Beyond(46)
Sam laughs. “Dane said that you say you don’t like surprises but you actually do.”
Damn him for knowing me so well.
Sam walks me to my bedroom door then kisses my forehead, before leaving without a word.
I watch him go, then open the door.
My eyes flare as I see Dane there on his knees, surrounded in candles, all of them lit.
Was it bad I was thinking what a waste of candles that was?
“Olivia,” he says. “Marrying you wasn’t my choice, but it was the best thing that has happened to me. I want you to know that I love you, so I’m asking you if we can have a do-over.”
“A do-over?” I ask, smiling.
He nods. “Olivia, will you be mine? I mean you’re already mine, but…”
He looks adorably frustrated. “What I’m trying to say is, I want this. This is my choice. You are my choice. I love you, and I want you to know that there’s no one else I’d rather be stuck with.”
I giggle at that.
He opens his hand, and in it is a ring with a huge red stone on it. A ruby. It’s beautiful.
“Where did you get that?” I ask breathily.
“I have my ways,” he replies, standing and closing the space between us. Taking my hand in his, he slides the ring on my finger, on top of the one I was currently wearing.
“It fits you perfectly,” he murmurs. “Just like you do me.”
Dane was so damn sweet, and I was overcome with emotions.
I didn’t know how to react, he had really taken me aback with his romantic gesture.
So I did what any woman in my situation would do.
I cried.
Happy tears.
Then I told him to stop wasting candles.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Two Weeks Later
Everything was perfect.
Until it wasn’t.
Looking back, that should have been a sign that something was going to go wrong. It usually did. But I was too preoccupied with being happy. I was living in the now, loving my life with Dane by my side. It wasn’t a perfect life. In fact, it was far from perfect, but we made do.
I’d just gotten dressed when I heard crashing sounds from somewhere close by. Running out of my room, I saw two men fighting in the hallway.
My two men.
Dane and Sam.
My husband, and my best friend.
“What’s going on?” I call out, running to both of them.
Dane has Sam in a headlock. He’s bigger than Sam, and although Sam is tough, Dane is more skilled. Dane is a trained killer. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to go up against him.
I slap Dane’s shoulder. “Dane, what the hell?”
Strong arms come around me, lifting me away.
Lars.
I squirm, and try to knee him in the balls.
“Stop it,” he growls, shaking me. “If you get hit accidentally both of them are going to hate themselves.”
“They’re going to kill each other,” I grit out as Dane punches Sam. “Dane is going to kill him!”
“He won’t,” Lars says, sounding sure.
I turn to him. “That’s your fucking boyfriend getting the shit beat out of him! Do something!”
Lars smiles sadly, shaking his head slightly. Catching him off guard, I elbow him in the stomach with all my might and return to Dane. Sam pushes Dane off him and I take that opportunity to get between them. I put a hand up on Dane’s chest.
“That’s enough!” I yell, my eyes pleading with his. He nods, so I turn to my best friend, whose nose is dripping blood. I rip off my sleeve and hand it to him. “Hold this to your nose Sam.”
“Sam has something to tell you,” Dane booms, making me jump. I glance at him and then back at Sam, wondering what the hell this could be about.
Sam’s throat works as he swallows. He looks nervous, which makes me nervous. “Your father told me, that if I came out as gay… He would kick me out.”
My eyes widen. “I would have never let that happen.”
“I know you wouldn’t,” he replies, his eyes watering. “Which is why it was me that poisoned him. It wasn’t Lars. His time to lead was over. It was your turn to shine Olivia. You always let me, and everyone else be who they are.”
“Sam,” I whisper, shaking my head no.
No.
He’s my best friend.
My rock.
He taught me everything he knew.
No.
He wouldn’t do this to me. He couldn’t.
“You wouldn’t do this,” I say in a hoarse voice that doesn’t sound like my own. “You wouldn’t.”
I was one of his favorite people in the world.
No.
I slide down on the floor, my back going against the wall.
People talk, but I don’t hear what they say.
I don’t hear anything.
Silence.
Blessed silence.
Darkness swallows me whole.