“Both?”
“Yes.”
He took out the first one, cracked it open, and removed the strip of paper. “Now is the time to try something new,” he said, reading off the fortune. He looked at her, crinkled his brow, then snapped a finger. “That was your fortune the night we had Chinese. After I blindfolded you.”
“Among other things,” she said, gesturing to her breasts.
He smiled widely. “I’ll happily do that again. And if memory serves, you wanted to give me a tattoo right here,” he said, tapping his fingers to his chest.
“I did, and I still do. And if you open the other one too you’ll find out what it would say if I inked you.”
He snapped open the second cookie, letting the next fortune fall out. “Your fondest dreams will come true this year,” he said, reading out loud. He set down the cookies on the coffee table, and she wrapped her arms around his firm waist and tipped her chin up to look at him.
“Remember how you thought our fortunes were mixed up? You had the fortune ‘now is the time to try something new,’ but you said it was mine?”
“I remember.”
“But I don’t actually think they were mixed up after all. I think the right fortune went to the right person. You did learn something new. You learned to trust again. With me,” she said, and a flurry of pride and joy spread through her chest that she had been the one who could show him that love and commitment didn’t have to turn sour.
He brushed the back of his fingertips against her cheek. “I did learn that. You showed me that.”
“And my fortune was that my fondest dream will come true,” she said, leaning into his hand, to the tenderness of his touch.
“So I guess that wasn’t for me? It was for you?” he asked quietly. “Why?”
“Because my dream was to have a love like this,” she said, her heart bursting with joy. Though she’d told him countless times how she felt, she still believed that moments like this, that words and gestures and actions, were the foundation of any great love. And that’s what he was to her. He’d shown her that she didn’t have to change for any man, that the right man would love her for who she was.
“Did it come true?” he asked softly as she ran her fingertip across his chest, as if she were imprinting him with those words. Tattooing him as she nodded, and wrote on his skin. Your fondest dream will come true. She had marked him in her own way.
A quiet tear slid down her cheek. He pressed his lips gently to her skin, kissing it away.
“Do you have any idea what it’s like to fall in love with your best friend?” she asked.
“As a matter of fact I do. I know exactly what that’s like.”
“What’s it like?”
“It’s like the big love.”
EPILOGUE
One year later . . .
A new Miller Valentina was for sale, and Casey intended to win it this time. Not that she’d lost out technically on the last one. She’d won, and she’d won big. Even so, she had her sights set on her favorite artist’s latest work. She practically bounced in her chair with excitement because it was next on the evening’s agenda at the sale of modern art at Sotheby’s in New York. They sat in the front row. Nate had arranged with the auction house in advance for her to have these premiere seats. He’d told her it was a special gift to her to celebrate one year of being in business together.
It had been a busy year, and the partnership their companies struck had been a smashing success. The new product had delivered a fantastic return on investment for Joy Delivered, and for all its launch partners, from Sofia’s to The Luxe and even to the loose-lipped Grant Abbot at Entice, who’d remained a solid business associate, especially because they’d connected recently about renewing their deal, and then got to chatting about Ethan. Grant had mentioned he’d talked to him once and had perhaps said more than he should about their partnership before it launched. Grant had a habit, it seemed, of opening his mouth too far, but Casey wasn’t going to kick him to the curbside for that. She simply reminded him of the importance of privacy.
As for Ethan Holmes, he’d tucked his tail between his legs and had gone home to live with his parents after Victoria Hotels let him go due to a nervous breakdown. She was glad he was getting help for his issues, and that was all she thought about the man who’d tried to drive a rift between Nate and her.
Nate threaded his fingers through hers. He must have sensed her nerves, but also her coiled desire to nab the prize. “It’s up next,” he whispered, and she squeezed his fingers.
“Ouch,” he said playfully as if she’d hurt him. She squeezed harder in response, and he planted a quick kiss on her cheek.
“And for the next item this evening we have the newest Miller Valentina,” the auctioneer said as his assistants escorted the painting to the front of the room. Casey nearly groaned with lust for the painting. She wanted that beauty badly. “I shall start the bidding at—”
Then he stopped, brought his finger to his lips, and gazed at the ceiling. “Wait. That’s not quite right.”
Casey furrowed her brow. Auctioneers were always poised. This guy sounded as if he’d been thrown off his game.
“No. That’s the wrong item. Take it back,” he shouted, shooing away the painting dramatically. His assistants obeyed. Casey’s jaw dropped and she turned to Nate. “What was that all about?”
He simply shrugged and held up his hands.
“Now bring out the correct item,” the man said, and a few seconds later, one of the assistants returned with a small maroon box.
Casey pointed and whispered. “Now that’s definitely not on the catalogue tonight.”
The auctioneer flipped open the box, and it was almost like being blinded. The stone was so bright.
“Our next item is a vintage halo ring, set in a handcrafted platinum band with an inlay of diamonds, and this gorgeous 2.5 carat stone. I start the bidding at—”
Nate raised his paddle. “—I’ll take it.”
The auctioneer pointed at him. “Sold! To the gentleman in the front row.”
Then it hit her. It had happened so quickly, and she hadn’t been expecting it at all, but her heart was beating out a wild rhythm in her chest as Nate clasped the box, dropped down to one knee, and took her hand in his. “Casey, I was crazy about you long before I even kissed you, and that’s because you have the kindest, most caring heart I have ever known. I still can’t believe you’re really mine, but somehow the dream isn’t ending, and every moment with you is more wonderful than the last. You make me laugh, you make me happy, you make me want to be better every day for you. You’ve been my best friend, my lover, and now I hope you will continue on this journey with me as my wife,” he said, holding open the box, as her lower lip quivered and her heart danced. “Will you marry me?”