"I'll get you flowers tomorrow if you want."
"Don't you dare." I trace the tattoo on his chest. "This was better than flowers."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." I press a kiss to his skin. "This was perfect."
We're quiet for a while. I'm drifting, not quite asleep, when he speaks again.
"I have to meet with your father tomorrow."
The words land like a cold splash. I prop myself up on my elbow.
"What?"
"He's flying in. Wants to debrief in person." Cesar's face is unreadable. "And I imagine he wants to discuss what happens next. With the business. With you."
"With us, you mean."
I think about my father. About the way he's always handled me—throwing money at problems, hiring people to deal with things he didn't want to deal with himself. He hired Cesar to protect me. He didn't plan for Cesar to become the most important person in my life.
"Are you worried?" I ask.
"About your father?"
"About what he'll say. About us."
Cesar is quiet for a moment. Then he pulls me closer, tucks my head under his chin.
"Your father can say whatever he wants," he says. "It won't change anything. I'm not giving you up, Diamond. Not for his money, not for his connections, not for anything."
"Even if he threatens to ruin your business?"
"Even then." He tilts my chin up, makes me look at him. "I spent eight years in prison. I built a business from nothing. I killed a man tonight to keep you safe. Do you really think Charles Sterling scares me?"
I smile despite myself. "No. I don't suppose he does."
I settle back against his chest, listening to his heartbeat, and let myself drift. Outside, the ocean keeps crashing against the cliffs. Somewhere out there, the sun is starting to rise on Valentine's Day.
And for the first time in my life, I'm exactly where I want to be.
10
Cesar
Charles Sterling arrives in a black helicopter.
I watch it descend from the kitchen window, Diamond pressed against my side. She hasn't let go of me all day—not clingy, just close. Like she needs to keep confirming I'm real.
"I called him, FYI," she says quietly. "Told him about us. I didn't want you blindsided."
I look down at her. "How'd he take it?"
"He hung up on me."
Great.
"You don't have to do this alone," she says. "I can be there."
