It Started with a Crack by Piper James
Noah
Six months later…
When I was younger, living the high life in Los Angeles, rolling in money, booze, and women, I’d thought life was grand. I’d been convinced I was happy, and nothing could be better than the life I was living.
I was a fucking idiot.
Being in love with Dakota Jones far outstripped any joy I thought I’d experienced before. She filled a hole in my heart I never knew existed. She brought me true happiness. A solid foundation for a future I’d been envisioning since the day I walked in, and she cracked me over the head with that fucking back-scratcher.
I’d been building up to this moment since that day. Showing her I was every bit the solid rock she needed me to be. That I was trustworthy, faithful, and dependable. That I would love her unconditionally and without fail.
I bought the ring five months ago.
I’d seen it at a jewelry store in Saddleback, and instantly knew it was Dakota’s. A full carat, princess cut solitaire embedded in two rows of tiny diamonds that trailed down the sides of the platinum band, the thing sparkled almost as brightly as Dakota did in my eyes.
I’d been holding onto it, not because I wasn’t ready to marry her, but because I was living for the fucking anticipation. And also because I wanted to do something special for Dakota. Something to make my proposal indicative of the deep-seated love I felt for her.
So, I’d been working on this super-secret project for six months, and tonight was the big reveal.
“Hey.”
I carefully released my grip on the ring box and pulled my hand from my pocket as unobtrusively as possible. I looked up to see Dakota walking in from the kitchen, a bowl of popcorn in one hand and two bottles of water in the other.
“Hey,” I replied, taking the waters from her before she slid onto the couch beside me and placed the bowl in her lap. “You ready to watch the movie?”
“Yep,” she said, snuggling into my side. “What are we watching?”
“It’s an indie film,” I said, plucking my tablet from the side table and tapping at the screen.
I had the device hooked up to the T.V. wirelessly, and it only took a moment to queue up the video I’d spent months filming and editing together. Settling back on the couch, I grabbed a handful of popcorn and shoved it into my mouth. I instantly regretted it. A huge lumped popped up in my throat as the movie started, and I almost choked as I tried to swallow. I was suddenly nervous as hell.
Dakota froze as words popped up on the screen. I glanced at her from the corner of my eye, seeing her mouth move silently as she read the words.
Dakota, my life was a wreck before I met you. I was lost in the darkness, and you were a bright light that led me down the path to true happiness. I love you.
“Noah, what is this?” she whispered as the music started to swell and a beach scene appeared on the screen.
“Shh. Just watch,” I said, releasing her as she sat up and set the popcorn on the coffee table in front of her.
My voice echoed through the speakers, words I’d dubbed over the video after splicing everything together and adding the music.
“April twenty-seventh. We went to the beach together for the first time. You wore that green bikini and played in the surf. Your boundless joy made me feel more carefree and full of life than I’d ever experienced, and for that, I thank you.”
Footage of Dakota splashing in the water, beckoning me forward as I filmed her with my phone stretched across the screen as those words were spoken. She looked more beautiful than I’d ever seen her, smiling and laughing and kicking the seawater in my direction. Then she turned her back to me, wading into deeper waters, and my hand moved into the frame, holding a closed ring box.
Beside me, Dakota gasped, and I looked over to see tears filling her eyes. She kept her gaze locked on the screen, which faded to black before fading back in to another scene. This one, a video I secretly took at Belle and Ryder’s house as we met my new nephew for the first time. Dakota was holding the baby, softly cooing as he wrapped his tiny fist around her finger.
“May seventeenth. This was the moment I knew, definitively and without a single doubt, that I wanted children. Seeing that love in your eyes when you looked at him made my heart explode in my chest. I’d never thought about being a father before, but you make me believe I could be a good one. Because you’d be an amazing mother.”
Once again, my hand came into the frame, but this time, the box was open and facing Dakota, away from the camera. Everyone in the room was so focused on baby Ryder James Perry—who they’d decided to call James—no one even noticed me at all. I knew what was happening onscreen, so I kept my gaze on Dakota. She was crying in earnest now, swiping at her tears as she sniffed loudly.
As the screen faded to black once more, she turned to look at me with wide, teary eyes. I gave her a soft smile, and she swallowed thickly before looking back at the television.
Fireworks were booming in the sky, framing Dakota’s body as she sat in front of me, her gaze locked on the show above as she clapped and cheered. I was lying on the blanket, the angle allowing me to get both her and the fireworks in the shot.
“July fourth. As you stared at the explosions in the sky, all I could think about was how you made my life as bright as those fiery sparks. A wondrous light show burst above me, but all I could see was you. My own little firecracker who detonates for me with every touch. God, I love you so fucking much.”
A laugh burst out of Dakota, only to be cut off when my hand moved into the frame, a ring pinched between my fingers. None of the details were clear in the dark, but a huge explosion in the sky cast light down for a split second, reflecting off the diamond just as the scene faded to black.
The screen flashed back to life with footage of a barbecue at Sage and Chase’s house. Dakota was sitting at a picnic table out back, making short work of a huge beef rib. Her cheeks were covered in barbecue sauce, and she waved the damn thing around like a baton as she had a lively conversation with Sage, Belle, and Ember.
Dakota turned her head to shoot me a glare, making me laugh. She was still crying, and I reached over to clasp one of her hands to stop them from wringing together.
“August fourteenth. I love every single thing about you. Even the messy bits. In fact, I think I love those the most, because I know you trust me enough to reveal them to me. You love me enough to accept mine. And that, Dakota, is the secret to a long and happy life together. You taught me that.”
Once again, my hand moved into the shot. The ring rested in my palm, the diamond facing away from the camera so all that was visible was the platinum band and the backside of the setting. Dakota’s fingers tightened around mine, but she kept her gaze locked on the screen.
A shot of her in bed, sound asleep with her hair flowing across my pillow.
“September second. I love watching you sleep. Your quiet tranquility brings me peace. My heart burns for you.”
The camera zoomed in on her stomach. The ring nestled in the satin of her nightie, barely visible in its folds.
“September ninth. Holding you in my arms like this is my reason for breathing.”
Dakota was stretched out on the couch in my embrace, watching a movie with her head on my chest. I brushed her hair back from her face, the ring circling my pinky. She reached up to link her fingers with mine, and I jerked my hand away. Her head started to lift, and the screen went black.
I’d almost been busted on that one. I’d quickly sucked the ring off my pinky, dropped my phone down beside me, and scratched my head like that was the reason I didn’t take her hand. When she settled back against me, I’d faked a cough to spit the ring into my hand and stuff it into my pocket.
I’d almost had a heart attack in the process.
“September fourteenth.”
Dakota tensed as the screen faded to black. September fourteenth was today. When she turned to look at me, I had my phone out, pointed in her direction. My hand was in the frame, the ring pinched between my fingers as I held it out to her.
“Dakota Indiana Tommylee Faith Jones,” I said, smiling as my own eyes burned with emotion, “I’ve given you the smallest glimpse of what I see when I look at you. The tiniest taste of what I feel whenever you’re near. I could never fully explain my love, because there are no words remarkable enough to describe it.”
She was full-on bawling now, and I was having a hard time keeping my own tears at bay as I tried to choke out the rest.
“I never felt true love before you. And I want to spend the rest of my life loving you, appreciating you, and worshipping you like the amazing, talented, witty, brilliant, beautiful-inside-and-out woman you are.”
I set the phone down on the coffee table, propping it up against a stack of books I’d set there for just this purpose. The angle gave me room to get fully into the frame with Dakota. Slipping off the couch, I landed on one knee beside her and took her left hand.
“Will you make me the luckiest bastard on Earth? Will you marry me?”
Dakota let out a sob as she nodded her head vigorously. An unexpected laugh barked out of me as the nervous tension in my body evaporated. I slid the ring onto her finger and she flew off the couch, tackling me to the floor and peppering my face with kisses.
I wrapped one arm around her and held her tight as my other hand reached up and fumbled across the surface of the coffee table. My phone clattered down as my fingertips hit it. Patting the wood, I finally got a grip on it as Dakota’s kisses zeroed in on my mouth. I tapped the icon to stop recording as her tongue pushed between my lips and the phone fell out of my hand.
She kissed me deeply, igniting the fire that only she could.
And would, until death do us part.
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For a sneak peek of Ember and Ethan’s story, read on…
It Started with a Snap
Ember
“Did you find everything you were looking for?”
Mrs. Martinez nodded with a smile, placing a pair of western jeans and two plaid button downs with pearl buttons on the counter. I tried not to stare as the drop of sweat carving a slow path down her temple. My face was frozen with a congenial expression despite the fact that her face was flushed and it was obvious she was uncomfortable.
Please don’t mention the temperature in here. Please don’t mention—
“It’s a little warm in here, today,” she said, using her hand to fan her face. “Air conditioning having trouble?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said, not meeting her eyes as I rang up her purchase. “It should be fixed by next week.”
Lie.
“Oh, that’s good. It’s supposed to shoot up over a hundred on Monday and stay there for several days. It would be just awful to be stuck in here with no a/c during that.”
Great. I’d been purposefully avoiding looking at the weather forecast for just this reason. I didn’t want to know. It was September in Texas. Chances were good that it was going to be hell, and I was living under the belief that ignorance was bliss.
Because the air conditioning was not going to be fixed next week. I’d been telling customers that all summer. Hell, I’d told everyone last winter the same thing about the furnace. The whole HVAC system had been on the fritz for nearly a year, starting with the thermostat freezing at eighty-five degrees and keeping the whole place the warm for weeks until I found someone who would fix it for cheap.
I ran Mrs. Martinez’s credit card, wished her a lovely day, and then slumped into the chair behind the counter with a sigh as soon as the bells over the door signaled her departure.
I felt like a fucking failure.
Glowing Embers was my baby. I’d opened the western boutique after deciding college just wasn’t for me. My father had passed away from a sudden heart attack when I was nineteen, and after coming home for the funeral, I realized how much I hated being away. I dropped out of college and used most of the inheritance he’d left me to buy the building and open this place, and it was an immediate success.
For a good eight years, the place had prospered, supporting the carefree lifestyle I’d always wanted. I owned the old building, which included a small loft-style apartment upstairs. So I had no mortgage to budget for. No rent to pay. Hell, I bought the smallest, cheapest pickup truck I could find so I wouldn’t have a car payment, either.
And after all these years, I had a few employees I trusted implicitly, so I didn’t even have to work that much. Life was fucking grand. Staying out late, drinking and having fun until the wee hours of the morning. Sleeping until I was ready to wake up. Check the books, make sure everything was in order. Then do it all again.
Then sometime last year, things started to fall apart. Literally.
Shortly after the thermostat broke, a water pipe busted in my apartment upstairs, causing damage to the store’s ceiling. Water and debris from the drywall ruined an entire rack of expensive leather purses. The public toilet in the back clogged up, leaving my customers and employees with no option but to leave the store if they had to go. A hinge on one of the two dressing room doors broke off, making it inaccessible.
And now the air conditioner is broken and it feels like the pits of hell in here. Kill me now.
Regret washed over me the way it always did when these thoughts ran through my head. It wouldn’t have been that big of a deal if I hadn’t stupidly let the insurance policy run out. Having insurance wasn’t required by Texas law, and after paying that shit for years and never using it, I’d stupidly decided it was a waste of money and dropped it.
And while I made enough money to live comfortably, I wasn’t exactly rolling in dough. I couldn’t afford to replace everything that broke. So I hired a kid who was working as an apprentice for his father’s repair business to come put a bandage on the issue every time something went wrong. He was coming out to check the air conditioning unit in a few days. I just had to make until then without melting. Or losing all my customers.
To put the cherry on top of the sundae, it was getting harder and harder to hide my problems from my friends. I’d tried to keep how bad things had gotten from them, but I could tell they’d noticed the stress that was weighing me down. I wasn’t as carefree as I used to be. I didn’t smile as much. And it was getting harder and harder to come up with excuses for why I had to leave suddenly or skip our girls’ nights, altogether. It had been happening more and more, lately, and I always played it off as an employee calling in sick instead of the truth—a broken floorboard that made a customer trip and fall, a short in the electric wiring that caused all the light fixtures to go out, the deadbolt on the front entrance jamming so the store couldn’t be locked up for the night.
Annabelle, Sage, and Dakota had a running joke that my employees hated me, and that’s why they kept calling in “sick.” I laughed and flipped them off, playing along with their teasing, but on the inside, I was dying. No one was calling in sick. My employees loved the boutique as much as I did.
It was just falling apart, and I couldn’t bring myself to admit to anyone, especially my best friends, that it was failing. That I was failing.
All three of them would kick me in the crotch if they knew I was hiding this from them. They’d insist on helping me out, and I was in such dire straits, I didn’t know if I’d be able to say no.
Belle was married to Ryder Perry, who owned Perry Brothers Construction with his three siblings, Chase, Noah, and Ethan. Sage and Chase were together, raising his son, Daniel, in the ranch home she’d inherited. Noah and Dakota moved in together as roommates earlier this year, but that quickly evolved into something romantic. Those two were so sweet and in love, it made my teeth ache to see them together.
Ethan and I were the last single ones in the group, and the girls teased me constantly about hooking up with him and completing the circle. But that was never going to fucking happen. Ethan Perry was a holier-than-thou, patronizing douche canoe who thought his own shit didn’t stink. Fuck him. Besides, I loved being single and had no intentions of changing that any time soon.
With all of these handy as fuck men in my inner circle, you’d think this building would be in tip-top shape. And it would be, if I’d just ask.
But pride was a powerful beast.
I’d always been vocal about how awesome my life was. About how happy I was, not being stuck in a full-time job. Glowing Embers had always been a labor of love, a joy, and now? It was just laborious.
I’d have to admit to them I’d failed, and I didn’t like the taste of crow.
So, I just kept trudging along, doing what I could to stay afloat while pretending like everything was hunky-dory with my friends. It was exhausting.
My phone chimed, and I leaned forward in my chair to pull it from my back pocket. Dakota had sent a text to the group chat I had going with the girls. My mood lifted as I read the words and stared at the attached picture.
Dakota: I’m engaged! *pic sent*
It was a snapshot of her hand with a gorgeous, sparkly diamond on her ring finger. My eyes stung as I stared at it. Noah did good, and I couldn’t be happier for them both. They were perfect together.
Belle: Oh, my God! That is beautiful, D. Congratulations! I can’t wait to hear all the details!
Sage: Gorgeous!! Let’s celebrate!
Dakota: Girls’ night at The Watering Hole tonight?
Belle: I’m in. I’ll tell Ryder he’s on baby duty.
Sage: I’m in, too. Eight o’clock?
My thumbs flew over the screen as I typed my own response, telling myself a girls’ night out was a good thing. Besides, the focus would be on Dakota, not me. No one would even notice if I was a little down, which I was determined not to be. It was Dakota’s night, and I would pull up my fucking bootstraps and be there for her.
Me: Congrats, Dakota! I can’t wait to see that rock in person. See you all tonight!
Setting my phone on the counter in front of me, I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Time to suck it up and celebrate with my friends.
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