The Weekend Proposition (11 page)

“I wonder what surprise I’ll have for you tonight.” She grinned.

“No.” He took her face between his hands. “It’s my turn to surprise you.” He kissed her, struggling to pry his lips away. “I’ll be back.”

She bit her bottom lip and let out a slow breath.

I know, baby, I don’t want to go either.

“Bye,” she whispered. “I’ll be ready when you return.”

He kissed her one last time before making his way out of the suite. He leaned against the doorframe, trying to gain some composure. He’d been in a constant state of arousal for the past twenty-four hours. Every time he thought he’d satiated his needs, Coda did something incredibly sexy or so natural that he needed to fill her again.

Damn!
He’d never felt this alive before.

He took his time walking to the lobby. He didn’t want to hurry back in case Coda needed some alone time. He wanted her to relax and get ready without him pawing her every chance he got. Although she didn’t seem to mind the groping, kissing, and…

“Spencer,” Ava called. “There you are.”

Shit!

She came toward him in her bridesmaid gown. Even he had to admit she looked flawless. Too bad he knew the real her and couldn’t get past her nasty attitude to appreciate her beauty. He didn’t think he’d ever find another woman attractive now that he’d fallen for Coda.

“Where have you been? We haven’t seen you all day. Tyler and your grandfather have been calling and texting you. The front desk said you didn’t want to be disturbed. Are you ill?”

“No, I’m fine. Coda and I decided to spend a quiet day in before the big event tonight.” He glanced at his watch. “Shouldn’t you be with the bride?”

“Tara has a whole staff tending to her. She won’t even know I’m missing.” She reached out and straightened his tie. “You look so handsome.”

“Ava, don’t.” He stepped back. He saw the hurt on her face but even she had to know he wasn’t interested in her. “Just go find the rest of the bridal party.”

“Spencer, you’ve proven your point by bringing that misfit to the ball, but now it’s time to stop the game. Do what’s right for your company.”

“Us being together has nothing to do with the company. It never has. We tried to make it work but we don’t. It’s that simple.”

“I’m supposed to believe you work with some slut you found from Brooklyn?”

Spencer didn’t say anything. He wondered what else his resourceful ex knew.

“She tries to hide the accent but not very well.” Ava looked around the lobby. “Not one person at the wedding is friends with her on Facebook. Not even Tyler. I found that strange. No one knows who she is.”

“She told you she doesn’t travel in the same circles as you. Not all of us have a Facebook account.”

“You’re not normal.” She rolled her eyes. “But a young woman like Coda should be easy to find. None of our friends know of her. Where did you find her?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“I think it does. Her entire weekend wardrobe came from Kendal’s boutique. Every piece of clothing the girl has worn. Did you buy it all for her?”

“Does that matter?” Ava had entirely too much time on her hands.

“So secretive. Did you buy her?” Ava smiled. “I’ll figure out who she is, Spencer. You should probably cut her loose before I do.”

“Leave her alone.”

“I will if you will. Tell her you’ve had a change of heart and you want to attend the wedding with me. I’ll make it worth it for you.” She squeezed his bicep. “You know I will.”

“Stop making a fool of yourself.” He pulled away from her just as his mother called to him.

“Spencer.” She came over and kissed his cheek. “We missed you today. I hope you and Coda had a lovely day.” She glared at Ava. “You’re not harassing my son, are you?”

His mother had never been fond of Ava. She tried to be polite while they were dating but once she was certain he and Ava had broken it off for good, his mother never held back how she felt.

“Of course not,” Ava said. “We were just discussing our plans for the evening.”

“Where’s Coda?” his mom asked.

“She’s getting ready.” Spencer looked down at the small blue box his mother held.

“This was at the front desk.” She handed it to him. “I took care of the courier for you.”

“Thank you.” He took the package from her.

“I’m sure you bought this on impulse and made them jump through hoops to get it here.” She glanced at Ava. “I can’t wait to see Coda wear whatever it is.”

“Spencer does nothing on impulse,” Ava spat.

“Sometimes it takes a spectacular woman to make a man act out of character.” His mother smiled at him before turning her attention back to Ava. “I think the photographer is looking for you, Ava. I’ll walk with you. We can chat about certain etiquettes.”

Ava huffed and headed down the hall.

“Thanks, Mom.” Spencer kissed her cheek. “I’ll see you at the ceremony.”

“Anytime.” She nodded. “I know a piranha when I see one. Go give that bracelet to Coda. She’s going to deserve it after putting up with Ava’s tantrums tonight.”

“How did you know it was a bracelet?”

“My sweet boy, a woman knows.” She patted his arm. “The box is too big to be a ring.”

“Right.” He looked down at the package. “I’m going to go give this to her now.”

“I’m sure she’ll love it.”

He headed up the staircase and to the suite. As soon as the double doors opened he stopped in his tracks. Coda stood in a backless, silver gown, looking in the mirror, primping her long, mahogany curls.

“Hey.” When she turned to face him she gave him a bright, sparkling smile that told him everything he needed to know. She was just as happy to see him as he was to see her. “I’m almost ready.”

“You look stunning.” He took her hand and studied her beauty. “There isn’t a woman in this whole place who can hold a candle to you. How did I find you?”

“I think I was being entirely too loud in your private kitchen.” She laughed. “I’m lucky you didn’t throw me out.”

“Throw you out?” He shook his head. “Never. I’m the lucky one. You could have slapped me when I propositioned you. You must have thought I was crazy.”

“A little.” She shrugged. “I figured you were some eccentric billionaire with issues.”

“And now?”

“Now I
know
you’re an eccentric billionaire with issues.” She winked. “I like it.”

“No one’s ever teased me the way you do.”

“Good, then that will be my special thing for you.” She kissed him, and he held her close. “Did your package come?”

“It did.” He reached into his inside pocket and handed it to her. “It’s for you.”

“For me?” she asked. “What is it?”

“Open it.”

“What’s it for?”

“I wanted to give you something.” He led her over to the couch. “I called Kendal and asked her to help me pick something out that would go with your dress tonight. I went online this morning and chose a few things, and then asked her to pick something from those. I wanted it to be perfect.”

“You didn’t have to get me anything else. You’ve given me enough.”

“Not like this.” He motioned toward the box. “This is different.” The bracelet had nothing to do with the proposal. There were no terms or conditions for this, he just wanted to give her something special.

“Spencer, I don’t—”

“Let’s not over think it.” He’d acted on impulse. He wanted her to have it. “Please open it.”

As she tugged at the white bow on the pale blue box, her hands trembled. He wondered what that was about.

When she flipped the lid on the box she didn’t say anything. She just stared down at the bracelet for a few minutes. She ran her finger along the strand and then her breath caught in her throat.

“Coda?”

She looked up at him, a tear sliding down her face.

Why is she crying?

* * * *

Coda tried to compose herself as she stared at the bracelet. She’d never seen anything that sparkly or real up close. The platinum links were covered in over a hundred diamonds. She didn’t even want to think about how much something like this cost. He bought this for her. He said it was different. It was a gift not a term in their deal.

She wiped the tear from her face.

“Are you okay?” He took her hand but she saw the panic on his face. “I didn’t mean to make you cry. I wanted you to have something exceptional for tonight. It wasn’t supposed to be a bad thing.”

“It’s not. I’m sorry, I think I’m overwhelmed.”

“Why?”

“Look at this thing.”

She was certain she sounded like a complete idiot. Spencer had more money than he knew what to do with. He didn’t understand how hard it was for her to experience a weekend like this. The people in her neighborhood were struggling to feed their families. That wasn’t Spencer’s fault but witnessing such an elaborate affair made her feel bad she got to experience something so spectacular when others had so little.

“Please tell me you’ll accept the gift.” He took the delicate piece of jewelry from the box. “I want you to have it.”

“It’s beautiful.” She watched as he placed it on her wrist. “But you’ve already given me so much.”

“A woman like you should have beautiful things.” He placed a soft kiss on her inner wrist. “I want to give them to you.”

“Thank you.” She didn’t want to ruin his moment. She could see how much this meant to him. “No one has ever given me anything like this before. Well, I’m sure you know that, I mean, duh, a Tiffany bracelet? Who would give me that?”

Stop babbling, you nervous fool.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done to me?” He tucked a curl behind her ear. “I don’t know how you managed it but I see more now than I ever have before. I’ve been missing an awful lot, Dakota. I promise you, no one has ever given me anything like that.”

“Oh,” she whispered. He wanted her to know she gave back to him too. He didn’t see what had developed between them as one-sided. She got it.

“Let’s go enjoy the evening, shall we?” He stood and extended his hand for her. “I can’t wait to walk downstairs with you on my arm.”

“I was thinking the same thing about you, Mr. Cannon.” She placed her hand in his. “I’m a fortunate girl.”

Chapter 10

“The ceremony was like a fairy tale wedding,” Coda gushed. “Everything was perfect. They’re so in love.”

“They are. I’m very happy for them.” Spencer took her hand and led her into another beautifully decorated room. Coda had never seen so many roses. “Would you like something to drink?”

“Yes, champagne please.”

“That makes you giddy.”

“Don’t forget frisky.” She winked. “It makes me want to touch you.”

“Then I’ll get you a bottle.” He kissed her. “We have a long night.”

“I’m going to use the ladies’ room. I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll meet you at the bar.”

She made her way through the crowded room, smiling and stopping to chat with Spencer’s aunts and mom along the way. The more time she spent with these people the more she felt like part of his family. Everyone treated her with such warmth.

Well, almost everyone.

When she stepped out of the stall and washed her hands, Ava stood by the sink waiting for her.

“Hi.” Up until now they had been cordial to one another but Spencer had always been in their presence. Coda had a feeling the gloves were about to come off.

“Still here?” Ava asked.

That didn’t take long.

“What did you do, follow me in here?” Coda dried her hands. “Shouldn’t you be taking pictures or something?”

“Nice bracelet.” Ava’s nostrils flared when she stared at the stunning piece of jewelry.

“Thanks, Spencer gave it to me.” She retrieved her lipstick from her small clutch.

“That doesn’t surprise me. Spencer buys his way out of everything.” She smirked. “There isn’t one problem he doesn’t solve without throwing money at it.”

“I’m not sure I’m a problem he needs to solve.” She applied her lipstick, hoping Ava would just leave her alone.

“You’re not his type.” Ava moved to stand next to her and stared at her in the mirror. “You have to know that.”

“No, I think you fall into that category considering he’s spending the weekend with me.”
Don’t make me go Brooklyn on you, bitch.

“You’re a plaything for him. Really, what else could you be? He’s slumming.”

“You don’t know anything about me.”

“Exactly. Where did he find you?”

“You can’t stand the fact he’s moved on, and with someone you can’t find any information on.” Coda tried to keep her composure. The last thing she wanted to do was lash out and hit this twit. “Spencer wants me and that makes you crazy.”

“He doesn’t want you. When this weekend is over you’ll be a thing of the past. You’ll go back to doing whatever it was you were doing. I’ll still be here. Spencer knows why we need to be together. He’s rebelling, but eventually he’ll do what’s right for his company. He always does.”

“Being with you is right for the agency?”

“It’s right for both of our families. My grandfather wants to retire. He’d feel better knowing I was by Spencer’s side. I get who he is. I’m a Carrington, he’s a Cannon. We’re meant for one another.”

“This really isn’t my concern. I think your grandfather needs to have a long talk with Spencer. You’re the only one holding out hope. You should stop wasting your time.”

Coda heard the vibration of Ava’s phone. Ava retrieved it from her purse and checked her message. “Well, that’s interesting.” She raised her head and smiled at Coda. “I’m not the least bit worried about you.”

“You should get a life.” Coda made her way to the exit.

“After tomorrow you’ll be a thing of the past in more ways than one.” Ava laughed. “I’ll make sure of it.”

Coda returned to the bar, took her drink from Spencer, and chugged it.

“Um, thirsty?” He grinned in amusement.

“Annoyed. Can I have another?” She set her empty glass down on the bar.

“First you better tell me what happened.”

“Ava cornered me in the bathroom.”

“Sorry.” He motioned for the bartender to refill her glass. “I hope she wasn’t too—”