Chapter 33
Casey
New York, a few minutes later…
Recalling the old secret-agent persona I’d invented to help Jack and Michelle last year, I infiltrated Ethan’s office easily, making it past the receptionist by announcing that I, Arabella Rittenfeller, had a meeting with him.
Hell, if he was going to make up shit about me, I could very well do the same. I marched to Ethan’s office, knocked on the open door, and stepped inside. He raised his face from his screen, and the look in his eyes was one of pure guilt.
“Knock, knock,” I said in a cool, even tone.
“Who’s there?” he choked out.
“The ball-breaker,” I said as I walked over to his desk, parked my hands on the wood, and stared him in the eyes.
“You thought I was a ball-breaker. You thought I was cutthroat. You thought I screwed you over. Does that about sum it up, Holmes?” I asked, completely in control, even as I broiled inside.
He nodded, like he’d been caught stealing. “Because I sent you the idea,” he said, as if he were on the witness stand under cross-examination.
“You did. You did send me an idea. And it was a good idea. It also was not an original idea, but that’s okay.
I don’t require original ideas. But do not act as if your idea was patented.
You would not have been the first hotel chain to offer sexy perks in the rooms,” I said, rattling off the names of a litany of hotels that featured late-night menus.
“Yet, you are acting like you brought me the prototype for the next iPhone and I stole it from you because I didn’t respond to your email right away.
The reality is this—I am a busy woman. I didn’t read your email for over a week.
And during that time, I struck a deal with Nate Harper, a deal I am committed to.
And you had the nerve to try to turn a line—one line—in an email to you into some sort of character assassination of me,” I said, pointing at my chest as I continued to deliver my speech, “but here’s what you left out.
The parts where I said we should find ways to work together in the future.
The parts where I said I had an idea for you. You want to know what that idea was?”
He nodded meekly, the color draining from his face. “Yes,” he squeaked.
“I know people in business. I know lots of people in the business world. I have good relationships with those people because I don’t screw anyone over.
I was going to introduce you to my friends at Good Vibes because I liked your idea,” I said, savoring the wince on his face when I said Good Vibes.
It was the wince of a man who’d made an unforced error, who’d lost out to his own hubris. “But do you think I will now?”
“Umm,” he began.
I stabbed a finger against his desk. “That’s right.
The answer is no. And it’s not because I’m cutthroat.
It’s not because I’d do anything for a deal.
It’s because I respect the people I work with and the products I sell.
And you, Ethan, do not. Therefore I can’t recommend doing business with you.
But maybe I will reach out to The Pierson.
Maybe The Pierson would like to carry The Wild One.
Because from what I know about management at The Pierson, they don’t play these kinds of bullshit games.
” Then I paused, took a deep breath, and hit him hard with my final words.
“By the way, do you know what they say about this woman in business?”
He shook his head meekly.
“I’ll tell you what they say. That they trust me. That I’m fair and honest. And I’ll tell you what I say to people who aren’t. And it’s this: You lost out. Because no one fucks with me, my company, or my family.”
I turned on my heels and marched out.
Nate
Five hours later, the board meeting had ended, my Zoom call was finished, and I couldn’t wait to see Casey.
The elevator shot me down to the lobby, and I tapped my foot, anxious for the doors to spread open. When I reached the lobby, my eyes were treated to my favorite sight.
“Want to know what I’ve been up to?” Casey asked invitingly, as if she had a naughty secret.
“I do.”
“I paid a visit to Mr. Holmes,” she said, then proceeded to narrate in fantastic detail, acting out the priceless moments of her encounter with Ethan. “And then I marched out, and it was awesome,” she said, and the expression on her face was one of pure victory.
“That’s because no one messes with my badass woman,” I said, then pulled her in for a quick kiss.
Her eyes widened for a moment, and she turned starkly serious.
“You don’t mind that I did that without letting you know in advance?
Since you told me all the things he said?
And since you already went all don’t talk shit about my woman with him. ”
“Why would I mind? He was smearing your reputation, after all. I just couldn’t help but weigh in too. We are quite a team, aren’t we?”
“We are,” she said, her grin returned, lighting up her face. She was magnetic when she smiled. My god, had I ever stood a chance at resisting falling in love with her?
“Hey, was that our first big test at talking to each other?” I asked.
“You mean besides the time that we split up and were so damned stubborn we could barely admit how we felt for each other?” she said playfully.
I nodded. “Yeah, besides that one.”
She laughed. “Then I’d say it was and we passed with flying colors.”
“Damn. We’re good together.”
“Want to go get some Chinese takeout and drip hot candle wax between my breasts?”
I yanked her closer, giving her the answer in my instant arousal. “Always. But I need an hour. There’s something I have to do. I’ll meet you at your place.”
She dropped her lips in a pout, and I whispered in her ear. “Wait for me. I want you good and ready.”
“I’m always ready for you.”
Later that evening, I knocked on Casey’s neighbor’s door. The dark-haired plastic surgeon answered, another man with him, arm draped around him. Khashi flashed a quick smile. “You all set?”
“I am.”
The other man reached out his free hand. “Gimme. I love surprising my fabulous neighbors.”
Khashi nodded to his, presumably, boyfriend. “Malik and I have been hoping Casey would find the right guy.”
Malik gave a sage nod. “And it better be you.”
“It will,” I said confidently, full of hope. “And I’ll be back in three minutes.”
I handed the happy couple a large, wrapped object. Khashi set it down in the entryway of his apartment, then Malik shooed me off and shut the door.
I adjusted the gym bag on my shoulder, then rapped my knuckles on Casey’s door.
When she opened it, my heart thumped hard against my chest. There was nothing inherently unique about her outfit tonight—she had on a short skirt and a tank top, with her hair high in a ponytail.
It didn’t matter. She was always stunning to me, and every time I saw her she took my breath away.
I thanked my lucky stars that I had a sister like Kat and a friend like Jack, because those two had talked sense into me when I’d needed it most and made sure I didn’t miss my chance with the woman I adored.
“I have a gift for you. It’s a big one,” I said, dropping my bag on the floor.
Her eyes lit up with excitement, the sapphire blue in them sparkling brighter. “Where is it? What is it?”
“Do you trust me?”
She parked her hands on her hips, and cocked her head to the side. “What kind of question is that? Haven’t we already established twenty million times over that I do?”
“Then I need you to put on this blindfold,” I said, reaching into a side pocket of my bag and brandishing a black silky piece of fabric. “Consider this sensory deprivation. I’m not sure we ever had that on our original lesson plan. But it’s on our new curriculum.”
She arched an eyebrow, looking doubtful. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
I took her hand, led her to the couch, then asked her to sit down. As she settled in, I pressed the fabric over her eyes and tied it behind her head. I grabbed her phone and popped her earbuds into her ears. Then I called up her newest playlist, and turned up the music so she couldn’t hear.
When I returned to Khashi’s apartment, the man handed over the gift and I thanked him. I grabbed a hammer from inside my gym bag, along with some nails, and set to work.
Casey
An upbeat song from my friend Jane Black distracted me from whatever Nate was up to.
I didn’t know if I’d find him naked doing a striptease when he took off this blindfold.
I considered that image for a moment. I liked that image a lot.
But a striptease wasn’t his style. For now, I’d simply have to wait patiently.
Soon, I felt his fingers on my cheek, his soft touch that melted me.
He removed the earbuds, unfastened the blindfold and let it fall to my neck.
I drew a sharp intake of air, then blinked several times.
I was sure I was seeing things. There was no way that could be on my wall.
I pointed, repeatedly, opening my mouth, but no words came out.
I was like a fish trying to breathe above water.
My collection had grown, and my wall of kisses now featured a man and a woman, caught in a rainstorm, gazing at the sky as big, buoyant raindrops fell. I stood and whispered, as if I were in church, “Is that it?”
He nodded, a huge grin in his face. “It’s the Miller Valentina you wanted.”
With quiet, careful steps I walked to the wall, raising my hand when I reached the painting, not touching it, merely coming close.
My fingers tingled, and I held my breath.
Astonishment unfurled inside me as I gazed at the work of art I had longed for that evening in London.
The piece that I’d craved, but had lost out on because I couldn’t resist stealing away for a private moment of bliss with this man.
“How?” I asked, and my voice was comprised purely of wonder.
The corner of his lips quirked up. “Jack’s been working with some European companies investing in high-end items, like art. He made some calls to Sotheby’s and found out who’d bought the painting. I called the guy, and made him an offer.”
My eyes widened and excitement took off inside me like a rocket.
He had done this. He’d really done this.
“I want to kiss it,” I said, staring at the painting in awe.
“But I want to kiss you more. This is the most amazing thing anyone has done for me.” I cupped his cheeks in my hands, and locked eyes with him.
His stunning amber eyes were full of love. “You gave me a painting.”
He nodded happily. “I gave you a painting,” he echoed.
“But it’s not just any painting. It’s Big Love.”
“That’s what you’ve given me,” he said softly, reverently, and I melted from head to toe, my skin sizzling, my heart igniting, my body shouting and cheering with a gleeful kind of abandon.
“I have a gift for you too, but it might seem kind of tiny now.”
“Size doesn’t matter,” he said, and my eyes drifted to his pants.
“I beg to differ. Your size does matter, and it’s just the size I want.”
“Well, that size matters. Obviously.”
“Stay here,” I said, and walked to the kitchen, grabbed the box of fortune cookies, and brought them to Nate.
“Aren’t we supposed to have these after dinner?”
I gestured for him to move it along. “Dessert comes first.”
He opened the box, and found the two fortune cookies that I’d special ordered.
“They’re just fortune cookies,” I said, suddenly feeling like my gift was tiny.
I hadn’t known that he was bringing me a work of art tonight.
I’d simply intended to give him a sweet little something.
That was all. “But I had them specially made. Open them.”
“Both?”
“Yes.”
He took out the first one, cracked it open, and removed the strip of paper. “Now is the time to try something new,” he said, reading off the fortune. He looked at me, crinkled his brow, then snapped a finger. “That was your fortune the night we had Chinese. After I blindfolded you.”
“Among other things,” I said, gesturing to my breasts.
He smiled widely. “I’ll happily do that again. And if memory serves, you wanted to give me a tattoo right here,” he said, tapping his fingers to his chest.
“I did, and I still do. And if you open the other one too, you’ll find out what it would say if I inked you.”
He snapped open the second cookie, letting the next fortune fall out. “Your fondest dreams will come true this year,” he said, reading out loud. He set down the cookies on the coffee table, and I wrapped my arms around his firm waist and tipped my chin up to look at him.
“Remember how you thought our fortunes were mixed up? You had the fortune ‘now is the time to try something new,’ but you said it was mine?”
“I remember.”
“But I don’t actually think they were mixed up after all.
I think the right fortune went to the right person.
You did learn something new. You learned to trust again.
With me,” I said, and a flurry of pride and joy spread through my chest that I had been the one who could show him that love and commitment didn’t have to turn sour.
He brushed the back of his fingertips against my cheek. “I did learn that. You showed me that.”
“And my fortune was that my fondest dream will come true,” I said, leaning into his hand, to the tenderness of his touch.
“So I guess that wasn’t for me? It was for you?” he asked quietly. “Why?”
“Because my dream was to have a love like this,” I said, my heart bursting with joy.
Though I’d told him countless times how I felt, I still believed that moments like this, that words and gestures and actions, were the foundation of any great love.
And that’s what he was to me. He’d shown me that I didn’t have to change for any man, that the right man would love me for who I was.
“Did it come true?” he asked softly as I ran my fingertip across his chest, as if I was imprinting him with those words. Tattooing him as I nodded, and wrote on his skin. Your fondest dream will come true. I had marked him in my own way.
A quiet tear slid down my cheek. He pressed his lips gently to my skin, kissing it away.
“Do you have any idea what it’s like to fall in love with your best friend?” I asked.
“As a matter of fact I do. I know exactly what that’s like.”
“What’s it like?”
“It’s like the big love.”