Celebration

EMERALD

In the days that followed Tate’s surprise, things with Nicole and Leo changed.

Nicole was sticking to her story, despite Vince logging evidence otherwise. Of course, there was no way to confirm without getting a subpoena for her real medical records, which we all agreed would be going too far.

A statement from her doctor pertaining to the findings during those checkups would be the farthest we’d go, but only if she didn’t come clean and issue a public apology to mend the damage she’d done.

Leo was still radio silent, content to let his play continue, despite it going up in flames around him, which had me thinking he was working on something else. Something bigger and more difficult to fight against.

He was biding his time far too well while the case against Nicole dragged on, and Devon agreed that it wasn’t a good sign, though Tate believed his older brother was licking his wounds.

It had been a week since the accident, and Lance hadn’t regained the use of his legs yet, but they were responding to stimuli, so there was hope that he’d be able to walk again, given proper time and therapy.

The VA doctor deemed his injury too severe to send back on tour but not too severe to warrant total discharge until it began to heal more. For now, he was on medical leave.

Mom was moved into Bloomfield with the help of Tate, Vince, Devon, and Macy. I practically saw the brick that hit Vince when he saw my best friend, and I have to admit, it was freaking adorable.

And entertaining because Macy was sticking to her refusal of all male attention for the foreseeable future while Vince tried very hard to charm her. Until I gave him that look that shut him down faster than you could blink.

I had nothing against him, but if Macy said no, I’d make sure he heard it, and until she changed her mind, that was all Vince would get.

Devon had proven himself useful by making sure the media was involved at the right moments for Tate’s image.

He’d chosen an underfunded animal shelter in the city to volunteer at and created a running shipment of supplies needed the most to be shipped every month since it ran solely on volunteer hours and donations.

The attention he brought to the shelter went wide, affecting many other shelters in the city and bringing about an increase in volunteers, donations, and adoptions, which made Tate want to celebrate by taking me out to dinner.

“I know I say this every time I do your makeup, but you have really good skin,” Macy said as she applied my eye shadow for me.

“Calm down, Hannibal.” I snorted. “No need to start drooling.”

“Ha ha,” she said, putting the brush down and tapping my nose with the mascara tube. “So, have you been able to find out where he’s taking you?”

“No. He’s annoyingly good at keeping his mouth shut.” I pouted as I put on the last touches.

“Unless he’s using it for pleasurable reasons.” She wiggled her eyebrows at me. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you were missing from the fort two nights ago.

“Judging by the sounds coming from your room, I’d say you two were at it for a while before I woke up.”

“Jesus, Mace, can we not talk about my sex life?” I blushed and tossed the mascara tube into her makeup bag.

“Kinda difficult to ignore when you’re screaming about it.” She giggled, and I threw a wadded-up tissue at her.

“Serious note. I’m happy for you. Being with Tate is bringing parts of you back to life I didn’t think could be revived after Pops died.

“He’s really good for you, Em, but he’s not some tuna. I’m jealous, actually. You weren’t even fishing, and you caught something great.”

“Well, don’t retire your fishing pole yet.” I put my hand on her shoulder to steady myself while I slipped my shoes on my feet.

“Psht. I’m bolting that bitch to the ceiling and taking up strip dancing as a workout,” she said.

“Oh god.” I laughed. “You have shit upper body strength, Mace. You’ll break your damn neck.”

She pinched my side with a pout before she chuckled and handed me the clutch that went with my pale lavender satin dress.

She left the bedroom where she had been staying the past few nights since the boiler at her apartment stopped working.

I did one more check in the mirror before following her. I don’t know why I was still nervous about going out with Tate.

We’d been on several dates since my birthday. Many of them ended up cut short in favor of coming back home and having some pretty mind-blowing sex until the sun began lighting up the sky outside the windows.

Stepping into the living room, I was once again stunned silly by how ~good~ Tate looked. Suits and ties were his bread and butter, and he made those ridiculously expensive suits look good.

I preferred it when he was in more human clothes, like his lounge pants and a T-shirt or when he came home from the gym with Vince in his shorts and tank.

Who was I kidding? I’d climb my Treeman regardless of what he wore.

“Damn it,” he growled when he saw me. “How the hell are we going to get through the night when you look at me like you want to be fucked?”

Macy cleared her throat loudly, and Devon whistled as he tried to make it look like he was too busy to have heard. By fluffing a plant.

“Tate.” I blushed.

“Nope,” he said, taking my hand and pulling me to the main elevator, slapping the panel. “We are going to make it through an entire date more than three times, you little temptress.

“Don’t say a word because I’m about one syllable from taking you into the bedroom and not letting you go for at least a whole day.”

I heard Devon and Macy laughing as the doors closed behind us, and I felt my face blazing as my insides fluttered with happiness.

“Caveman,” I muttered.

“Damn right,” he agreed and looked at me with that look that usually meant we weren’t making it through the date. I loved that look.

“Stop looking at me like that, Shrimp. I swear, we’ll not make it to the restaurant at this rate.”

“That’s a bad thing?” I giggled.

“Fuck, no, but I’m determined to make it through this date,” he said, his jaw ticking as he looked forward as the doors opened into the lobby, and Yuri held the door open for us.

“Is that a ~limo~?” I asked, looking at the slightly stretched car in front of us. Dale was dressed up and holding the door open with a smile on his face.

“It is.” Tate nodded. “We’re celebrating, Emerald.”

“A limo seems a bit much for increased pet adoptions,” I said as I got in and slid over, seeing the already open bottle in a chilling bucket and a pair of glasses.

“Champagne, too? You go entirely too far with celebrating the small things.”

“Tonight isn’t about small things,” he said, reaching for the bottle and glasses. “Good things are never small, Shrimp. Except for you.”

“I’m not small, dick head.” I rolled my eyes.

“Agree to disagree.” He laughed and handed me a glass.

“Whatever,” I muttered and took a sip. “So, where are we going, Dale?”

“Na-uh.” Tate laughed. “Don’t you tell her a thing.”

“Sorry, Miss Wells. He’s the boss.” Dale chuckled, and I pouted.

“Traitor,” I muttered.

“You’re adorable when you sulk.” Tate chuckled and put his hand on my thigh, leaning over to kiss my cheek. “Patience, Shrimp. I promise you’re not going to have any complaints. Trust me.”

“I trust you entirely too much to be healthy, I think.” I sighed and took another sip.

“Is such a thing possible?” he asked, his brow arched.

“I’m beginning to believe so.” I chuckled. “It’s a good discovery. I’m sure of it.”

“As long as it’s a good thing, I’m happy to hear it.” He smiled.

I tried for the rest of the ride to get him to tell me something, anything, about his plans for the night, but he said nothing I didn’t already know while looking incredibly amused.

Jerk.

When we finally stopped, I nearly had a heart attack at the name of the restaurant.

“Harper’s? Tate, it takes months to get a table here.” I looked at him. “How did you manage this?”

“I have my ways, Shrimp.” He took my hand and kissed my knuckles as Dale got out and came around to open the door for us.

Tate stepped out, pausing to button his suit jacket, then turned to offer me a hand. This wasn’t much different from when we’d gone out before, so I couldn’t quite understand why I was nervous.

Being near Tate in public made me nervous anyhow, but that was my fear of judgment getting to me. This was different. I couldn’t put my finger on it, though.

“You look confused,” Tate said against my temple, his hand on my waist.

“You’re being quite mysterious tonight.” I smiled up at him. “Can you blame me?”

“Considering how well my last surprise went, can you blame me for wanting to do it again?” He chuckled.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to get through a whole date tonight?” I laughed as we walked past the ever-present reporters, hoping to see a hot couple or three.

“I’m rethinking my decision.” He smiled, adding a wink before speaking to the maître d’.

We were taken to a table, and Tate pulled out the chair for me, pausing to place a soft kiss on my cheek before taking his seat across from me.

Again, this wasn’t new. He was an affectionate man and had no problems showing the world how much he cared about me.

He even went out of his way to make it known on occasion, abruptly ending a last-minute lunch meeting when I showed up, unaware, with a bag of food for us.

Many of the men in that meeting were married and chuckled about the situation as they left his office.

“So, how did your phone call with your father go?” I asked him, sipping on my water.

“About as you’d expect. His wife isn’t happy about the ‘last-minute warning’ that we’ll be there in three days, and she’s likely going to turn it into this big four-part drama, but she’ll get over it,” he answered.

“I fully expect her to be a bitch, so be warned.”

“So, wear my bitch stompers or regular shoes?” I asked, making him chuckle.

“I’d opt for practical, just because she’s just as likely to throw a garden party as a ball, so choose accordingly,” he replied. “My mother was less thrilled, but she’s never pleased. Don’t take it personally.”

“I promise I’ll try to contain my enthusiasm, but there’s just so much,” I said sarcastically.

“You don’t really need to meet my mother, you know. She’s had very little to do with my life since I turned twenty and I told her to fuck herself.”

“You did not.” I gasped.

“I did.” He laughed. “In my defense, she was trying to set me up on a blind date with some daughter of a friend of hers. Anything to assure her own advancement.”

“Mother of the Year.” I snorted.

“She was raised that way, so she doesn’t know any better. Not that it’s an excuse, but she never stood much of a chance.” He shrugged. “You get along with Gran, at least.”

“That woman is evil in the best ways, I swear.” I laughed. “She and my mom would tear the world apart if we got them together.”

“I can believe it.” He chuckled.

We chatted about nothing and everything as we ate, and even though I couldn’t possibly manage dessert, we still ordered it, and I somehow managed to find room to fit it in my stomach.

Tate and I laughed at the end of a story about some of the things he got up to with Vince in school before falling silent, sipping on the last of the wine and enjoying the evening together; he took my hand from across the table.

“Emerald, you are the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he said, looking serious.

“You’re also the most terrifying because I can’t begin to imagine losing you. I don’t want to. I’ve made mistakes, and I’m probably going to make more, but I’m never going to stop trying to be the man that deserves you.”

He got up and came around to my side, dropping to one knee and making my breath stop as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a little black velvet box.

“I love you, Emerald, so much more than I thought any person could love another,” he said, taking my hand and kissing my knuckles before putting the box in my hand and holding it with both of his.

“I can honestly say that you’re the reason I’m a better man today than yesterday and the influence that makes me want to be better tomorrow.”

“You better ask your question before I start crying and can’t answer.” I choked out a laugh and swiped at the moisture in my eyes.

“Marry me?” He smiled and opened the box in our hands.

“Stupid.” I grinned. “I can’t say no to you, Tate. Of course, I’ll marry you!”

He laughed and leaned forward, kissing me fiercely before taking the ring, tossing the box carelessly on the table to land in the chocolate and strawberry drizzle and melted ice cream.

He slid the ring on my finger to polite applause from the other diners.

He stood, pulling me to my feet for another scorching kiss before picking me up around my waist for a better angle.

“Fucking tree. Put me down,” I giggled.

“This has to be the first proposal celebrated by name-calling, Shrimp,” he said, kissing my neck before putting me on my feet and leading us out of the restaurant.

“And you called me stupid before accepting. Definitely a first.”

“We are kind of nontraditional,” I laughed as he practically ran us to the car.

“That we are, Shrimp. Now, let’s move on to the next part of our date,” he smiled, spinning me around so I was caught against his chest. “The sooner we get it over with, the sooner we can get back home.”

“There’s ~more~?” I asked, making him laugh before kissing me and letting me slide into the seat. Dale, of course, was grinning like a madman the whole time.

“Here,” Tate said after we drove away and flipped on an overhead light. He lifted my hand with the ring on it and held it up so I could see it. “Nontraditional has been fully embraced, I think.”

It wasn’t a diamond. Well, the center stone wasn’t. That was a single round emerald polished to a very high shine and set into the band that was made to look like a rose with tiny diamonds on the petals.

It wasn’t overly large, but it did need to be wider than a normal engagement band and more like a wedding band, but it was beautiful.

“You had this ordered before I quit that day.” I looked at him, and he nodded, smiling sheepishly. “You were so sure, huh?”

“I was that hopeful,” he corrected. “I meant what I said, Emerald. I didn’t ask you to marry me for the will. I asked you to marry me because I ~do~ love you.”

“You’ve made me love you, too, Tate. I never stood a chance against you, you charming asshole,” I said and threaded our fingers together and laid my head on his shoulder. “I love you, and it’s kind of scary how much.”

“The scary part is how I was able to live this long without this,” he said, turning off the light, and we waited for our next stop.

“You won’t do that again, now,” I said with a happy sigh.

“No. Never again,” he agreed.