Page 195 of Beautifully Ruined
“Jack?”
“Sorry, man. I’m just stunned.” He pauses again. “You really want me to be your best man?”
“You’re my brother.” It’s honest. I want Jack there. “Enzo will be up there, but you’d be my best man.”
“Really? You mean that?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“I’d be honored, Cade.”
She smiles as I end the call. “I can’t believe how well everything worked out.”
“Yeah,” I say. “If someone had told me six months ago this is where I’d be, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
“Oh, I agree. Who’d have thought I’d be in bed with The Ghost right now? I bet I’m the envy of the dark web. And you’re a delicious prize to be had, Ghost.”
Her words thrill me. Not her thinking I’m a superhero digital vigilante, but the way she says it, the way she knows me so well.
I don’t think anyone knows me as well as her.
I pretend to be wounded, and I sadly shake my head. “Is that all I am to you? A prize to be had?”
Because I know she means the prize thing on some level. Because she’s the same to me. But prize as something priceless, not a thing to be won or had. Something to be cherished, explored, nurtured, loved.
She’s my prize and my heart and my world. I’m pretty fucking sure she means it the same way.
“Poor baby,” Vi whispers, “are your feelings hurt?”
Our gazes meet, and the sparks fly. “Am I?”
She turns it from playful to serious as she jerks my cock. “No. You’re so much more than that.”
“I am?”
“You’re my entire world.”
Chapter Forty
VIOLET
Eight MonthsLater
“The dress is gorgeous,Vi. Just gorgeous.” Lia sighs dreamily and holds up my silk wedding gown.
She convinced me to go with a bouquet of purple flowers and green leaves. Her green dress will be perfect with those colors, too.
“You don’t think the purple’s too on the nose?”
“Fuck that.” She pours a glass of wine and hands it to me.
I can’t believe I’m getting married tomorrow.
“You know, I never was someone who dreamed about getting married.” But I sigh. “Now, I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do more.”
“I think it’s got more to do with the man than the ceremony.”
I curl up on Lia’s sofa as Lia hangs my dress back up. “You don’t think they’ll get Cade into trouble, do you?”
