Dean

The weather in Miami was that typical October Florida weather, that was hot and summery, but you could sense that it would quickly change at any minute. I loved everything about this city, but for the first time in my life, there was an emptiness that consumed me while I was here. The people didn't seem as colorful and sexy, the lights seemed dimmer, the water looked less crisp and blue than normal, and the beaches seemed less exciting. I supposed that when the only thing on your mind was a certain girl, everything else paled in comparison.

It hurt to tell her I wasn't going to New Orleans. The truth was, I'd been dying to go back there since my amazing time during Mardi Gras, in 2010. I wanted to share that city with her, but what I needed to do right now was more important. I thought back to what she said to me in her moment of anger, the truth about how she viewed me; my heart split when she told me that she wasn't worth it. That was why I was in Miami. It was also the reason why I had done my own summoning of The Queen. It was no secret that my grandmother loved any chance to visit Miami, so when I called and actually pleaded with her to meet me, she acted like it was no big deal, but somewhat jumped at the chance.

At the last minute while I held her note in my hand, I had made a decision and when I was sure it was the right one, I was on the phone in less than thirty minutes changing all my plans. I cancelled all of our hotel rooms for Miami and called in a favor with Pierce and got his Setai Hotel contact and made some calls. I booked in two ocean suites, each with a standard one bedroom and the penthouse suite. I had no qualms about blowing my corporate monthly budget on the rooms; plus, the Queen agreed it was the right thing to do. Also, her majesty wouldn't lay a finger down in anything less than the penthouse.

When I arrived at the hotel and made my way to the penthouse, I knew my grandmother was already there, because a stack of large Louis Vuitton suitcases were sitting in the entryway.

"My love!" She heard my footsteps and emerged from the master bedroom, dressed in custom designed blue Marysia Venice Maillot swimsuit, with a sheer black cover up over it.

She came over to me and placed her perfectly manicured hands on my shoulders, taking in my appearance with her blue eyes and pursing her lips into a demure smile.

"Dean hunny.. You look like utter death." She clasped my face and gave me a slight kiss on my forehead, before she stood back and lightly maneuvered a chunk of her short grey hair from her face.

"Grandmother. It's always a pleasure," I stated, as I kissed her cheek and took her hand, leading her to the couch in the sitting area.

She looked at me with worry in her eyes for a moment. "Dean, please tell me everything is alright?"

At that moment, I felt like breaking down. I had never hated myself this much. I also knew that I could never lie to the woman seated next to me about what was going on. She raised from the couch and headed over to the decanter on the bar, the liquid inside had a dark walnut color. She handed me the glass and I took a whiff of the alcohol within. It had an aroma which was weighty and rich, yet it achieved a heavenly balance. It smelled of honey-dipped vanilla, which mingled with the scent of cinnamon and dates.

As the hot liquid reached my mouth I forgot about my problems for a brief moment. The taste was like nothing I have ever experienced, it had hints of cracked black pepper, which instantly awoke my taste buds, followed closely by the ever so slight hint of cloves and roasted cocoa beans.

"Damn, that's amazing!" I exclaimed, as I licked my upper lip.

She laughed, before sitting down on the couch with her own glass. The aftertaste in my mouth was electric and reminded me of dark chocolate and smoked honey. For a moment, it tasted like Ari's lips, the same lips that I yearned to touch right now.

"I would hope so, considering it is a Macallan Lalique VI, a sixty-five-year-old single malt scotch. I had them carrier over a bottle after we spoke, I assumed you'd need something to take the edge off," she nonchalantly stated, as her fingernail clinked the side of her glass.

"Man, please tell me where to pick this up once home."

She looked over at me and laughed her boisterous laugh. "Oh honey, it's not something you just pick up. They don't usually sell $40,000.00. bottles of scotch at Bev Mo." I choked on my next sip as she talked. After the laughter had subsided, she retreated into her room for a brief minute before heading back towards the decanter to pour us another drink. "Now, my love, please explain why I'm here and why I'm carrying this?"

The red velvet box in her hand looked large compared to the thin nature of her elegant hands. She set the box down on the small table between us and demurely crossed her legs, placing her weight on the arm of the white couch in order to look at me.

I explained everything, most of it she was already well aware of, because I had absolutely no secrets with the women in front of me. Even if I did have secrets, I wouldn't for long. You didn't keep tabs on a multi-billion dollar empire and not know everything that happened, at all times.

She was very calm as I spoke, detailing everything that happened in Vegas. Her lips pursed in slight anger when I told her about the incident in the club, about the woman and the things that I said afterwards. I was convinced that she could see my shame, because she didn't lay into me at that very moment, telling me everything I already knew about myself.

"Well, that's why I am here. I told her I would prove to her what kind of man I really am."

Her eyes never left my face, but she calmly leaned forward and asked, "I know the answer, but I must ask, are you sure this is what you want, son?"

In any other situation, with any other person, I would be honest and tell her no, but the fact was, that Ari Blakewell wasn't any other person and I had never been so sure in all of my life.

"Absolutely."

She slid the large velvet box with the ornate clasp over to me on the table, "Then it's yours." Her words comforted my fearful soul.

She got up and placed her hand on mine as my eyes lingered on the box in front of me. She then casually headed towards the doors and out to the private pool, giving me a moment alone, with my future.

The ring that looked up at me was breathtaking. A large, deep colored 28.18-carat Kashmir sapphire sat in the center, surrounded by a thin border of tiny diamonds. The outside border of diamonds were much larger and they caught the light from the lamp next to me. I ran my fingers over the thin platinum band and thought about all the times this ring sat on my grandmother's finger. For her, it was a symbol of her undying love for my grandfather.

It was a ring that was passed down from my grandfather's own mother, a long standing Von Hastings' tradition followed it. Since I was the only male heir of the family, the ring had always been mine, but until I laid eyes on Ari Blakewell, I was always adamant that I would never put it to use. Imagine my grandmother's surprise, when I rang her and asked her to meet me here with it. Luckily, she knew me well and when she heard those words leave my lips, there was no hesitation on her part. No need to ask me if I was sure of this decision.

In due time, the love of my life would hopefully wear this piece of art on her beautiful finger. However, I knew the tradition of passing it on would end with me, because by being with the love of my life, I was making the decision to forgo any dreams of having my own heir. It was a sacrifice I was more than willing to make in order to be with her. I would never carry a regret of forgoing a family if it meant being next to her for eternity. The one regret in my life that I did have, is that I hadn't told her I loved her and that might be the regret that killed me if I waited much longer.

I tucked the box that nestled the ring into the room safe, before heading to the room to change into my swimsuit. I had a lot of calls to make in order for everything to be perfect by the time they all arrived. I just hoped that deep down inside she still loved me.

.............................

Ari

I woke up the next morning and the bed was cold next to me. There were no strong tan arms wrapped across my waist, no face on my pillow that I could stare at while it slept. There was just a bitter feeling of empty. I knew that if I was desperately seeking company, I could easily find it in the penthouse above me, but the truth was, that no matter how perfect the irresistible Ace Parker was, what I missed at that moment was imperfection.

I looked over at my phone on the bedside table and I checked to see if Venise had text saying she had left Vegas. I missed my best friend more than anything and if I couldn't be happy with him, I wanted her to look in my eyes and tell me everything would eventually be ok. I had one missed text from sometime around 5AM, but it wasn't from Venice. There was no way in hell she would ever be up that early.

Dean: I miss you terribly. I promise I will make everything alright.

His words were both comforting and at the same time they stung like a million bees stabbing my heart. I wished that we could go back to that morning before the club, before everything that was said. That we could go back to when he looked into my eyes and stroked my face, before telling me what I had always wanted to hear from him. But, laying here alone, in this beautiful city and being kissed by that beautifully confident man, maybe there wasn't any going back.

My thoughts drifted off and at once, I was snapped back by that bitter voice in my heart that scolded me relentlessly.

How could I be so weak to wrap myself up in any man?

How could I allow myself to forget about the fact that I would never be able to love someone until I learned to love myself? I couldn't continue living my life searching for someone to solve all my worries. I needed to take the initiative to fix my own life. Dean Andrews was a lot of things, but I needed to be my own savior.

I was pleasantly surprised that over breakfast, Sassy informed us that she had a day date with the hot bartender, Dhrea. I kind of wanted the day to myself to soul search and get lost in the beauty of the city. She went on about how she normally wouldn't agree to anything day date related, because it could friend zone you instantly, but for this girl she was willing to make an exception. At everything she was saying, Ace just laughed and then she proceeded to stare daggers at him.

"Really, Sass? Tell the truth, your hope is that this day thing turns into an all night thing," he commented, as he spooned some grits into his mouth, then smiled at her.

"I'm not the only one that wishes something would turn into an all night thing, aren't I, Acey?" she sarcastically asked, as she flashed a devious smirk in his direction, before leaning back and sipping on her strawberry mimosa.

At this point, I decided not to engage the crowd and I kept to myself, while I enjoyed my brie crepes. The breakfast was wonderful, but I had to admit, that I was disappointed slightly at the fact that I got such a horrified look from the server when I asked what kinds of cereal they had. I looked over at the table next to us and instantly regretted my breakfast decision, when I saw the server bring out their Nutella and banana crepes.

"Arina."

I felt a tap on my shoulder and looked over at Ace who was smiling my direction. "Arina, you look lost in thought. What do you have planned for today?" He lightly brushed my leg under the table with his hand and I felt the heat rise through my body.

"Uh... I think I may sightsee a bit. What are you doing?"

"Well, beautiful, I actually am goin' to play some poker. There's a high stakes game happening at a large estate outside the city. Care to join?"

I could see in his eyes that he would love nothing more than for me to take him up on his offer, but sadly, watching a bunch of men smoke cigars and play poker never ranked high on my list of experiences.

"Maybe we could see each other afterwards? Would that be alright?"

"Of course it would be. I'd jump at any chance to spend some time with my Arina."

As much as I loved all the sweet sentiments that came out his amazingly strong and kissable lips, I was terribly confused about how I felt about him. There was something about him that made me feel safe and wanted. I saw the way his eyes travelled down my neck and I saw the passion in them when he said my name. I felt the fire of desire when he kissed me and now when he brushed my leg. When I saw his face, it was as if I instantly felt something in the pit of my body, but it struggled against the feelings I had always felt for Dean.

Sassy was the first to leave in order to get ready for her adventure date, leaving Ace and I to sit next to each other in silence. I felt his hand lightly settle on my leg, as he turned towards me. He pushed his plate away from him and leaned in, gripping my chin with his spare hand.

He turned my face towards him and gently said, "It absolutely kills me to have to leave you, but I will most definitely see you soon." He brushed his lips against mine, before dropping some money on the check that sat at the edge of the table.

He got up to leave and at the door he paused and looked back. His face had a look of determination that I was sure was ever present in his life. It was a real poker face if I had ever seen one. He sauntered back to the table and took my hand pulling me up and towards the door.

Once outside, he spun me and pressed me against the wall of the cafe, in view of the tourists milling about on the street and kissed me passionately, cupping my face in his hands. His kiss made my arms go weak as they dropped to my sides.

All eyes were on this confident man and as he pulled away he looked deep into my eyes and said, "There, now I have something to think about while I'm gone."

And just like that he walked off, leaving me to brace myself against that cafe wall.

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A/N: Hey guys!

Please vote and comment, share the story with others.

So this chapter was always meant to be a sort of split day in the trip, so you get to see the POV from each character of where they stand in their journey.

<3 Amina