Page 42 of Rules Of Engagement: St. Louis (In The Heart of A Valentine #17)
Chapter
Thirty-Two
CHRISTIAN
Partner of the Year for the biggest settlement in the firm’s history.
The crystal award sat heavy in my hands, but it might as well have been made of paper for all it meant to me.
This was the recognition I’d worked toward for my entire career, and all I could think about was the empty space beside me where Naomi should have been sitting.
“Thank you,” I said into the microphone, looking out at the packed ballroom. Television cameras focused on me. Two hundred of my colleagues and their guests applauded, and champagne glasses were raised in celebration of my success.
And yet, the melancholy that sat in my soul weakened me with each moment that passed.
“This honor belongs to my entire team, not just me. The clients come with impeccable notoriety, and the cases are a group effort that requires countless hours and unwavering commitment from everyone involved.”
“You have to be willing to fight for what you believe in, even when there’s a possibility you might lose. Because that’s what you do when you believe in something, you fight for it, even if the odds are stacked against you.”
Movement near the back of the ballroom drew my attention. Someone was pushing through the crowd, moving with purpose toward the stage. I continued talking, but part of my attention was focused on the disturbance.
Then I saw her.
Naomi. In her signature style, a brown bandage dress, her hair swept back from her face, her brown eyes locked on mine, and her appearance created a ruckus behind my now fluttering heart.
My voice faltered mid-sentence as I stared at her in complete shock.
Was I hallucinating?
I thought I must be, but then she continued her progression, climbing the steps to the stage.
“Excuse me,” she said, her voice barely audible at first. Then she stepped toward the microphone: “Excuse me,” she said, louder.
The ballroom fell silent, and everyone turned their attention from me to her.
I stepped back from the podium, my heart hammering against my ribs. What was she doing? Why was she here?
Someone near the back called out, “Security!”
“It’s okay,” I said quickly. “Let her speak.”
Naomi reached for the microphone with hands that trembled visibly from where I stood. She looked out at the crowd, then at the television cameras, and I saw her take a deep breath before she began.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but I have something to say about Christian Valentine.”
My confusion ignited, but I remained still to hear her speak.
“Christian Valentine is an exceptional attorney,” she said, her voice growing stronger. “He fights harder for his clients than anyone else in this room. He doesn’t just win cases, he changes lives. He takes on opposing counsel with assurance and confidence, and he cannot be intimidated.”
I watched her find her rhythm, and her confidence built as she spoke about my work, making my throat tight. The crowd was listening now, their confusion shifting to admiration.
“But Christian’s legal skills aren’t what make him extraordinary. It’s his heart.”
Her voice cracked on that word, and I felt my own heart skip a beat.
“He’s patient with people who are afraid to trust. He’s gentle with hearts that have been broken. He fights for what he believes in, even when, especially when, the person he’s fighting for is too scared to fight for themselves.”
She turned to look directly at me, and the rest of the room faded away. It was just her and me on that stage, just like it had always been when we were together.
“A month ago, I walked away from the best thing that ever happened to me because I was terrified of getting hurt again. I convinced myself that protecting my heart was more important than risking it. But since then, I’ve come to understand something.”
She stepped so close I could smell her perfume and see the tears she was fighting back.
“Fear, when there’s no real danger, is just a debilitating mental dance that does more harm than good. It’s not fear that kills you, it’s the decision to not put one foot in front of the other that keeps you paralyzed.”
My entire body was warm now, and my heart was racing.
“Christian, I’ve been paralyzed by the fear that you might hurt me, that I might not be enough, that forever is too big a promise to make. But you know what terrifies me more than any of that?”
“What?” I managed to whisper.
“The thought of spending another second without you and letting fear steal the love we found together.”
The ballroom was dead silent. Two hundred people were wrapped in her confession, waiting for what came next. Television cameras were capturing every word, expression, and tear that was now sliding down Naomi’s cheeks.
“There are no guarantees in love. There are no promises that can’t be broken.
But I want us anyway.” Her voice rang clear and strong through the microphone.
“I want Wednesday morning coffee and Saturday night dinners. I want to fight about whose turn it is to do laundry and make up by cooking together in the kitchen. I want all of it, even the scary parts.”
I couldn’t breathe or think. Naomi had laid her heart bare in front of hundreds of strangers, where she’d kept me hidden before.
“And I choose you,” she said, her voice breaking with emotion. “If you’ll still choose me.”
I moved to stand in front of her. Her whole body was trembling, and I could tell she was scared to death. I drank in every detail of her face, hardly able to believe this was real. That she was here. That she’d chosen me.
Reaching into my jacket pocket, I pulled out the small blue box that had been my constant companion for weeks. The entire ballroom gasped as I opened it, revealing the solitaire diamond that had made me think of her hands the moment I’d seen it.
“I’ve been carrying this around since the day you left,” I said, and the roughness in my voice spoke to the emotional state I was in. “I’ve been carrying it and hoping and praying that someday you’d be ready to hear what I wanted to ask you.”
Naomi’s eyes widened as she stared at the ring, her hand flying to her mouth.
“I never want to spend another day without you,” I continued. “I want you as my wife, Naomi. I know your fears, and I know your heart. You don’t have to answer me now, you don’t have to answer me later, but?—”
“Yes.”
The word was barely a whisper, so soft I wasn’t sure I’d heard it correctly.
I froze, the ring box suspended between us. “What did you say?”
She leaned toward the microphone, her voice ringing clear through the ballroom, through the television cameras broadcasting this moment to the world.
“I said YES.”
An explosion of applause thundered through the space, mixed with cheers, whistles, and what sounded like cries from onlookers. Camera shutters clicked rapidly as I stood there in stunned disbelief.
“Yes?” I repeated, hardly able to process what I was hearing.
“Yes, Christian. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
I reached for her face with my free hand, cupping her cheek as I pulled her toward me. Our lips crashed together in a kiss that was so desperate and hungry that I could’ve inhaled her.
I lifted her off her feet, spinning us both around while the crowd cheered even louder.
When we broke apart, both of us were crying. I set her down and pulled the ring from the box.
“Are you sure?” I asked, holding the ring at the tip of her finger. “Are you absolutely sure?”
“I’m sure,” she said, through her tears.
I slid the ring onto her finger, and it was perfect. Like it had been waiting for her all along.
“I love you,” she said, looking up into my face.
“I love you, too,” I pulled her close again. “God, Naomi, I love you so much.”
The crowd was still cheering, still taking pictures, still celebrating this moment that had just changed everything. But all I could see was Naomi, her smile, her tears, the ring sparkling on her finger, the pure joy radiating from every inch of her.
“I can’t believe you did that,” I said, resting my forehead against hers. “I can’t believe you interrupted my awards ceremony to tell me you love me.”
“I had to,” she said. “I couldn’t wait another day.”
I held Naomi in my arms, both of us laughing and crying and completely lost in each other.