28. Rosay
Chapter twenty-eight
Rosay
G ood music can bring any party to life, but there’s something about bachata music that just lifts the spirits and makes you feel alive.
Normally, I’d be out there on the dance floor, dancing the night away, but I can’t help but notice something feels off.
Winnie and Jordan’s ceremony was beautiful and elegant.
I cried at least three times standing there beside her as she married the love of her life and then when I gave my maid of honor speech, but my mind has been on a carousel, spinning in circles, since the moment Graham confessed his feelings for me.
Love.
He loves me.
A heady sense of elation fills me with the notion that I’ve found my person. Someone who loves every facet of me, who doesn’t think I’m ‘too much’ of anything but just enough of whatever makes me…me.
“Beautiful wedding,” Connor says, setting a plate of food down on the table across from me.
I lift my wine glass, tipping it back and letting the liquid slosh around my cheeks. “It was.”
He huffs, apparently annoyed with my short answer. “I’m sorry.”
“Okay.”
“Okay, what?” He grips his fork and knife, committing sacrilege as he cuts his burrito.
“Just okay. I accept your apology.”
A muscle flexes in his cheek. “That’s it? You don’t want to know what I’m apologizing for?”
“Not really, Connor.”
Whatever he had to say to me is about two years too late.
I thought seeing Connor would be one of the most difficult things I’d have to deal with during this soiree, but it wasn’t.
It’s sitting here without Graham, waiting until the other half of my heart returns.
I glance at the door then my phone as if simply checking the time will make him get here faster.
After finding out his father was okay, Winnie let me know he was coming back and that I could enjoy the reception.
“Well…” Connor’s voice trails off as he stares at me. “Okay, I guess.”
Sensing he’s not going to get whatever reaction from me he was looking for, he pushes back from the table and joins another group.
My shoulders relax the moment he’s gone, and I glance around the room, noting who all is in attendance.
Since Graham couldn’t be here to network, I tried to do as much as I could, speaking on his and Thompson’s behalf.
While I’m not sure exactly what type of clients he wanted to target, I spoke with everyone from ranchers looking to expand their reach into vacation homes with animal experiences to all-star surgeons at the end of their careers looking to invest their wealth into real estate development.
“Come dance, Rosie,” Winnie yells from the dance floor where my favorite Romeo Santos song plays.
She mimes casting a reel and pulling me in, and the sheer happiness pulling my sister’s smile wide forces me to rise.
Like the Red Sea, the dance floor parts to allow me entrance through the waves of sweaty bodies.
Though bachata is usually a dance for couples, my hips sway like a pendulum in time with the bongos, moving me across the floor with grace.
I’m in my own world letting the music flow over me when firm hands grip my waist.
“Solo conmigo,” Graham repeats the song into my ear, causing goosebumps to break out over my skin.
“Only with you,” I reply, meeting his heated gaze over my shoulder. His fingers glide down my arm, latching onto my hand and spinning me away before bringing me back so close we’re sharing air. “I’m glad you made it back.”
“Me, too.” He grips my chin, crashing his lips down on mine. I bloom beneath him, lips parting to allow him access to ravage me. And ravage me he does. People dance around us, yet we’re in our own world. Someone accidentally bumps into Graham, forcing us apart and offering an apology.
“Is your dad okay?”
“He is, and he can’t wait to meet you.”
My mouth pops open, surprised Graham told his father about me. He takes my momentary pause as his cue to move. He props his knee between my legs, splays his hand along my lower back, and rolls his hips against mine before pushing away.
We dance two more songs, mouths closed but our bodies speaking a language entirely their own.
Sweat coats my skin, making it glisten beneath the twinkling Christmas lights.
As the song ends, Graham pulls me close and says, “The only thing better than watching your beautiful body move to the music is seeing how well you move while I’m inside of you. ”
Lord, I’ve died and gone to Heaven.
“Is that right?” I challenge him, placing a brief kiss on his lips. “Maybe we’ll have to play some music tonight. ”
Clinking glasses draw our attention to the middle of the room.
Jordan takes the bait and dips Winnie, kissing her as the crowd claps.
My cheeks lift, so happy for my sister, and surprisingly thankful it’s not me standing up there yet.
While the thought of a double wedding was nice, me and Graham have a lot to work through first.
“Come walk with me,” Graham says into my ear as the crowd simmers down.
I take his hand as he leads me outside and onto the pathway winding around the back of the venue.
On the patio overlooking the vineyards, people laugh and dance, enjoying the reception.
There’s a chill in the air, but I can barely tell because heat radiates from where Graham’s hand is on my back, guiding me past the gazebo.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“Someplace quiet where we can talk.”
I chuckle. “Couldn’t we have talked back at the rental?”
He glances at me with a raised eyebrow. “You and I both know there would be no talking going on if we were behind closed doors.”
The thought causes my skin to flame and my core to clench in anticipation. My mind speeds off into the future, creating pictures of what’s to come.
He tugs my hand toward the entrance to the vineyards. “I want to talk to you about something important.”
“That sounds ominous. Are you about to break up with me and just didn’t want me to have a meltdown and knee you in the balls in front of everyone?”
He stops and tilts my chin up with force.
“I thought I made it abundantly clear earlier that you are mine and I am yours, Rosalina.” The grit in his voice and the way he uses my full name floods my body with heat, and I damn n ear purr into his hand.
“There’s no version of tonight that doesn’t end with us together. ”
“Okay.” My voice is barely a whisper, carried on the small puff of air my lungs let me release while they hold the rest of me hostage.
“I wanted to talk to you about work.” He glides his thumb across my lips before releasing my chin and veering back to the path.
“Oh?” I can’t help the way my shoulders fall. We’ve been in our own world the past few days, neglecting the fact that we have to go back to work where he’s my boss. He’s right that it’s probably a good idea to talk about this now. “What about it?”
With a matter-of-fact demeanor, he says, “You don’t want the promotion.”
My muscles tense at the accuracy of his statement. “Eh, I wouldn’t say that .”
“And I don’t want you to take it.”
I stop and yank him back. “What? Why?”
“Because you’re meant to be doing something else, something that fills you.”
I sigh, understanding what he’s getting at. “We talked about this already. I can’t tea—”
“You can tutor though,” he says, staring down at me with so much hope in his eyes. “You are smart and ambitious, and while you’re the best VP we have at Thompson, I don’t want to see the woman I love wither away doing something she just sort of likes.”
A harsh breath escapes my lips. “What am I supposed to do, Graham?”
“Seek an expungement. I spoke with a judge today, and he says you have a strong case for having it wiped from your record.”
“What? How?”
“You we re a minor that got roped in with the wrong crowd after a devastating loss. You did your community service and haven’t had any offenses since. Plus, the statute of limitations is over. We just need to find you a lawyer to bring the case in front of a judge.”
“Really?” Wendy’s email pops into my head.
If I had actually read it instead of assuming it was trash and deleting it, maybe I would’ve realized she was trying to help without being pushy.
She’s a better woman than I ever gave her credit for.
“Thank you so much for going to all that trouble for me.”
He wraps me in his arms and kisses my forehead. “I’d do anything for you.”
“While we’re on the topic of doing things for one another, I should probably let you know I set up like four meetings for you next week.
” I cringe, hoping he isn’t upset. “I wasn’t sure if you were going to make it back on time, so I schmoozed some clients for you.
If you don’t think they’re a good fit for Thompson, just let them down easily. ”
“Look at us,” he says, tugging me toward the right. “Making sure each other meets their goals.”
“We’re a team.”
“We’re more than that.”
Staring up at Graham, I almost miss the fact that we’re standing under the sign to my mom’s vineyards. He takes my hands in his, and my breath catches as he glides his thumb over the ring he gave me to convince my family of our relationship.
“I used to think nice things equaled success in life, and that relationships were only about what you could get from the other person.” He releases a self-deprecating laugh.
“I guess being abandoned by your mom and then cheated on by your ex makes for a bad example of what love should be, b ut this past weekend showed me how wrong that thinking was.”
He pulls me close and nudges my chin up, moonlight glittering above him. “This relationship might’ve started as a ruse, but it’s become something more real than I ever could’ve imagined, and I don’t want it to end after today.”
“Neither do I,” I say. “You were right when you said I push people away because I’m afraid they’ll reject me, like I can avoid the pain of not being wanted long term by keeping things casual, but I don’t want something casual with you.
I want to wake up every day beside you and go to sleep in your arms. I want to eat your bomb ass French toast every weekend in bed and kick your ass at card games, and I want you to know I’ll never give up on us. ”
He slips the ring off, and before I have a chance to protest, he drops to a knee.
“Rosalina Wilmington. Pinky.” I roll my eyes as he continues.
“Whether it’s today, tomorrow, or a year from now, I want to stand across the aisle from you and show the world you are mine: mind, body, and soul. Will you marry me, for real this time?”
I cough out a laugh and nod. “I would be honored to marry you.”
Tears slide down my cheeks as he slips my mom’s ring onto my finger and kisses my hand.
Applause erupts, drawing my attention to the patio where my entire family stands with wide smiles on their faces and outstretched arms. Graham stands and pulls me into his embrace, capturing me with a soft kiss that has me chasing his lips, drugged by the smooth yet firm press of them against mine.
I melt into him. “I love you.”
He kisses my nose then my forehead before looking down at me. “I love you, too.”
I growl a nd pinch his side. He jerks away but takes my hand, walking us back toward the festivities. The ring glitters in the twinkling lights hung along the walkway, and I nearly trip over my feet because I can’t stop staring at it.
“When did he give you this?” I ask.
Glasses clink in the distance as we walk, music from the reception floating into our ears. Graham leads me to the gazebo instead of back to the venue.
“Your dad caught me before I came inside,” he says, rubbing a hand along his jaw. “Thought he was planning to kill me.”
I stop and stare at him in horror. “He didn’t take you down to the pig pen, did he? We never saw poor Kyle again.” Graham’s face pales a fraction before I burst out laughing. “I’m kidding, babe.”
He swats my ass, and I jump out of his reach, heading toward the bench inside the gazebo. Lights are strung through the railing, casting a soft yellow glow against the wooden frame.
“Dance with me.” Graham catches me before I sit and spins me into his arms. The music slows, a Bon Iver song replacing the previous dance beat.
Graham grabs my waist, his touch burning through the material of my dress.
He takes my other hand in his and leads us around the space with ease.
I rest my head on his chest, skin tingling as his thumb caresses my back.
Tonight feels surreal.
A moment I want to last forever.
“This has been the best day of my life,” I say, letting a silly grin overtake my face.
He spins me out then twirls me back toward him so that my back is pressed to his front with his arm wrapped around my chest. Warm air heats my nec k as he leans down to whisper in my ear. “Then it’s a good start to the rest of our lives.”