Dirty Little Promise (Forbidden Desires #2)

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When Sunday came, Emma went on a shopping trip with her friend Bethany, leaving me to sit in my apartment and ruminate over yesterday’s lunch.

In truth, I should have expected the questions about my past and the worries over my career. I’d been so focused on making Emma more comfortable, it hadn’t even occurred to me, but in hindsight, I should have prepared myself.

Still, in spite of everything, it went even better than I could have hoped. Emma’s parents were just like her—good listeners, respectful, interested. When we spoke, I could tell they really cared about whatever I was saying, small talk or no.

No bullshit. What you saw was what you got, and I liked that.

And more than anything? They were important to Emma. Which meant they were important to me now too.

When Frank and I had made our way out to the parking lot, he’d shown me his new car—a beautiful Cadillac that Anne apparently didn’t approve of. He made me peer under the hood and stroke the luxury seating, telling me twenty times or more that the seats could get either hot and cold at the touch of a button.

When he’d finished, he turned to me and said, “All right, now that I’ve had my fun, what did you really want to talk to me about?”

“How’d you know?”

He gave me a small smile. “I’m not an idiot. You could buy and sell me. You don’t care about this car.”

“It’s a beautiful car,” I said. “But you’re right, I did want to talk to you about something else.”

He nodded and crossed his arms over his chest.

“I love your daughter. Very much. So much that I want to spend the rest of my life with her, and I’d like your blessing.”

Frank didn’t appear surprised by this in the slightest. “You’ll provide for her? I know it’s old-fashioned, but it’s important to me.”

I nodded. “No matter what. She’ll never want for anything.”

“And you’ll look after her? You’ll never hurt her?”

“I could never, ever hurt her,” I said sincerely.

“You’ll love her even when it’s hard?”

I understood his concerns only too well. Of course there would be hard times; there were in any marriage.

I nodded. “I’ll love her until my last breath.”

“Then you have my blessing, young man,” he’d said. “Now, let’s go inside before Anne orders another bottle of wine.”

I’d grinned and followed him, but his words had been on my mind all day and night afterward, so much so that Emma had asked me what was wrong with me.

The fact that this was the one thing I couldn’t stop thinking about, in spite of all the other things pressing on me? The lawsuit, the unresolved issues with Emma’s safety, the press . . . the stress was tremendous, but all I could think about was getting on one knee and asking Emma to be my wife.

A fire lit inside me and I stood. Grabbing my jacket from the hook beside the door, I slipped it on and headed out onto the city streets. It was a chilly day, but luckily for me, the jeweler wasn’t a far walk from my apartment. When I reached the store, I walked inside and made a beeline for the first display case of rings I could find.

“How can I help you today, sir?”

An older woman with auburn hair twisted into a knot smiled at me from behind the case, and I grinned back at her.

“I’m looking for an engagement ring for the most beautiful woman in the world.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry to disappoint, but I’m already married, sir.” She winked, and I chuckled.

“Could I see this one?” I pointed to a ring with a massive round diamond nestled in the center of a halo of smaller diamonds. The band was platinum, and as I took it in my hand, I held it out, trying to imagine it on Emma’s slender finger.

I shook my head. “I don’t think that one’s quite right.”

The saleswoman took it back, then reached for a new selection. “How about this one?”

This was a more traditional ring. A five-carat diamond sat in the center of a cluster of diamonds that lined the entire band. It was paired with a matching wedding ring with an equal number of glittering stones. As I looked at the shimmering confection of a ring, it practically blinded me, but I knew this, too, wasn’t right for Emma.

I frowned and shook my head. “Not that one either.”

The woman took the ring back and placed it inside the case again. “Maybe it would help if we had a price point?” she asked carefully.

I shook my head. “Price is no object.”

She rose her eyebrows. “All right then, what about this?”

She moved to another case and took out another ring, heavier than the others when she placed it in the center of my palm. The stone must have been at least ten karats, and it was flawless in every light. On either side of the rock sat two smaller, but equally impressive diamonds, and underneath was a diamond-encrusted band that hugged each of the cushion-cut stones.

“This is stunning.” I held the ring out, examining it in the light as I tried to picture the look on Emma’s face when she saw it. It was truly the most beautiful ring I’d ever laid eyes on, but it still wasn’t quite right. Not for Emma. Shaking my head, I handed the ring back to the woman.

She took it, then tilted her head to the side. “Tell me a little bit about your fiancée, maybe?”

My fiancée. I liked the sound of that.

“She’s perfect. Easy to be around, and just as beautiful in no makeup and jeans as she is in a ball gown. She’s comfortable everywhere, but she likes being home the best. She’s refurbishing her grandmother’s old brownstone herself, and she loves to read. She’s the kind of girl who’d rather sit by the pool than go on a spa retreat.” I smiled, thinking about her in her polka-dot bikini.

The woman’s eyes softened and she nodded thoughtfully. “So, she appreciates the simple things in life.”

“She does.”

“I know just the ring.” She disappeared for a moment and then approached me with a red crushed-velvet box.

Snapping it open, I found a single solitaire inside set on a classic band. The diamond was flawless, a round stone with brilliant light pouring from every angle. It was simple and perfect, just like Emma. It would enhance the beauty of her trim little hand instead of overpowering it.

But best of all? It would make her smile when she looked at it. I knew it in my gut.

“This is perfect,” I said.

“I thought so. Would you like to know the price?”

“That’s not necessary. I’ll take this one.”

I followed her to the cash register and settled the bill, then tucked the tiny box in my pocket before making my way back onto the street, thinking again of Emma’s parents. I wondered if she would want them there when I proposed, and tried to imagine what sort of proposal she would want.

Probably nothing too glitzy or over the top. There would be no skywriting, no flash mob with signs. Just a few candles and the two of us.

Classic, just like the ring and just like Emma.

As the gears in my mind worked, I felt my phone vibrate and I grabbed it, not bothering to look at the number before pressing the phone to my ear.

“Hello?” I said.

“Mr. Kingsley, it’s Aaron Deacon.”

My lawyer.

“Mr. Deacon, hello. What’s going on?”

“I’m reviewing your case and was wondering if you’d had any more time to consider our plan of action. Have you spoken with your business partners?”

I cleared my throat. “No. I haven’t.”

“I’ve been doing some case research, and it’s my job to tell you I think it’s prudent that you settle out of court at this juncture. I just don’t see this going away.”

I pursed my lips. “Go on.”

“I looked into the plaintiffs’ background to see if they could sustain such an extended trial, and it would appear that they were recently the victors in another lawsuit against a pharmaceutical company—”

“Whom they were suing on Ashley’s behalf,” I said, finishing for him.

“Yes. The settlement was substantial, and I think they’ll be prepared to put the screws to you if push comes to shove. To have something like this in the papers over the course of weeks? Very bad for business.”

“And how much would you suggest I settle for?”

“Five million. It’s a lot less than what they’re asking, but like I said, they only want the money.”

I pinched my nose and let out a long breath. “Right.”

“Like I said, I felt obligated to tell you. Discuss it with your family and your business partners, and then get back to me as soon as you can. We’re running out of time here.”

“Okay, I will.” I ended the call, then scrolled over to Quinn’s number, staring at it for a long moment before stuffing my phone back in my pocket.

A settlement that large would crush the company, not just financially but ethically. Even as I rolled the issue over and over in my mind, I couldn’t get past the idea that a settlement would make things look exactly as they weren’t—that Ashley’s parents had cared about her, and that I was the source of her pain.

In all the time I’d known her, all I had ever done was try to make her life better, to make her happy. There was evidence of that in all my memories, all the times I’d sat by her hospital bed.

Which meant, no matter what happened, a jury should be able to see that too.

I couldn’t cut and run. No, I had to find a way to tell Quinn and Cooper the truth.

The ring burned like a brand in my pocket, and I swallowed hard.

And Emma too.