Two Can Play (Celeste and Dominic) novel Chapter 340

Chapter 340

I smiled and held his hands. “I was a fool. One audio and I forgot everything you had ever made me feel, and everything you had done for me. I let Julian crawl under my skin, and I let the fear of losing you do the rest.

Julian had sounded so certain that you would dump me once the divorce was final. I wonder what he will do now, when he finds out how wrong he was.”

Dominic’s mouth curved. “He will lose his mind the moment he hears about the engagement party.

I blinked. “What engagement party?”

“The biggest engagement party this city has ever seen.

My heart started to race at the thought of a room full of strangers all up in my happy business, and Dominic must have seen it on my face, because he reached for my hand and squeezed. “Do not worry. All you have to do is show up and be your beautiful self, the way you always are.”

He went on, his voice steady. “People have had far too much to say about me since my real identity came out, and there are women out there sending invitations through their fathers and through their companies, all trying to start something with me.”

“All this has been happening and you never told me?”

He smiled. “I did not want to burden you with worthless news. I turned them all down.” His voice dropped, and something fierce came into his eyes. “I want our engagement party and our wedding ceremony to be a big deal. I want the world to know that Dominic found his missing rib. I want the world to know that you occupy every part of my heart. I want the world to know that you are Dominic’s Celeste, the one and only Mrs. Dominic Ford, and the love of my life.”

Tears of joy gathered at the corners of my eyes before I could stop them. How had I gotten so lucky? How was it possible that someone could love me with this much intensity, this much devotion? Whatever I was doing right, I decided then and there to keep doing it for the rest of my life.

I rested my head on his chest. “I really need to find a way to thank Julian and Seraphine for their affair. Without them, I never would have become the happiest woman in the world.”

I looked up at him and smiled. “You put so much effort into making this garden beautiful. Now that I am thinking clearly, I want to walk around and actually enjoy it.”

I adjusted my bra and smoothed my dress as I climbed out of the car, because even if Dominic had sent everyone away, I knew my bodyguards were probably lurking somewhere nearby, pretending to study the roses while they watched me.

Outside, Dominic had buttoned his shirt and fell into step beside me, and I turned to him with the first easy smile I had managed all evening. “My mom would be so happy when she hears about this. And if I told Pat, Pat would be…”

I stopped walking.

The smile slid off my face as the realization hit, cold and sudden. I had not seen or heard from Pat all day.

I gasped, and Dominic’s hand found my arm. “What is it?”

“Oh no.” I pressed a hand to my mouth. “I’m a terrible friend. I’m such a terrible friend.”

“Celeste.” He turned me to face him, his voice calm but firm. “Tell me what is wrong.”

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I held up a hand and pulled out my phone, dialing Pat’s number. It rang and rang, then went to voicemail. I tried again, and again, five more times, and every single call went unanswered.

I looked up at Dominic, my heart pounding hard enough to feel in my throat. “I cannot get through to Pat. When I went to Helix this morning, she was not there, and that is not like her at all. She was not in her accommodation either. It was obvious she did not spend the night at Helix.”

I swallowed. “I was about to call her when the whole Felix and Sierra situation started. Sierra lost her baby, I rushed her to the hospital, and somewhere in the middle of it all, I ended up arrested and…”

“You got arrested?” Dominic’s voice rose as he cut me off.

I cursed under my breath for letting that slip. “I will give you the details later.” The words tumbled out now, faster than I could stop them. “After the police station, I went back to Helix to change before heading to the court, and Pat still was not there, and I did not even notice. After the court, I went back to Helix and worked in the lab for hours, and she still was not there, and I was so busy drowning in my own misery that I never once stopped to wonder where my one true friend had gone.”

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