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“I can.” I bring her hands to my lips and kiss them, one at a time. “And I want to take you to the jewelry store right now to pick out an amazing ring. A huge blinged-out diamond that screams, ‘I’m married to a guy with the resources to fuck you up if you try to make a move on me.’”
She laughs at that. “I don’t know that I’m a bling type of woman, Harry.”
“Get whatever you want, but I want you to have something beautiful, okay? Something you can pass down to Avery one day.”
Her expression softens. “Okay, if that’s what you want.”
“It is, and don’t worry about the cost. I’m well-off. Or, I guess…we’re well-off, now.”
“Are you sure, Harry?” Her eyes widen with worry. “Are you a hundred-percent sure you want this? With me?”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.” I bend down to touch my forehead to hers. “I’m going to call my assistant and offer her or her daughter an obscene amount of money to watch Avery for an hour or two today. And then we’re going ring shopping.”
“How many more kids do you want?” she asks, a beautiful smile on her gorgeous face.
“I was thinking six more.”
She pulls back, her lips parted in shock. “Six kids, Harry. Are you serious?”
“No, babe. But I enjoyed seeing that look on your face.”
She rolls her eyes. “Don’t do that to me, geez. I about had a heart attack.”
“How many more do you want? It’s your body, so you should get more of a say than I do.”
Considering her answer, she says, “At least two more. Maybe three.”
I can’t stop grinning as I imagine coming home from work to Winter and our children, to scenes of happy chaos.
“We’re gonna need to buy a bigger house,” I say, mentally scrolling through my real estate contacts.
“Eventually.”
“You like living in the city, though.”
“I do, but if we need more room…”
I shrug and say, “It’s easily solved. We can buy two or three adjacent apartments and have them converted into one big one.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” I kiss her and stand up, extending a hand to help her to her feet. “There aren’t any problems we can’t solve together.”
Her glow of happiness softens as she says, “I went to visit Mal today.”
“You did?”
She nods. “The plot and headstone are absolutely beautiful, Harry. Thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me. It was the least I could do.”
Bringing a palm to my cheek, she says, “You did more than the least. And it means a lot to me. And to Avery.”
“I’m glad.”
“She’d be happy for us,” Winter says softly. “I truly believe that.”
“I want to help you keep her memory alive for Avery. We could start small with some pictures if you have some of you and Mallory or Mallory with Avery. When Avery gets older, we can go through the boxes of Mallory’s things you saved, too. We could even start a scholarship in her name, or anything else you think of.”
“Thank you, Harry.”
I kiss her softly and say, “I’m going to call my assistant now, so we can go get that ring.”
“Perfect.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Winter
It all feels like a dream.
I’m walking down an aisle strewn with rose petals on the back lawn of a luxurious Miami beach house owned by a friend of Harry’s. With every step I take, I get a little bit closer to the man I’m deeply in love with.
It’s been a month since Harry took me to Tiffany & Co. on Michigan Avenue. I look at the sparkling oval solitaire surrounded by tiny pale pink diamonds every day in wonder. Those pink diamonds are my connection to Mallory, and they remind me of what she wanted for me—to be happy.
And I am. As I look down the aisle and see Harry waiting for me in his perfectly polished tuxedo, tears shining in his eyes, I know this is real. It was a whirlwind that started with him being the man I hated most in the world, but now, when I look at him, all I see is love.
We’re having a small, intimate ceremony. Harry flew everyone here on a couple private jets and provided lodging for the week, so my friends from the salon are living their best lives, sitting poolside and sipping fruity drinks when we aren’t doing wedding stuff.
Harry invited about twenty of his closest friends and colleagues, and Viv is standing about ten feet away from him in the front row of chairs, holding Avery and beaming at me.
Aubrey and Chance are here, too. Chance, holding baby Chance, gives me an approving nod as I walk past them. Aubrey blows me a kiss.
I can’t imagine a more beautiful place to get married. The house overlooks the ocean and has a magnificently landscaped back yard with a huge pool, and a large fountain surrounded by manicured trees and bright-colored flowers. Our wedding planner softened the bold, tropical flowers in the yard with garlands and topiaries made from pale pink roses and assorted white flowers. It’s exactly what I wanted.
