.
“She’s fine.”
“Are we losing millions of dollars again?”
“No.”
“Then why do you look like you’re about to tell me that you killed someone?” He leaned back in his chair.
“I don’t. I want to marry Bella.”
A smile spread across his face. “I’m sorry. What?”
“You heard me.”
“I did. I just want to hear it again.” He grinned.
“Forget it.” I stood from my chair.
“Sit your ass down, son. You want to marry Bella?”
“Yes, I do.”
“How long have you been thinking about it?”
“Since Daisy’s wedding,” I said.
“Daisy’s wedding.” His brows furrowed. “If I’m correct, that was before you told her you loved her.”
“You’re correct.” I nodded. “I don’t know, Dad. Daisy’s wedding put everything into perspective for me. What it meant, and what I saw between them that day. I want that with Bella. I don’t mean I want a wedding. I don’t give a shit about a wedding.”
“Son, you might want to keep that opinion to yourself when Bella starts planning one.”
“I mean, I want the marriage. I want her to be my wife. Her being my girlfriend isn’t cutting it anymore.”
“You’ve got it bad, son.” He laughed. “Welcome to the love club. I honestly can say that I’ve never been more proud of you.”
“I like the stupid shit, Dad.”
“What stupid shit?”
“Grocery shopping. Her dragging me to Target. Dinners. Sitting on the couch while she works and ignores me. I want all of it. I don’t want to wait another six months trying to convince myself I need more time just because I’m supposed to. As far as I’m concerned, it’s been long enough.”
“You really like the stupid shit?” he asked.
“One hundred percent. In fact, I love it.”
“Yeah. Me too.” He grinned.
“There’s more,” I said.
“Please, for the love of God, tell me she’s pregnant.”
“God, no. Shit, Dad. I’m not ready to be a father yet.”
“Then spit it out.”
“I need a ring, and I would like you to go with me.”
The expression on his face turned serious.
“Don’t make this weird.” I pointed at him.
“I’m not.”
“You are. I can tell by the look on your face,” I said.
“I would love to go with you to get a ring for Bella.” He stood from his chair, tucked his hands into his pockets, and stared out the window.
“Dad?”
“Give me a second, son.”
“Christ. Are you fucking crying?”
“No.”
“You are! Why are you doing this?”
He turned around and stared at me. “You know, for a man who came in here asking his father to help him buy an engagement ring for his girlfriend, you’re being a real asshole about this.”
“Sorry, Dad.”
“No, you’re not. You’re enjoying every second of it.”
I couldn’t help but smile. He sat on the edge of his desk.
“I’d be honored to go with you. When do you want to go?”
“Today.”
“Today?”
“I already made the appointment and cleared your schedule for you.”
“What?” He laughed. “You came in here pretending you were asking me?”
“I am asking you,” I said.
“You already decided I was going no matter what, son.”
“I knew you’d say yes.”
“And what if I had an important meeting?” he asked.
“I’d have canceled it for you.” I smiled.
“You really are my son. What time are we going?”
“Two o’clock,” I said.
“Two o’clock it is.” He grinned.
The jeweler was waiting for us when my father and I walked into the private room at the back of the store.
“Mr. Montclair.” He extended his hand to my father. “It’s good to see you again.”
“And you as well, Roberto. This is my son, Simon.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Please, have a seat. Can I get either of you anything? Coffee? Champagne?”
“Coffee,” my father said.
“Nothing for me,” I said.
“Are you sure you don’t need a drink?” My father looked at me.
“No. I’m fine.”
“You look nervous,” he said.
“I’m not nervous, Dad.”
Roberto sat across from us. “I’ve been doing this for twenty-eight years. They’re all nervous.” He smiled.
“Thank you, Roberto,” my father said.
I shot him a look and shook my head. Roberto opened a black velvet tray. “I’ve gathered a few different styles for you to look at. Do you have any idea what your girlfriend would like?”
My father laughed.
“You’re being incredibly helpful.” I glanced at him.
“You brought me here because you don’t know what you’re doing. I, on the other hand, have successfully purchased two engagement rings in my life.”
“Let’s start with what you know about her,” Roberto said.
“Her name is Bella.”
My father looked at me. “For fuck’s sake, Simon.”
“What?”
“He means, what kind of jewelry does she like?”
“I know that.”
“Do you?” His brow arched.
“Would you shut the hell up?” I said.
Roberto laughed. “Let me see if I can make this easier for you. Do you have a picture of Bella?”
“Yes,” I said.
“May I see it?”
I pulled out my phone and brought up a picture of Bella from the night at the charity event.
“My, she’s beautiful,” Roberto said. “Lucky man.”
“I know.” I smiled. “And thank you.”
He studied her picture. “I’d say platinum and emerald cut. There are two options here. I can go pull more.”
I picked up one of the emerald-cut rings and examined it. It was beautiful.
“That one is a three and a half carat, flawless diamond. It’s one of our best.”
“It’s nice,” I said.
“Try not to sound so excited,” my father said.
“Listen, old man, I’ll know it when I see it.”
Roberto laughed again.
“I’ll be right back. I think I know the perfect ring for your Bella.” He walked out of the room. A few moments later, he walked into the room and set the ring on the velvet tray. “This one is like the one you just looked at, but with a pavé band.”
I picked it up and smiled. “It’s perfect. This is the one, right?” I glanced at my father.
“Why are you asking me? You know Bella better than I do. It’s beautiful, son. She’ll love it.”
I held the ring up. It was beautiful and elegant without trying too hard. I could already picture it on her hand wrapped around a coffee mug, or resting on my chest.
“Yep. This is it. I’ll take it.” I smiled.
And just like that, I had a ring. Now, I needed to come up with a plan to propose to her.
“Where are you going to propose to her?” my father asked.
“I don’t know, but I want it to be extravagant, no matter the cost.”
“Do you want my opinion, son?”
“Do I have a choice?” My brow raised.
“No.”
“Fine. What’s your opinion?”
“Propose to her at the penthouse.”
“What?” My brows furrowed. “That’s boring.”
“Think about it, Simon. You always claimed your penthouse was your sanctuary. Am I correct?”
“Yes.” I nodded.
“And then you came home from Los Angeles and found a woman you didn’t know living in your penthouse.
You wanted her gone, but you agreed to let her stay until the end of October if she followed your rules.
The second the month ended, so did the arrangement.
Then you fell in love with her and didn’t want her to leave.
The penthouse went from being the place you protected everyone from to the place you built a life with Bella.
It became her home too. The same place you couldn’t wait to get her out of is now the same place you never want her to leave.
Asking her to marry you there would bring everything full circle. ” He smiled.