“Hey, you okay?” I asked.
“It’s already loud in here. I was terrified I wouldn’t hear your call.”
“I’m just leaving the hotel room.”
“No. Wait for me. I’ll come get you.”
The worry in his tone dimmed my joy, bringing back all the reasons why he was concerned. My attacker was still unknown and still out there waiting for me to heed their last warning. And I was doing the exact opposite of what they’d demanded. I was moving closer to what I wanted.
Nerves rattled through me, and I looked both ways down the corridor as I opened the door. It was silent. Not a soul in sight. And the elevator was literally right across from our suite. I let the door shut and hurried the three steps it took to push the down button.
“I’m already at the elevators. Meet me by the staircase,” I told him. He grunted his disapproval as I stepped into the car.
I’d barely put my phone in my bag before the doors were opening again. The elevator had stopped a floor above the lobby, and a gentleman stepped in. Unease skittered through me once more, and rather than stay inside with someone I didn’t know, I brushed past him onto the mezzanine.
I hurried toward the grand staircase made of glass and steel, and the noise from the lobby hit me—music and chatter. When I glanced over the rail, I saw men and women in tuxedos, Class A’s, or evening gowns, mingling, laughing, already enjoying the night. The chandelier above them was a phenomenon of intricately woven geometric shapes and vibrant colors that cast rainbow hues over them.
I took the first step, hand on the rail, searching the crowd for Beckett. When I found him, he had his profile to me with his eyes fixed on the elevator banks.
I wasn’t sure how it was possible, but he looked even more handsome than usual. His hair was slicked back, accentuating the sharp angle of his jawline and the curve of his brow. The straight cut of his Class A’s stretched perfectly across his broad shoulders. The two gold stripes on his sleeve and bugles on his collar indicated his rank. He also had a series of ribbons and medals on his jacket that he’d earned in his service with the department, a telltale sign of not only his bravery but also his dedication to the job.
He looked exactly like a prince in a fairy tale.Myprince.
Because he was absolutely, one-hundred-percent mine.
That sent a delightful thrill through me.
No one could take this from me now, especially not the adoration and awe that came over his face as he turned and caught sight of me. This moment was worth everything I’d been through to reach it. All of the events in my past had to have happened for me to land here—with all my dreams coming true.
My happinessspread across my face as I slowly and carefully made my way down to him. By the time I reached the second-to-last step, Beckett was already reaching for me. He placed both hands on my waist, lifted me,spun me around, and then set me down in front of him.
His smile matched mine. Large and full and handsome. Dimple on full display.
“You’re stunning, my Maisey-girl. Except, stunning is actually a useless word for what you are. I’ve never in my life seen anyone or anything as magnificent as you.”
My breath disappeared, tears threatened, but I refused to cry, not even out of happiness tonight. I brushed my hands over his shoulders before meeting his gaze. The love that bloomed full and strong in my heart beat so fiercely against my ribcage I was sure he could hear it. See it. Feel it.
Because that was the simple truth.
I loved Beckett. With every fiber of me. With every thought and hope and dream.
“At the mall,” I said, “you told me I had an inner light, but Beckett, you’re the one who really and truly guides people out of the dark. If you hadn’t entered my life, I would have always felt stupid and ugly. You helped me see my own worth. Everything I have and am now is because you saw the real me and allowed me to see it too.”
He groaned. “I want to kiss you. I want to kiss you and do all the things I promised all week. It might kill me a bit to wait hours to take this dress off you.”
I leaned in and gently put my lips on his. It felt like a gift—the ability to do so as much as the rightness of it. Those happy tears threatened once more. I pulled back, swiping my finger over his mouth to brush away the very faint hint of lipstick I’d left behind.
“That wasn’t enough, darlin’. Notnearlyenough. But it’ll have to do for now.” He took my hand, placing it on his arm, and asked, “You ready?”
I nodded, and he guided me forward. As we walked through the ballroom doors, my heart galloped as fast and furious as it did when I rode Titan through the fields at the ranch. It seemed as if every person in the room swiveled to look in our direction, and I was not imagining the whisper that rushed through the crowd.
Heads bent as people muttered behind hands and champagne glasses, and I wished I could stick up my middle finger and shout, “Screw all you doubters!” Instead, I smiled my largest, most adoring smile up at the man next to me, and he smiled down with the same look I’d seen as I’d descended the staircase. Awe and love.
I didn’t need to hear the words. Beckett loved me as much as I loved him. He’d already shown me in a million little ways over our lifetime together.
And that would never change, no matter how many people in this room were placing bets on just how long we’d last.
Chapter Twenty-seven