We drove in silence through the city towards Kari’s house a little while later. My beautiful girl was sitting in the passenger seat, looking more content than I had ever seen her. I felt more at peace than I had in a long time; just being with her, having a promise of being with her forever, gave me more happiness than I ever thought possible.
I watched her examine her ring. She was always beautiful but with that ring on her hand …
She really did say yes.
I shook my head in disbelief.
I pulled the Denali into Kari’s driveway just as Kari and Max walked out of the house. Jada bent over the console and kissed me sweetly before jumping out of my car and racing to her sister. Kari had Jada’s hand in the air, inspecting the ring as I closed the door behind me.
“I still can’t believe she said yes to you, man,” Max joked, shaking his head. He walked toward me with his hand extended and I shook it.
“Of course she said yes to me. She’s not crazy.”
“She has to be a little crazy if she’s going to marry your dumb ass.”
We watched the girls talk animatedly, their hands flying through the air.
“Are you going to make things solid with Kari any time soon?” I asked.
Max shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. Sometimes I feel like it’s a matter of time and sometimes I feel like if I asked the question, she’d bail. She’s a tough one to crack.”
He never took his eyes off of Kari and I almost felt bad.
“Well, watch how I do things and maybe you’ll learn a thing or two.” I tried to fight a smile but the look on Max’s face made it impossible.
“Let me go put my boots on—shit’s gettin’ deep out here.”
I started to retort, but the word Vegas from the girls’ chatter caught my attention. “Vegas?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes. I’m planning her bachelorette party as soon as possible! If I know you, you won’t wait too long to marry her. You are kind of the impulsive type,” Kari said, her hand on her hip.
“I just might be. I might marry her tomorrow if you are thinking you are taking my girl to Vegas.”
“I don’t think so, Alexander,” Kari said, narrowing her eyes.
Max elbowed me in the rib. “See what I mean?”
Kari shot him a look before focusing again on me. “I’ve already called Lara, Heather, and Mandi. The ball is already rolling. We are going to Vegas.”
“We can go to Vegas. That’s fine. I’ll book the room.” I marched over to Jada and wrapped my arms around her. I looked at Kari, daring her to challenge me.
“Damn you, Cane! That’s not what I meant!”
“There’s no way in hell she’s getting out of my sight. Forget it. You want to go to Vegas? Okay, we will go to Vegas. Take whoever you want and I’ll pay for it. But we are going.”
“It’s a bachelorette party,” Jada said, resting her head against my chest. I could tell by the softness in her voice that she didn’t care about the party; she was appeasing her sister.
I glanced at Max. “I also need a bachelor party then. How do you feel about Vegas?”
Jada giggled, her eyes glued to the ring on her left hand. I knew it belonged on her finger as soon as I saw it. The lady said it was a French band with a round halo diamond or some shit. All I knew was that it was made with her in mind. And, by the look on her face, I did a good job.
Hell, I always do a good job.
“I thought we’d stay at my house tonight and give y’all a little privacy. I figured Jada would want to be somewhere comfortable and not at a hotel,” Max said, changing the topic.
“I appreciate that. I have our things being moved to the penthouse at Benjamin Estates in the morning.”
I watched Jada’s jaw drop out of the corner of my eye. If she thought I was going to spend a night without her again, she must have gotten hit harder than I realized. I wasn’t about to stay at Kari’s for any longer than necessary. I had money and I had means. And now I had the girl.
“If there’s anything I can do for you guys, call me.”
“Don’t I always?” I laughed.
“True. I fix everything and you get the credit. Same shit, different day.”
“Thanks, Max. Really.” I looked solemnly at my best friend, wondering what could have happened if he hadn’t read my text. I shook my head to clear it of the thoughts filtering through my mind.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He punched me lightly on the shoulder. “Keep an eye on that back door. I came over here yesterday and the fucker had blown open somehow. It isn’t latching or something. I’ll take a look at it tomorrow afternoon.”
Kari tilted her head as she looked at Max. “It’s done that a few times lately.”
“I’ll fix it, sweetheart. Now let’s get out of here and let Jada get some rest.”
Jada gave Kari a quick hug. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”