Page 49 of Revenge & Truth

I tilted my head in question. “Isn’t that what we’re doing right now?”

“Yes, that was my goal, and you seem to be having a great time, but I didn’t want to assume anything. If you told me you’d rather just be friends instead of sharing anything more intimate, I would understand. I won’t lie to you and say it’ll be easy for me, but both parties have to be invested for anything to work between two people, let alone three,” Jace pointed out.

He was absolutely right, and it has been what I’ve been thinking all along. “Are you interested in being with me because it will make Braxton happy, or are you genuinely into me?”

Jace’s eyes went wide as his jaw fell open slightly. “I can’t believe you just asked me that.”

“Come on, Jace, you and I both know physical attraction doesn’t always mean you want that person to be anything more than good sex. I’m not stupid. I hear people talk, and up until recently, both you and Braxton slept with whoever you wanted. Braxton has made it blatantly clear to me he is no longer looking for any other partners than you and me. You haven’t made any claims one way or the other so that leaves me no choice but to ask flat out,” I reasoned with a shrug. “Like you told me, I will respect your choice either way.”

Standing, Jace walked over to me and dropped to one knee. “Astin, would you be my one and only girlfriend?”

My cheeks flamed as I glanced around the restaurant to see people looking at us with excited expressions. “Get up.” I hissed.

“Not until you answer me,” Jace countered. “I’m here on bended knee, something I do for no one, asking if you will give us the chance to become something more. Say yes to exploring what love between multiple people can look like. Give me the first step of trust so I can show you the wonders of letting go of the reins from time to time.”

His request was so sincere and heartfelt I didn’t know how to process the emotions it brought out in me. My hands started to shake at the thought of allowing him to have power over me, making me question if this was the right choice. “Jace—”

“Hold on. Before you answer, I think I need to make one thing clear,” Jace cut in. “Right now, all I’m asking for is the right to earn your trust as your boyfriend. By giving me the ability to call myself that, it also grants me the privilege to be someone who speaks into your life and situations a friend couldn’t. In no way does saying yes mean I’m your Dom. Neither of us has negotiated what that looks like yet. Until we have an open and honest conversation about what we want in a dynamic, I’m focusing on building a foundation through the normal relationship of boyfriend and girlfriend.”

“Yes, I’ll be your girlfriend,” I answered since he’d calmed my fears.

Jace stood and cupped my face, kissing me tenderly as people around us cheered and clapped, assuming he’d proposed. I decided to ignore how embarrassed I should be about this and embrace the warm glow of happiness in my chest. Returning to his seat, Jace couldn’t stop smiling as he poured another glass of champagne for us. He lifted it, and I did the same, matching his smile with one of my own.

“To having the most amazing woman decide to be my girlfriend,” Jace announced before we clinked glasses. “God, I’m one lucky bastard.”

I laughed, trying not to choke on my drink or have it come out my nose. Setting the glass down, I grabbed my napkin just in case I failed, but managed to get it all down without incident. “Fuck, Jace, are you trying to kill me with embarrassment?”

“I didn’t think the queen of the Caprioni Family could get embarrassed,” Jace answered. “It’s good to know, though. I’ll keep that tidbit in my pocket for a special occasion.”

Dropping my head into my hands, I groaned, but it turned into laughter as I pictured the rest of the guys when Jace told them about this. I looked up, catching his eyes. “Remember this whole thing was about me trusting you. Don’t make me regret it.”

“That is the last thing I want, babe,” Jace assured me. “I’ll only tell Braxton. He’s quite skilled at keeping secrets.”

That had us both laughing until the waiter arrived with a cake that had a sparkler candle shooting out of it. Written on the damn thing was ‘She said YES!’ I gawked at it, then at Jace, realizing he’d planned this whole fucking thing and even had a goddamn cake. I blew out the twinkling candle, and the waiter took it away, saying he’d be back with cut portions.

“Oh, you are good.” I laughed. “Making me think you just happened to book this dinner out tonight after I made the request. How long ago did you plan this?”

“In fairness, I had three different reservations depending on what you were in the mood for,” he shared. “As for the planning, I knew I wanted to do something to make asking you special. I just didn’t know when. Then seeing how things went the other day with Luca and the club issue, I figured you needed a night out.”

The waiter returned with the cake and two cups of coffee before vanishing again, not bothering to ask if we needed anything. I dug into the cake, surprised to find it was almond flavored.

“How the fuck could you possibly know?” I demanded.

“Glenda,” he admitted. “I told her my idea, and she made sure I knew your favorite flavor of cake as well as a few restaurants you’d been wanting to try. So, I can’t take all the credit. Without her, this wouldn’t have been as perfect.”

“Remember how you said that me trying my hardest to make sure I didn’t intrude on your relationship with Braxton meant a lot to you? Well, you taking the time to go to her about making this night special is similar,” I said, interlacing our fingers.

That didn’t appear to be enough for Jace, so he shifted his chair to sit next to me, where he could place his hand on my thigh. I chuckled, resting my head on his shoulder a moment before diving back into this orgasmic-flavored cake. We spent the rest of the night chatting about silly things, what our lives growing up had been like, and enjoyed getting to know each other. As the evening drew to an end, we headed back down to find his car waiting for us, along with Boykov lingering near the exit.

“Lady Caprioni,” Parsons called as he hurried over to me. “I hope you had a lovely evening, and we would so enjoy having you dine with us whenever you like. Just call, let us know you’re coming, and how many you have with you, and we’ll take care of everything.”

“Thank you, Parsons. It’s kind of you to make that offer. I know how busy your restaurant is,” I commented.

Parsons waved off my concern. “No problem at all. It’s an honor to have someone as important as yourself grace our establishment.”

I gave a nod of thanks and let Jace lead me out of the restaurant and into the car. Having assumed we’d be heading home, I was surprised when Jace went in the opposite direction. Choosing to do as he asked and extend some trust, it didn’t take me long to figure out he was taking the long way home through the foothills. The evening air had a slight chill to it, but he blasted the heater so we could have the windows open and enjoy the breeze as we drove. It was the perfect ending to a fantastic night.

Like a true gentleman, Jace walked me to my room when we got home. “Do you want to come in?” I asked.