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“I-I could hear Violet crying in the background,” she whispered brokenly. “She sounded so shattered.”
“No one will let anything happen to Violet,” I assured her. I guided her over to the bed and then dressed her in fresh clothes. Once she was covered, I packed her smallest case and promised her I would bring the rest of her things with me.
“You’re not coming with me?” she asked. Seeing the lost look in her eyes when she was normally the strong one broke my heart.
“Ma couldn’t get us on the same flight,” I told her. “But I’ll be there as soon as I can, baby. I promise.”
She gave a nod, but her chin trembled, and she grabbed hold of my pants and buried her face in my bare abdomen. “Oh God. She was such a mess after breaking up with Luca. She wanted to kill herself, Jags. How will she handle losing Remington like this?”
Crouching down in front of her again, I cupped her face. “She’s got a baby to think about this time, Shaw. She’ll be strong because she has to be, if for no other reason than that little girl. But we’ll help her too. I swear to you, nothing will happen to Vi. I won’t allow it.”
My vow helped dry her tears, and I got her to the airport in time to catch her flight. She had a layover to deal with as well, but I knew Ma had done all she could to get Shaw home as quickly as possible. I hated that she was traveling alone, especially as upset as she was, but I knew she could take care of herself. Shaw was resilient. She could handle anything thrown her way, and that was only one of the millions of things I loved so much about her.
I returned to the hotel to pack my own bags and grab the rest of Shaw’s. I remembered the proposal and had just enough time to cancel everything before there was a huge spectacle in front of the Eiffel Tower for no reason.
As I boarded my flight later that night, my heart felt heavy. For Violet and her unborn baby. For Shaw. And selfishly enough, for myself. I was leaving Paris without my girl—and without my ring on her finger.
I was starting to wonder if it would ever happen.
Chapter 39
Shaw
Getting Violet through the next few weeks following the death
of her husband was my top priority. I told Gina to cancel all of my contracts until I told her otherwise. My best friend needed me, and I wasn’t going to let her down.
Luca’s presence was a surprise, but not necessarily an unwelcome one. Remington had the right idea. No one—not even me—could have gotten Vi through the devastation of losing him like Luca could. Because whether she wanted to admit it or not, Violet still loved Luca.
She’d loved Remington; I would never doubt that for even a second. But Luca was her soul mate. She would always need him, and Remington had known and accepted that. He’d loved her so much that he’d ensured she—and their baby—would be in the best of hands.
With Luca there to pick up Violet’s broken pieces, it made it easier to accept the job when Gina texted saying that one of my usual clients needed some new shots with their best-selling products. I wasn’t their only spokesperson, but apparently the latest ads featured an actress and were under fire because the woman had gone on a racist rant on social media, and the client was pulling all of her ads and commercials.
Violet had a doctor’s appointment later in the day, so I told Gina to make sure everyone knew I needed to leave the shoot by a specific time so I could make the appointment with Vi and Luca. So far, I’d gone to every appointment with her, and I wasn’t about to miss the first one following Remington’s death. That love bug was my goddaughter, and I wasn’t ever going to let her or her mother down.
Jagger groaned as I crawled out of bed. “Where are you going?”
We’d been staying at Violet’s since the funeral, and it had started to feel a little like home because of the length of time we’d been there. I’d taken over one of the guest rooms, but the thing was even bigger than our bedroom at the apartment, and that was without counting the connecting bathroom. Being there made me think about what kind of house we would call our own one day.
Not that I was going to rush Jagger into committing to buying a house together. He wasn’t even ready to propose. But I wasn’t going to push…even though I’d been dropping hints since Violet and Remington’s Vegas wedding. He’d been so patient with me over the years while I was scared of loving him, and I needed to be the patient one now.
“Have to go to work, baby,” I told him as I gave him a quick kiss before moving away, knowing if I lingered, I wasn’t likely to make it to the photo shoot anytime soon.
He groaned again. “Cannon and I have meetings all morning. Petrova wants to talk about the two of us doing another album together since we’re back to being friends again.” He sat up as I started for the bathroom. “Make sure your mom goes with you.”
I’d already texted Mom as soon as I’d confirmed the location with Gina, but I hadn’t heard back yet. Rolling my eyes at him, I promised I would.
But when I got out of the shower, it was to find Mom had texted me back that she had her own doctor’s appointment to go to that morning. It was her yearly exam, and she was already at the doctor’s office. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d gone to a shoot without an assistant. I wasn’t helpless. I could handle it on my own.
Not that I mentioned it to Jagger. If I told him Mom couldn’t go with me, he would get all growly because he hated it when I worked without either him or Mom with me.
He was still lying in bed when I came out of the bathroom. His pale-blue eyes hungrily ate up the sight of me with nothing more than a damp towel wrapped around me. “Blow off this job and come back to bed,” he urged. “I’ll text Ma and have her move my meetings.”
Laughing, I shook my head. “Sorry, no can do. This is one of my biggest clients, and I can’t cancel.” I pulled out a pair of panties and then a bra. As I stepped into jeans, he jumped out of bed.
Squealing, I grabbed the first shirt my fingers touched and dodged him. “I love you,” I called over my shoulder while he growled behind me. “See you later.”
“Shaw, get your sexy ass back here,” he called from the door. He was completely naked and knew better than to walk around the house in so little. Luca would probably kill him if Violet saw him like that. I knew I would. I loved my bestie and knew she wasn’t even in the right frame of mind to even notice, but the thought of anyone seeing my man like that made me see red.
