Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 58442 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58442 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
It’s useless to say or even think that I’m not his woman. The description feels like it fits. There’s nothing like a life-or-death experience to show a person what they truly feel.
I go to the corner of the room, pick up the landline, and dial 911.
It’s almost midnight when I finally return to the shop. Evangeline and Raiden come inside with me, waiting downstairs as I check on Grandma. Ellie is asleep in the armchair, and Grandma is sound asleep on her bed.
I gently kiss Grandma on the forehead. I don’t have the heart to wake either of them. I haven’t told them what happened yet, only that the party ran over and I was going to be home late.
Downstairs, the three of us gather in the store.
“Will our statements be enough?” Evangeline murmurs. “To make sure he doesn’t come back?”
“There will be DNA on Grayson. He’s killed a man. He tried to kill us. He’s going to prison for the rest of his life, Grandma.” Raiden runs a hand through his hair. “We’ll never have to worry about him again.”
She sits with her hands clasping her knees tightly. “He tried to turn me against you. Against Julian too. The worst part is, when they were taking him away in cuffs, I felt bad for him. All his life, he’s been ignored, shunned. And now he’ll be in a cage. Forever. I feel responsible.”
“He killed an innocent man,” Raiden snarls. “He put a gun to Aurora’s head. I’m not going to lose any sleep over him.”
“What now?” Grandma says.
Raiden approaches and pulls me into a hug. We haven’t had any alone time since the cops arrived and we gave our statements. Now, I sink against him. I didn’t realize how traumatizing this experience was until I collapse into his embrace, his warmth enveloping me.
I burst into tears.
“We go on,” Raiden says softly, stroking his hand through my hair. “We repair. We grow.”
“Yes, yes, we will,” Evangeline whispers. “But I meant… with you two, what happens now?”
“I’ve got an idea,” Raiden says.
I look up at him with teary eyes.
“What idea?” I ask.
“You heard what Martino said at the party, beautiful. You’ve got serious talent, maybe generational talent. I want to help you start a boutique, a bespoke service where you design for high-end clients, how and when you want. You can work around college. When you graduate, you can expand. You’ll never have to worry about anything except the work.”
His voice is pure passion, husky and heated. “I’ll take care of the boring nuts-and-bolts side of things. The business, the management, and the client acquisition. It will mean extra work, but when you graduate, you’ll already be firmly established in your dream job.”
I gently cup his face in wonder at how I got so lucky. “That sounds amazing. But I don’t want any special favors.”
“You’ll be doing me a favor by agreeing to work with me,” he says. “Together–if Grandma sees fit to allow me access to the Blackwell fortune, of course–we’ll fight those Goliath bastards until there’s nothing left. We’ll set you up for life.”
“I’m on board with all of this,” Evangeline says. “You’re the one who’s been so stubborn about earning your own money. It’s always been our fortune. I can’t think of a better use than highlighting Aurora’s talent for the whole world to see. But that wasn’t what I meant.”
“No?”
“I meant… what happens between you two now? To your relationship?”
Raiden swallows, looks down at me with shining eyes. He’s not crying, but he’s filled with more emotion than I’ve seen in him, than I could’ve imagined before all this happened.
“I want to go into business with you, no matter what you decide,” Raiden says.
“What do you want?” I ask.
He gently wipes tears from my cheeks. “I want to be in your life. I want to see where this, where we go, Aurora. I want to learn what and who we are once we take off the masks. This isn’t Hollywood. I’m not going to fall to my knees and ask you to marry me because we watched some movies together. But I care about you more than I’ve cared about any other woman. The idea of ending this… it hurts me.”
His voice gets croaky.
“Me too,” I admit, leaning up, and kissing him gently on the lips. “It’s not going to be easy though. With college and this new business.”
“We’ll make it work. We’ll make time for each other.”
“What if…” I don’t want to say it, but we have to be realistic about these things.
“What if we break up? What will that mean for the business?”
I nod. “I’m sorry, but—”
“Don’t be sorry. It’s a mature question. The business will be separate. So, Aurora…” He takes a step back, then falls to one knee.
My hand flies to my mouth to catch a gasp. “Raiden!”