Brant rolled his eyes, then grinned down at the floor so they wouldn’t see the emotion on his face. “All right. Let’s go.”
Grandfather stopped Brant. “Before you go…I have an idea.”
* * *
Maybe a spa day wasn’t so bad. Nikki’s hands had both been massaged with the best-smelling lavender lotion, followed by her feet and calves. Her hair was brushed—which any woman knew could be so hypnotic that you wanted to fall asleep.
Makeup was last.
But even the makeup smelled good. Like brown sugar, as the brushes slid across her face.
And then, lipstick. It felt red. She had no idea how it felt red—it just did.
“All done.” Carol’s voice sounded different, more reserved, than it had when she first sat in the makeup chair.
Panicked, Nikki wished she could see herself, just once, just to know if she looked as pretty as she felt. Then again, maybe it was easier if she didn’t know. It meant her confidence had to come from some other place, a place that wouldn’t fade with age or get broken down by people’s stares.
“Do I look okay?” she asked, careful not to touch her face, not after her hands had been slapped away numerous times by Carol, and then again by Nadine when she’d checked in on their progress. It wasn’t her fault she was used to feeling everything in order to imagine what things looked like!
“You look”—Carol sucked in a sharp breath—“like Snow White.”
Nikki grinned wide. “She was always my favorite, you know, minus the whole living with a whole bunch of single, messy men.”
Carol snorted. “Okay, let’s get you to the Zen room.”
“The Zen room?” She frowned. “Why would I be going to the Zen room after getting all of this work done?”
“Stop asking questions.” Carol helped her stand and then walked with her arm in arm.
“Where is everyone?”
“What did I say about questions?” Carol reminded her.
“Geez, you and Nadine Titus could be related.”
Carol chuckled and then said, “She’s my great-aunt.”
“I hate how that makes sense.”
“Annie’s a distant cousin, not blood related.”
“What?”
“And Cole, well, Cole will have to tell you that story someday. But he’s the closest to the Titus blood line, I’m sure he had his reasons from keeping you in the dark. He doesn’t necessarily like telling people his connections with one of the richest families in the U.S.”
“Is that what this is about? Cole leaving?”
“Like I would ever abandon you,” Cole said. “You look like a princess.”
“Snow White,” Nikki offered for him. “Does that mean I’m really pale?”
“You’re perfect.” Cole leaned in and wrapped an arm around her. “Are you ready?”
“For what?”
He paused and then said, “Everything.”
They walked in silence and then the familiar scents of the Zen room, the peppermint and the lemon, hit her senses, making her feel instantly at ease.
“Do me a favor, Nik,” Cole whispered in her ear. “Be brave.”
Nadine Titus’s words rang out in her mind as Cole released her arm and took a step back.
“What’s going on?”
“I thought it made sense, having your best friend of four years walk you toward me.” Brant’s gruff voice pounded in her ears, making her heart leap in her chest. “After all, he refuses to let me forget that the day I walked away, he stepped in, and for that I’ll never forgive myself. And I’ll always be forever in his debt.”
Don’t cry. Do. Not. Cry.
“The thing is.” Brant was suddenly a blur of black and white in front of her. He smelled like heaven. He smelled like memories. He smelled like her best mistake—and greatest triumph. He smelled like the rest of her life—her future. “I love you.” Her heart stopped and then slammed so hard she had to suck in air to remember to breathe. “But pressuring you into staying with me, seducing the hell out of you, tying you to my bed, while they all sound like the best ideas I’ve ever had—they aren’t practical, and they don’t involve one very important thing.” He sighed, his fingertips grazing her chin as he tipped her face toward his body. “True love doesn’t trap. It doesn’t bribe. It offers a choice.”
A folder of papers were set in her right hand, and her fingers curled around it. “Our marriage contract is in here, along with a check for the money that should have been yours the minute you signed the divorce papers four years ago. I was too lost in my own grief to double-check that things were taken care of. I ignored my lawyer’s calls, and finally he stopped calling.”