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I’m going to take care of her forever.
Chapter forty-six
Drake
“Do you have it?” I asked, closing the door to Ronan’s office. I checked the hallway to make sure we were alone, as if I hadn’t walked through the abandoned building two minutes ago. It was still dark, and the click of the latch echoed slightly.
He pulled a box from the top drawer of his desk, sliding it across the surface. “Of course I do. Have I ever let you down?” Ronan chuckled when I rolled my eyes.
“You’re the best.” I put my hands up in front of me in a praying motion, and he laughed.
“I am, aren’t I? Don’t worry about it. I know you’ll get me back.” I knew to use caution when that was coming from a man like Ronan Moretti. He had connections that should scare me—connections that did scare me, but I trusted him. For some reason he trusted me too. I tried not to question it.
I nodded. “Any time.”
“Really, Drake.” He rested his elbows on his desk, his face falling serious. “Once you’re like family, you’re family. We have you and Amanda any time you need it.”
“I’m honored. Anything I can do in return…” I shrugged.
“We know.” He chuckled. “We want an invite to the wedding.”
“Deal!” I joined him, and our laughter sounded louder in the empty building.
I reached for the velvet box on the desk, flicking it open and observing the ring. It was a sunrise ruby, the rarest of rubies, and it was flawless—cut in a perfect oval with a halo of dainty diamonds around it. Small diamonds lined the band, reflecting the light and making it shimmer. It looked even better than I had expected.
“It’s perfect,” I said, closing the box. “Seriously, I can’t thank you enough for getting it so quickly.”
Ronan nodded, then cocked his head. He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back in his chair. “Why this ring?”
“It’s rare. I like rare, and supposedly it represents passionate love and courage or some shit like that.” I paused when Ronan lifted both of his brows and widened his eyes with entertained interest. “Don’t look at me like that. She’s into these crystals and shit. She’s going to love it.”
“Whatever you say, dude.” He laughed, standing up from his chair and rounding his desk.
I chortled. “It’s perfect. I know it.” She was perfect.
He clapped me on the shoulder. “That wasn’t cheap.” He pointed at the box in my hand that I had paid a down payment on a house for. It was worth every penny. “For your sake, I hope she says yes.”
I grinned, stuffing the box in my pocket and laughing. “So do I.”
***
“I guess it all worked out, huh?” Giacomo said, signing the last line on the stack of papers in front of him. Ronan chuckled next to him, and Amanda stifled a laugh of her own, resulting in a light blush on her cheeks.
“Of course it did!” She clapped in an attempt to appear serious, emphasizing her point with a curt nod before she gave in and giggled.
Amanda was buzzing with excitement that was contagious, and the rest of us wore grins we couldn’t resist. That was the thing about her—she had the uncanny ability to make everything better. In the bright red dress she wore, the one that hugged her curves enough but could still be considered professional, she looked unstoppable. I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
When the building she had so badly wanted to close on originally, the one Dallas stole from under our noses, came back on the market, she jumped on it. “It’s like petty justice,” she had said when the listing finally appeared on the record.
It had been two weeks since I was released from jail and the assault charge had been dropped, and the building was listed a couple days later. Dallas was gone, and so was any trace of his businesses in the area. Once he disappeared, the seller had seemed as eager to sell as we were to make the offer. Amanda had been more excited than any of us, not that I could blame her for it.
“Now who had regrets? Not me.” She winked at me and confidently rested her hands on her hips, earning a roaring laugh from the room. “Congratulations, gentlemen. You have yourselves another new-to-you building.”
“That girl of yours really is something,” Ronan said when Amanda practically danced around to the other side of the table to grab the signed paperwork. “Don’t let go of that one. I mean it.”
“She is, isn’t she? I don’t plan on letting her out of my sight.” I stared at her, and when she looked up and grinned, my chest tightened, and the butterflies trapped in my stomach raced towards my throat. “Thank you for keeping her safe and for helping me out.” I would thank him and his brother again and again.
Ronan’s face was serious. “No problem, man. We will always help the people who help us.” I nodded. “Plus that Dallas guy was a fucking prick. Scaring him off was the highlight of my month.” His laugh filled the room, drawing attention from Giacomo and Amanda.
