Xaden Riorson looked at the wedding announcement that had gone out in the paper. He knew that Violet Sorrengail had a crush on Dain Aetos at one point but that she had realized that it was nothing. It wasn't the type of relationship that would last for a long time and be what she needed. Dain would never be what she wanted. They had talked about it while sweaty in bed after sex.

Liam had been the one to cut out the wedding announcement and send it to Xaden, where he had moved after breaking things off with Violet for the sake of his own heart. He had known from the start that he was a rebellion against her mother. Lilith Sorrengail would never allow her daughter to have anything to do with business rival Fen Riorson's son. Still, Xaden was interested in her and wanted to see what would happen. There was also the whole thing of Lilith finding out he had debauched her precious daughter. Brennan might have been a lot like their mother and had a good mind for certain parts of the business. Mira also had a good mind for other parts, but Violet had been the one who had been talked about succeeding Lilith. She was smart like their father but didn't have a mind for the scientific side of things like their father; she just wanted to learn everything. It was how they had met.

Violet had been working on another degree to make sure she could take over the company, and Xaden had been giving a guest lecture since he had just moved to the area around Basgiath College to work at the office for his father's business near there.

For one year, Xaden had been happier than he ever thought and then realized he was in love and needed to get out. He had transferred back to the main part of the company in Aretia. There had been no reason for him to do anything but it.

For the last three years, Xaden had tried to forget about Violet. Then the letter arrived. Liam hadn't sent him anything but it. There was no admonishment of Xaden running. The friend group formed from their parents working together knew that Xaden was still in love with Violet. Liam was smack in the middle of things because while he had been offered to go back to Aretia as well, he stayed. He would be standing up there beside Violet and Rhiannon, the two members of Violet's wedding party who weren't her brother and sister.

Xaden was back in Basgiath to see if there would be anything there. To know if he needed to go and lick his wounds because Dain Aetos had won. The rivalry there in college hadn't gone down a dangerous path, but there was something about knowing that while Violet hadn't wanted Aetos, Aetos wanted her, and Xaden had her. There was a lot of emotion in this whole thing. There was no invitation for Xaden, but Liam had left one in Xaden's hotel room.

Looking back, Xaden knew he had made the worst mistake of his life, but he thought he would have time to fix it. Yet the announcer had proven that she hadn't waited for him. He hadn't asked her to, and while she had said she would wait as long as she could, Xaden never held her to that. The breakup had been full of emotion, and Xaden had treated her coldly. There was no reason to think she would ever wait on him; he just wanted him to.

The temple where the wedding was being held was full, and there were a lot of people around. Xaden had the invitation in hand and flashed it at the guard, blocking people from entering. He was given access. He was just on time. He slipped into the back seat and made sure he was on the aisle. He needed to make sure that Violet saw him but not Aetos. Aetos would throw him out.

He just needed to see the look on Violet's face when she saw him to know if she still loved him or not. Then he would go if she didn't. If she did, then she wasn't getting married to Aetos.

Xaden didn't pay attention to anything, but when everyone else stood, he did as well. He stayed facing the front as Mira and Brennan walked down the aisle arm in arm for the start of the wedding party. Aetos' people were all up with him already. Next would be Liam and Rhiannon. Then Violet being escorted down the aisle by her mother. Normally, that would be the father's job, but Violet's father had died a few years before Violet started college.

The doors opened one final time, and Xaden turned toward the oncoming pair. He was happy that Lilith was on the side, away from him, and Violet was closest to him. She looked at the people, seemingly barely noticing them, but her eyes widened when she spotted him. Her face turned hard, but for a few seconds, there was a smile. Her eyes, though, told the whole story. It was the kind of thing that made Xaden hopeful, right up until she looked away from him, her eyes forward on where Aetos was. Xaden could admit that Aetos was a good-looking man. He would find another bride who was a match for him, but Violet was better than both of them. There were a lot of issues between Xaden and Aetos. They had never gotten along, even when Violet had been the one to push them together, hoping they could get over it.

Aetos was the reason why things had nearly blown up at one point. He had told Lilith about Xaden and Violet. She hadn't freaked out like they all thought that he would. She had just made it known that she knew that Violet and he were just a fling. Violet would come to her senses and leave him behind. She didn't need to worry about her daughter doing something like marrying Xaden. It had been the first crack. The rest of the cracks after that were all in Xaden's head.

The ceremony started, and there was a moment when Xaden thought that Violet would leave up there. She had hesitated before putting her hands into Aetos' for the ceremony. There were a lot of interesting parts to the wedding ceremony, but the fact that one asking if there was any reason for the marriage not to go on was near the middle, Xaden always wondered if it was placed there for the fact that at the start, someone might not be willing to speak up.

"If there is a single reason why these two should not be wedded, speak now or give your peace to the Gods for the rest of your life," the preacher spoke as she looked into the crowd, looking for anyone who might disrupt it.

Xaden inhaled and exhaled before slipping out of his seat and into the aisle.

"I should have known you would show up today, just to be cruel, I don't you, Vi." Aetos looked smug. He laid his hand on Violet's shoulder. Instead of it looking like he was doing it to comfort her, it looked like a claim. It looked like he was reminding her that he was his. If she were Xaden's, she would never need that reminder, and he would never need it for himself.

"Violence?" Xaden asked with a smile.

"Why?"

"Good things don't happen to me. I had to learn to accept them," Xaden answered. Garrick and Bodhi had forced him into therapy. He hadn't liked it, but the years in it helped him learn to accept who he was, what he wanted, and who he loved.

"And what else did you learn?"

"I was the author of most of the tragedies in my life after the death of my father."

Violet nodded. She turned to look at Aetos, and it looked like the ceremony would go on. The preacher thought so as she opened her mouth to speak, but then Aetos did.

"You cannot be serious. He doesn't love you," Aetos said.

"You would never do this. Hell, you didn't even do a damned thing when it meant looking bad in public for anything. You are the one who wanted to wait over a year before we started to date because it wouldn't look right for me to move on that fast. A month was enough time."

"I love you," Aetos said.

"Your love is...I thought it was going to be enough to keep us going. I thought I would fall in love with you again like before. To remember the Dain that you were when we were growing up, but you turned into my mother and your father, and not the good parts."

"If you leave, you are done," Lilith said as she stepped away from her seat.

"Done with what? The company that I never wanted to run as you want to run it? I would never have control until you died, and I knew it. I was just..." Violet looked at Xaden, and she smiled. It was the smile from so long ago, the one that made Xaden realize he was falling in love with her. He thought that he would be able to make her love him as well.

"IF you walk out this door with him, you will never be allowed back into the home. Everything of yours is gone."

"Well, the apartment was part of the job, and that's fine, but you cannot throw me out of there until I get everything of mine out in time. There are laws about that. I'll pack up everything as fast as I can."

"Yes, but your fastest isn't going to be fast enough. I'll make sure you are out by tonight."

Xaden wanted to step in, but he knew Violet hated it when Aetos did that with Violet and her mother. There were a lot of family dynamics in play that made it kind of hard for Violet to speak up to her mother, but it seemed she had been good about it.

"Well, it's good that Liam, Sawyer, Ridoc, and I packed up her stuff already, isn't it?"

Violet looked at the pair of them, and she frowned.

"What? We knew what was going to happen. So, let's get out of here. I think the car should be pulling around soon."

"It's here." Liam waved his phone. Xaden was shocked as well. This wasn't anything like what he thought it was going to be.

Liam and Rhiannon snagged an arm each and helped march Violet down the aisle. Aetos made a move, but then two others stepped over. It took a few seconds for Xaden to recognize Sawyer and Ridoc, but the biggest shock was that two others appeared after. Bodhi and Garrick. Xaden was going to kill his cousin for crashing the wedding.

Violet looked back at Aetos, but her gaze shifted to Garrick and Bodhi.

"Is this car big enough?" Xaden asked when Violet was shoved into his arms.

"Of course, do you take me for an idiot?" Liam asked.

"Never, and you know it." Xaden enjoyed the feel of Violet in his arms again. This didn't mean she would stay with him, and he knew it. They had a lot to talk about.

"Wait, why?" Violet asked when she finally found her voice when they were all in the limo that was taking them somewhere. Xaden had no idea where. He figured that his friends and cousin were the ones responsible for this. He would like to know what was up with all of this.

"So whose idea was this?" Xaden asked as he looked at Liam and then at Garrick.

"Actually, mine," Rhiannon said.

Xaden raised an eyebrow. "You cussed me out for leaving her. I remember the voicemail. I saved it actually to remind myself why I was doing what I was doing.

"Yeah, well then Dain was there. Being her friend and consoling her while stringing her along. She was so hurt that she didn't see it, and every time I tried to bring it up, she just got angry and stopped talking to me."

Xaden could see that. Violet knew her mind.

"And the wedding, Violence?" Xaden asked.

"You still call me that?"

"You used to love it," Xaden said. He didn't like their audience, but maybe that would help them both get through this. He had stolen her away on her wedding day. It was going to be a scandal but one that Riorson Industries could weather, while he wasn't sure of Sorrengail Consolidated.

Brennan leaving the company had been well known, but what wasn't known yet was that he had jumped to Aretia and Xaden's company, not being able to stand his mother any longer.

"You stole Brennan," Violet said.

"He told you?"

"Yes, last night he begged me not to marry Dain. I...I nearly didn't come out of the room." Violet reached down and lifted up in the seat before taking off the skirt of her stupid wedding dress. She looked like a cake, and not in a good way.

Underneath, she had a pair of pants on.

"ready to run?" Xaden asked.

"I...hate myself for stepping out there. I knew it, but I just..." Violet huffed, and she looked out the window. Rhiannon pulled her close and put her head on her shoulder.

Xaden looked at Garrick, who just grinned at him. Despite everything, Xaden was happy that the whole stealing of Violet had gone over well. He had expected Aetos to blow up more.

"Mom will put Dain where I was in everything, and things will be fine. She likes him better anyway most days. I just wanted to be happy, and I thought I could be happy with him, at least enough. You hurt me."

"I know."

"I'm angry."

"Oh, I can tell that."

It was like the others weren't there. Violet wasn't looking at him, but Xaden knew she was paying attention to what he was doing and how he was sitting.

"I think I should hit you with my backpack again," Violet said.

Xaden laughed. He knew he wasn't forgiven by any stretch, but she was willing.

"I don't mind it. I mean, look what it got me. Of course, I think that Rhiannon laughing as you climbed me like a tree was the best thing. It's what I Remember more than anything."

"I don't regret any of it, except the end, when I didn't fight for you. For us."

"We are here,' Garrick said.

Xaden looked out to the apartment building that was one his business used for visiting staff from other locations and people that he was going to woo to work for them. They had a place like it in Aretia. Of course, there was also that when staff had issues, they stayed there. Like the house fire two months ago for a pair of staffers.

"How do you feel about barbeque?" Garrick asked.

"You got food catered?" Xaden asked.

"Oh, yes. Because I will say this: no matter what, we would end up here. The amount of alcohol drunk and churam smoked was going to change if Violet and her party were with us or you were left jilted instead of Aetos."

"Let's go party," Violet said.

---

Xaden knew that he wasn't the only one awake. He grabbed a robe and draped it over his arm. If it were Violet, she would be in a sheer little thing that would drive Xaden nuts.

The balcony door was open, and the soft breeze that came in reminded Xaden of their nights here. It was where they had escaped to have some privacy. He was sure this was where Garrick had picked them to stay. It was a suite, and it had been too big for Xaden to be there with Violet, but it was also the place where Xaden remembered being with his father before he was killed.

Violet was standing on the bar side, just in the sheer little nightie that Xaden wanted to rip off her.

"You can come out," Violet said.

Xadenn stepped out and walked over to hand off the robe. It wasn't anything that would hide her shape, given it was silk. The same one that had been in the closet that was Xaden's here. It was where he stayed still when he was in town for work.

"How are you feeling? Have you slept?"

"I got a few hours of sleep, but it's about what I've Been getting lately. I'm exhausted. My mother had been a bridevenin."

"It's not even her wedding," Xaden said as he draped the robe on Violet's shoulders.

"Well, Mira's probably never going to get married, and Brennan left. It was the wedding she never got to have since she had to marry in secret to make sure that they weren't caught in something salacious after she got pregnant with Brennan."

"My father always thought that the story about Brennan being born early is a lie."

"It's well known in the family, and Brennan will gladly tell you. Where is he?"

"Hiding in a suite that my father used sometimes when he slept at work. He's not left there of his own choice. How did you connect it?"

"I knew from the start. I knew that you were the only one to hide him."

Violet moved to sit down at the table where there was a plate of snacks. It was just like before. When she wanted time to herself, she came outside and sat. She hadn't changed, but Xaden felt like he had, all because of her.

"My mother is going to rant and rave at the news."

"Well, Garrick does that for me, so I assume he has something PR-related to go out. I'm willing to weather whatever. I just wish that I had been able to stand up before we got this far."

Violet settled into the seat a little more, and the top of her robe flapped open a little bit.

"Where are Andarna and Tairn?" Xaden asked as he reached out for crackers. He picked up a stack of them and popped one into his mouth. He waited for Violet to look at him, but she didn't.

"Rhi had already taken them in. She said she was going to pick them up in the morning. Where is Sgaeyl?"

"I left her with Sloane, Liam's sister. She really likes Sgaeyl, even if Sgaeyl just tolerates her. There is no one around like you that she will be around on her own."

"Rhi's already offered to let me live with her, but I think I need to leave here. She's not tied down to work anywhere. I just don't know what I want to do."

"I'd offer you a job with Brennan or anywhere you want in the business. I'll take the hit on that poaching. No one is going to care who matters."

Violet was silent as she thought about it. Xaden didn't pressure her. He needed to just settle into knowing that he had stopped her from doing something as stupid as marrying Dain Aetos.

There were a lot of things going on in Xaden's life, and coming here had been off the books, but now that he was here, he would pop into the company office and deal with anything that might need his face attached to it.

"I have my money in the bank, but I am not sure what I want to do, Xaden. My life had been the company, and that was it. Outside of you. I love my degree and know I would be good in your company, but I'm just not sure what I want."

"Well, Brennan's place has room enough for you. I'm sure he wouldn't mind two invading dogs as long as their human joins him." Xaden reached into his pocket and laughed as he saw who was calling him. He laid the phone out on the table and swiped the answer button before tapping the one to put it on speakerphone.

"What the fucking hell did you do?" Brennan demanded.

"Saved your sister from a horrible marriage. All I had to do was smile at her."

"Asshole,' Violet said.

"Violet?" Brennan asked.

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep. I haven't slept much for a while, to be honest. We are in the penthouse suite of rooms I told you about."

"Well, I'm on a plane to you now, along with a few other assets we are going to need on the ground to deal with this. My mother has already been screaming about you two having an affair since the public but fake break up. All of this was a ploy to get Violet into the company and then destroy it. She's going out with her guns blazing. Garrick released something about ten minutes before you even showed up at the wedding. He knew."

"It seems that Liam has been playing both sides of this. He's been helping Rhi plan most of this, including sending me the wedding announcement. How far out are you, and how many do you have with you?"

"Seven with me, and we are about to land. I wanted to make sure I was close enough not to have you dodge me."

Xaden looked at Violet, who looked too damned happy to do anything but shake her head. It had been over a year since Brennan had seen Violet, and the stress of that distance had been a lot on both of them.

"And Mira?" Violet asked.

"She's been silent outside of the script she had to read. A big conference that involves Dain will be held in the morning. I am not sure what is going to happen at that, but I figure someone needs to be there...just not Imogen."

"You brought Imogen?" Violet asked.

"Of course, she's ruthless, and she's going to be guarding you. Our mother would kidnap you and stick you somewhere to protect you from what she thinks is someone's dick swaying you."

"His dick never swayed me. It was Sgaeyl."

"I have her as well. Sloane is heartbroken. I promised her a puppy if she and Tairn ever have them."

Xaden knew that Violet would be happy to see Sgaeyl, and Sgaeyl would be happy to see Tairn. The dogs were the ones who ended up being the ones hurt the most, with Xaden running away.

It was going to be chaos tomorrow, and Xaden was looking forward to it because, as of right now, Violet was with him.

---

It was easy to slip into the conference with a few press badges that Xaden had been able to swipe. He had been more than willing to do worse.

It was just the three of them, two Sorrengails and a Riorson. The kind of thing that hadn't been seen before, but Xaden knew it would be the way of things from here out. Brennan was entrenched in Xaden's life to a degree that was scary.

"A skillful liar has fooled my daughter. She has been made to think that her family is trying to control her when all I want from her is the best. Four months ago, when she collapsed in front of the press, she wasn't sick from a virus. She had miscarried a child. She's been having issues since then, and Xaden Riorson used that to slip back into her life and turn her against everyone who loves her. He's a man who will stop at nothing to destroy my company."

Xaden wanted to throw up, but he kept his cool. It would be best to allow the other person in the room who was here with a vested interest in the truth to ask his question.

"Riorson has been quiet on the rumors of the police looking into the death of his father again and finding it was homicide instead of suicide like it was first mentioned. What is your take on them?"

"Xaden?" Violet asked.

"That's not our friend," Xaden said.

"I am not sure why I am being asked that. I have always held that I had nothing to do with the death of Fen Riorson."

"Liar," Xaden said.

"What?"

"Oh, your mother had everything to do with it. Our product was superior, and she wanted him dead because there was someone just below him who was going to squash it. Of course, that didn't work, as when the board was reseated with the purpose of controlling the company until I was out of college, they were fired, and the teams were replaced. The murder part came a lot later."

"Any other questions about the topic of my daughter and the horrible man who had turned her against me?"

"I have one. How come there is no proof of a pregnancy at all? Much less a miscarriage?"

Lilith turned to look at the man who asked the two questions.

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"That's not answering the questions."

Lilith turned her head away and looked at someone else, but the reporters all looked like they wanted to keep that going. No one else raised a hand.

"Is that your guy?"

"Yeah, that's our guy. Wait, it's going to get better. Are you ready?"

Violet nodded her head. She pulled down on the sleeves of her coat and got ready mentally. She started to recite facts under her breath.

"And what about the fact that your personal bodyguard, Melgren, was arrested this morning for the death of Fen Riorson?"

The room erupted then, and there was nothing but questions being thrown so fast that no one was going to be able to hear a damned thing.

Xaden stepped forward to the back of the room, whistling so loud that it echoed around the room. Many covered their ears before turning to see him, Violet, and Brennan there.

"I'll take a few questions as well, and if you are going to be respectful of the hardship that Violet has endured, she will answer a few as well."

"I'll take any and just call you an asshole if you are an asshole."

"Were you pregnant?" someone asked.

"No, never. I had caught a stomach virus but had been unable to seek treatment for being unable to keep food and drink down enough because of the work schedule that I was being forced into. You do not say no to my mother."

The questions after that were all in the same vein right until the cops surrounded Lilith on the dais. Then, the reporters all turned that way.

"What's going to happen to the business?" Violet asked.

"Mira will inherit, and she will either sell it or do something else with it. I want nothing to do with it," Brennan said.

"Nor do I."

Xaden made sure that Imogen was close before he walked over to where the coop was who had been the one to spearhead the looking into the death of his father again after an image had made it into Xaden's hand of Melgren there that night his father had died.

"Airtight?"

"Yes. There is no slipping out of it. Melgren sang like a canary about the death of your father as well as a few other people he's killed using her money and her orders. There is no escaping for her."

"Good."

---

Summer turned to fall, and Xaden hadn't been happier. He had been looking forward to when the news would settle down about his father, the Sorrengails, and everything to do with the merger of the two companies since Mira didn't want to run it without her siblings, so she had just jumped ship to also say fuck you to her mother.

Mira ran what was in Basgiath, and Xaden took care of what was in Aretia. It made things a lot easier. Mira had moved into a new place under the suite that Xaden still considered the place he was happiest.

"You have a meeting across down, and you haven't left?" Garrick asked as he sat down.

"Finishing a few things. I'll be there in time. Don't worry. How are things with you? You've been dodging me all day long."

"Just been busy. PR is still a nightmare. With the pregnancy thing Lilith put out there, they are watching Vilet like a hawk, and if she doesn't eat as much as they think she should every time she's out, they think you have knocked her up already."

"That's kind of hard to do since we haven't been alone at all. Or naked, which I guess that sex could happen with most of the clothes on, especially those skirts she's been wearing a lot."

"You are still in love. It's making the media swirl. She's been indifferent, but she's adjusting."

"Her entire life imploded when I swept into her life again on her wedding day. She needs some time to figure out what she wants. It's what she wants, and it's what she'll get. I'll stay on the side until she tells me differently."

Garrick just smiled and leaned forward. "Just leave the paperwork and go to the meeting. I'll take care of walking Sgaeyl for you tonight. The meeting might run really long. Just be nice."

"I'm always nice," Xaden said.

"No, you are not."

Xaden worked on closing out what he was working on. He made sure that his computer was locked down and the desk was clear of all paperwork. He always made sure that the housekeeping staff didn't have to straighten that stuff when they came in to clean. They did have to move the keyboard and other things that lived on the desk to dust or wipe under it, but at least they didn't have to worry about paperwork. Slowly but surely, the company was moving to paperless as much as possible. It was slow, and there were still a lot of things that needed papers on hand for various things.

Garrick stayed watching him as he got ready, and Xaden looked at the meeting that was scheduled again to make sure that he wasn't missing something that was out of context. The location was listed, but the hotel was one that he ate it at a lot for meetings. It was strange.

Xaden found the car waiting for him in the garage, so he got inside and checked it was his normal driver. He just hoped that this wasn't a surprise meeting with Cat. If there was one person Xaden never wanted to see again, it was her. She only wanted him for his prestige, not him.

The hotel looked the same, and Xaden was escorted to his table, where none other than Violet sat. She had a smile on her face and was dressed up, her hair in the crown braid that Xaden loved. Of course, he loved messing it up when she kneeled before him.

Xaden was a little hard as he sat down, and Violet just smiled at him. She knew what she was doing. They had been nothing but friends over the last while. They were getting to know each other again now that things were different. Xaden was letting her set the pace of everything; he had told her as much from the start. After Aetos had made sure that everything was at his pace, there was little that Aetos hadn't controlled.

"Amber Mavis is pregnant," Violet said.

"Who is that?"

"One of Dain's friends. I heard about it today, and there was a report that Garrick gave me that stated she's further along than is being said, along the lines of Dain having been having an affair with her in the months leading up to our wedding. I realized when I heard that I've never wanted the Dain the way he wants me, and he knew it, so he was having an affair to get what he needed. I can't even fathom you doing anything like that, and I knew then that I needed to step up. You've been waiting, and that's good, but I no longer need to wait. My heart isn't nearly as hurt as I thought it was from Dain."

"Well, I would have said yes to this date. You didn't need to do the whole subterfuge thing."

"I figured I would like to get you back for just showing up at my wedding with no invitation."

"Oh, I had one. Liam gave it to me. I figure that is how Garrick and Bodhi got there as well. So, how do you feel about being in the public eye?"

"I have no idea. I mean, we already are. Things are settled for now, with the whole merger still going on track well. My mother is having a criminal trial of a lifetime in Basgaith, but thankfully, it's not really creeped out here too much. I mean, there are those who are here and do shit with it, but in the end, it's nothing that really bothers me too much."

"Nor me. The PR team is making sure that most of them get what they want without having to hound me. I am just glad that justice is being served. Sgaeyl's happy to have Tairn back; she also seems happy about Andarna. They are all three pretty happy when Sloane picks up Sgaeyl for a walk."

"Well, there is a lot of shit going on, and I don't like that part. I play with Tairn a lot, but being in public just makes me upset."

"You used to love to read. Not just read but analyze it and a whole bunch of other things like that. We have a publishing house we recently acquired when Imogen found out that it was being used to steal rights from the authors. I did something of a hostile take over it, and I don't feel upset about it at all."

"I worked on my literature degree when I was going to school, Mom at least allowed that. I have a business degree as well."

"I know. That's why I bring that up. Why don't you and Liam head over there tomorrow? He's going to check in and just show his face around. He likes going there when he can. Which is every time he's home."

"Did you really acquire it for that reason?"

"Not wholly. I thought it was a place you could find a soft landing if I ever got up the nerve to go and rescue you from living there. And then there was Aetos."

"You still can't call him Dain, can you?"

"He started it." Xaden hated the man long before Aetos had tried to marry Violet. The man had constantly told Violet what she could and couldn't do, and it was couched in him trying to protect her. The disability that Violet had didn't make her weak. She had weaknesses, but she wasn't weak. Xaden knew that from the moment she had hit him with her backpack. It was something he had loved at the time.

"And you ended it. You...I hate you, and I love you, and I know that we both need time with this. One year of dating, no less, before something happens that makes it more serious. We can get engaged on that day if you want the wedding will be what I want it to be, outside of something you hate. My mother ruined the wedding she brainwashed me into just to keep me there."

"Of course, do you want a contract?"

"No, your word is enough. I need to be able to trust it. So this is the first date of many to come. You can plan the next one. Will that be okay?"

"Yeah, that's more than okay." Xaden smiled at Violet, and he picked up the glass of wine that had been waiting for him. He took a sip of the wine and enjoyed the flavors that danced on his tongue. Violet was good at picking wine. Xaden just drank whatever he was given, but he preferred the kinds of wine that Violet liked.

"Friday, we are going to the opening of a new place. The wine there, I am told, is wonderful. They are getting their hands on some very special wines from a vineyard that does a kind of ice wine. I thought that if we liked the wine, we could find out where it comes from and go there if they do tours or even have the kind of place where we could stay there."

"That sounds lovely. Like the weekend where we ended up lost and stayed at that little B&B?" Xaden remembered it. He remembered that entire weekend, and it had been moments like that weekend that proved to Xaden that he had done the stupidest thing in the world by leaving her. He knew that they would become strong again at some point. He knew they would get settled into life, but he wondered what it would be like if they hadn't ended apart. He wouldn't spend long on it as he didn't dwell. He just needed to know he could find peace and happiness with her.

The End