Alpha Billionaire Series

MADII

The sun was perfect for landscape shots, and I took probably a hundred of them. The park was beautiful that time of evening, and Gavin had invited me to take a walk with him. He slid his hand into mine, but for the hundredth time, I slipped away to snap a shot.

“Sorry, it's so beautiful. The sunset is so colorful.” I grinned at him as I pointed my camera at him and snapped the image. He didn’t seem to mind, smiling back at me and striking an occasional pose. As photogenic as he was, however, my focus was on the scenery.

Large deciduous trees lined the path on both sides, accented by floral bushes and just the right touch of color in the sky. We had the park mostly to ourselves, which seemed odd considering I'd been there all times of the day and night, and I'd never seen it that dead, but I wasn't complaining.

After a few more shots, I joined Gavin on the path again, this time not waiting for him to take my hand. I slid my fingers between his and leaned on his shoulder as we walked, my camera draped around my neck by its strap. They weren't the typical scenery shots I took, but given my lack of true adventure seeking lately, they were the only ones to which I had access.

“One day, I want to do some real climbing. Maybe out west or something. Those sunsets have to be amazing.” I looked up at Gavin and noticed a new expression on his face, not quite unhappy, but not the same smiling face he'd had earlier. “Everything okay?”

His smile returned, followed by a warmth in his eyes that hadn't been there before. “Yes, everything is fine...” He glanced around, his eyes stopping on a bench a short way down the path. “Can we sit for a moment?”

“God, I'm so sorry. You're on your feet all day long. You must be so tired and here I am snapping a jillion photos. Of course. Let's go sit down.” I pulled him toward the old wooden bench. With wrought-iron end caps and wooden slats, it had weathered a lot of storms and the heat of the sun for a long time. Its paint was chipping off, but strangely in that moment the bench struck me as a pillar of strength. It still stood strong despite the wear and tear, just like my heart.

“What's that smile for?” Gavin asked, sitting down and patting the bench next to where he sat.

“Oh, nothing.” I sat down, realizing that the gray peeking through in Gavin's hair around his temples was just like the chipping paint on the bench. I stared at him, suddenly feeling so in love with him. All my former apprehensions about dating a man so much older than me seemed trivial now—as if a part of me inside just shifted.

“Doesn't look like nothing.” He angled himself on the bench to face me and I shrugged.

“Just thinking how much I love you, I guess. I really never thought it would be possible, but here we are.”

“Yes, here we are.” His eyes twinkled as he pushed a hair behind my ear. I felt like our hearts were experiencing the same magical moment, even though it was a boring city park at sunset on one of the hottest days of the year so far. “And I've been thinking about some things.”

“Like what?”

Gavin turned toward me more and rested his arm across the back of the bench, playing with the sleeve of my t-shirt. His eyes were fixed on his fingers as they lifted the sleeve hem and then smoothed it back down. He was silent for a moment, but I was patient. The serious expression on his face had me a bit concerned though, and my belly started to churn. We had been having such a good night; there was no way he had brought me out here to dump me.

“Is everything okay?” I didn’t even know if I wanted to know the answer to that question.

“Do you want children?” His question came on the heels of mine, and I wasn't ready for it. It took me a moment to respond.

“Of course, I do. I want to have a big family.” Confusion started to set in. What was he up to?

“And you want to stay here in the city?” His eyes focused on mine.

“Yes!” I offered a confused expression. “What are you getting at?”

“I've spent a very long time building my career.” Gavin grew more serious, taking my hand and holding it firmly. “My family money put me through college, but everything I have now, I earned by working hard. I established my practice and now, I'm up for a promotion to head of neurology for the entire hospital.”

“Oh my god! That's so amazing, Gavin. Congratulations—"

“But I'd give it all up for you, if you wanted to move home. Or anywhere, or just travel the world and go cliff diving” He squeezed my hand harder, and I couldn't help but smile bigger.

“You never have to do that for me. New Orleans is my home now. I don’t belong in Hampshire or any other small town. And we can do all the adventuring we want while maintaining careers and living here... Do you think I'm not happy here?”

Gavin did not answer my question. Instead, he slid off the bench, lowering himself to one knee. Shock settled in as I realized what he was doing. I covered my mouth, feeling tears already burning my eyes. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box, holding it in one hand and staring down at it.

“Madison, I am in love with you. More in love than I ever have been. I know this is very fast and probably a complete shock to you, but when you know what you want, you don’t have to think about it for weeks or months. And I know what I want”

He looked up at me, his deep brown eyes piercing mine and causing the cascade of tears to begin. He slowly opened the box and inside was a simple silver band, no embellishments, no stone, just the symbol of his love. I choked back a happy sob and stared at that ring feeling completely overwhelmed.

“l want you to be my wife. I want to cherish you, and take care of you, and wake up to your face every morning. I wan to tuck you in when you're sick and hold your hand when you're happy. And most of all I want a family. I want to do i with you.”

He plucked the ring out of the box and took my hand. My hands shook as he fumbled with the ring, dropping it on m lap once before slipping it onto my finger.

“Will you marry me?”

I didn’t even have to think about it. I knew my answer the moment he slid to his knee. I nodded, unable to say much because of the sobbing. I threw my arms around him, not even caring about what the ring looked like and clung to him. He held me as I cried, though I was certain he probably wondered why I was crying so hard. His hands smoothe up and down my back in a soothing motion until I had composed myself.

“Fuck...” I pulled away from him, wiping at my eyes and drying my fingers on my jean shorts. “I'm going to look like a raccoon with this running mascara now.”

“Raccoons are cute.” Gavin sat back on the bench next to me and offered me a folded napkin from his pocket. “And you'd be the cutest raccoon I know.”

I smiled at him, blowing my nose before stuffing the napkin in my pocket. I looked down at the ring, twisting it on m finger and grinning like an idiot.

“Do you like it?”

I looked up at his apprehensive face. “I love it. It's so simple and pure. I think you know me better than anyone in my life ever has. A big clunky rock on my hand would just get in the way of climbing and hiking—or diving.”

His face relaxed and he leaned in to kiss me. I accepted his kiss, pulling him in. His stubble scratched my chin, but I didn’t care. I hadn't been this happy in so long, I'd forgotten what being happy felt like.

The sun had faded from the sky so much the vibrant pinks and oranges had deepened to blues and purples, but my mind wasn't on the colors anymore. I rested my head on his shoulder and sighed, watching the last fingers of light tiptoe across the sky.

“I think we should head home before it's too dark to see our way out of the park.” Gavin stood, taking my hand. “And I have surgery in the morning again.”

I offered a peck on the cheek and walked alongside him, heading toward the park entrance. By the time we got to the parking lot where both had parked, I could barely see to put my key in the door.

“Want to have dinner Friday to celebrate?” He stood next to me as I fumbled with the lock.

“Sure... Gosh, Mom is going to freak out. I haven't even told her I was dating someone. The last time I went to visit, she pressured me to live my life and I ended up walking out because I didn’t think I was ready.” I opened my car doo and stood there. Gavin kissed me again, then walked away.

“You never know... She may take it better than you think,” he called before climbing into his car. With the window down he added, “See you Friday.”

I started my car and turned the headlights on, waiting for Gavin to pull away before deciding that Mom could wait. She didn’t know I was dating, so she wouldn't know about the engagement either. I had to decide the best way to let her, and Dad know all the details without them worrying I was racing into something.

Driving home, thoughts of Drew came crowding into my thoughts. When he went into the coma, I was his fiancé. Life was good and he was looking forward to a future with me. If he woke up everything would be different for him. Life had moved on while he slept. My mind started to spiral into negativity and discouragement, feelings that I was betraying him, that I would hurt him beyond repair.

But I reminded myself of what his mother told me, to live my own life. She had reminded me that Drew wouldn't wan me being miserable and waiting for him. Maybe she had meant just adventuring or making new friends, but even when I had told her about Gavin, she was happy for me. I had to believe the stars had aligned for me and Gavin. I needed to cling to that anchor in this storm because when the winds blew like they do in every relationship, I'd neec that reassurance.

I looked down at the ring as I drove. I was going to be Mrs. Gavin Carpenter, and I couldn't wait.