Chapter 39
Lily
My eyes were only open for a few seconds, the morning sun not yet risen in the sky, when Brady told me it was done. That David would never bother me again. I didn’t ask for proof—I didn’t want to see it or know what was involved. All that mattered was if Brady told me David would never terrorize me again, he meant it.
I didn’t feel this deep sadness that a life had been taken. I couldn’t grieve a person who had tried to destroy me and the man I loved.
What I had to do now was learn to live without fear.
But in our minds, it was hard to believe that David wouldn’t be waiting for us the moment we stepped outside. He wouldn’t be watching. He wouldn’t be reaching out, texting in detail about where we were going and what he was going to do to us.
Unlike all the other times before, Brady’s phone stayed silent while we were gone.
It stayed silent when we came home.
It stayed silent the next morning and afternoon and evening.
The first week didn’t seem real. Neither did the second week. By the third, there was still that cinching in my stomach whenever I walked down the hallway to our hotel room in Edinburgh, or when I was getting in an elevator, or when I moved my things out of the Beverly Hills location of his hotel and into Brady’s house. In the back of my mind, I could hear David’s opinion, his anger and rage that I was going to be living with Brady.
But that was all it was—thoughts.
The man I’d been fearing all this time, whose words had abused me, whose control had turned me into someone I despised, was no longer alive.
Each day, that resonated a bit more.
And each day brought an endless amount of relief.
Brady and I were still feeling it even a month later, sitting at the same restaurant in Edinburgh where Brady had gotten the call that Diesel was in the hospital. But now, we didn’t need a bodyguard standing behind our table, which had become our norm, and there wasn’t one waiting outside the door of our room at the hotel.
We were free.
We had come back here because the food was so good, but the memory of it all was horrible. Brady wanted a redo. Since the renovation had him working much longer hours than he’d anticipated, oftentimes, we ended up getting food delivered or devouring room service. He was just too tired to go out, and that was why it had taken so long to make our way back.
But tonight, he’d finished up early.
We’d just gotten our first round of drinks, and before we even had time for a toast, he was pulling out his phone and typing something onto the screen.
“I just sent Diesel a text,” he said, smiling over the top of his cell. “I wanted him to know where we are and that we’re toasting him.” He held up his glass and clinked his scotch against my wine.
After we took our sips, he glanced back at his phone. “He’s having a little scotch himself, apparently.”
“Ask him how he’s doing.” I licked the wine off my lips. “And tell him we miss him and we have to do dinner when we get back in LA.”
Brady laughed. “He said he’s only saying yes to dinner because you’re asking.” He set his phone down. “And he said he’s doing awesome.”
My head shook back and forth. “Thank God for that. I mean, it’s not like we haven’t been checking on him nonstop, but still, I’m just so relieved he’s doing okay.”
He reached across the table, his thumb brushing the back of my hand. “You look fucking gorgeous tonight.”
The heat instantly spread across my face.
It didn’t matter how many times he complimented me or how often; it always felt like I’d never heard the words before. “Thank you.”
“Is that dress new?”
I glanced down the front of me, where the spaghetti straps rested on my shoulders and the low-cut satin was hugging my breasts, the dress tightly fitting to the middle of my thighs.
Peach was the color I’d gone with.
Of course, Diesel hadn’t been part of this shopping trip—for reasons I appreciated, but something I missed at the same time.
“I picked it up this morning during my walk. I wasn’t sure about the color, but I tried to choose something far outside my comfort zone?—”
“It looks incredible on you.” His eyes dipped, taking their time to linger as low as the table would allow, slowly rising back to my face. “I’ve yet to see anything on you that I don’t love.”
“Even your clothes.”
He chuckled. “Especially my clothes.”
I twisted the stem of my wineglass. “Can I tell you a secret?”
He nodded.
“You told me once you would do anything in your power to protect me.”
“That’s not a secret. I believe I’ve said that to you more than once.” He swished his drink. “It was true then, it’s true now, and it’ll be true forever.”
A man who always kept his word.
“The secret is … Brady Spade, I’m going to love you until the day I die.”
He pointed at his lap. “Baby, get over here.”
I wiggled in my seat. “If I do, I know what you’ll do, and we’re in a restaurant. Down boy.” I took a sip. “Can I tell you something else?”
“Is it going to make me growl?”
I laughed. “When the construction is done, I’m really going to miss it here.” I glanced up at the ceiling, the way the entire place felt like you were in the belly of a castle. Even the smell, the scents that went beyond the food, gave off the same feel.
But I wasn’t just referring to the restaurant.
After all the time I’d spent in Edinburgh lately, it had really stolen a piece of my heart.
The landscape. The architecture. The residents.
All of it was a combination I loved.
“Then, I’ll buy you a house here, and we can come whenever you want.”
I smiled. “You can’t help yourself. You just have to be that kind of extra, don’t you?”
He pulled his hand back and took a drink. “When money is no object, it’s hard not to be extra.” He wiped his lips, his stare turning even more intense as he took me in. “You can think about it.”
“Or we could just stay at your hotel whenever we want to visit.”
“We could. It just doesn’t give us the privacy I’m after.”
I pushed my hair off my shoulders. “What kind of privacy do you mean?”
He leaned his arms on the table. “Like the nights I make you scream so fucking loud that I know the neighboring rooms are reporting us to the front desk.” He lifted his glass. “I don’t want my wife to have to muffle her screams or get looks from the hotel staff because they know you scream.”
He took a drink. “I want you to be able to swim and go in the hot tub naked, and I don’t want my employees looking at you in your bikini or that peach dress”—he nodded toward me—“and thinking how fucking hot you are and what they’d like to do to you. Because they’re thinking that, I promise you. And those thoughts of theirs, they drive me fucking wild.”
“They shouldn’t because I’m a million percent yours.”
His eyes closed and a warmth spread over his face. “Do you know how much I love the sound of that?”
Something in the distance was dragging my attention away from Brady’s face.
It was a gaze that I could feel directly on me.
When I finally located it, a smile moved quickly across my lips. “You’re not going to believe who’s walking through this restaurant right now.”
“Who?”
“Dominick, Jenner, and”—I craned my neck to the side to see who was hiding behind Jenner and squealed—“Aubrey!”
“What the fuck?” He looked over his shoulder just as the three of them were approaching our table, and he stood. “What the hell are you guys doing here?”
While he man-hugged Dominick and Jenner, I threw my arms around my girl. “I can’t believe you’re here—in Scotland, my gosh. It’s so good to see you.”
“Same, girl. Same. When the guys said we were stopping here, I thought about texting you, but I figured surprising you would be even better.”
I pulled back just a little. “You look amazing.”
“Stop.” She waved me off. “I have fifteen pounds I still need to lose. They’re the stubbornest pounds ever.” She sighed.
I held the outside of her arms. “You honestly look fabulous. Please don’t lose an ounce.”
“And what about you? Can we talk about that dress and how I’m dying to have your boobs and not the milk jugs that I’ve been carrying around?”
I laughed. “Once you stop breastfeeding, they’ll deflate to my size.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re funny—you know that?”
I wrapped my arm around her and faced the small group of men. “So, what are you guys doing here anyway?”
“Jenner says he has some good news for us,” Brady replied. “And for some reason, the motherfucker couldn’t just pick up the phone and call me.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Jenner said. “We were actually in Ireland, doing some business, and thought with you being so close by, why not come here and tell you in person?”
“Tell me what in person?” Brady said.
Jenner put his hand on Brady’s shoulder. “The Bangkok deal is going through. Congratulations, my man. You just scored yourself another property.”
“No shit?” Brady shot back.
“The contract is signed, sealed, and”—Jenner handed Brady the envelope he was holding—“delivered.”
Brady looked at me, his eyes beaming. “We got Bangkok, baby.”
“I’m screaming for you right now.” I winked, and he knew exactly what I meant by that.
He shook hands with Jenner and then Dominick, Dominick voicing, “I’m so fucking proud of you, brother. You’re crushing it.”
Dominick was right. My man wasn’t just rehabbing Edinburgh; he was working with HR at their corporate office to streamline their entire payroll process, and he was helping Rhett and Ridge with a new app.
But he wouldn’t mention any of the backend stuff to the Daltons while they were boasting about his accolades. Because my grumpy alpha also had a bit of humility. That wasn’t something I’d seen in him at the beginning of our relationship, but it was certainly there now.
It reflected in his smile, in the way he was accepting their praise.
“I appreciate it,” Brady said. “Are you able to join us for dinner, or are you heading back to the plane?” he asked, looking at each of them.
Jenner replied, “We were planning on joining you whether you wanted us to or not.”
We all laughed.
“I’ll go let the waitress know so we can get a bigger table,” I said.
“Already done,” Aubrey responded, squeezing me. “We let the hostess know on our way in.”
“Even better.” I smiled at her.
Our waitress approached and led us to a new table on the other side of the dining room. Once everyone got seated, she took the drink orders of the newcomers and promised to bring Brady and me refills since our glasses were almost empty.
As she left, I looped my arm through Brady’s and whispered, “Bangkok. I’m dying at the thought of that.”
“We’ll be moving there right after Edinburgh.” His brows furrowed. “Won’t we?”
I grinned. “Yes, we’ll be moving there together.” I chewed my lip. “Like I could ever be away from you for more than a couple of nights. Come on.”
“Kiss me.”
“Right now?”
He growled, “Right now.”
I gave him a quick peck on the lips, and shortly after I pulled away, he took out his phone.
“I have to tell the guys,” he said.
I stared at his screen while he typed.
Me
Fuckers, guess what I got?
Cooper
If you tell us you got pegged, I’m leaving this fucking chat.
Macon
Jesus.
Ridge
Cooper, your mind is always in the sickest places.
Rhett
Well?
Me
I got Bangkok. It’s a done deal. I have the paperwork in my hand right now.
Rhett
Dude, that property rocked.
Cooper
HELL YES.
Ridge
Best news I’ve heard all week.
Macon
Another one for team Cole and Spade. You’re kicking ass, Brady.
He put his phone away just as the drinks were getting delivered, and everyone held their glass up in the air.
“Does anyone mind if I give the toast?” I asked the group.
“I’d love nothing more,” Dominick replied.
Jenner nodded in agreement.
I gave Aubrey a grin and turned toward Brady. “To the man who has given me everything I’ve ever wanted. It’s your turn, baby. You deserve this more than anyone.”
“I love you,” he said as though it were only the two of us at this table.
I shook my head as I stared at his handsome face. Moments like this one, where I still couldn’t believe he was mine. My protector, my everything. “I love you more. Cheers.”