Lorelei James - Unwound

She snorted delicately.

“And it is a temporary position.” He studied her. “I don’t have to worry that you’ll implement a hostile takeover, do I?”

She laughed. “No.”

“So how did Grandfather react when you quit?”

“Not well, given her method of delivery,” their mother said as she slid into the booth next to Shiori. She raised her hand to the waiter and signaled for three more drinks. “She sent him a text message.”

“Okasan, we were just—”

“Do you remember how many times you said that when I caught you two doing something wrong?”

Ronin’s gaze winged between his mother and Shiori. They looked enough alike they could be sisters. “You’re mistaken. We never did anything wrong.”

She laughed—loudly for their mother, especially in a public place.

He exchanged a WTF? look with his sister.

“That’s right. I had perfect children,” she said, switching to Japanese. “Neither of you were criminals or psychopaths, and I’m immensely grateful for that.”

The waiter dropped off the drinks.

“I wanted to have this conversation tomorrow over lunch, but this is as good a time as any to tell you of the upcoming changes in my life.”

“Maybe we should just have the waiter leave the bottle,” Ronin muttered.

Shiori kicked him under the table.

Their mother held her glass aloft. “Raise your glasses to the new interim director of Okada Food Conglomerate.”

He looked at Shiori who was looking at him blankly. He managed to say, “Who is the new interim director?”

“Me,” their mother stated.

Ronin almost dropped his glass. He and Shiori said, “What?” simultaneously.

“Drink your toast.”

Shiori and Ronin drank.

“Okay. What the hell is going on? I feel as if I’ve stepped into an alternate universe. Shiori quits. And you’re taking over?”

“Yes. My father is ready to retire. I knew Shiori wasn’t ready for the CEO chair. I knew you didn’t want it,” she said to Ronin. “And some guy who looks good on paper doesn’t deserve it sight unseen. I’ve been around this food business my entire life. For close to thirty years, I’ve served as my father’s hostess for business events as well as his business confidante. As his only child, I am the first heir. Something many people have forgotten.”

“But you’ve never had any interest in taking the mantle,” Ronin said.

“Not publicly, no. So after your sister’s charming text message to your grandfather, giving the reasons why she’s stepping down, I’m stepping up.”

“You’re really taking over?” Shiori said with equal shock.

“Yes. Okada is hiring Inichi Matso, except he will answer to me. Even if he passes the probationary period, he will still answer to me. We’ve revised the legal documentation in the past few weeks for the board of directors. A member of the Okada family will always have oversight of the company and will always have at least one seat on the board. For now, that’s me. I have my own team to run checks on every aspect of the business anytime I deem it so.”

“And Inichi Matso agreed to this?”

“Of course. He wants to get control of a five-billion-dollar business and turn it into more.”

“But what about all your free time? You’re a few years from retirement.”

“I like to do things differently—get a job when most people retire. Your grandfather is feeling remorseful for some of the things he’s done.” She offered them a sad but surprisingly sneaky smile. “I played on that mercilessly. I did demand that he make both of your trust funds fully accessible—without strings.”

That seemed too good to be true, even when Ronin had no idea what he’d do with that much money. “No strings? At all? Ever?”

“Just the usual inheritance tax issues. But besides that? No. The only strings that should come with a gift are on the outside of the package when you open it.”

Such a smart woman.

“After our earlier discussion, I got to thinking about your father. How much I loved being with him.” She slid her hands across the table and squeezed both Ronin’s and Shiori’s forearms. “I want that kind of happiness for both of you.”

“Doesn’t love like that just break your heart? You loved him and you lost him,” Shiori said softly. “Who wants that kind of forever pain?”

“I did. I miss him every day. But I see him in both of you, so he’s not completely gone. I would rather have that all-encompassing love for a short time than never have had it at all.” She patted Shiori’s hand. “Keep looking, Shiori-san. You’ll find it. Probably where you least expect it.” Their mother stood and she focused on Ronin. “Don’t waste another minute of your life without her. You never know how many minutes you’ll get.”

RONIN broke damn near every traffic law getting to Amery’s. He parked his motorcycle in the alley. He rapped on the door four times before unlocking it. Inside, he tossed his helmet aside and yelled, “Amery?” as he started up the circular stairs.

“I’m right here, Ronin. You don’t have to yell.”

As soon as he reached the top, he yanked her body to his and kissed her.

Either she’d cooled off or the kiss knocked the fight out of her because Amery wrapped herself around him, returning his passion with equal zeal.

He clamped his hands on her ass and hoisted her against the brick wall separating the bathroom from her bedroom. “I love you. And I never want you to walk out on me again like you did tonight. Never want to hear you say if we’re together. We are together, and I want to make it permanent. Before you move in.”

“Have you been drinking?”

He laughed. “A little bit during our family ‘come to Buddha’ meeting.”

She blinked at him with confusion.

“But the conversation with my mother and my sister led me to the realization that I don’t want to just live with you. I want to marry you. I want you as mine officially, permanently, legally, all that.”

“Seriously, Ronin, have you lost your mind?”

“I lost you once, and that put me out of my mind. When you left tonight because you were mad at me, you had someplace else to go. It might make me a selfish dick, but I don’t want you to have that. So when we fight, which we invariably will, you can slam the door to the den, or to the practice room, or to the guest bedroom if you need time away from me.” Ronin pushed a strand of hair from her cheek. “But I want to walk down the hallway to hash things out, not across town. And I’ll always come after you, Amery. Always. I will be your safe haven. Because you’re already mine.”

“Um, that’s sweet, but I’d like to point out that you’re telling me to marry you rather than asking me.”

“Is that what you want, baby? Me on one knee? Holding a diamond ring? Begging you to be mine forever? Because I’ll do it.”

“A big diamond would be an indication of how much you loved me,” she joked.

Ronin swept his fingertips across her cheeks, strangely touched by her nervous babbling. “The size of a diamond doesn’t indicate the size of my love for you. The earth hasn’t produced a diamond that big because my love for you knows no bounds.”

Her eyes swam with tears. “I don’t care about the ring. I just want you.”

“You’ve got me.” His eyes searched hers. “So is that a yes on marrying me?”

“Yes.”

Their mouths met, and the kiss was so loving and perfect; a silent promise. In that moment he felt the shift between them. It took every bit of Ronin’s willpower not to beat on his chest and snarl, Mine.

He pulled back and set her on her feet. He said, “I have something for you. Keep your eyes closed and hold out your arm,” while continuing to tease her addictive lips.

Amery complied.

After he fished a section of twine from his pocket, he took his time fashioning a bracelet. He placed a soft kiss on the inside of her wrist. “Okay. You can look.”

Her eyebrows drew together as she squinted at the thin rope circling her wrist. “What is it?”

“A placeholder until I can get you a real ring.” Ronin traced the intricate knot at the center. “This is an eternity tie.” He gently turned her arm so she could see the backside of the bracelet. “You can’t see where it begins or ends. That’s how my love for you is.”

“It’s beautiful. I may never take it off.”

He caught her exaggerated sigh in a long, steamy kiss. “So,” he asked between nuzzles and soft smooches, “how soon can we do this? Because I’m ready to marry you right fucking now.”

“What’s the rush? Are you pregnant or something?”

He loved her smart mouth, but he pinched her ass anyway.

She yelped and swatted at him. “In all seriousness, there are several things to consider before we even think about taking that permanent step.”

“Like what? I love you; you love me. The next step is promising to spend our life together. Simple.”

“Well, like it or not, you are an Okada heir . . . I imagine you want your team of financial advisers to draft a pre-nup?”

“No,” he said with an emphatic shake of his head.

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “May I remind you that you had me investigated before we went out on a date? Why wouldn’t you want to protect yourself now when we’re talking long-term?”

“For that very reason. I trust you. With everything I am and with everything I have.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“So what if I want a pre-nup?”

Ronin carried her to her bedroom and fell onto the bed with her. “What would be in your pre-nup?”

She twisted a hank of his hair. “Oh, I don’t know. I just wanted to sound cool, so you didn’t think I wasn’t bringing anything of value into this marriage.”