Protect Me: Oakville Series:Book Three (2 page)

“We do have amethyst rings, but traditional engagement rings are diamond. Amethyst is a much cheaper stone,” she states a little too prissy for my taste. Oh, I see, she’s one of those types. The total opposite of Holly. She’s the girl who has to have a ring that costs more than a house. “If it’s cheap you’re looking for, maybe you’re in the wrong place.” This time, her voice has a bite to it. Her eyes scan me from head to toe, trying to determine whether I even have the means to be in this expensive store. She starts to put the tray of rings back into the display case. My body begins to tense up as sweat builds on my forehead. Her tone and the fact that she’s insinuating I should go somewhere else because I don’t want a diamond engagement ring pisses me off.

I glance to my right and find a massive grin on Kyle’s face. He’s trying his damnedest not to laugh, which fuels my anger. Seeing my expression, he raises his chin in Becky’s direction. Before I can fully turn to my left to see what he’s laughing at, I hear it. Becky is pissed off. I think she’s more pissed at this bitch than I am. I’ve only seen her mad once, when Leena drugged Kyle and made everyone think she and Kyle slept together. The way she’s acting right now, you’d think this girl just insulted her and not me. Her voice is calm, but you can feel the anger radiating off her. When I finally get a glimpse of her face, even I’m a little scared. Her nostrils are flaring and there’s a vein raised on the side of her forehead. She just plain looks badass. I need to remember not to get on this girl’s bad side — ever.

“This may come as a shock to you, but not every woman wants or even likes the traditional diamond engagement rings. The girl this ring is for isn’t some superficial, prissy, materialistic Barbie Doll.” She pauses, taking a deep breath, most likely trying to calm herself down. She clenches her hands so tightly at her sides, the knuckles are turning white. “Another little known fact: just because someone doesn’t buy the most expensive thing in the store doesn’t mean they can’t afford to.” The salesgirl just stands there with her mouth hanging open and eyes wide. Becky searches the store. Something catches her eye and a sinister smirk sprouts on her lips. “You get paid on commission, correct?” The stunned salesgirl nods. “That gentleman over there in the black suit, is he your boss?” Becky points to the well-dressed man sitting behind the counter at a desk. Now the salesgirl looks nervous as she nods her head slowly. Her bottom lip is trembling, like she’s going to burst into tears at any second. “Well, then, this is really going to suck for you, sweetheart. Maybe next time you’ll think before you open your mouth,” Becky warns as she struts toward the man in the suite.

Kyle bursts out laughing. He’s doubled over, almost as if he were in pain. When he straightens up, there are tears running down his cheeks. Still standing frozen, with her mouth gaping open in disbelief, the salesgirl watches Becky introduce herself to the manager of the store. Holy shit! I don’t know whether to be scared or impressed by this side of Becky we’ve never seen before. I never imagined she could be such a bitch. Not that this girl doesn’t deserve whatever is about to happen to her — she most definitely does.

We all stand quiet and still, watching Becky and the manager talk. She points to me and the manager looks over, nods, and smiles. As soon as the conversation gets to the good part, you can see it. He glances at the now trembling girl behind the counter. They both begin to walk over to us. I glance over at the salesgirl, who now resembles a frightened caged animal. The manager stands in front of the girl while Becky eagerly watches, awaiting the girl’s fate.

“We’ll discuss this later, Natasha. For now, the bathrooms and break room need a good cleaning,” he instructs. Natasha’s expression is priceless. I don’t even know how I would describe it. Shock. Horror. Anger. All of them seem to cross her face. It’s quite amusing. Finally, she turns on her heels and stomps off toward the back of the store. I notice the very pleased grin plastered on Becky’s face while Kyle tries to control his laughter.

“My name is Charles. Please excuse my sister. She can be a real snob sometimes,” he apologizes. “How may I help you?” I explain what I’m looking for and he leads us to another counter with nothing but amethyst rings. This is more like it, more like my Holly — beautiful and unique. It doesn’t take long to find the perfect ring. A large pear shaped amethyst stone sits atop a thick platinum band with diamonds in the shape of angel wings resting on each side. It’s the most unique and beautiful ring I’ve ever seen and it just screams Holly.

As we drive back to Kyle’s, I can’t help but think back on my life. Never did I think I‘d live past twenty-five, not with the way I went through booze, drugs, and women. One of them was sure to be the death of me at some point. The fact that I actually allowed myself to fall in love amazes me the most. That’s most definitely the one thing I swore I would never let happen. I was too broken. Too lost. Too guilty. Nothing good could come from me being in love, or so I thought.

W
HERE THE
hell is Becky? She promised she’d be here to help me get this little “Welcome Home” party together for Amber and the baby. Though…I mainly want her here so she and Clark are around one another. There are some serious sparks between those two, but neither of them seem to want to do anything about it. So, I’m taking it upon myself to give them a little push.

“Holly, where do you want me to layout all of the food?” Clark questions, walking out of the kitchen. When he sees me struggling to blow up the extra-large blue balloons, he laughs. Filling the house with a hundred or so baby blue balloons seemed like a great idea when I was at the party store yesterday. Today, not so much. I’m dizzy and out of breath and I’ve only managed to completely inflate five. This sucks. Plopping down on the couch, I release the half-filled balloon from my fingers and watch it fly through the living room.

“This is useless. I’ll never get these blown up before everyone gets here.” Clark sits beside me as he tries to contain his laughter.

“I have one of those disposable helium tanks at the house. It was left over from Skylar’s last birthday party. Would you like me to run home and grab it?”
He hasn’t left yet?
I give him a ‘what the fuck are you waiting for?’ look. Quickly, he’s on his feet and heading for the door. I don’t fail to notice his laughter has returned. This is what it must feel like to have annoying little brothers. These boys just love to push my buttons. But I love them anyway. They’re the only family I have.

While I wait, I decide to hang the “Welcome Home” banner. As I start to climb the ladder, Paul and Becky walk in. That’s strange. What are they doing together? Becky looks nervous and Paul is hiding something. I’m pretty damn good at reading people. Except for one. Somehow, he fooled me, but that’s all in the past now.

“Nice of you to finally show up to help,” I tease them.

“Sorry, doll-face. I needed Kyle and Becky’s help with something. No, I won’t tell you what. It’s a surprise,” he explains as he kisses my forehead. When he pulls away, there’s a shit-eating grin on his face. He’s up to something and I want to know what it is. I know there’s no use in pushing. Paul is the master of keeping a surprise, a surprise.

When Clark gets back, I need you to help him get the food ready,” I tell Becky, not giving her a chance to protest. As if on cue, Clark comes through the front door. As soon as his eyes land on Becky, his whole face lights up. “Clark, Becky can help you with the food and Paul can help me with the rest of the decorations.” He nods and they both walk into the kitchen. Paul looks at me and smiles, shaking his head. He knows exactly what I’m trying to do.

It didn’t take long before Angel, Chelsie, Marcus, Taryn, and their boys showed up. Once I gave them all something to do, we finished setting up in no time. Beasley, Marty, and Anna arrived just as Kyle called saying they were five minutes away.

I want this to be memorable for both Kyle and Amber. They’ve both been through more shit than any two people should have to. No one was sure this day would be possible after she lost the triplets. It wasn’t just the two of them who were affected by it either. We all were. We are all family. Maybe not all by blood, but family all the same. When one of us hurts, we all do. This group pulled together to do everything possible to help her get this baby here, safe and sound.

As soon as we hear Kyle’s truck pull up the drive, we all rush to the door. You’d think we hadn’t seen baby Cody yet. The nurses had to kick us out more than once. Since he’s the first baby in our group, it’s almost as if he belongs to us all. I can’t wait to be called Aunt Holly. This little boy will be so spoiled. Not only by his parents, but every single one of us. His nursery is already overflowing with clothes and toys.

“I should’ve known you’d throw me a party. There’s no way you could pass up the opportunity,” Amber jokes as she hugs me tight.

“Don’t flatter yourself. I’m throwing this party for Cody, not you,” I tell her as I take the car seat from Kyle and head for the house. I hear Amber mumble bitch under her breath jokingly. “Get used to it, sweetheart, you’re yesterday’s news now. There’s literally a new kid in town,” I yell over my shoulder before everyone mobs around me, wanting to see the baby.

Once we are all stuffed from filling our faces with Clark and Marty’s delicious cooking, we move outside and sit around the fire pit. It’s a beautiful night. Just the right temperature and a million stars shining in the sky. I love this. All of us just hanging out and talking. This is my idea of a perfect life.

Glancing over, I see Amber and Kyle smiling down at Cody. You can almost feel the love they have for him. It radiates. They look so happy. So Content. Like all is right in their world. Watching Amber with Cody makes me a little sad. It reminds me of something I lost once. Something I may never have the chance to have again. Before the building tears have a chance to spill over, I hear Amber gasp. When I look up, her hands are covering her mouth and her eyes are as big as saucers. I follow her gaze to see Paul down on one knee holding a black velvet box. At the sight, I feel a thousand butterflies flutter around inside my stomach. The tears already threatening to spill over do, and my hands are shaking so badly, I’m afraid everyone will notice. Not until this very moment had I realized how much I’ve wanted Paul to propose to me.

“Holly, before I met you, I was broken. I never thought I was capable of loving, let alone being loved. Then you showed up and knocked me flat on my ass. You’ve repaired a heart that was beyond repair. You saved me. I love you more than I will ever be able to tell you with mere words. Instead, let me show you, every day, for the rest of our lives. Will you marry me?” he asks, staring into my eyes. I can see how nervous he is as he waits for me to answer. I’m trying to get my voice to work, but I’m so emotional after those beautiful words, nothing will come out. Finally, I give up and start nodding my head yes. I must look psychotic. A huge smile spreads across Paul’s face as he places the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen on my finger. How could I not love this man when he knows me so well? This ring proves it. This ring screams me.

After wiping a tear from my eye with his thumb, he leans down and kisses me. It’s the most passionate kiss I’ve ever experienced. If it weren’t for all of the catcalls and whistles from our friends, I’d have forgotten we weren’t alone.

“Remember where we left off. I’d like to pick it up in the exact same spot later,” I tell him as we are both bombarded with congratulations. Amber comes flying across the room, screeching loudly. She throws her arms around me with such force, it sends us both tumbling to the floor. We’re both laughing so hard, neither of us can get up. When I finally think I have it under control, I turn my head to look at Amber. And just like that, we start all over again. After a few more minutes, we get ourselves under control and off the floor.