Mistaken by Fate (13 page)

“
What?
How could he say that?” He had seen the devastation their dad went through, the years of mourning a woman who was still among the living, but lost to him all the same. It was only in the last couple years or so that he’d started to get some of his old spark back, and Garrett was pretty damn sure that was a result of Sara’s bullying tactics. She decided it was high time for their old man to get back into the saddle, and no one said no to Sara once she set her mind on something.

“Because he loved her. Pain doesn’t magically poison that, no matter what some people would prefer to believe.” He sent a pointed look Garrett’s way. “The question is this—are you willing to miss out on being happy with Ridley simply because you’re afraid something might happen in the future?”

“It’s not that simple.”

“It actually is.” Will pushed to his feet. “Do you resign yourself to death every time you follow Z into a mission?”

He jerked back. “Fuck no. That’s a good way to get yourself killed.”

“Exactly.” He walked away, leaving Garrett staring after him, his mind whirling. Was his brother right? Were his beliefs dooming things with Ridley before they ever started? The room seemed to spin as reality adjusted itself to fit that truth. Knowing that shouldn’t be enough to push him to fix things with Ridley but… It was
Ridley
. The girl he’d loved since he was sixteen. He’d already missed out on eight years with her. Was he willing to miss out on an entire lifetime?

The answer hit him almost before he finished the thought—
fuck no
.

He dragged the paper toward him and finally read it. A deceptively simple invitation inviting Garrett Reaver to view Ridley Ethridge’s show during Fashion Week, to be presented upon admittance. He ran his thumb over the raised font of her name. Even after everything he’d done, she still invited him to the show.

This was it. There would be no more chances. If he didn’t show, it was over between them for good.

A pit opened up inside him at the thought of living the rest of his life without Ridley in it. Unacceptable. He wanted her in his bed every damn day. He wanted years’ worth of memories with her. He wanted to build a life together. Fuck, he wanted her to have his children.

Garrett picked up the invitation and turned around to find Z watching him with those eerie green eyes that looked so out of place on his dark face. “You’re leaving.”

“Yeah.” The show was tomorrow, so he’d have to bust ass to get back to New York in time.

Z nodded as if he’d answered more than a simple question. “You’ll be back?”

“Maybe.” It depended on how things went with Ridley. He wasn’t exactly ready to give up working for Z, but he wasn’t prepared to make any decisions past getting to New York and doing his damnedest to get Ridley to forgive him.

“Good luck. She’s got to be something to get you twisted up like this.”

Garrett grinned, the weight on his shoulders easing for the first time in two weeks. “You have no idea.”

Chapter Fourteen

Ridley couldn’t quite catch her breath. It was almost time. Even as her nerves were strung almost to the breaking point, she couldn’t help shooting Amber a triumphant smile as they wrangled the models into their clothes. They’d done it. For better or worse, she’d put together the best work of her life for this show.

But even her excitement over the impending catwalk didn’t touch the loss that Garrett not being here caused. She’d sent him the invitation, but was that enough?

She finished stitching the model into the final piece and pushed to her feet. A perfect fit. The music started, a haunting melody combined with a dubstep DJ that was the perfect blend of traditional and funky—just like her line.

“It’s time! Everyone line up.”

The models obeyed, and she slipped past them to peek out the curtains. The place was packed. “Oh God.”

“Calm down. It’s going to be perfect.”

Ridley nodded at Marissa, the lead model, because the only other alternative was to puke. “Let’s get this show on the road.” She motioned for Marissa to step out, and then there was nothing left to do but watch. Her entire career rested on the shoulders of twenty models wearing her twenty pieces. The first model stopped at the end of the runway to pose, and the second strutted from behind the curtains. She tried to read the faces of the people in the front row, but it was impossible to know what they were thinking.

Her gaze skittered to the chair near the stage—the one supposed to be housing a blond Norse god. Empty. Her heart sank. He hadn’t come. Even as she told herself that it was to be expected, her throat tried to close.
Chin up, woman. This is your moment, whether he’s here for you or not. You got here without him. You’ll keep going without him, too
.

Easier said than done.

“Ridley?”

She jumped, startled by Marissa, who had appeared at her side. “Yes?”

The model gave her a strange look. “It’s time.”

She glanced at the runway, realizing that the last model was on her way back. It was time to parade the entire collection. “Okay.”

Marissa looped her arm through Ridley’s and actually smiled for the first time since they’d met. “You did great.”

God, she must look wretched if the ice queen of the group was trying to make her feel better. They stepped to the curtain and Ridley pasted a smile on her face. She could do this. And then they were on the runway walking in front of everyone. The bright lights blinded her, and she was pretty sure her cheeks would be sore for a week from the effort she was putting into appearing cheerful, but she made it to the end of the runway.

Someone started clapping on their way back, and the sound of applause rose over the crowd as more people joined in. By the time they reached the curtain and Marissa let go of her to disappear into the back, people were standing. A standing ovation.

Holy shit.

A familiar figure stepped onto the stage from the side steps and her entire world froze. She blinked, sure that her nerves had finally gotten to her and she was hallucinating because there was no way Garrett was here and standing in front of her.

He gave her a half smile like he wasn’t sure of his welcome, though the expression became strained as the applause died down. “I’m sorry.”

She finally realized they were standing in front of everyone and grabbed his arm. “Not here.”

He dug in his heels, and she might as well have been trying to drag a half-ton block of cement.

“
Garrett
.”

“I fucked up.” His voice echoed over the now-silent tent. “I thought that it was better to end things almost before they got started than to risk losing you after I’d given you everything.” He glanced at the crowd and went a little pale. “I was wrong. I want you, Ridley. Now and for as long as you’ll have me.”

She shook her head, still half sure that this wasn’t happening. “But…”

“I love you, baby. I did when I was sixteen, and I’ve never stopped. I betrayed your trust, and I know I can’t take that back, but I swear to Christ, I’ll never do it again.” He went down on one knee and someone in the crowd gasped.

Oh my God, is he proposing?
She went lightheaded and swayed on her feet. They’d barely managed a week together. How the hell would they manage forever?

But she wanted it, even if she knew it wasn’t the smartest thing.

Except what he pulled out of his jacket pocket wasn’t a ring box. It was too big. Her heart stalled as he opened it, revealing a red collar with a heart-shaped lock clasping it closed. She met his gaze, seeing everything laid bare in his blue eyes. This wasn’t a ring, no, but it might as well have been.

He tried for a smile. “Will you by mine, baby?”

She was already nodding before he finished the question. “Yes, Sir.”

There was a little silence, like the people in the audience weren’t really sure what to make of this. But then someone cheered, and everyone else took it up until the sound was near deafening.

Garrett pushed to his feet and yanked her into his arms. “I’m so goddamn sorry. Have I mentioned that?”

She twined her arms around his neck and went up on her tiptoes. “Maybe once or twice. Now show me.”

“My pleasure.” He kissed her, and the cheering only got louder.

Ridley extracted herself before they could get too carried away and waved at everyone before dragging Garrett into the back. He pulled her back into his arms and kissed her again. “Your show was amazing.”

She laughed. “I think you one-upped me.” She took the box from him and ran her finger over the red leather. “I thought you were proposing.”

“I’m going to.” He ran his fingers through her hair. “Baby, you’re going to be my wife and the mother of my children. But we have time.”

She looked up. “No more running or sabotaging?”

“I promise.” He took the collar out of the box. “And the second we get alone, I’m going to show you exactly how much I missed you.”

“I missed you, too.” She smacked his arm. “And no more sharing. Deal?”

“Baby, you’re mine—and I’m yours. Forever.”

Epilogue

“Garrett, if I walk any more, I’m pretty sure my feet are going to fall off.”

He didn’t even slow his pace, practically dragging Ridley behind him down the street. “We’re almost there.”

“Almost
where?
We’ve already been this way. Twice.” It had been a whirlwind six months, and this was their first real vacation together. Though technically it was a working vacation, because she’d come to Paris to meet with a few vendors who’d seen her Fashion Week line and were interested in ordering it. But that had finished up two days ago, and the rest of the week was theirs to do with what they wanted.

And it had been totally and completely wonderful. They’d spent lazy mornings making love, followed by sightseeing and so much good food, she was going to have to alter all her clothes when they got back to the States.

In short, it’d been as close to perfection as physically possible.

Until an hour ago when Garrett got a bee in his bonnet and started hauling her around like they were evading pursuit. She yanked on his hold, but it didn’t even faze him. “Hey, what’s going on?”

To be honest, he’d been acting weird ever since this morning—edgy and distracted. Sometimes it was like that with him after he got back from a mission. It usually took a few days before he settled back into life and let go of whatever had happened. Even though he’d slowed down a bit since they’d been together—taking every other mission instead of nearly every one like he used to—there’d still been a learning curve when it came to that. But they’d worked through it, just like they’d worked through every hurdle that showed up.

But he’d been back almost two weeks already, so that theory didn’t make sense.

“Garrett,
talk to me
.”

He finally stopped, and she had to fight against the urge to lean over and gasp for breath. Holy crap, she wasn’t in good enough shape to sprint across Paris. She was definitely going to have to start using the gym membership Sara bullied her into getting when she got back home. That was a concern for another day, though. She looked up, searching his face for some clue of what the hell was going on.

“Baby…” He glanced away, and she followed his gaze to land on the Eiffel Tower. They were on one of the bridges that crossed the Seine, though she had no idea which one. It was a pretty view, especially with the sun just going down and painting the sky an inspiring array of colors. It was almost enough to distract her. Almost.

“What’s going on?” She searched the sidewalk around them, but there were just tourists, tourists, and more tourists. “Are we in some kind of trouble?”

“What?” Shock finally broke through his frown. “No, nothing like that. You think I’d drag you out here if there was trouble?”

“I don’t know what the hell to think because you’re not
talking
to me—you’re dragging me around like a doll.” Worry made her voice sharper than she meant it to be, and she made an effort to calm down. “I’m sorry. You’re just kind of freaking me out right now.”

He scrubbed a hand over his face. “No, I’m sorry. I hadn’t realized how far we’d wandered until I looked at the time and…” His frown was back. “I just want this to be fucking perfect.”

“
What
to be perfect?”

His grin was self-mocking. “I was going to effortlessly guide you back here at exactly the right time and make a comment about how the gorgeous sunset reminds me of you.”

Had someone spiked his crèpe? Because he was talking a whole lot of crazy right now. “Garrett…”

“I’m botching this.” He shook his head. “Oh well. Things with us have never quite gone according to plan, even from the beginning. I guess there’s no reason this should be the exception to the rule.”

Then he went down on one knee.

Ridley’s heart stopped. “Holy crap.”

“Yeah, that about sums it up.” He pulled a ring box out of his jacket. “Baby, I thought I couldn’t love you more than I did when you agreed to be mine, but I was wrong. I love you more now than I ever thought possible. We’ve been to hell and back a few times now, but there’s no one I’d rather have by my side than you. You’re everything to me.” He opened the box. “Will you give me the honor of being by my side for the rest of our lives as my wife?”

The burning in her throat made it hard to speak, but she was already nodding. “Yes. God, as if there’s any question. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

This time his grin was a whole lot happier. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” She watched, her heart in her throat, as he slipped the emerald-cut diamond on her finger. It fit perfectly. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. “This is perfect.
You’re
perfect.”

“Nah, but I’m a hell of a better man with you than I ever was without you.” He kissed her, pulling her in close. “Now let’s get back to the hotel, and I’ll give you a preview of what being Mrs. Garrett Reaver will be like.”

She laughed. “Lucky me.”

“No, baby, lucky
me
.”

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