Page 14 of Cocky M.D.
I didn’t need Britney reporting how my son was coddled to my mother, so I said, “Right. It’s a bit of a joke.”
I walked forward and gently nudged her arm to turn her around. “Well, thank you for coming, Miss Wolfe, but our parents will be ending all negotiations.”
She flipped her hair like we were still teenagers and she was some beauty queen and said, “Very well. It was nice meeting you.”
I waited near the door until she headed toward her Mercedes, then I closed it. For a moment, I didn’t move. Somehow, I needed to make my choice become real. If not, Britney was the kind of woman I would have in my life, and living on the other side of the country no longer mattered. I would have a constant reminder that I was a Dawes, even in my own house.
Olivia and Bradley were whispering, and I headed back into the living area.
She stood and hugged her waist. “You were serious that your parents intended to pick out your wife.”
I nodded. “I didn’t know they’d strike today.”
She played with her necklace as I came closer. Her lips made me ache, and I knew she must feel something, as she was blushing. “Bradley said you’re the heir to an agricultural and energy company.”
I waved for them to join me. It was a nice night, and the patio showed off my large garden nicely. She stayed beside me but didn’t let me hold her hand.
“Yes, but I’m the expendable son, which means I get to be a doctor, but I do get saddled with wives that might help the company.”
Bradley asked, “Was Mom?”
Yes, but she and I became friends, not that my son needed to know any of that. I’d sworn I would never let Bradley have the same pressures I did, so I ignored how my pulse spiked and repeated what I’d told him whenever he asked about her. “Your mother was great, Bradley.”
I opened the doors, and we stepped out onto the white marble balcony.
Olivia said, “I thought you became a doctor because you wanted to help people.”
Bradley went off the steps, and I stopped Olivia from following. He usually enjoyed the playground, not adult conversation, and I needed to be alone with her. “That’s true. It’s also about having control of my own family. Marriage was why I was finally given permission to not be in a job I hated, like my brothers.”
“How many brothers do you have?”
“Eleven. My dad thought it would be fun to start a tribe, but then he sent us all to boarding school or gave us nannies. And I was always the odd fish in the stream.”
A servant walked past, and I requested for them to bring a bottle of wine.
“You’re full of surprises, Johnny,” Olivia said.
I folded my hands on the railing and waited for her to join me. We looked out onto the backyard, where I had an in-ground pool on one side and a jogging path on the other.
As our elbows brushed, I said, “I need to figure out what I can do to get you to marry me.”
She snorted and said, “You can get a ring and ask properly.”
Something must have changed. I squeezed her hand. “Wait here.”
She nodded, and I strode inside. My mother and father had worked on Britney together, which meant Mom had intended for us to close the deal that day. She would have thought of details, and an engagement ring was likely in an envelope in my office.
My heart raced as I ran. When I got to my office, I found a manila envelope with my name on it.
Perfect.I’d never even seen the ring, and some jeweler had sent it because it met the monetary offering my parents had settled on, but it should suffice. The diamond was a simple large circle that had all of the fiveC’s. I shoved the black jewelry box into my pocket and returned to the patio.
Staff had set up the white wine, my preference, while I was gone. Bradley was still playing on the swings, and Olivia made the garden seem boring in comparison. Her simple brown hair in a ponytail and clear complexion made me hard. I needed her like I’d never needed another woman.
Without waiting for her to say anything, I went down on one knee and asked, “Will you marry me, Olivia Steel?”
She pressed her hand to her heart, and her eyes were wide as she opened the ring box. “Where did you get this so fast?”
I stood and waited with my heart practically in the palm of her hands. “My mom sent it with a note to ask. She probably meant Britney, but I want you as my wife.”
