“Yes, Andrew. I will marry you!” I screamed with excitement.
Removing the three-carat princess cut white-gold ring from the box, he slipped it on my finger. Everyone clapped for us as he stood and took me in his arms.
“I told you my castle was better,” he whispered in my ear before kissing my lips.
I couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time.
“I love you so much,” I whispered to him.
“I love you too.”
As we were locked in an embrace, I heard a voice from behind.
“May I congratulate the happy couple?” he spoke.
I froze because I knew that voice. Turning around, I fell into his arms as he hugged me tight.
“I can’t believe you’re here, Charlie,” I whispered.
“You can thank your fiancé. Happy birthday, Rosebud.”
Chapter Thirty-One
After celebrating my birthday and engagement all weekend, it was time for me and Andrew to head back to New York to have yet another birthday celebration with my family and friends. Charlie stayed with us for one night and then flew back to Florida on Andrew’s private jet. Seeing him there in the Hamptons filled my heart with so much joy.
I couldn’t stop staring at the beautiful ring that sat upon my finger.
“It looks good on you.” Andrew smiled as he took my hand and brought it up to his lips.
“You have excellent taste.”
“Thank you. I knew the moment I saw it, it belonged on your finger.”
“I can’t wait to tell everyone,” I spoke. “Unless you already mentioned it to them?”
“No. I didn’t say a word. Nobody knew about this except for Charlie.”
I wrapped my arm around his as we sat in the Escalade on the way back to the apartment.
“Thank you for bringing him there,” I spoke.
“You’re welcome. I felt he needed to be a part of that since he already missed so much of your life.” He kissed the side of my head.
“What time are we meeting everyone for dinner?” I asked.
“In about an hour. We’ll have to take our bags up, change, and then head out.”
We stepped into the elevator and took it up to Andrew’s apartment. The moment the doors opened, everyone shouted happy birthday.
“Oh my God.” I smiled as I placed my hand over my mouth.
“Happy birthday, sweet girl.” Madeline hugged me.
“Happy birthday, pumpkin,” Edward spoke as he kissed my cheek.
“Happy birthday, baby girl.” Jasper smiled as he took me in his arms and dipped me, giving me a kiss on the lips.
“Happy birthday to the best friend anyone could ever have.” Emma smiled as we embraced. “I’m happy you’re back.”
“Happy birthday, Addison.” Lucas smiled as he kissed my cheek.
“I thought we were meeting everyone at the restaurant,” I spoke to Andrew.
“I figured this would be better. Plus, Jasper wanted to cook.” He winked.
“Then it’s a good thing I took off my ring,” I whispered.
“Why do you think I told you take it off.” He smirked.
After pouring everyone a glass of champagne, Andrew discreetly took my ring from his pocket and handed it to me. Slipping it on my finger, I hid my hand behind my back.
“I want to thank off of you for celebrating my birthday. I love you all so much. My birthday isn’t the only thing we’re celebrating tonight. Andrew and I are engaged!” I exclaimed as I held up my hand.
Emma and Jasper both screamed at the same time while Madeline and Edward hugged us both.
“You two were always meant to be.” Madeline smiled. “It was fate that brought the two of you together again.” She brought her hand up to my cheek. “I’m so happy for you, Addison.” She turned to Andrew. “And, you! Come here.” She hugged him tight. “I couldn’t ask for a better man for my daughter.”
After everyone left, Andrew and I were exhausted, so we went straight to bed. As we were lying there, Andrew reached over and interlaced our fingers.
“I want you to move in,” he spoke.
“I practically already have.” I laughed.
“I mean permanently. As long as the rest of your things are at your apartment, you’ll never fully be moved in. You’re my fiancée and I want us to share this home together.”
“You can’t wait until after we’re married?” I lifted my head and arched my brow at him.
“You can?” His eye narrowed at me.
“No.” I smiled as I reached up and kissed his lips.
“I didn’t think so.” He grinned. “We’ll go over and get the rest of your things tomorrow after work.”
“Can it at least wait until the weekend? I need to talk to Jasper and Emma first.”
“That’s fine, but you’re staying here every night. Okay?”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” I pressed my lips against his chest.
****
Andrew and I walked into the LAC building together. When the elevator stopped at my floor, I gave him a kiss before stepping out.
“I love you. Have a good day,” he spoke.
“I love you too.”
With a smile on my face, I walked down the hallway to my office.
“Good morning, Sam.” I smiled.
“Morning, Addison. Hey, before you—”
I stopped dead in my tracks in the doorway when I saw a dozen red roses sitting on my desk.
“When did these arrive?” I asked Sam.
“I don’t know. They were there when I came in this morning.”
I walked over to them and noticed this time there was a card.
“Happy birthday. You deserve only the best.”
I turned the card over to see if there was a name attached and there wasn’t.
“Oh my God, Addison!” Sam exclaimed as she grabbed my hand. “Are you and Andrew engaged?”
I smiled. “Yes. He proposed to me over the weekend.”
“Congratulations! It’s so beautiful.” She hugged me.
“Thank you, Sam.” I smiled.
I took a seat at my desk and called Andrew.
“Hello, gorgeous. Miss me already?” he answered.
“Can you come down to my office for a minute?”
“Is everything okay?”
“I’m not sure.”
“I’m on my way.”
Within a couple of minutes, Andrew was in my office.
“Who are those from?” he asked.
“That’s why I called you down here. I don’t know. Sam said they were sitting on my desk when she came in this morning. There was a card this time.”
Andrew took the card from my hand and read it.
“There’s no name,” he spoke.
“I know.”
He let out a long sigh.
“I’ll call down to security. You are not to leave this building unless Rick is with you. Understand?”
“Yes, I understand.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
I was sitting behind my desk when Cody popped his head into my office.
“Hey, Addison. Have a second?”
“Hi, Cody. Sure. Come on in.”
“I have the specs for the Boston building. Would you mind taking a look?”
“Not at all. Have a seat.” I smiled.
He handed me the drawings and I spread them out on my desk.
“Wow! Look at that rock.” He grinned. “Does that mean what I think it means?”
“Thank you and yes.” A wide smile graced my face.
“Congratulations. Have you set a date yet?”
“Not yet. But we will soon. These drawings are amazing. I think this is exactly what Mr. Vasko is looking for.”
“I couldn’t have done it without your help. You have a great eye,” he spoke. “Beautiful roses. Did Andrew give them to you?”
“No. There was no name on the card, so I’m not sure who they’re from.”
/> “That’s weird. Who sends flowers without signing the card?”
“I don’t know. Maybe they forgot. Anyway, how did your date go the other night?”
“Actually, I canceled it. I wasn’t really feeling that girl.”
“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that. Why don’t you give Mr. Vasko a call and tell him the specs are ready for him to view? Set up a meeting for around lunch time and I’ll have Sam order us in lunch.”
“Good idea. I’ll go call him now.” He grinned as he walked out of my office.
As soon as Cody walked out of my office, a text message from Andrew came through on my phone.
“Lunch?”
“I would love to, but I have a lunch meeting with Cody and Mr. Vasko.”
“Are you leaving the building?”
“No. We’re staying here.”
“Okay. I’ll see you later. Love you, Angel.”
“Love you too.”
I set my phone down on my desk with a smile on my face and held my hand out in front of me. It still felt like a dream being engaged to Andrew. I decided I wanted a latte, so I went down to the Coffee Pod and stood in line. It didn’t matter what time of day it was, there was always a line.
“Addison?”
I turned around and saw Ellie standing behind me. A sickness fell over me.
“I thought that was you.” She smiled. “How are you?”
“Ellie. Hi. I’m good. What are you doing here?”
“I need to see Andrew. More insurance issues.”
“I see.”
“Is that an engagement ring?” She grabbed my hand.
I swallowed hard.
“Umm. Yes.”
“Wow. It’s gorgeous. So, you and Andrew are engaged? When did that happen?”
“Over the weekend,” I nervously spoke.
She stood there for a moment as I watched a hint of sadness cross her face.
“Congratulations.” She forced a smile. “I’m happy for the both of you.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
It was my turn to order and Ellie stepped in front of me.
“I’m buying her coffee,” she spoke to the barista.
“No, Ellie. You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to. Consider it an engagement gift. We still haven’t had that lunch date yet. Are you by any chance free today?”
“Umm. No. Actually, I have a business lunch with a client.”
“Oh, okay. Maybe sometime towards the end of this week.” She smiled.
The barista handed us our coffees and she followed me inside the elevator. Uncomfortable wasn’t a strong enough word as to how I felt at that moment. Thank God other people stepped inside with us. As soon as the elevator stopped on the tenth floor and the doors opened, she spoke, “It was good to see you again, Addison. Have a good day.”
“You too, Ellie.”
I stepped out and scurried down the hallway to my office. Once I reached it, I grabbed my phone and called Andrew. He didn’t answer, so I called Maria.
“Mr. London’s office. How can I help you?”
“Maria, it’s Addison. I need to speak with Andrew now!”
“He’s in a meeting, Addison.”
“I don’t care. Interrupt him and tell him it’s important.”
A few seconds later, Andrew picked up the phone.
“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”
“I ran into Ellie downstairs at the Coffee Pod. She’s on her way up to see you.”
“Why?” he snapped.
“Something about more insurance issues.”
“Fuck! Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I was giving you a heads up.”
“Okay.” He sighed. “I’m in a meeting anyway, so she’ll have to wait. I’ll talk to you later.”
I ended the call and tried to calm my nerves.
“Knock knock.” Cody smiled. “Mr. Vasko will be here at one o’clock.”
“Great. I’ll book us conference room two, and I’ll see you at one.”
“Looking forward to it.” He grinned.
I closed my eyes for a moment and took in three deep breaths. Suddenly, I was startled by a voice.
“Hi, Addison. I hope you don’t mind me dropping by your office.”
“Ellie. I thought you were going to see Andrew.”
“He’s in a meeting right now, so I thought I’d come down and see you. Oh my gosh, what beautiful roses.”
She walked over to my desk and smelled them.
“Red roses were always my favorite.”
“Listen, Ellie. I have a meeting to get to.”
“Oh, that’s right. Your lunch meeting with your client.”
“Yeah.” I got up from my chair.
“Listen, Addison. I get the feeling you’re really nervous around me, and I don’t understand why.”
“I’m sorry if I give you that impression. I don’t mean to.”
“Ellie!” Andrew snapped as he stood in the doorway of my office. “What are you doing here?”
She reached into her purse and pulled out an envelope.
“Another insurance discrepancy. I’m starting to think you need to check into another insurance company.” She handed him the envelope.
“I’ll look into it. Now I think you should leave.”
“Andrew—”
“I said LEAVE!” he shouted as he forcefully grabbed her arm. “I’ve had enough.”
“You’re fucking crazy,” she yelled as she tried to get out of his tight grip.
“All of this bullshit is going to stop! Do you understand me? You are to stay away from Addison and me. Anything else that comes from the insurance company, you are to give it to your attorney, who will pass it on to mine. I don’t want to see you again!”
“Andrew, I don’t understand!” she cried. “We’re friends.”
“No, we are not! We will never be friends and you will never be friends with my fiancée. I want you out of my life.” He let go of her arm. “Now get out of here before I call security,” he spoke in a stern tone.
She looked at me with her mascara-stained eyes and ran out of my office. I stared at Andrew, who stood there with anger splayed across his face.
“Don’t you think that was a little harsh?” I sternly spoke.
“Are you kidding me?” He shut the door. “After everything she’s done? Don’t you see what she’s doing?”
“Yes, I do see it, Andrew, but you didn’t have to grab her the way you did.”
“I’m sorry, Angel.”
He walked over to me and placed his hands on my shoulders.
“There’s no reasoning with a woman like that. I did what I had to do to get through to her.” He lightly kissed my forehead.
“I have to get to my meeting. We’ll talk about this later.”
I grabbed my phone from my desk and walked out.
Chapter Thirty-Three
I walked into the conference room and found Mr. Vasko and Cody already sitting down.
“Sorry I’m late. I had a call.” I smiled as I walked over and shook Mr. Vasko’s hand.
“No problem, Addison. I just got here myself,” he spoke.
After going over the designs, which made him very happy, we ate lunch.
“I must say these designs are excellent and I’m excited to get started. You’ve outdone yourself, Addison.”
“Thank you, Mr. Vasko, but you need to give all the credit to Cody. He came up with most of them.”
“Good job, son.” He smiled. “Well, I have to get going. I look forward to working with the two of you again.” He shook both our hands.
As soon as he left, I held my hand up to Cody for a high-five. He smiled as he placed his hand on mine.
“Great job, Cody.”
“Like I said before, I couldn’t have done it without you. Hey, how about we go celebrate after work? Maybe just a drink or two.”
“I’ll have to take a raincheck. I have plans with Andrew tonight,” I
spoke as we headed out of the conference room.
“Yeah. Sure. Maybe another time. By the way, what kind of perfume do you wear?”
“Dior.” I looked at him strangely. “Why?”
“My sister’s birthday is in a couple of days and I think she’d really like that scent. She loves perfume. She says it’s an aphrodisiac for men.”
I let out a light laugh.
“It’s Miss Dior and they have a great gift set over at Neiman Marcus.”
“I’ll go check it out. Thanks, Addison.”
“You’re welcome. Have a great night, Cody.”
“You too.”
I was sitting behind my desk when Andrew walked into my office.
“I just got a call from a very happy Mr. Vasko. He loved the design you and Cody did. He couldn’t stop raving about the two of you.”
“That was nice of him.” I smiled.
“Are you ready to go home?”
“Yeah, just give me a second.
I turned off my computer, straightened my desk, and grabbed my purse. Andrew held out his arm and I hooked mine around it.
“I’m sorry, Addison, for earlier. Maybe I was a little out of control, but I couldn’t help it. That woman will do anything to stay in my life, including befriending you. I don’t trust her, especially with everything that’s been going on. I know she’s behind all of it and there’s not a damn thing I can do unless I have proof.”
“I know.” I sighed as I laid my head on his shoulder. “Maybe after today, she’ll stop.”
“I was thinking after I got off the phone with Mr. Vasko that I’m going to talk to Lucas about partnering up you and Cody for the Sherwin project. I think the two of you could do something amazing with that.”
“I thought you were taking on the Sherwin project.”
“I’ll oversee it.” He winked as we climbed into the Escalade.
****
His hands firmly gripped my hips as he savagely moved in and out of me, sending my body into overdrive and right off the cliff into a blissful orgasm. My hands tightly gripped the bed sheets as my body trembled from head to toe. He moaned in pleasure as he halted, and an explosion erupted inside me. His body fell onto mine as he took my arms and pinned them over my head, interlacing our fingers while our rapidly beating hearts struggled to return to normal. His lips pressed gently against mine before he buried his face into the side of my neck.