Accidental Fiancé (Unintentionally Yours #5)

34. Julian

Chapter 34

Julian

T he evening air was cool, the California winter breeze wafting through the open window in my bedroom, mixing with the warmth of Maggie curled up beside me. The sheets tangled around us, and her head rested softly against my chest. Her breaths were slow and rhythmic as she drifted off to a peaceful sleep. I lay there, staring up at the ceiling, unable to wipe the goofy grin from my face.

Maggie and I had been pretending for so long, caught in this elaborate dance of fake smiles, staged kisses, and carefully crafted lies. But now it was real. More real than I ever let myself imagine it could be. I had fallen for her long ago, but now she was mine. Not for the sake of appearances but because she wanted to be.

It was more than a high school crush or some idiot teenager’s idea of love. I was in love with her. Madly, stupidly, deeply head over heels in love with her. The kind of love you don’t recover from. She was a part of me, down to my bones.

I had known it before, but when she stood up to Chloe earlier, strong, unyielding, and brave, I knew there was no turning back. There never really had been.

I looked down at her, her long curls splayed across my chest, her lips slightly parted. My heart ached from the fullness of everything I felt for her. Was there a word for something deeper than love? Whatever it was, I felt it so sharply that it stole my breath and my thoughts. I was hers in a way I didn’t know existed before she returned to my life. Maggie Bryant was essential to my very existence.

I stifled a laugh. I sounded like a stupid kid in my head, all fluff and no brains. Flowers and smiles, nothing but cocksure instinct on the matter. But I couldn’t deny how I felt, either. I belonged to this woman, heart and soul.

I brushed a lock of hair from her face gently so as not to wake her. She stirred but settled back into the crook of my arm, her fingers tightening briefly on my side as if, even in sleep, she didn't want to let go. If I hadn’t been hooked on her before, I was now.

I chuckled softly to myself, savoring the moment. I had never felt this way before, not with my ex-wife, not with anyone. The kind of peace that came from being with someone who just fit. Maggie fit in every way. And now that the dust had settled with Chloe and the lies were behind us, it felt like the future was something we could build together. It felt real. Or that it could be real.

All I had to do was reach out and grab it.

Carefully, I slid out from beneath her, making sure to tuck the blanket around her before slipping on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. The mansion was quiet. Most of the chaos from earlier had dissipated, thankfully. I imagined Chloe left by now. That would explain the quiet. I needed it to clear my head and let the reality of what was happening sink in.

I padded softly down the hall, the hardwood cool beneath my bare feet. The farther I got from my bedroom, the more the familiar scent of cigar smoke teased my senses. The smell grew stronger as I approached the lounge, and I couldn't help but smile.

Yaya.

Sure enough, there she was, sitting in one of the oversized leather chairs, a cigar delicately held between her long fingers. There was something oddly comforting about the scent of cigars and the way it reminded me of my childhood.

As a family, we never spoke of Yaya’s affinity for cigars. My cousins procured her favorites for her, though. It was an unspoken rule. If you brought cigars to the house, you had to bring her favorite— Opus X Robusto—from the Dominican Republic. We’d hide them in her room for her so when she came to visit, she could sneak a few away from her daughter’s watchful eye.

Mom was in total denial about her habit. She thought cigars were trashy and she refused to associate her mother with anything unbecoming of a woman, so she pretended Yaya didn’t smoke them. Instead of blaming Yaya for the cigar smell in the lounge, Mom hassled me and my cousins as the cause for the scent. Even though I didn’t smoke them myself anymore, I’d always take the heat for Yaya to make Mom happy so she could go on pretending her mother wouldn’t do anything so unladylike. Maybe that was where I got my gift to pretend from. Thanks, Mom .

Marcus sat across from Yaya, staring into the fireplace with a glass of bourbon in his hand, a look of contemplation on his face.

“Ah, Julian!” Yaya called out as I entered. She waved her cigar around, a trail of smoke curling up toward the ceiling. “Couldn't sleep after all the excitement? You were in your room for an awfully long, loud nap.” She winked. “The halls echo, you know.”

Hot embarrassment rose in my chest. I took the chair next to her and brushed past the teasing. No point in denying what happened when they heard… whatever they heard. I swallowed against a dry throat. “Mom's not around?”

Yaya chuckled, taking a long drag from her cigar. “She went for a swim with Piper and the other kids. She'll be in the pool for hours. We practically have the house to ourselves.”

I glanced at Marcus. His brow was furrowed, his eyes still fixed on the fire. Tension ridged his shoulders the same way he gripped his glass. White-knuckled. Steaming.

I leaned forward in my chair. “You doing okay, Marcus?”

He looked up as if only now noticing my presence. The tension transformed into something else, but I couldn’t read it. His voice was gruff. “I'll be fine.”

“You sure about that? You’re not looking too good.”

“Gee, thanks.”

I rolled my eyes. “You know what I mean. Are you going to be okay about you and…” I didn’t want to say her name, it felt like breathing life into a corpse at this point. “Everything?”

“I always knew Chloe and I had an expiration date. I just didn't think it would be today, or that arson would be part of the reason, for fuck's sake?—"

“Language,” Yaya chided.

“Sorry, Yaya,” he said before returning his focus to me. “It was coming one way or another. At least some good can come of it, right? Apollo says he’s got a solid case against her already, with the confession and witnesses. Hopefully, Maggie will be able to get some closure on the whole thing…” He trailed off, sadness in his eyes, but also relief. Marcus had never been the type to hold onto something that didn't serve him. Even still, I knew this stung. I saw it on his face. Staring into the fire again, he uttered, “She had never been good to me. I think I knew that for a long time, but love, or whatever it was, makes you stupid, you know?”

I tried to sound supportive. “Better now than later. She was a poison. You deserve better.”

“I should have listened to you. Thanks for not pointing that out.” He took a sip of his drink. I let him sit with his thoughts and didn’t drag out the topic. It was the only way he would find his way through it.

I turned back to Yaya, watching as she puffed her cigar, her sharp eyes glinting in the firelight. She had been the matriarch of this family for longer than I had been alive, the glue that held us together. And in many ways, she knew more about each of us than we knew ourselves.

“Yaya,” I started, leaning back in my chair, “there's something I need to ask you.”

Her eyes flickered over me as one eyebrow raised out of curiosity. “Oh, and what's that, dear?”

I hesitated for a moment, but then I took a deep breath and said it. “I know you have a ring for each of us from the old country. The one you've been holding onto for my next bride. I want to give it to Maggie.”

She exhaled a long stream of smoke like a dragon. Her eyes narrowed in the way they always did when she was assessing something. “You never asked for it for your first wife, Julian. So why now? Why Maggie? What’s different about her?”

I smiled, the answer easily coming to me. “Because Maggie is the only woman I’ve ever wanted to give that ring to.”

Yaya tilted her head, studying me. Her lips quirked into a smile. “You swore off marriage after your divorce if I recall correctly. Said it wasn't worth the trouble.”

I let out a small laugh. “I'm allowed to change my mind, right?”

“Hmm.” She mused, taking another drag from her cigar. “That's why your mother and I have been pestering you about finding a new mother for Piper rather than a wife for yourself. You were so adamant about it, saying you'd never give your heart away again.”

I glanced down, the memory of those dark days after my divorce tugging at the edges of my mind. I had never been so sure. I never wanted to find love again, never wanted to open myself up to that kind of vulnerability.

But Maggie changed me. She changed everything.

“I was wrong,” I admitted, meeting her gaze. “Maggie will take care of my heart. I'm not scared to give it to her. I want to. No. I need to.”

Yaya watched me for a long moment, her expression unreadable, but then she smiled. A real smile, not the mischievous one she often used when she was teasing me. She slowly nodded as if coming to a decision. “Alright, Julian, if you're sure about this, then I'll give you the ring.”

My heart leaped in my chest, but I kept my composure, nodding in gratitude. “I'm sure, Yaya. I've never been surer about anything.”

She reached into the pocket of her cardigan, pulling out a small velvet box. I couldn't help but laugh at the fact that she'd been carrying it around this whole time. “You have it on you?”

“Once I met the girl, I had a feeling you’d be needing it sooner or later this week. Thought I should keep it handy. Here,” she said, handing it to me. “It's yours. Take care of it and take care of her.”

I took the box, my fingers brushing over the soft velvet, my heart swelling with a mixture of excitement and nerves. I had thought about this moment for years, ever since I had met Maggie. But now that the ring was in my hand, it felt real in a way that nothing else ever had. “Thank you.”

“You didn’t keep mine on you, did you, Yaya?” Marcus asked.

She sighed, setting her cigar onto the ashtray and taking his hand in hers. “No, baby. I didn’t.”

“You knew Chloe wasn’t the one for me.”

She gently shook her head. “That girl could never deserve you.”

Her words gave weight to the air between them. He took a breath of that truth and let it out slowly before a wry smile split his face. “Next time you see me with a girl, can you tell me ahead of time, so I don’t get my hopes up?”

“Like a warning system? You think I’m an alarm for you to use with girls?” she teased.

“Well, yeah.” He chuckled. “You’re smarter than all of us on this sh?—"

She arched a brow.

“Stuff.”

She grinned at him. “You’re right, I am, and if you bring any more bitches around, I’ll let you know.”

“Yaya! Language!” he teased.

She laughed and waved her hand dismissively, but there was a softness in her eyes as she turned to me. “Just make sure you do it right, Julian. Don't rush. Maggie is a special woman.”

“That's why I want to give her the ring,” I said, tucking the box into my pocket. As I left the lounge and made my way back upstairs, a sense of peace settled over me. This was it, the future I had dreamed of for over a decade. It was within my grasp. All I had to do was get her to say yes.

When I returned to the room, Maggie was still asleep. She had curled up under the blankets, her breathing steady and soft. I stood at the foot of the bed for a moment, just watching her. My heart swelled with so much love that it hurt, and I never wanted that kind of pain to stop.

Carefully, I slipped back under the covers, wrapping my arm around her waist and pulling her close. She stirred slightly, murmuring something unintelligible in her sleep, before settling back into me.

I closed my eyes, the feeling of her warmth grounding me in a way I’d never felt before. Tomorrow, I'd figure out the perfect way to ask her to marry me, but for tonight, I just wanted to hold her, to soak in the quiet moments that made me fall in love with her all over again. Maggie had always been more than I deserved, and now she was everything I wanted. Soon, she would be mine forever.