smile. Something to make her even think back on it in the future as something a little more than a business arrangement to get her gall bladder fixed.
He didn’t spend time analyzing why he wanted this day to be a fond memory. He just did. So he was making it happen. With help.
Piper had been able to do everything but one major detail. That, he’d needed Cam for—getting Judge Warren Perkins to marry them after hours.
Thankfully, Cam wasn’t always an asshole. Or at least, he was an asshole to the right people, and Judge Perkins generally agreed that those people were assholes, so he and Cam were friends. Ish.
Jocelyn gasped and then spun to face him from the foot of the bed. Her hands were over her mouth, her eyes wide.
The dress was hanging from the outside of the armoire. It was white with shimmery threads of silver through it. The hem was uneven and would “swirl around her ankles,” according to Piper. It was a sheath dress so would fit to her body and fall straight to the ground. The bodice was a halter style that hooked behind her neck and left her shoulders and arms bare. There was also a light silvery shawl to go with it to keep her shoulders warm when they were outside or if there was a draft in the restaurant.
Grant knew next to nothing about dresses, but Piper had rattled all of that off to him as he’d looked at the photo she’d sent to his phone.
All he’d cared about was the look on Jocelyn’s face when she saw it. His instructions to Piper were, “something that will make her feel like a princess.”
“Oh my God, Grant!” Jocelyn’s hands finally fell to her sides, and she crossed to the dress. “This is completely gorgeous.”
“Good.” He crossed to the dresser and lifted the royal blue velvet box. He turned with it, opening the top when she looked over.
It was a diamond tiara. It was on loan from the jewelry store where he’d dropped more money than he should have on a ring. The jeweler had been happy to let him borrow the tiara for the evening.
Jocelyn gasped again.
“We have to give this back,” Grant said with a tiny smile. “But the dress is yours.”
She looked from the tiara to the dress then back again.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Say yes that you’ll marry me. Tonight.” He set the tiara back on the dresser and reached into his pocket and withdrew the ring, holding it up.
She was going to get to keep the ring too. He was hoping she’d sell it, or maybe keep it in a safe deposit box as an insurance policy in case she ever needed it. He knew she wouldn’t take a stack of cash or a check from him, but he wanted to be sure she was taken care of even after her gall bladder was out and those bills were paid.
“Tonight?” She stared at the ring.
“I have a judge waiting in his chambers for us,” Grant said, stepping forward and taking her hand. “We can be Mr. and Mrs. Lorre by the time we go to the best dinner you’ve ever eaten, overlooking this gorgeous city.” He tugged her forward and slipped the ring halfway down her finger. “And then I’ll bring you back here to this suite, strip that dress off of you, and make you come on eight-hundred-thread-count satin sheets for the first time.”
She looked from the ring up to his eyes. Her lips tipped into a smile, and he was certain she had no idea how fucking sexy that smile was.
“Yes,” she said as she pushed her finger the rest of the way through the ring.
His heart thumped against his ribs, and he had to admit that no business deal had ever done that to him before.
“Get dressed,” he told her. “We have a date with a judge.”
“You’re wearing a tux, right?” she asked.
“I am, actually.” He’d wondered if it was overkill, but Piper had insisted he had to wear it, so he’d had his housekeeper deliver it from his apartment.
“Oh good,” Jocelyn said, her smile bright.
He lifted a brow. “Yeah?”
“Definitely. I can’t wait to see how hot you look in a tux.”
“You’ve thought about that?”
“Of course. And of getting you out of a tux.” Her smile was flirty and sexy.
He watched her move toward the dress and draw a finger down the front of it.
“I hope you’re okay with us taking dessert to go tonight,”