AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I walkedinto work Monday morning, not knowing what to expect, and found Jase already waiting for me in my office.
“I heard congratulations are in order.”
I quirked a brow as I rounded my desk and set my purse on top of it. I crossed my arms, propping my hip against the edge. “Is that a sincere congratulations? I can’t tell by the tone of your voice.”
He tilted his head from side to side as he hummed. “Let’s call it hesitant sincerity, at least for the time being.”
That took me aback. “Oh? And why the hesitancy?”
He studied me in that way he did whenever he was seeing more than I thought I was giving away. He pushed to his feet and stepped closer, his silent way of showing me he was serious. “I’m not being an asshole,” he assured me. “You know I’m only looking out for you. What happened with your douchebag ex left a serious mark. I want to make sure you aren’t jumping into something without thinking.”
I lifted my brows. “So you think I got engaged without thinking it through?”
It was ironic of me to even ask that, given the fact that was exactly what had happened.
“Gage seems like a good guy. When Poppy was in trouble, he and his partners didn’t hesitate to wade in. Shit would have gone down very differently if they hadn’t stepped in to help.”
I remembered the time he was referring to. His and Farah’s mom and dad weren’t just bad parents, they were straight up sociopaths. If it wasn’t for their driver, Bennett, who was more like a father to them than their own flesh and blood, they probably would have grown up with no moral compass at all. When Jase had succeeded in wrestling his family’s company from his criminal father, instead of handling it with grace and simply moving on, they’d contracted a hitman to abduct Poppy so they could hold her for ransom to get back the money they felt they rightly deserved. Gage, Jensen, and Laeth had been instrumental in finding her and bringing her home safely.
“I like him. I think of him as a friend. But that doesn’t mean I won’t use my money and connections to destroy his world if he hurts you.”
“He won’t,” I said instantly with one hundred percent certainty. “He would never do anything to hurt me.” As soon as I finished saying it I knew, without a doubt, those were the truest words I had ever spoken. We might have been in a strange predicament at the moment, but Gage had proven time and time again he’d have my back no matter what, he’d protect me from anything. If there was one person on the planet I could trust with absolutely anything, it was Gage Langdon. “That’s not something you have to worry about Jase. I promise.”
He breathed deeply, his gaze pounding into me. “Okay. But if that ever changes, I’m here. I want you to know you can always come to me.” Suddenly I knew exactly how Farah felt. I always teased that he acted like a pain-in-the-ass big brother, but this proved that I was more than his assistant; I was family.
I battled the burn behind my eyes and launched myself at him, rising on the tiptoes of my pencil-thin heels to wrap my arms around his neck in a tight hug. “I know,” I whispered past the emotion swelling in my throat. “Thank you.”
His arms came around me for a brief squeeze before we pulled apart. Jase cleared his throat and adjusted his silk tie while I carefully dabbed at my eyes to prevent mascara smudging.
The motion put my ring front and center, causing Jase’s eyes to nearly bug out of his skull. “Holy fucking God. Now that’s a fucking ring.”
I held my hand out, twisting and turning my wrist so the sunlight filtering through the window of my office could catch on the clusters of diamonds. The light caught and refracted off, sparkling like glitter. I smiled at the beautiful flower sitting on the base of my ring finger. “It is, isn’t it?”
“And very you.” My gaze came up to find my boss and friend smiling down at me, genuinely happy for me now, the hesitation all but gone. “Your man did good. That ring fits.”
I sniffled loudly; this morning was turning out to be a hell of a lot more emotional than I’d expected. “Okay, that’s all the mushy I can take before coffee. You need to go before you make me cry.”
He chuckled and stepped back toward my door, but stopped before exiting. “I have just the trick to clear those tears right up.”
I arched a questioning brow and Jase gave me a Cheshire cat grin. “Farah and some of your other girls are on their way in to corner you. I figure you’ve got about”—he glanced at his watch—“five minutes before the inquisition starts.” He knocked his knuckles against the doorframe and walked out, calling, “Best of luck to you,” over his shoulder.
Damn it! He hadn’t given meanytime to prepare, and I knew that was done on purpose.
“I take back anything nice I ever said about you!” I shouted back at him, earning a deep laugh that carried all the way from his office to mine.
“Poppy said this is what you get for ghosting them all weekend. And don’t bother running. That’ll only make it worse.”
Son of a bitch.
If Gage wasn’t getting the third degree this morning, I was going to be pissed.
* * *
Farah’s eyeswere bright with unshed tears as she clutched my left hand, having fawned over the ring Gage bought me the day before. “Oh my God, it’s really happening. I’m so happy for you!” she cried, yanking me into a hug so tight it made my ribs creak. “I knew you two were perfect for each other. You just needed to get out of your own way to see it.”
The scone I’d managed to scarf down before my friends invaded sat like a rock in my stomach, guilt petrifying it and causing it to fester. When Gage and I had decided how we were going to play this whole fake engagement thing, I didn’t stop to think about how it would feel to lie to my friends. It made me feel like shit. I didn’t like it one bit, but just as I was sure down to my very bones that Gage would do anything for me, there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for him either. If we needed to keep this up for however long to keep that vulture of an ex far away from him, I would gladly do it. Knowing that took a bit of the sting out of deceiving the women I was closest to.
Aurora moved in, hip-checking an overly emotional Farah out of the way. She’d been getting weepy at the drop of a hat for some time now. We all knew why, but had sat back and quietly waited for her and Cannon to share their news. Sure enough, a few weeks back, they told us they were having a baby. Farah was normally a bright ball of sunshine, and she still was, but she also cried at the most random things now. Like the broken twig she came across on the sidewalk, because—and this was a direct quote—“We don’t really know if trees feel pain. They are living things, after all, so wouldn’t it make sense? And now that little twig won’t get to live out his destiny of becoming a mighty oak.”
