“You’re sure about that?” Jordan raised his eyebrows. “I meant every word I said.”
“I’m sure you did, but it would just be a lie now. This is what I want.” I motioned to the other guys. “My life is with them.”
“Sorry, Jordan.” Henry Bennett walked over and put his hand on Jordan’s shoulder. “Today may not be your day, but I’ll make sure you get a spot on a future episode of Seven Roses.”
“Thanks...” Jordan muttered and looked down at the floor.
“Now...” I turned to Charles. “I believe we have a date?”
“Absolutely.” Charles extended his arm and beamed from ear to ear.
In another life perhaps, Jordan—just not this one. Not anymore.
Chapter 18: Charles
The final twist had been put on Lyn’s heart and she resisted temptation. I had carefully planned everything out to the finest detail and Jordan’s arrival was either going to be before our date or at the finale. Based on her decision, we would have to air it after she revealed her choice to keep it from being spoiled. I wasn’t sure if she would be ready to commit to the union before she went on her date with me, but if she was, I had to give her a chance at a normal life before I showed her the last piece of the puzzle. If she was still hesitant and it didn’t look like she was going to choose to be with us, Jordan would have appeared at the finale and offered her a chance to walk out of Seven Roses with him instead of by herself. Either way, I wanted to make sure she was happy with the ending of the show. Since it seemed like she was ready to make her choice at the finale, and it would be to spend her life with us, I had a big surprise that would hopefully make her very happy.
We got in the car and she was silent for a few minutes as we drove towards the destination. I reached over and squeezed her hand, which seemed to bring her back to reality. She turned towards me with a smile on her face.
“You don’t regret telling Jordan goodbye?” I stared into her eyes and I didn’t see any hesitation.
“No.” She shook her head quickly. “I thought Anders was going to be the one I had to convince, not you.”
“I needed to know you were happy with the decision and didn’t feel like it was the only option on the table.” I caressed her hand and moved closer.
“I would never agree to the arrangement if I didn’t believe in it—I don’t look at it as my only option.” A smile crossed her face. “However—I am curious what brought you to this point to begin with? What made you decide this was even an option to consider in the first place?”
“I’m man enough to admit my failures as a boyfriend and as a husband.” I sighed and shook my head. “I just don’t have what it takes to make someone truly happy.”
“I don’t believe that’s true.” She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at me. “You may have a bit of a temper, but I’m sure someone who loves you can look past that.”
“I wish it was that simple. When I get obsessed with someone, I put everything into it. I ignore the world. I know that about myself and while I’m saying goodbye to Seven Roses, there’s no guarantee I won’t find something else to obsess over. I can’t put someone else through that again. With this union, I know you will be well taken care of if I get consumed with something else.” I reached into the middle console and pulled out a glass, along with a bottle of Scotch.
“I promise I’ll be the only thing you want to get consumed with.” She took the bottle and poured the dark colored liquor into my glass.
“You might be right.” I nodded and sipped my drink. “But if I fail...”
“You won’t fail.” She shook her head back and forth. “Not with me. I understand that things will pull all of you away at times, but I’ll still be waiting for
you at home when you need me—and I plan to make sure you always need me.”
“Speaking of home...” I motioned to the window. “We’re almost there.”
“What do you mean?” She looked out the window as we turned down a long street.
“I bought us a place to life—all eight of us.” The driver came to a stop at the end of the street.
“This place is a mansion!” The driver opened the door and we exited the car.
“Yes it is.” I grinned. “Even bigger than the one we host Seven Roses in.”
“So this is where you’re taking me on our date?” She held my hand as we walked towards the front door.
“I figured you would like to see where we are going to live after we film the finale tomorrow.” I opened the door and we walked inside.
The house itself was one that had been on the market for a while. It was an enormous mansion sitting on a hill at the end of a suburban neighborhood. The previous owner had started with a smaller house and added onto it for years before finally deciding to sell it. Since it was kind of a patchwork house, there weren’t many buyers. He had bought land all around it for the expansion, so while the neighborhood was sprawled out in front of it, the estate itself was gigantic. It had a pool, a full tennis court, basketball court, and a lot of other things to keep seven guys busy when Lyn wasn’t occupying our attention. Inside, there was a movie theater in the basement with two dozen seats, and each room was big enough to be filled with enough furniture for all of us. Some of it had already been added but there was a lot to go.
The masterpiece was upstairs though, and I took Lyn by the hand as we approached the staircase. We walked up to the main bedroom and when I pushed open the door, her eyes got big.