Page 56 of Protecting Chaos

“Mad Dog. Did you know that he used to take wildlife pictures for a magazine?”

“No. But it looks like you made a new friend,” she said.

“That’s not even the best one. I saved the best one for last,” Ashton said and led her to what she could only assume was a picture covered with a cloth.

“Topping the last one is going to be hard to do.”

“You’re going to either love this one or hate it.” He gestured to the canvas.

She removed the cloth and frowned. Ashton was wearing the same clothes and bent down on one knee, holding out an open ring box. Behind him were all the pictures she’d just gone through.

“Turn around, Stella. I have a question for you.”

She shook her head and covered her mouth. “You couldn’t possibly…”

“Oh, I could, and I am,” he said. “Turn around, Stella, please, baby.”

She slowly turned around to find him down on one knee, holding out the ring and box just like in the picture.

“Stella, I’ve spent far too long with a piece missing from my heart, and you’re the only piece that fits. I love you. I want to spend the next hundred years loving you and making memories to fill photo albums with pictures just like these. I promise never to run, never to pull your hair to get you to smile, and to love you forever. You own my heart, Stella, and I don’t want to spend another minute of life without the promise that you’ll be my wife. Marry me, baby, and make me whole.”

Tears gathered in her eyes, and words eluded her as she stared at him. With everything she’d painted and seen before, she’d never dreamed of this. She’d never painted the perfect moment.

But she would, and it would look exactly like this.

“Yes,” she said and held out her shaking hand.

He smiled as he took the ring out of the box and rose to his feet. He slipped the ring onto her finger and kissed her like a man that had promised a life of love and happiness.

Epilogue

“You owe me big,” Jenny said, shifting in the hospital bed.

“You’re right, I do,” Grant said, crossing the room. He put the envelope on the bedside tray. “It’s all there. I must admit I couldn’t have pulled this off without you.”

Jenny smiled. “I never doubted we’d work well together.”

“When I believed Stella was actually sick, I knew it was time for them to drop the charade and realize what was most important in life.”

“And you were right. A fake engagement was the only way to get him to attend.”

“He’s my friend, and he’s predictable. He always tried to steer me away from the women that were going to break my heart.”

She chuckled. “I could have used him in my life.”

“I was sure the doctor’s note would be enough to send him running to her. The police report and an actual stalker… That was…”

Jenny finished his sentence. “Unexpected and out of our control, kind of like her finding out you were buying her paintings. You couldn’t have known. Hell, I didn’t, and I like to think that I’m a good judge of character.”

“If that guy Conrad wasn’t already out of reach behind bars, I’d kill him myself.” Grant frowned.

“This was about far more than just her being sick and getting her and Ashton to rekindle their relationship. This could have gone sideways when we realized there was an actual threat.”

“I trusted Ashton to keep her safe. He loves her. He would have given his life for hers.”

“I must admit I had some reservations worrying if Ashton would figure things out once you told me he was a mind reader.”

“You kept your thoughts in the game; that’s all that mattered.”

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