“I’ll be honest with you,” I say to them, “we discussed your comment about me making some commitment to show respectability and responsibility. And Chessie laughed and said maybe we should get married then, and it was like a lightbulb came on. I’ve never thought about it before. I couldn’t imagine settling down with anyone. But the thought of being with her for the rest of my life just filled me with joy. And so I proposed there and then.”
“I was stunned,” Chessie says. “Of course I said it was ridiculous—we’d only been dating a fortnight. But it’s been such a magical couple of weeks, and I’m so head over heels for him that I just had to say yes. I made it clear, though, that we should wait a while before we get married, so we’re both absolutely sure that it’s not a flash-in-the-pan thing, and he was happy with that, but he wanted me to wear the ring straight away.”
“I told Orson,” I say, “and he revealed that he’d asked Scarlett to marry him, too! We both thought it was hilarious that we’d done it within a day of each other, and we decided to go out to dinner to celebrate, and so the girls could meet each other. And that’s when the photographer saw us.”
“You weren’t exactly hiding it,” Koa says, smiling.
“No.” I pick up Chessie’s hand again. “I admit I wanted to show her off.”
“Aw,” Moana says.
Mikaere gives a short laugh. “Well, it’s a very romantic story. And at least you were honest in admitting you took on board what we said, and that it might have influenced your decision.”
“Oh, it definitely did,” I say, “but only in a positive way.”
The three of them exchange glances. Koa and Moana both nod and smile. Then Mikaere says, “Okay, so we had a talk beforehand, and we’d like to offer you the CEO role.”
I inhale with surprise, and joy fills me. “Really?”
“Oh my God!” Chessie turns to me and throws her arms around my neck, and I laugh and hug her back.
“Thank you,” I say over her shoulder. “I’m so pleased.”
“You’re one of the good guys,” Koa says. “It wasn’t a hard decision. I hope we can all work together to improve the lives of these kids, and it’s good to have you at the helm to steer the ship.”
Chessie moves back, and I stand and lean across the table to shake their hands.
“We’ll set up a meeting in a week or so to start thinking about what direction we’re going to take this in,” Mikaere says. “I’m guessing you’ll officially announce the engagement soon?”
“At the Midnight Ball,” I confirm.
“Then we’ll put out a press release on the following Monday.”
“Okay. Thank you. You won’t regret it.”
“I hope not,” Mikaere says, meeting my eyes. My stomach flips. He still doesn’t believe me a hundred percent. But the other two are smiling, and I guess he thinks it’s worth the risk.
Chessie slips her hand into mine, and we lead the way out of Midnight’s boardroom. In the lobby, we say goodbye to them, and they head out of the front doors.
We wait for a moment, then turn to each other and blow out a long breath.
“You want a celebratory coffee?” I ask her.
“God, yes.”
I ask the barista to make us a couple of lattes, then take her back along the corridor to my office. Once we’re inside, I pull her into my arms for a big hug.
“Thank you so much,” I tell her with feeling. “I don’t know how you did that, but you were spectacular.”
“It was ninety percent the truth,” she says. “Don’t worry.”
I move back and look down at her, amused. “Why do you say that?”
“I know you well enough,” she scoffs. “I could tell you were about to spill everything. Guilt got you, didn’t it?”
I nod. “I felt bad lying to them. They’re good people.”
“So are you, Kingi. You have to remember that.” She looks up at me, and for a moment I’m lost in her big green eyes. It reminds me of when I picked her up outside the restaurant. Ourbrief conversation about my bedroom voice, where she admitted she’s not submissive in bed. The thought made my heart leap, because I have no interest in women like Sabrina who are sexually passive. I like women who enjoy challenging me, and the thought that Chessie is like that makes my heart leap. Our kiss was electrifying, and it took incredible willpower to end the kiss and lower her to the floor.