Chapter 12 #2
Jason’s expression shifted, becoming more thoughtful. “Yeah, I’ve got one.”
“You do?” I asked. Something in his tone made me study his face more carefully.
He was quiet for a moment, his hand still moving in gentle circles on Elias’s back. When he looked up, there was something almost vulnerable in his eyes. “Yeah… but I need to do this right.” He handed Elias over to Ari. “Mind if I borrow her?” he asked his sister.
Anna’s grin could have powered the entire house. “Not at all.”
“Come on…” He took my hand, and I could feel the slight tension in his fingers. We walked from the dining room to the French doors and outside. The late afternoon air was crisp, carrying the scent of spring approaching.
We walked past the patio, over to the left, where a vine had engulfed a fence that was taller than I was. Jason opened the gate with hands that weren’t quite steady.
“It’s a koi pond!”
“Yeah, it’s listed as a feature.”
We stepped inside the small enclosed garden.
“It’s like something out of a book. It’s incredible.
” The space was intimate, surrounded by climbing roses and ivy, with a small stone bench beside the pond where lazy orange fish moved beneath lily pads.
The water bill for this green, lush spot had to rival the pool.
When I turned back to him, Jason was reaching into his pants pocket, his jaw working like he was wrestling with something.
“Cora, before I…” He stopped, looked down at his hands, then back at me.
“This isn’t going to be some casual thing we throw together.
Not if we want people to believe it’s real. ”
My heart started beating faster. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, when people ask how I proposed, when they want to see your ring, when they watch us together…” He pulled out a small, worn velvet box. “If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it right.”
When I saw him drop to one knee, my breath caught.
“This was my great-grandmother’s ring.” He paused.
The box opened with a soft click, revealing a ring that made my chest tighten.
It wasn’t huge or flashy. It was simple and perfect.
A round solitaire diamond, maybe a carat, set in what looked like white gold or platinum.
The band had delicate engraving along the sides, tiny flowers, and vines that spoke of another era.
It was the kind of ring that had been chosen with love, worn with pride, passed down because it meant something.
I shook my head, taking a step back. “No, I can’t…”
“Yes, you can.”
I caught my bottom lip in my teeth, staring at the ring.
This wasn’t some placeholder piece of jewelry from a department store.
This was family. History. “But… Jason, this was hers. This should go to someone you actually…” I gestured helplessly between us.
“I thought we’d just buy something temporary. Something generic.”
“And when the baker asks to see your ring? When the florist wants to hear our story? When someone from the court asks how we knew we wanted to spend our lives together?” His voice was gentle but firm. “What were you going to say?”
My bottom lip trembled. I hadn’t thought of any of that, but he had. He’d considered every angle, every detail that would make or break our story. “You’ve thought of everything.”
“We’re going to make this look authentic because it has to be. For Elias.” He took a breath, and I could see the moment he made his decision. “If we were really getting married, this is the ring I’d give you. This is the proposal you’d deserve.”
For a moment, I could almost pretend…
“So, Cora Williams,” his voice was softer now, but steady, “would you please marry me?”
This wasn’t real. This wasn’t real. This wasn’t real.
But the way he was looking at me was real. The ring that belonged to his family was real. The way this felt less like something thrown together and more like something he’d been carrying around in his heart—that was terrifyingly real.
And the way my heart was racing, the way my hands were shaking, the way I suddenly wanted to say yes for reasons that had nothing to do with custody hearings—that was also terrifyingly real.
“Yes,” I whispered. “I will.”
His smile was different than any I’d seen before as he slipped the ring onto my finger. It fit like it had been made for me. As he stood and pulled me close, I could feel his heart beating as fast as mine.
“Now you have a story to tell,” he said, his voice low near my ear. “This is a small town. Word gets around. The fewer lies we have to tell, the less likely we are to get caught in one. Okay?”
I wrapped my arms around his waist and squeezed, the weight of the ring on my finger felt significant in a way that made my throat tight. “I’ll never be able to thank you enough, Jason.”
“This works for both of us.”
But as I stood there in his arms, wearing his great-grandmother’s ring in a garden that looked like something from a fairy tale, I knew with bone-deep certainty that this arrangement was going to work entirely too well.
My emotions were already in upheaval, caught between the logic that this was all pretend and the growing realization that my feelings for Jason were anything but fake.
I was falling for my fake fiancé, and there was no safety net waiting to catch me when this beautiful lie came crashing down.
I slouched further into the couch and shoveled a bite of Cookie Crisp cereal into my mouth as Jason’s great-grandmother’s ring reflected in the light of the television. That little beacon of bling that still had my heart racing.
Since it was the middle of the night, I had the volume as low as possible while still being able to somewhat make out what Papa Smurf was saying. Now that I was crunching cookies, that’s all I could hear.
Not that I cared. So far the blue dude had nothing in the way of wisdom for me. Granted, I couldn’t recall a Smurf becoming the guardian of a baby and then fake marrying their boss. Still, I’d hoped there was a pearl in there somewhere.
A pearl of reassurance that I wasn’t making the worst mistake of my life. A pearl that could tell me how to survive the loneliness already curling up in my chest at the thought of faking not-so-forever with Jason.
I guess I wanted that oyster to have a mouthful for me.
At least Elias wasn’t feeling all this unease in me. I was doing my best to shove all of this in the back of my mind when I was with him. He didn’t need this bleeding onto him.
Currently, he was upstairs with Anna, fast asleep. We’d all taken turns holding him and playing with him. He’d been so tuckered by the time he was done with his bath, he was ready for a bottle and bed.
It’d been so fun to see him with Anna and Ari.
As big as that guy was, he was so gentle and sweet.
He was going to be an amazing dad. The way Anna would watch him with Elias.
That glow she’d had on the tarmac had only grown.
And Ari, if a man ever looked at me the way he looked at Anna, I’d be the luckiest woman on the planet.
As I took another bite of cereal, footsteps sounded on the first floor.
“Hey,” Jason said through a yawn.
“Hey.”
His feet shuffled as he made his way to the couch, and then he plopped down. “You okay?”
No. I was planning a fake wedding. “Yeah.”
“You know, you don’t have to let Anna hold Elias all the time just because she wants to.”
I snorted. If that were my only problem… I’d be in heaven. “I won’t do that. Once the wedding’s over, they’ll head back to Chicago. I can share him for a little while.” I smiled.
Jason scooted closer and plucked one of my cookies out, popping it in his mouth.
“You ate my cookie.”
“Yes, I did.” He grinned and snagged another one. “I love these things.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You know, if I didn’t like you, you’d be in trouble.”
His whole body shook with laughter. It’d been months since he’d laughed like that. That rich, deep timbre seemed to reach into my heart and tug it every time I heard it. I almost thought I’d never hear it again after what happened.
His eyebrows knitted together as he noticed my expression. “What?”
“It’s been a while since you laughed like that.”
He sobered. “It’s been a while since I felt like myself.”
I sat up and set the bowl of cereal on the coffee table. “Are you still having nightmares?”
“Yeah.” The word was barely audible. “I—”
It was like my brain and my heart decided at that moment to lock arms and conspire against me.
I sprang forward, wrapping my arms around his neck.
“I’m sorry. I hate that you went through that.
I wish there was some way to take it from you.
” I wanted to wrap myself around him and keep the darkness at bay.
He’d stepped up in ways I could never have imagined.
What could I ever do to repay him for all of it?
Slowly, he circled his arms around my waist and pulled me closer, burying his face in my neck. It was sweet and innocent and intimate, all mixed together.
I don’t know how long we sat there like that, but it was incredible. Holding him. Being held by him. It was comfortable and comforting.
Wonderful.
Slowly, he loosened his hold on me, and I leaned back. I quickly realized my second mistake of the night. Being close enough that our breath mingled.
His lips were so close. My heart was hammering against my ribs.
I cared about this man. More than cared.
I couldn’t and shouldn’t, but I did. He was going to be my husband.
My fake husband. And right now, every part of me wished it could be real, even when I knew he needed more than a secretary with a kid.
I’d already felt that before I knew he was a billionaire, but now that I did, his world had shifted from a place I didn’t fit to a place I could never belong.
I'll admit, for a moment I just stared at him. This sweet man. He was beautiful with a soul so radiant just being near him made me warm. Quiet and strong. Gentle and protective. Even after being broken by people, he should have been able to trust.
Suddenly, I found myself lifting my hand and combing my fingers through his hair, brushing back the strands from his forehead. I'd imagined this exact moment more times than I wanted to admit, and somehow reality was better. Way better.
Our eyes locked, Papa Smurf ceased to exist, and it was just us.
My fingers traced his lips as his hand cupped my cheek.
We slowly moved toward each other.
Our lips touched, lightly at first. Little kisses. The kind that maps out the lines and curves so our lips know where they’re going. And then it was as if we were a bonfire doused with gasoline. The kisses became more urgent, desperate.
It was as if I could finally satisfy every craving I’d ever had for him. My body crushed against his like even the smallest amount of space was too much.
When the kiss slowed, I could barely catch my breath. My lungs burned, and my lips were tender.
“That was…” He said as his lips slowly made their way along my jaw.
“That was…” I repeated it. What did I say? Incredible? Extraordinary? Spectacular? Give me more?
We’d been through something traumatic together. I was lonely. Stressed. And as far as relief, his kisses were infinitely better than Cookie Crisp cereal.
I also knew something fragile had been created. One wrong word and it’d crumble. Did I want that?
No.
Did I really know what I wanted? Not even a little bit.
I just knew I wanted more of his kisses.
We were getting married. The object was to make people think it was real. What better way than to kiss like that?
He made his way back to my lips, and the match lit again. While the kisses were just as hot as before, they were softer, delicate. Sweet. When they slowed again, he nuzzled my neck with his nose.
We didn’t say a word. We just shifted until we were lying down on the couch, my back against his chest, his arm wrapped firmly around my waist. The oddest contrast settled over us, a magical, breathless hush tangled with the ridiculous sound of The Snorks theme song playing quietly in the background.
I wanted something I could never have.
Him.
A life with him and Elias.