Dungeon Daddy by Golden Angel

Chapter 27

Jax

“What do you think?” Staring down at rows of rings sitting atop the display case, Jax tapped his finger on the velvet next to the one he’d found online. Personally, he thought it looked even better in person, but it had to be perfect.

Which was why he’d brought reinforcements.

Cyana leaned over the display case, studying the ring, as did his son and daughter but for very different reasons. The kids were here because he wanted them to feel part of this, and he knew they’d appreciate having their opinions asked. Cyana was there because she was well acquainted with gemstones and was much better at haggling than him.

The salesperson stood a few feet away, not quite hovering but definitely listening in, waiting to hear the verdict.

“I think she’ll love it,” Jennifer announced.

“Are you sure it should be pink?” Daniel asked at almost the same time, and the two of them glared at each other.

“Mom loves pink.”

“I’m not saying she won’t like it, but engagement rings are supposed to be white diamonds.” There were certain things Daniel was very traditional about, and this appeared to be one of them. Which was amusing, but Jax wasn’t sure how to get through to him that just because things were often done a certain way, they didn’t have to be done that way.

“It’s not an engagement ring, though. It’s a vow renewal ring. It can be whatever.”

“Lots of engagement rings aren’t diamonds anymore,” Cyana commented. “There are many people who worry about the provenance, and they don’t want to wear blood diamonds.”

“Blood diamonds?” Daniel frowned, confused.

“Look it up,” Cyana advised him.

“I know what blood diamonds are,” Jennifer said, smirking at him with superiority.

Which, of course, within seconds, Daniel was on his phone, frowning at the screen as he tried to catch up with everyone else. Jax could only shake his head. Still, it wouldn’t hurt for Daniel to learn about some of the nasty sides of the jewelry world. He took things at face value without taking the time to look deeper himself, while Jennifer researched odd facts and read history books for fun. Jax wasn’t surprised she already knew about blood diamonds.

“So that’s the one?” Cyana asked, then smiled. “For what my opinion’s worth, I think she’ll love it.”

“And be happy no one died to get it,” Jennifer muttered with a glance at her brother. He didn’t say anything—his brow furrowed as he read whatever article he’d pulled up on his phone.

Nodding, Jax beckoned to the salesperson, who brightened. Hopefully, he still felt the same way about making a sale after Cyana was done with him.

* * *

Esther

Having her very own in-home makeup artist would take some getting used to, but she didn’t argue. Bonding time with her daughter, where Jennifer was enthusiastic about spending time together, was worth its weight in gold. That was the best thing that had come out of her decision to have an impromptu makeover.

“I think some of the purple eyeshadow tonight,” Jennifer said, looking at the palette with a critical eye.

“If you say so.” Esther would have never dared choose purple eyeshadow, but she trusted her daughter knew better than she did. As if she knew what Esther was thinking, Jennifer grinned.

“Purple looks good against brown eyes. Now close them.”

Obediently, Esther did and felt the sweep of the brush over her eyelids. This was the first date night she and Jax were going on since they got back from visiting Marquis, and she figured she might as well pull out all the stops. She’d bought a bunch of makeup, and this way, it wouldn’t be wasted.

“Are you and your brother going to be okay tonight?”

“Yes, Mom.”

Esther didn’t need to look to know Jennifer had just rolled her eyes.

“I don’t want you two to feel like we’re not spending time with you, especially now that we’ll be going to play C&C on Thursdays as well…”

“Mo-om, we already have Friday night family night. We do not need to spend every night together.”

Having one designated night was hardly spending every night together, but Esther bit her lip against pointing that out. Jennifer was a typical teenager. Esther should enjoy the time they had together and be happy her kids still wanted a family night every week. Still, there was something she didn’t understand.

“I thought you and Daniel didn’t like your dad being out all the time.”

“Yeah, because it was making you sad.” The matter-of-fact way Jennifer said it made Esther’s eyes fly open. Her daughter jerked back, an expression of horror on her face. “Mom! Close your eyes! I almost messed up!”

Ah, yes, that would be a real tragedy.

Esther wasn’t able to stop herself from grinning as she closed her eyes again. Jennifer muttered something under her breath. It was nice to know her kids had cared. It also made her worry about how they’d viewed Jax and her relationship, although they were getting to see them repair their relationship. That had to count for something.

“Okay, you can open them.”

When she did, she looked at both of her kids. They were grinning so widely, their excitement so palpable, she blinked in surprise. Wow. They hadn’t acted like this when she and Jax had gone away… though at that point, they’d probably been pretty worried. Now that things had returned to normal, they were both happy to see their parents happy.

That or Jax had something planned for tonight. Though she couldn’t think of what or why their kids would know.

“You look amazing, Mom.” Daniel’s tone was almost reverent, reminding her of when he’d been much younger and stared in awe on the few nights when he’d seen her dressed up. Her whole heart turned mushy.

“Thank you, sweetie.” She got to her feet and looked at her daughter. “And thank you for doing my makeup.”

Were those tears in Jennifer’s eyes?

“Any time, Mom.”

To Esther’s great surprise, both Jennifer and Daniel flung themselves forward, wrapping their arms around her. Well, she certainly wouldn’t miss this opportunity. She hugged them right back, as hard as she could… and wondered what on earth Jax had planned.

* * *

Jax

Touching the suit jacket over where the ring box lay in the inner pocket, Jax quelled his nerves as he heard movement headed for the stairs. It was only a few minutes until they had to leave, so he knew this was finally it.

His breath caught in his throat as Esther appeared at the top of the stairs and walked down. She was wearing one of her new dresses, but not one she’d worn to the office. Black with violet and pink flowers decorated the hem, which flirted around her thighs as she moved. The top wasn’t particularly low cut, but it was low enough to show off a hint of cleavage. Fitted to her waist, the skirt then flared out, and he caught a peek of petticoat underneath. Jennifer had done Esther’s hair and makeup, proving she knew what she was doing with both.

“You look stunning,” he said, aware of their two children hovering at the top of the stairs, watching them.

“Thank you.” A couple strands of hair had been left hanging down to frame her face, and she reached up to shyly tuck one behind her ear. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, Jax stepped forward to take her hand and help her down the last one, making her flush with pleasure.

Before she could say anything else, before she could move another step, he went down on one knee.

Esther’s eyes widened.

Still holding onto her hand, he reached into his jacket with his free hand and pulled out the ring box, deftly popping it open. Esther’s mouth dropped open. Behind her on the stairs, the kids shifted, obviously trying to peer down and see her reaction. Damn, he should have had them come down first. Oh, well, too late now.

“Esther, you are the love of my life. I know I haven’t always made you feel that way, but that’s why I’m doing this. I know there are things we still want to work on, things we want to fix, so I want us to renew our vows. I want to renew my commitment to you, to make new vows to add to the ones we made to each other before, to reflect where we are in life right now.” He cleared his throat, gazing into her eyes and doing his best to ignore the tears gathering. “I want us to say, ‘I still do.’”

Both kids groaned.

“Dad, no…”

“Quiet in the peanut gallery,” he yelled. Esther giggled. “This isn’t for you. It’s for your mom.”

“And it’s perfect,” Esther said, her fingers tightening around his. “I still do, Jax, and I always will.”

* * *

Esther

Pure, unadulterated happiness bubbled inside her as Jax grinned, letting go of her hand to take the ring out of the box. Perfect. He was absolutely perfect, and so was this. She’d had no idea what he was up to, but now it made sense why the kids were involved and why he wanted to get so dressed up.

Suits weren’t comfortable for him, with his broad shoulders and muscular build. He’d had to get this one custom-tailored and only pulled it out for very special occasions.

Jax slid the ring onto her right ring finger. It was beautiful, a pink princess cut diamond, with two white stones on either side. Looking at it made her feel as if her heart would burst out of her chest with joy. Getting to his feet, he held her hand in his, letting her examine it more closely.

“It’s perfect.” Unable to contain herself any longer, Esther threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down for a kiss. After a couple moments, they had to ignore the gagging noises coming from the top of the stairs, but that was easily done. She was wrapped in her own little bubble where nothing could touch her buoyant emotions.

They finally broke apart, Jax’s hands still lingering on her lower back, caressing slightly, while she beamed up at him.

“You two kids better get a move on,” Daniel bellowed down the stairs in a near-perfect imitation of Jax. Esther and Jennifer cracked up while Jax’s head jerked up to stare at his son. “You’re going to be late.”

“Uh-huh.” Jax let go of her with one arm but kept the other firmly wrapped around her waist, leading her forward and calling back to the kids over his shoulder. “You two behave. Don’t wait up. And if you’re still awake when we get home, maybe play some loud music or something.”

“Dad! Gross!” Jennifer’s squeals and Daniel’s renewed gagging sounds followed them out the door. Esther laughed so hard, she had to lean on Jax to walk. Not that he seemed to mind. He was chuckling as well, leading her to the car.

Grinning, she looked up at him to meet his gaze.

“You are terrible.”

“Just giving them the heads up.” Leaning down, he gave her another firm kiss before pulling away so he could open her car door. “I intend to celebrate us tonight, and that includes a happy ending.”

Laughing, Esther got in the car.