“Yes,” Jade whispered as tears sprang to her eyes. She covered her mouth with both hands and nodded. Then she said again, “Yes, Chase. I’d love to marry you.”
Cheers and tears filled their private dining area. Chase took the ring out of the box and slipped it on her finger. Jade’s heart melted. He had remembered she wore a size five because it was a perfect fit. Standing, he pulled her out of her chair and into his arms. He kissed her, and then, as he held her left hand, they gazed at the exquisite ring. Congratulations flew as family left their chairs in exchange for hugs. Taking her right hand, Chloe tugged Jade back into her seat.
“More than two carats, set in platinum?” Chloe asked Chase.
“Two and a quarter carats,” Chase replied as the others politely hooted and hollered just a bit. With a smile at Jade, he said, “The extra twenty-five points make it a jubilee birthday engagement ring.”
“And it’s anemeraldcut,” Jade’s voice broke. “I’m the luckiest woman in the world.”
“That makes me the luckiest man.”
Dessert was served, but nothing tasted as sweet as this moment.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-FIVE
“Thanks for joining us for dinner,” Chase said to Coop and Rachel in the parking lot of the steakhouse. He opened the door for Rachel, who had driven Coop into town. She would take him to Triple C Ranch-Central, and when Chloe got home, Rachel would double back to the bed-and-breakfast. With the Spatafore threat, the women were being extra cautious. “Drive safely.”
“Be careful,” Jade added and waved as Chase shut his aunt’s door.
“See you later.” Chase stood back and lifted his hand in a wave.
“Southside Suzy’s?” Cash called a few cars away from Chase’s Corvette.
“Let’s go,” Chase said and snared Jade’s hand. During dessert, he’d gotten a text from Derek Brevard and wanted to hear what the detective had to say. Opening the Corvette door for Jade, she swiveled into the leather seat. He saw Chloe in the passenger’s seat of Cash’s truck as they left the lot. “Buckle up, buttercup.”
“Because it’s going to be a bumpy night?” Jade asked, remembering the line from a classic movie with Bette Davis that she and Chase had watched in the theater room.
“Nah.” Chase slid in behind the wheel and headed a few blocks south on Tejon Street.
Jade placed her hand on his arm and said, “We’re so happy and in love, we can’t let it make us forget the Spatafores are so angry and in trouble.”
Chase looked at his fiancée, thinking she was as brilliant as she was beautiful. “Is that the therapist talking to the cowboy?”
“Like you told me recently, we can’t let our guard down.”
“We won’t.” Chase grasped her left hand and kissed her ring finger.
“I can’t believe I’m going to be Jade Cooper.”
“I like the sound of that,” Chase said.
“Me too.”
When he let go to shift gears, she placed her hand on his thigh and gave his leg a squeeze. Southside Suzy’s came into view, and he parked next to Cash at the end of a row of Harleys. When they joined Cash and Chloe on the sidewalk, Jade slipped her hand into his, and he led the way. Even before they entered the building, they heard the music. It was a Friday night, and it could get rowdy. Seeing a familiar face, Chase knew Richard and Suzy were here as well.
“How you doing, Chase, Cash?” Wolf asked, standing guard near the front door.
“Good, Wolf. Thanks,” Chase said and introduced him to Jade.
Wolf smiled at Jade when introduced and gave Chase an overt nod, communicating he totally understood why she had to be found. Chase introduced Chloe before entering a very different atmosphere from the sedate restaurant where they’d dined. Chase wore a button-down shirt, black pants, and boots. Cash was dressed similarly but wearing khakis. Chloe was clad in an off-the-shoulders outfit with a slightly Western flair. If they were all a bit overdressed for Southside Suzy’s, it was Jade who stood out. As she did in any crowd.
Jade’s black dress was sleeveless and knee-length. A silver zipper ran from the scooped neckline, enticing him with a hint of cleavage, down the front of the dress to her hips. A slit up the front of the dress stopped a couple of inches from the bottom of the zipper. In her left hand was a small black purse, and on her feet, black, open-toed stilettos. Her long blond hair, green eyes, and red lips drew glances and second glances from every direction. Chase grinned, knowing he was the man taking this bombshell, yes, always the bombshell, home tonight.
“What put that smug smile on your handsome face, cowboy?”
“Thinking about what I’m gonna do to my fiancée when I get her home.”
“Ooh.” Jade’s smile sizzled. “I can’t wait.”
