Chapter 14 - CHOOSE ME AGAIN
Z
Beckett arrived in Boston at 11:40 p.m.
No security convoy.
No flowers.
No dramatic billionaire gesture.
He carried one overnight bag and a stuffed giraffe.
Violet opened the door.
"You kept that thing?"
"Celeste respects him."
"His name is Gerald."
"You named him?"
"During the flight."
She laughed.
Then Celeste started crying from the bedroom.
Beckett's face changed instantly.
"Can I?"
Violet stepped aside.
He went to his daughter.
She watched from the doorway while he picked Celeste up.
"Hello, bug."
Celeste quieted almost immediately.
Beckett closed his eyes.
He held her against his chest.
"I missed you."
Violet looked away.
Later, after Celeste was asleep, Beckett and Violet sat on the floor beside the couch.
"I talked to a therapist," he said.
Violet stared.
"You?"
"Yes."
"Voluntarily?"
"Don't make it strange."
"This is extremely strange."
He almost smiled.
"I realized I've spent my entire life solving emotional problems with financial strategies."
"That sounds accurate."
"Apparently that's unhealthy."
"Who knew?"
"The therapist, immediately."
Violet laughed.
Beckett became serious.
"I don't want to repeat what my father did."
"You won't."
"How do you know?"
"Because you're afraid of it."
He considered that.
Then reached into his bag.
Violet's body went rigid.
"Don't."
His hand stopped.
"What?"
"If there's a ring in there, I swear—"
"It's not a ring."
He removed a small velvet box.
Violet glared.
"That is definitely a ring-shaped container."
"Open it."
Inside was her old engagement ring.
The one she had left on his nightstand.
Violet stared.
"I kept it."
"I know."
"I'm not proposing."
She looked up.
"Then why bring it?"
"Because it belonged to a promise we made when neither of us understood what we were promising."
He removed the ring.
"I don't want you to wear it again."
Violet's heart twisted.
Beckett placed it in her palm.
"I want you to decide what happens to it."
"What do you mean?"
"Sell it. Keep it. Throw it into Boston Harbor."
"That seems environmentally irresponsible."
"Then don't."
His mouth twitched.
"I don't want our old engagement back."
Violet stared.
"I want something new."
He took her hand.
Not possession.
Invitation.
"I want to date you."
She blinked.
"What?"
"Properly."
"Beckett Valiant wants to date?"
"I researched it."
She burst out laughing.
"Of course you did."
"Dinner. Movies. Walks. Apparently mini golf is involved."
"You hate mini golf."
"I have never tried it."
"You will hate it."
"Probably."
He became serious.
"I want you to know the man I am now."
His thumb brushed her hand.
"And I want to know who you became while I wasn't there."
Violet's eyes filled.
"No engagement?"
"No."
"No moving in?"
"No."
"No five-year family acquisition plan?"
"Already deleted."
She laughed.
Then cried.
Beckett waited.
"You really changed."
"I'm changing."
That distinction mattered.
Violet leaned closer.
"What happens if I say no?"
"I go back to New York tomorrow."
"And Celeste?"
"We keep co-parenting."
"You wouldn't punish me."
His face tightened.
"Never."
That was when Violet kissed him.
Not because he asked.
Because he didn't.
Beckett froze for half a second.
Then his hand touched her cheek.
Gentle.
Careful.
The kiss was nothing like their old ones.
Those had always contained urgency.
Possession.
Heat.
This one contained history.
Regret.
Permission.
When they pulled apart, Beckett rested his forehead against hers.
"Is that a yes?"
"To dating."
"Good."
"Only dating."
"Understood."
"Separate apartments."
"Yes."
"No expensive surprise gifts."
He hesitated.
"Define expensive."
"Beckett."
"Fine."
"No buying restaurants because I like dessert."
"That happened once."
"You bought the building too."
"It was undervalued."
Violet laughed.
Then became quiet.
"I love you."
Beckett's eyes closed.
"I love you too."
She touched his face.
"That isn't enough."
"I know."
"Trust takes longer."
"I know."
"We're going to fight."
"I know."
"You're going to annoy me."
"Definitely."
"And if you ever make parenting decisions without me—"
"You'll kill me."
"I was going to say leave."
His face lost color.
Violet squeezed his hand.
"So don't."
"I won't."
From the bedroom, Celeste made a sleepy noise.
Both turned instantly.
Violet smiled.
"We're ridiculous."
Beckett stood.
"We're parents."
He walked toward the bedroom.
Violet watched him.
Months earlier, she had believed Beckett Valiant could never be a father.
Now she knew the truth.
May you like
He had always been capable of loving a child.
He had simply spent thirty years being terrified to discover how much.
