“I love you, Mr. Black,” I whispered against him. “Don’t break my heart. It’s yours.”
“I love you too, Mrs. Black.” He smiled. “Don’t break mine. It’s yours.”
With a smirk, Gabriel released me and knelt down beside my bed, pulling a box out from underneath. I looked at him quizzically as he opened the box and tears filled my eyes as I noticed what was in there. The crystal-encrusted Louboutins I’d left behind at Alpha.
While still on one knee, he tapped my foot and pulled off the cowboy boots, replacing them both with the heels.
“How’s that for a fairy tale ending, Mrs. Black?”
I smiled, a tear falling down my cheek. “Oh, Mr. Black, it’s merely the beginning.”
“You did what?!” Quinn shrieked into the phone a couple of hours later.
Gabriel and I had celebrated our engagement by going into the living room of my parents' house to break the news to everyone. My mother burst into tears, hugging the life out of Gabriel. My father smiled and offered him whiskey and me a kiss. Kylie? Kylie bawled her damn eyes out. Of course, later that night, I had to explain Gabriel wasn’t married, he was a widower and Kate was his sister-in-law. She sent Kate an email minutes later to tell her where to stick her job.
“I said yes.” I laughed, listening to Quinn almost having a heart attack on the phone. “I also have something else to tell you.”
“If you tell me you’re pregnant, I might actually die.”
“What?! No, no, I’m not pregnant. Jesus, Quinn!”
“Then what else could there possibly be?” he asked, sounding a little confused.
“Well, maybe Gabriel should tell you,” I said, handing the phone to my future husband. Wow. Husband, so weird.
“Hey Quinn,” Gabriel spoke. “No, she’s really not pregnant.” He laughed. “But I don’t think it’ll be long until she is.” He winked at me. I smacked him in the arm.
“Anyway, the other news. You start working full-time as a hair and makeup artist at Vogue on Monday. The editor in chief’s PA will call you tomorrow for final confirmation and details.”
Gabriel’s eyes widened as he pulled the phone away from his ear, chuckling as he did. We could all hear the screams coming from the phone. Quinn was hysterical.
“I think he’s a little excited.” Gabriel chuckled, handing me the phone.
“Quinn, should I call 911?” I laughed, listening to him pretty much crying with excitement.
“Hooker, you better snag me some good products!” Kylie shouted at the phone at him, earning a look from my mother and a chuckle from my father. “Oops, sorry.”
“When are you coming home? We need to celebrate with cocktails and cheesecake!” Quinn said and I shook my head.
“We’ll be back on Monday. I’ll text you when we land.”
“Okay, honey. Love you guys!” Quinn sang.
“Love you too, sweetie.” I smiled, ending the call.
I looked around the home I’d grown up in, the one where my life was literally sitting, all except Quinn.
“You’re missing him,” Gabriel whispered into my ear.
“Yeah, I just hate that he’s not here to celebrate with us.” I frowned, staring at my hands. It wasn’t hard to see I missed him, even though we’d only been a part for a day or so. We’d never spent that much time apart before.
“It’s a good job I flew him in when you said yes.” Gabriel chuckled as my eyes widened.
“You did what?” I shrieked, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room.
“What did he do now?” Kylie asked, a glare forming towards Gabriel.
He threw his hands up in mock surrender and chuckled.
“I just told my soon-to-be-wife that your best friend flew in this morning and is just pulling up to the house.”
For the first time, Kylie and I both squealed like girls together. Jumping from the sofa, I ran towards the front door, Kylie swiftly behind me. Opening the door, sure enough, I spotted Quinn stepping out of a lavish black Mercedes, Leo driving.
“Why is there dirt everywhere?” Quinn laughed as Leo stepped out of the car to remove his suitcase from the trunk before speeding off with a wave, kicking up some dirt from the road.
“Welcome to the South.” Kylie groaned, stepping onto the porch and embracing Quinn.
Once Kylie and I had squeezed the life out him, he clapped his hands and rubbed them together. I didn’t like the look of that.
“So we’ve got a wedding to plan! I work for Vogue now, girls, it’s time to start planning!” he squealed.
“I’m so going to regret this.” I groaned, hiding my face in my hands.