Page 32 of Wrong Place, Wright Time
“You’ve betrayed us,” Graham says, completely bewildered.
“Technically, father,” Darius says as he rises from his seat. “You three have been betraying us all along by refusing to retire, and refusing to make chances that would actually see this company grow instead of turning into the dinosaur of print it’s becoming. Now that we’re in charge, we’ll be able to start diversifying like we always wanted to do, and you can sit back and watch your dividends roll in while you enjoy the sweet life of retirement. You’re welcome.”
Before any of them can formulate a response, Darius, Kenyon and I file out of the boardroom, noting that we need to sit down together and prepare for what’s next. I couldn’t agree more, but right now, there’s something else I need to do that’s far more important than anything to do with this company. I have to find Banks.
Excusing myself, I head straight for the elevator bay, hitting the button rapid fire until a car arrives and I jump inside, banging at the lobby button like it’ll make this thing go any faster.
“Come on, come on.” My heart is beating wildly and the only thing I’m concerned about right now is finding Banks and telling him I was wrong. There’s a reason he and I found each other and I’d have rocks in my head if I thought keeping us from building a future together would somehow protect my heart. Because it didn’t. I fell in love with him with my body, mind and soul, and every day without him in it is just a waste. And I don’t want to waste time anymore.
The moment the door ping open, I shoot out into the lobby, looking everywhere for the top of Banks’s head in the crowd. He should be easy to spot since he’s in a group of three giant men, but when I can’t find him, I make a dash for the exit, shooting out onto the sidewalk and looking in both directions.
“Banks!” I call out, not because I see him, but in the hopes he’ll hear me and stop moving. But as I swivel my head left to right and find nothing, I all but give up.
That’s when I hear the unmistakable rattle of lots of little pieces inside a cardboard box.Banks.
With a happy gasp in my chest, I spin around and find Banks standing against my building with a puzzle in his hand and a smile on his face. “I thought we could go somewhere and puzzle this out.”
Tears heat my eyes as my feet carry me at top speed, slamming my body into his chest as my arms wrap around his neck. “I missed you so much,” I cry, clinging ot him and crying into his neck. “I’m so sorry I chased you away.”
“I’m sorry I left,” he murmurs near my ear, his hands moving to cup either side of my head as he pulls us apart slightly so he can look me in the eye. “I’m sorry I tried to change the rules. I’m sorry I considered doing a single thing that could make you not be in my life anymore. I love you, Isla, and I want to be with you. I don’t care how. I just want you, and I want to see you happy. I hope what we did up there in that boardroom goes some of the way to show you how serious I am.”
With tears streaming out of my eyes now, I nod, taking a deep breath to steady my voice so I can speak. “I want to get married,” I blurt, loving the way his eyes pop and his smile widens as the words leave my life.
“Are you kidding me?”
“No. I’ve been thinking long and hard about it, and I never had what we have before. I was stupid and reckless before, getting married for all the wrong reasons, but with you, Banks, all those reasons are right. You’re my best friend. You’re my heart. And you’re my soul too. So if there’s anyone in this world worth risking my heart on, it’s you. Because you own it anyway. From the day you marked my thigh with your name, I belonged to you. And I really hope you still want to belong to me.”
“Abso-fucking-lutely,” he says, bringing his mouth to mine and kissing me so long and hard that I never want to let him go. And I won’t, because while I was scared of what might come before, I’m not anymore. Banks has just done the impossible, he’s forced my patriarchal uncles to retire, and he’s taught this skeptic that true love and happily ever afters really do exist. He and I are living proof of that, and together, we can do anything.
Epilogue - Banks
Twelve months later…
“Are you guys seriously planning on driving all the way to Atlanta?” Ronan says as I hand him the keys to the bar so he can watch over it for me while we’re gone. “That’s a solid thirteen hours on the road.”
“Which is why we’re taking our time, sight seeing and checking in a hotel along with the way. Isla is too pregnant to fly, so this is better than her going into labor at high altitude.”
“Dude, all you’re doing is risking her giving birth on the side of the road.”
“She’s thirty-four weeks. We’re gonna be fine.” It’s at that moment my darling fiancée hits the horn to hurry me along. “I should get going,” I add with a smile. “Hormones make her impatient.”
Ronan laughs as he leans around me and waves to Isla. “I’ll take good care of the bar for you. Drive safe. Keep my favorite girl happy.” I’m one of the lucky ones whose best guy friend gets along with his partner like a house on fire. Despite Isla’s protestations that she prefers to be home more than she likes socializing, she sure is good at it. I don’t have a single friend of family member she hasn’t won over with her easy smile and can-do attitude. My parents think she’s amazing, and I’m sure that if my gran was still with us, she’d love her too.
“Will do. And thanks. I appreciate it.”
“Any time. Enjoy the wedding.”
No. Not mine and Isla’s wedding. That’s going to come in the near future—some time after the twins are born so they can be little flower girls for us. It’s going to be great. Just like Isla’s and my relationship has been from the get go.
Sure, we kind of started things a little backward, but once we got to know each other and realized the both of us would be willing to move heave and earth for the other, there was nothing left standing in our way.
These days, I’m still running the bar, but I also have a small role to play in Ronan’s new company that he started after his promotion didn’t pan out the way he expected. He decided that if he wanted to be the king of Wall St, he’d have to hand pick the people he works with and build a business from scratch. I’m more of a silent partner than a fully-fledged and active partner, but for a control freak like Ronan, it works well. I help him out when he needs it, and in turn, he’s always willing to help me. I think the free vodka might have a lot to do with it, thought.
Workwise for Isla, everything has been going great as well, she got to become the contributing member of Wright Media that she always wanted to be. And when she’s not working, she loves spending time on her new hobby—painting.
When we moved in together a couple of months after reuniting, I insisted we have a room dedicated to hobbies. It’s in there that we spend the vast majority of our downtime, enjoying each other’s company while working on projects that help reinvigorate our minds so we can go out there and face the hustle bustle of the world again come Monday morning.
I wouldn’t say we’re both total introverts, but we definitely ride the line of needing plenty of time to recharge in the quiet of our home in between our busy work and social life. So with that in mind, taking a few days out between now and her brother, Ash’s wedding in Atlanta on Sunday is just the getaway the both of us need leading up to us becoming busy parents. It’s something we’re both really looking forward to, but since it’s the first time for us both, we know we’re going to be in for a learning experience. Two babies at once are not going to be easy.
