Chapter 21
“DELIVERY FOR MISS DEVICHE.”
Dani looked up from her desk to see a young man around her again filling the door to her office and holding a giant vase filled with flowers. “That’s me.” She put on a friendly smile, all the while eying the flowers with curiosity.
“Please sign here.”
She was handed a clipboard and, after signing, exchanged it for the flowers. “Have a nice day.”
“Thanks.” Dipping her nose into the elegant bouquet, she inhaled the soft fragrance of the lilies before looking for a card. She found the square note tucked between a couple sprigs of baby’s breath and opened it.
I’m not giving up on us.
Yours,
R
She shook her head, dropped the note in the trash can, and deposited the flowers on the edge of her desk, out of the way of her work. They were lovely, but they weren’t enough to sway her. She’d made her choice, and she was sticking to it.
“Secret admirer?” her boss asked from the doorway.
“Ex-boyfriend.”
He lifted a dark brow and entered the room. “I just wanted to let you know that I have a meeting scheduled for the end of the week right before lunch. Keep your schedule open, yeah?”
She nodded and said, “Sure thing, Mr. Gates,” even though she thought it odd that he’d come to tell her personally. Usually his secretary handled any correspondence, in office and out, but what did she know? She was just the accountant.
Getting back to her work, Dani spent the rest of the day trying not to pay any mind to the flowers that seemed to be calling her name. By the time she was ready to go home for the day, she just couldn’t keep her eyes off them.
Deciding they’d add some life to her living room, she scooped the tall vase up and headed out.
***
“DELIVERY FOR MISS DEVICHE.”
Surprised, Dani stood and signed the clipboard that was handed to her, thanking the man as he handed over a small black box wrapped with a silver ribbon. Sitting down in her executive chair, she plucked the bow and tugged the lid off.
“Oh, my God.” Inside, a small, round, single solitaire winked back at her from its platinum setting. Noticing a sliver of folded paper sticking up from beneath the cushioned base, she pulled it out and unfolded it.
Promises made are promises kept.
Yours,
R
It was a promise ring. A soft smile played on Dani’s face as she took out the ring and slipped it onto the third finger of her right hand.
Perfect fit.
***
THE NEXT DAY, DANI laughed when she looked up to find the same delivery guy standing there, holding another wrapped package.
“You’re pretty popular,” he said, holding out the clipboard to her.
“So it seems.” They made their exchange. “Thanks.”
Sitting back at her desk, she felt the tingling of anticipation in her fingers as she ran her hands over the paper. She shouldn’t be getting excited over getting presents from Ransom, but she couldn’t deny it either. It made her happy to know that he was thinking about her as much as she was about him.
The paper tore off easily, and when she saw what was inside, she broke out into a fit of giggles. “She Comes First: The Thinking Man’s Guide to Pleasuring a Woman,” she read as she stroked her fingers over the cover.
Shaking out the discarded wrapping paper that had fallen to the floor, she found the note she’d come to expect.
I promise to spend every hour of every day devoted to making you happy.
Yours,
R
She hated to admit it, but she was starting to believe him. Tucking the book away in her purse, she left her chair to get ready for her meeting.
***
LATER THAT EVENING, DANI was sitting down to catch up on episodes of Outlander as kind of celebration for making partner, when her phone lit up. Picking it up, her stomach tightened when she saw who was calling.
She almost didn’t answer, but she knew she couldn’t avoid him forever.
“Hi,” she said softly, her insides tangling together.
“Hi.”
“I got your presents.”
“Did you like them?”
“They’re…different. Thoughtful. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“But you don’t have to keep sending me gifts,” she said, wanting to bite her tongue. The last thing she wanted to do was upset him, but she was torn, because she also didn’t want to lead him on. Or, more accurately, she didn’t want to lead herself on. She was keenly aware that she had been sucked in by his tokens, and she was also aware that by keeping them, she had placed herself at a disadvantage, because what little distance she had managed to place between them was now gone.
She was as vulnerable to Ransom Scott as a newborn calf among a pack of wolves.
“I have one more present I want to give you, and if, after you open it, you haven’t changed your mind and you want me to stay away, I will. I’ll leave your life forever and you won’t ever have to see me again.”
Instantly, her stomach cramped and her mouth parted, a protest ready on her tongue, but she didn’t know what to say.
“Dani? Are you there?”
“Y-Yes, I’m still here.”
“Can I come up?”
“You’re here?” She bolted to her feet, whirling around to stare at the door as if it would swing open at any second to reveal him.
“I’m downstairs. Can I come up for a minute to give you your gift?”
His voice, soft and filled with anguish and hope, twisted her gut and she found herself thinking that it couldn’t hurt any more than it already did. “Just for a minute.”
“Good. I’m on my way.”
Ending the call, Dani stared at the phone in her hand and cursed roundly. What the hell was she doing?
The whole point of staying away from him was to spare herself, and she’d just fudged everything by inviting him up. She began pacing the floor, wondering how she was going to dig herself out of it, but before she had a chance to come up with anything promising, there was a knock at the door.
Stilling, Dani debated whether or not she should actually open it, but as if Ransom sensed her hesitation, he spoke through the door.
“Dani?”
Just the sound of his voice tore apart her resolve. Her feet moved before she gave them permission to. Opening the door slowly, she looked out and found herself falling into the most devastatingly beautiful eyes she’d ever set her sights on.
“God, it’s good to see you,” Ransom breathed, his tone reverent.
She missed the way he looked at her. Looking him over, she soaked in the vision of him, so strong and handsome. He broke her heart just standing there. Noting that his hands were tucked behind his back, she asked, “So what did you want to give me?”
Ducking his head, Ransom huffed a laugh, and when he lifted his eyes to look at her from beneath a thick row of dark lashes, he stole her breath. “It’s nothing special,” he said as he got down on one knee.
Oh God. Dani clutched her throat, feeling like she might pass out.
Bringing his hands around to the front, Ransom presented her with a single red rose.
Her excitement deflated, confusion taking its place. Tentatively, she accepted the gift, lifting it to her nose to take in its delicate, sweet fragrance.
“Dani,” Ransom said from his kneeling position, regaining her focus, “I know I don’t deserve a second chance. I was an ass to you, and I don’t blame you for walking away like you did. I regret everything about that night. My behavior, definitely, but mostly I regret not going after you.”
Dani’s heart rate intensified and all the oxygen evacuated her lungs, leaving her breathless. He was saying exactly what she’d wanted to hear.
“We didn’t meet under the best of terms. I wasn’t in a good place in my life and you accepted me into yours anyway. Your kindness and generosity floors me, because I can’t think of another person, myself included, who would have looked at that train wreck and seen something worth saving. You did. I don’t know how, but you did, and I can’t thank you enough. You gave me a reason to change my life. You showed me what was missing from it.” Taking her hand in his, he pressed his lips to her knuckles, causing silent tears to roll down her face.
“Daniella May Deviche,” he said, looking up into her eyes, “would you do me the great honor of being my valentine?”
A startled laugh erupted from her lips and Dani’s vision blurred behind a torrent of unstoppable tears. She was floored by his unexpected question and, if were even possible, even more taken by him than she was when they first met.
“Don’t you mean your forbidden valentine?”
“I’ll take you any way I can get you.” She only cried harder. “Is that a yes?” Ransom asked cautiously as he rose to his feet and brushed her cheeks dry.
“Yes,” she said as she continued to laugh. “Yes, I’ll be your valentine.”
“Thank God. I ran out of ideas for gifts and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do if you said no.” Pulling her to him, he tucked her against his broad chest and held her tight. “I’m never letting you go again,” he said into her hair. “I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth if I have to, but I promise, I’ll never let go again.”
“I know.”
Because a promise made was a promise kept.
EPILOGUE
THE WEDDING TOOK PLACE the following year on Valentine’s Day among the patrons and staff of Ye Old Dirty Dog where they’d first met.
Arguably, it wasn’t the most romantic or conventional venue for a wedding ceremony, but there was plenty of romance as far as Ransom and Dani were concerned. Taking their vows before their friends and family in the very place they’d started their journey was as close to perfection as it would ever get, and if they had it their way, every monumental moment would be made under the same roof.
“By the power vested in me by Chicago ministry dot com, I now pronounce you man and wife,” Rebel declared, grinning widely. “You may kiss my brand new sister-in-law.”
The room erupted in congratulatory cheers as Ransom jerked his wife against his chest, bent her back over his arm, and dropped a too-hot-for-public-consumption kiss on her bow-shaped lips.
“I’m the happiest man alive,” he said for her ears only.
Misty honey-brown eyes found his. “And I’m the happiest woman alive.”
Righting her, Ransom lifted his arm and shouted, “First drink’s on me!” Everyone shouted, music flooded the speakers, and he and Dani found themselves being passed from arm to arm, hug to hug.
There was no better feeling in the world than knowing that, for the rest of his life, he had the love of a good woman to keep him in line.
Lord knew, he needed it.
“Dance with me,” Ransom whispered in her ear when he was finally able to break away from his guests and find his bride.
He didn’t wait for her answer.
Whisking her out onto the floor, he twirled her around, then brought her back in, keeping her close to his heart where she belonged.
Her smile was vibrant and beautiful, just like her, and Ransom couldn’t stop staring. “I’m the luckiest son of a bitch in the world,” he told her. “You’ve given me everything I ever wanted.”
Her answering smile was shy. Sexy. It made him want to find someplace private and christen their marriage, solidifying their vows.
“Maybe not everything,” she hedged, pulling a frown from him.
“I have you. What more could I possibly want or need?”
“What about kids?”
A grin spread across his face. “Of course I want kids. In fact, as soon as we leave here, the first thing I plan to do is put my baby in you.”
“What if I said you didn’t have to wait?”
His eyebrows shot up into his hairline and his cock punched against his zipper. “You want to do it now, here?” Without a second thought, he threaded his fingers through hers and began pulling her through the crowd toward the back of the building.
“No,” Dani protested, laughing hysterically as she pulled against him. Bringing him to a stop, he turned back, his brows knitted together in question. “I didn’t mean that.” He must have been pouting, because her expression softened and she moved in close, tracing her fingers over his lips. “Ransom, what if I told you that you didn’t have to wait because I’m already pregnant?”
Suddenly, the world seemed to fall away and all Ransom could see and hear was Dani and her sweet voice. “Are you…Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
Sinking her teeth into her bottom lip, she nodded vigorously.
Grabbing both of her arms, Ransom said, “Say it. I need to hear you say it.”
She grinned. “I’m pregnant.”
His expression flattened and he swallowed thickly. “Marry me.”
“I just did,” she said with a laugh.
“Then tell me you love me.”
“I love you.”
“Again. All of it. Tell me again.”
She frowned, but did it anyway. “Um…I’m pregnant, and I love you?”
“God I love you, woman,” he professed as he yanked her to him and kissed her soundly. Lifting his head, he shouted, “We’re having a baby!” to everyone in the bar, and to another round of celebratory cheers, they kissed again, laughing and crying in their immense joy.
As Ransom held his bride and unborn child in his arms, dancing the night away, he thought about the journey his life had taken. He’d never thought he’d love again, but Dani had slipped into his life during a time when he desperately needed a friend, and she’d proven him wrong in the best ways. Now, with a ring on her finger and a new life on the way, Ransom was looking forward to a bright and happy future.
The End