I took it and put a spoonful on my plate before passing it to Alexander. “I thought you were the smart one? The King of Wall Street or some other such bullshit.” I rolled my eyes.
“She just means she and Alex are going to be living between New York and London,” Scarlett added, putting down a huge bowl of mac and cheese in the center of the table before taking a seat. All of us were here tonight—one final dinner in Connecticut before Alexander and I headed back to London after nearly six months in New York. Alexander had extended his break from chambers until the end of the academic year. Then we’d planned to spend the summer and the next semester of my MBA degree at a university in London on an exchange program. Then I’d head back to New York with Alexander in January to finish school.
“You as well?” Max asked. “Can’t any of the women in this family pick a side?”
“I think it works. You get to appreciate the best of both worlds,” Ryder said.
“Exactly,” Alexander said. “We squeeze more out of life this way.”
I rested my hand on Knightley’s knee, still shocked by the way he’d embraced his teaching and a whole new way of life. He insisted it was entirely selfish on his part, because it meant he spent more time with me. I wasn’t going to argue—it worked for us.
“Columbia has agreed to let me teach from January to April each year, then I’ll practice law from April for the rest of the year back in London. It forces a balance in my career,” Alexander said.
“Where does that leave you, Violet?” Max asked.
“Happy,” I replied. “After I graduate, I can take on assignments in London and New York and I’ll make it work.”
“I’m proud of you,” my brother said. “And glad you went back to school.”
“We need to write your brother a check.” Alexander nudged me. “For your fees.”
Alexander had suggested a couple of times that he repay my brother the money I borrowed for tuition, but I’d always been good at changing the subject. Still, I couldn’t help but enjoy the way he said “we” and considered us a unit.
“I’ll pay him back when I start earning,” I muttered, taking a forkful of cucumber in my mouth.
“What’s mine is yours, Violet. Even if you have refused to use the cards I’ve had put in your name. There is no yours and mine. Only ours.” He twisted toward me and cupped my neck with his hand.
I sighed. His touch hypnotized me.
“It’s not like we can have separate bank accounts when we’re married,” he added.
The noise and the chatter of the table stopped, and the whole room stared at us.
“Do you have something you want to tell us?” My dad asked from the top of the table.
“No, it’s just—”
“Violet and I will be married,” Alexander said. “When she finally agrees.”
It wasn’t that I’d disagreed exactly. I just hadn’t said yes to Knightley’s three hundred proposals.
My dad looked at me. “You don’t want to marry him? You don’t have to, you know.”
I laughed. My father didn’t give a crap that Alexander was sitting right beside me. “I do want to marry him, Dad. I just want to finish school first.”
“Don’t let him push you into anything,” he warned.
Alexander went to speak, but I patted his thigh to stop him. “He’s really not. I swear, Daddy, if I asked him, he’d fly up to the moon to straighten it out just to make me happy. I love him, and I really want to marry him. I just . . .”
Why was finishing school so important to me? Maybe I felt the need to prove to myself that I could do it on my own. Whether or not we were married wouldn’t change anything between us. I was his forever, and I knew he felt the same way about me. I turned to Alexander. “I won’t be Mrs. Knightley, you know. I’ll still be Violet King.”
He looked at me as if I’d gone bananas. “Of course you’ll still be Violet King. I wouldn’t expect you to change your name. I’m happy enough to be Alexander King if that’s what you want.”
I snapped my head around at the choking sounds coming from my brother and father, and I began to giggle. “I don’t think that’s necessary. We have plenty of King men around here.”
“I’m still Scarlett King,” my sister said.
“And I’m still Harper Jayne.”
“Is that what you were worried about?” he asked.
“No. I’m not worried. I mean, of course I’m going to marry you.”
His eyebrows shot up and his smile began to threaten the corners of his mouth. “But what?”
“But nothing.” I shrugged. “I’m just not sure it means anything. I know how I feel about you, how you feel about me. Isn’t that all we need?”
“I guess so. Having children when we’re not married won’t bother you?”
“Kids?” Max barked. “Are you pregnant?”
“No, but yes, we want kids together,” I snapped back at him. “We’re sharing the rest of our lives together. Of course we’ve talked about this stuff.”
“I love your sister, Max, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to make her happy just as I see you do with Harper and the way Ryder does with Scarlett. I hope that’s clear to everyone.”
“Good man,” my dad muttered.
Darcy sighed. “So romantic.”
“You next,” Scarlett said. “I know he’s out there for you.”
Darcy shrugged. “I’ve lost hope.” She tipped back her drink.
If I could find love, it would happen for Darcy, no doubt in my mind.
“Everyone needs to understand, we’re just figuring out the logistics,” I said. “We’re in love, and married or single, in New York or London, with or without kids, we’ll be together forever.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Darcy squealed.
“Welcome to the family,” Max said, raising his glass.
I gazed up at Alexander, and he dropped a kiss on my lips.
He was my Knightley in shining armor and our fairytale was as real as it got.
Alexander
Six Months Later
I glanced up from where I was sitting, reading the paper. Violet came into the kitchen and looked around.
“She did a really good job, don’t you think?”
I shrugged. “If you like it, I’m happy.” We’d moved into our new townhouse on Chesterfield Hill in Mayfair and had it completely redecorated. Violet and I had both been too busy to be involved and had left the interior designer to make most of the decisions. The free time we had we liked to focus on each other and not wallpaper.
“Are you packed?” she asked.
I closed the paper and folded it, placing it on the work surface. “Packed and ready to go. The car should be here any moment.”