Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 33887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 169(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 169(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
“Yes, we noticed it right away, on our wedding day, the minute we slipped them on each other’s fingers,” Chloe stated. “I thought Judge did it. He thought I did. When we talked about it and found out neither of us was responsible, we thought maybe it was a mistake by the jeweler. But when we got back from our honeymoon, I called the jeweler, and she said the alterations to our rings were ordered by…” Now that acute worry she was reflecting was joined by acute discomfort before she finished, “Rhys.”
That name made Hale’s edginess ring the top bell, because Rhys—otherwise known as Corey Szabo’s right-hand man, a role he was still playing, even if tragically Corey, Hale’s dad, was no longer of this world—had yet to connect with Hale. This was something Hale had requested repeatedly over the last six months, only to be alternately ignored or rebuffed.
In other words, the mysterious Mr. Rhys Vaughn was going to remain a mystery until he decided he wasn’t going to be that anymore.
And my man was a control freak in all the good ways.
But for this, it was bad, because he wanted that connection with Rhys mostly because he wanted to understand who the man was to his dead father.
That was something I wanted for him as well, not to mention I felt he was entitled to the knowledge, and that meant I was also getting pretty pissed Rhys was delaying the (I hoped) inevitable.
But Rhys being involved in this meant…
Chloe interrupted my thoughts as she kept speaking.
“The inside of my ring is edged, top and bottom, in little pavé diamonds,” she explained. “And Judge’s has a large diamond embedded in his.”
“And what does Rhys have to do with that?” Hale asked, though he had to know.
“Well,” Chloe said slowly. “When we called the jeweler to ask if it was a mistake, even though it’s fabulous, a beautiful surprise, just for Judge and me to know they’re there—”
“Babe,” Judge warned as she got off target.
Chloe cleared her throat and continued, “So, the jeweler said she couldn’t wait for us to call and ask, because she was dying to tell us that a Rhys Vaughn came in and ordered the additions. And he told her to tell us when we contacted her that those diamonds, they’re…they’re…” She drew in a breath, and finished it, “Oh, Hale. Those diamonds are a wedding gift from Uncle Corey.”
And there it was.
So, okay.
Now I got why they were acting weird.
To say Hale was raw after he had opened the box his father left him after he committed suicide was a vast understatement.
Since then, he’d been sorting through those feelings with me, Tom, Genny, even Jamie. As such, he was talking about his dad more often. While he did that, he seemed to be getting past the guilt of not noticing how hard his father tried to be a good dad, and how he hadn’t noticed it when Corey was alive.
Through Rhys, Corey, I’d learned, had been doing a lot from beyond the grave since he passed. But we hadn’t had anything since Hale opened his box.
Now…this.
I grabbed Hale’s hand as I felt the emotion beating off him.
I squeezed it as we all waited for him to share his reaction verbally with us.
And then it came, it came softly, and with so much love, tears pricked the backs of my eyes.
“So Dad.” I watched a small, melancholy smile form on his lips. “Drama. Extravagance. And secrecy. All at the same time.”
I heard Chloe’s quiet sob right before she was up, Hale was also standing, and they were holding each other. Chloe had her face tucked in Hale’s chest, and Hale had his sister held tight.
I turned to Judge to see his eyes warm and a small smile playing on his lips while his focus remained on his wife.
Then I looked down at my left ring finger, because Corey had already given Hale and me diamonds. Valuable stones that sparkled, but what was far more precious was the history and love that came with them.
And it was then, not for the first time, and I knew it wouldn’t be the last, I felt a wholesale sense of loss that Hale’s dad was no longer with us.
And what was worse for me…
I would never have the chance to meet him.
And now, our baby wouldn’t either.
It was after we came home from dinner.
After I lied again about still being worried about my headache returning and not drinking any alcohol at dinner, or when we got home, and they all had cognac, and I did not.
It was when Chloe and Judge were heading into the biggest and best guest room of several we had, and Hale and I were heading into our room.
That was when Chloe threatened, her voice ringing down the hall, “If you change this fabulous bedroom into a nursery, taking away my sanctuary when I’m in the Big Apple, I’ll never forgive you.”