Center Stage
Page 34

“I would have had to have sedated you and brought you anyway.”
She moved toward him and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m nervous knowing you can keep a secret this well.”
“I’ll tell you a secret.” He smiled, and she rolled her eyes.
“What?”
“I hate keeping secrets. This has been horrible.”
“You’re good at it.”
“Well, let’s hope I don’t have to keep too many of them. I’d rather be upfront about everything.”
“Nicely said, Forrester. So then give me what you have in your pocket.”
He chuckled. “I thought I’d had that hidden fairly well.”
“Um, no.”
John reached into his pocket and touched the box, then pulled his hand out without having grabbed it.
“Can I have everyone’s attention?” That was probably the most uncomfortable phrase he’d ever spoken aloud. Had her sister and her sister-in-laws not helped him pick out the ring, he’d have given it to her while they watched MythBusters. That was more their style. But this was going to need some onlookers.
When he looked back at Arianna, her eyes had gone wide. Yeah, he’d taken her by surprise, too.
Regan ran past all the guests. She had her camera in her hand, and he figured if that didn’t give it away, nothing would.
John took Arianna’s hand. It shook in his.
“I wanted to give you something very special for your birthday.”
“You did. You’re taking me to San Francisco.”
He’d heard Madeline gasp and then sniff back tears. Regan, on the other hand, was doing some kind of dance just behind him.
“I am. But to mark your fortieth year and to seal the commitment you and I have made to each other, I thought you needed something with a bit more longevity.”
Tears were forming in her eyes. God, he wished he’d have done this in the privacy of their own home.
He pulled the box from his pocket. Arianna pulled her hand away and clasped them both over her mouth.
John opened the box, and this time he heard Emily Keller begin to cry.
“Arianna, I’ve never loved anyone as much as I love you. And I know we said no marriage licenses and no wedding vows, but that didn’t mean you didn’t deserve the most beautiful ring your sisters could pick out for you.”
She shuttered and dropped her hands. “You took them shopping with you?”
“If I’d have picked this out, you’d have a Ring Pop.”
She laughed through her tears.
John pulled the ring from the box and handed the empty box to Madeline, who was now nearly sobbing.
He pulled Arianna’s hand toward him. “I love you. I want you to wear this as a daily celebration of my love for you. That commitment is real. I’m never going anywhere.”
He was sure she’d have said something, if she could. Her nose was red, and her breaths came in quick pants. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She was the most beautiful mess he’d ever seen.
“How many more secrets do you have?” She laughed as he slid the ring on her finger.
“Only one more, but you can have it on Tuesday.”
He pulled her into his arms and held her tight. Everything felt right.
John had caught her throughout the night looking down at her hand.
“I think she likes it,” Simone said as she sat down beside him on the sofa.
“You girls did a good job.”
“You did not have to use our suggestion. You get all the credit.”
“I wanted it to mean something. I wanted her to know how much I love her.”
“Oh, I think she knows.” Simone touched his arm. “You are a very thoughtful man, John Forrester. I have always enjoyed that about you.”
“Thoughtful? Couldn’t say I’d use that word.”
“I have seen you with your employees. You are strict, but you have a good heart. You care about them.”
He did care about his employees. Every one of them—usually. And if he couldn’t make himself care about them then they didn’t need to be working for Zach’s company.
“I hear you’re the caring one. You’re starting an organization at the clinic to help people find jobs?”
“I know a lot of people with big businesses. I do not see why I should not help people with what I have.” She brushed her hands over her skirt. “I may not have wealth in money anymore to help people, but I have so much more. I wish I were my father’s riches, as Avery and Curtis are mine.”
He never thought he’d see eye to eye with Simone Pierpont, but with that statement, he sure did.
John had never thought himself a wealthy man, not monetarily speaking, but seated next to a woman, once worth perhaps a billion dollars, he thought perhaps they were as wealthy as two people could be.
Chapter Eighteen
John had personally watched Arianna shine her ring at least ten times over the weekend. When they’d gone to the grocery store, he noticed how she held the charge slip so everyone could see her finger. It was as if suddenly she was a hand model, and it thrilled him.
Regan had been right. Attaching a proposal to the ring would have been the biggest mistake. They were right where they needed to be—together, in love, and happy.
Monday morning, Arianna had set up meetings with local business owners. She would need their support when the theater opened. She understood networking, and he loved watching her work, but construction called, and he spent his day receiving the shipment of theater seats, which were two weeks early.
Eduardo convinced Carlos to excuse him from school so he could work on Arianna’s office. John wasn’t sure how much he agreed with that, but if an educator agreed to call in his own son, who was he to judge?
He hadn’t seen much of Eduardo all day except at lunch time, out at the break truck, when he’d bought him a Pepsi and a hot dog. Now they were an hour from quitting time, and he figured he’d better make sure the room would be ready for Arianna’s surprise tomorrow morning.
When John opened the door to her office, he wasn’t sure why he’d even questioned that it might not be done in time or be absolutely brilliant. Eduardo Keller was a natural.
Eduardo was in the corner behind the desk, which would be his aunt’s. He was finishing a detail, no doubt.
“Hey, John, what do you think?”
John looked around the room. Every detail was exactly as Eduardo had described it less than a week earlier. The colors were vibrant. There were two desks in one half of the room as well as a large table where they could work. The other side of the room was divided by a wall, which had a window so Arianna could see the door, and had a desk and two chairs. The windows looking out into the street had blinds on them, and there was even a plant in the corner.