Chapter 51: Revelations in the Food Court

AVA

I felt the color drain from my face as his words settled into me. We hadn’t discussed this!

Ella, who had been watching me intently, picked up on my tiny mental breakdown and reached over to grab my hand.

I locked my fingers around her hand so tightly that I could see her flinch in my peripheral view.

My eyes were still locked on Cyrus, trying to gauge the next thing he would say. He was looking everywhere but at me, which made him even harder to read.

The crowd, which had broken into excited chatter, was getting louder by the second. The sound slowly turned into a ringing in my ears, and the corners of my vision started to blur.

I could feel my breathing speeding up involuntarily, and I tried to focus on taking long, deep breaths.

Cyrus said, “I’ve met a wonderful girl, who is truly unlike anyone else I’ve ever known, and I’ve asked her to be my wife.

“I’m elated to say she’s accepted my proposal. And I am so relieved to finally be able to share this news with you all.”

His words hit me like a ton of bricks. The ringing in my ears slowly subsided, as did the chatter around me, leaving room only for Cyrus’s voice.

My vision slowly cleared as I focused on his lips, on reading the words he was speaking.

Cyrus loved me deeply. He was ~relieved~ to share our news. He’d been wanting to talk about our relationship from the get-go.

I’d been the one putting it off. Because he was my boss. But he wouldn’t be for much longer.

I looked at my beautiful man across the food court, looking happier than I’d ever seen him in the office. It made my heart melt.

What was I so afraid of? Didn’t I want people to know I was the one going home with him every day? I did.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I was so proud he was mine. I ~did~ want everyone to know.

I wanted girls to stop flocking to him every time he moved through a public place. I wanted to hold his hand when we were out and about. I wanted to be able to kiss him whenever I felt like it.

And to be honest, I wanted Martha to back the fuck off too.

“Who’s the lucky lady?” Mr. Robinson called out.

Cyrus’s eyes flashed to mine so briefly that I wouldn’t have seen it if I’d blinked. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and nodded slowly at him.

At that motion, I saw Cyrus’s shoulders relax and his jaw unclench. I hadn’t even noticed how tense he’d looked.

I suddenly felt bad about having made him keep quiet for so long. I repeated his words in my head: ~“I am so relieved.”~

“Well…,” Cyrus said, and his eyes found mine again, but they held my gaze this time.

I nodded again and sent him an encouraging smile.

“You all know her, actually.”

The crowd erupted in excited chatter again as everyone looked around to see who he was talking about. It irked me to see all the people who were looking at Martha. Fucking ~Martha.~

I slowly spun the diamond of my engagement ring, which I still had hidden on my palm, back to the surface. Cyrus noticed, and he smirked at me.

“Ava, would you join me?” he asked and held out his hand.

My coworkers let out a unified gasp, and they whipped their heads around to look at me as I slowly rose, my face bright red.

I walked over to Cyrus, my nerves easing with each step I took toward him. He was my comfort, my haven. He might have been the reason for my uneasiness, but he was also the remedy.

I inhaled sharply when I reached him, filling my lungs with his addictive, manly scent. It calmed me instantly.

I allowed Cyrus to grab my hand and pull me to him, and my face met with his chest with a soft thud.

Most of the faces staring back at me looked happy, and Ella was giving me an encouraging thumbs-up, which I was grateful for. A few faces stood out to me, though…

Martha, of course, who looked like a child who’d just been told Santa Claus wasn’t real, flabbergasted and on the verge of tears.

August, whose expression changed from disbelief to admiration right before my eyes.

“So, there ~is no Theo~?!” he mouthed and brought both hands over his heart dramatically.

And finally, Tobias. I couldn’t quite place his expression. It looked like a mixture of hurt, anger, and disbelief.

I thought back to the multiple times he’d told me Cyrus had a crush on me and I’d shut him down, thinking he couldn’t be more wrong. Guess he’d been right after all.

***

Even though the days were getting longer again, the sun had long since set when we walked back into the parking garage.

We’d stayed in the office for a long time, having been flocked by curious Brentstone employees and their questions.

It felt weird now, getting into Cyrus’s car so openly after having hidden our relationship for so long, but very freeing as well.

“I’m sorry I blindsided you,” Cyrus said. His hands were gripping the steering wheel tightly, turning his knuckles white.

I slid my hand onto his thigh, squeezing it encouragingly. “It’s okay,” I said, emphasizing each word.

I needed him to know there was nothing to worry about. I knew Cyrus could get in his head about things, especially if he felt like he’d wronged me.

“I’m actually glad the cat’s out of the bag. And that I can finally flaunt my ring.”

“I still should have talked to you first. I wouldn’t have said it was you if you didn’t want me to. I was prepared to keep your identity a secret.”

“I gave you permission, Cy. We’re good. Like I said, I’m happy with where we are.”

He glanced over and smiled at me.

“It’s going to be weird, not seeing you in the office,” I said.

My heart sank a little as the words hit me. He wasn’t going to be across the office from me anymore. No more lingering gazes, no more sly flirting, no more quickies in his office during lunch…

Actually, those might still happen, just in his new office.

Cyrus bit the top of his thumb. “Yeah… Well, I’ll just be a few floors up.”

I sighed and told myself that wasn’t too bad. He would still be in the same building. I could be with him in minutes.

I imagined him striding around his new office, his piercing blue eyes lurking beneath his dark brows.

I thought about the first time I’d seen him and how he’d literally taken my breath away, just like he had every time I had looked at him since. I was completely under his spell.

I couldn’t imagine a more beautiful man even if I tried. And his tough exterior only added to it.

I loved that he was harsh and cold to everyone but me. I loved how fiercely he loved me, leaving no room for doubt.

I imagined his new employees would probably be just as struck by him as I was. I felt jealousy sink its venomous fangs into me, turning my insides sour.

I gnashed my teeth at the idea of pretty, talented women throwing themselves at him in my absence.

“What are you thinking about?” He seemed to have picked up on my tenseness.

“Nothing.” I physically shook my shoulders to shake off the thoughts darkening my brain.

“Tell me, Ava.”

I bit my lip in hesitation. I didn’t want to seem clingy or childish, telling him about my petty jealous thoughts.

“~Ava…~,” he dragged out my name dangerously.

“I’m just jealous, okay?” My cheeks heated up as I spoke. “It’s stupid, but I can’t help myself.

“I’m sure you’re going to be surrounded by beautiful, smart women who’ll be valuable additions to your new branch, and I’m just little old me, doodling away in my office downstairs from you.”

He pulled the car into my apartment’s parking lot and put it in Park before turning to face me straight on.

His dark features had softened a touch, and a small smile danced around his lips as he tried to remain serious when he began speaking.

“Baby,” he said, sounding tender, which only flared up my disappointment in myself, “~that’s~ what you’re worried about? I promise you, other women are the absolute farthest thing from my mind.

“I have found the epitome of love, my one and only. I proposed to you for a reason. I need to lock you to me in every way I can. ~Do not~ worry about other women ever again. Promise me, Aves.”

I stared at him. I actually believed him, to my own surprise. Maybe because that was exactly how I felt about him.