Page 62 of Knockout (Whiskey Dolls 2)

My brows pinched together in a frown. “What? Why not?”

She looked at me like I’d just morphed into a grotesque bug with a million tiny eyes. “You mean besides the fact that I don’t think I have the arm strength to hold a rock like that up?”

“It’s just a ring,” I said with a chuckle. “You’re being ridiculous.”

“Am not!” she argued childishly. “And that’s notjust a ring. That’s the freaking iceberg that took down the Titanic right there! I don’t even want to know how much that thing cost. What if I accidentally lose it? Sure, I like nice things, Jude, and I have money, but there’s no way in hell I could afford to pay Sybil back for something likethat! Oh God. I’m going to be sick. Where the hell did all the air go?” she groaned, lurching forward in her seat to put her head between her knees.

I couldn’t help but smile at her reaction. It was just so refreshingly unexpected. Most women would give their right arm for a ring like this one. Hell, Leah had salivated over it, going so far as pouting when I’d proposed with something other than my grandmother’s ring. That should have been a big enough red flag for me to realize what a giant fucking mistake asking her to marry me was.

But the fact that Layla blanched at the thought of wearing it caused something warm and pleasant to unfurl in my chest.

“Come on, baby. It’s just for a few days. If it helps, Leah will shit herself when she sees this on your finger. She wanted it more than she’d ever wanted anything. But Gram told her the only way she’d get this ring was if she pried it off her cold, dead hand.”

That got her attention. She sat back up, some of the color having returned to her cheeks. “Really?”

“Absolutely. Leah never got over that. She’s going to lose her mind knowing Gram let you have it.” I hadn’t even asked Gram if I could have it. It just hadn’t felt right putting that ring on Leah’s finger. She’d taken it upon herself to approach my grandmother and ask for itafterI’d spent a small fortune on the ring I’d proposed with. To say that ring was a sore spot for Leah would have been putting it mildly, and I had to admit that I got a little thrill at the thought of how she’d react when she saw it on Layla’s finger.

The smile that pulled at her lips just then was on par with a cartoon villain, and it made me even more attracted to her than I already was. She was all for sticking it to my ex, and something about that was hot as fuck.

“All right,” she relented begrudgingly. “But I willnotbe held accountable if I lose it. You’ve been warned,” she said with a jab of her finger.

“So noted,” I replied with humor, taking her left hand in mine and sliding the colossal rock onto her ring finger.

Her hand started to tremble and she pulled in a gasp as I slowly slid it into place. Just as I tucked it at the base of her delicate finger, something bloomed inside of me. Years back, the thought of sliding this ring on Leah’s finger literally made me feel sick. That was the main reason I refused to ask Gram for it, but as I held Layla’s soft hand in mine, looking down at the diamond that glinted back up at me, it just felt right for some reason that didn’t make a whole lot of sense, given we were supposed to be taking things slow.

“It looks good on you,” I said in a gruff, quiet voice. It looked a whole hell of a lot more than good. It looked fucking perfect.

Too soon, Jude. What the hell happened to taking this shit slow?

Shaking off the strange sensations sparking to life in my stomach and chest, I cleared my throat and looked back up at her face. She wasn’t staring at the ring like I’d expected. No, she was looking right at me, a small smile tugging at her lips. “You ready?” I grunted.

“Yep. Let’s go show these assholes how much better than them we are.”

I wish I had her confidence in how this weekend was going to go. I just couldn’t manage to muster it.

I climbed out of the driver’s side while the valet assisted Layla out of the passenger seat, and rounded the hood to meet her, taking her hand in mine to lead her—to our doom—into the hotel.

“Can you at leasttrynot to look like you’re making a death-row march right now?” she whispered out of the side of her mouth.

I replied just as quietly. “If only you knew how spot-on you are with that metaphor.”

“How much longer do you think it’ll be before Sybil gets here?” she asked as one of the hotel workers stepped out in front of us just outside the entrance, extending a gleaming silver tray that held two martini glasses. “What’s this?” she asked, eyeing the drinks peculiarly.

“Grey Goose martini,” I answered in a monotone. “The Kingsley’s expect to be greeted with the very best. It’s my mother’s preferred drink.” I waved the poor guy off politely while Layla hummed and lifted one of the—most likely crystal—glasses.

She took a sip, her face instantly pinching in disgust. “Blech. It tastes like vodka and dish soap.”

A huff of a chuckle blew past my lips as she set the glass on a decorative table just inside the lobby doors. “Mommy Dearest also prefers her martinis dirty enough to choke a horse. Sorry about that. And to answer your first question, Gram should be here any time now. She flew out earlier this morning.”

“I still can’t believe Sybil has a private jet,” she said with a shake of her head. When I’d offered for us to fly up with Gram, Layla had laughed, thinking I was pulling her leg. My grandmother’s wealth was all around her, impossible to miss, but Layla didn’t look at her and see dollar signs. To her, Gram was just a woman she was fond of, a friend she’d come to care about. She didn’t see the trappings that came with her. It made me respect her even more.

I glanced down at her with a smirk. “Still kicking yourself that you didn’t believe me? Just imagine, you could have ridden here in style. You missed out, princess.”

She squeezed my hand while giving her head a tiny shake. “Nah. I love road trips. And I’ve never been a big fan of flying, anyway.”

Yet another shining example of how utterly different she and Leah were. I’d been such a fucking idiot. If I’d gotten my head out of my ass sooner, I could have had all this perfection months ago.

It was on that thought that I heard a voice I could have happily gone my entire life without having to hear again.

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