When a sob threatened, she put the lid back on the box. ‘Why would you give me this?’ she rasped, shaken.
‘I told you that night that I wished you could see yourself the way I saw you. This picture shows you how I see you.’
‘I don’t know what you want me to see, Jacques,’ she said desperately. ‘I can’t tell what that look on your face is.’
He lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him.
‘It’s love, Lily. I love you.’
And he kissed her.
* * *
He’d thought saying the words would be hard. But once he’d seen her they had come effortlessly. He’d kissed her because he’d been able to tell she didn’t believe him. And he’d thought maybe if he could show her...
The moment his lips touched hers there was no more thinking. No more rationalising. He should have known that by now, and yet he was constantly surprised by the way her kiss could consume him.
By the way her taste could consume him.
After days of uncertainty—of wondering if he’d ever be consumed by that taste again—he felt more urgency, more greed than he would have liked. For a moment he considered allowing it. He considered letting passion dictate the kiss. But he wanted to show her more than passion. He wanted to show her that there was more than the attraction he’d claimed had always been between them.
She already knew about that. What she didn’t know about was his love for her. What she didn’t know was the intimacy he craved to have with her.
Slowly he deepened the kiss, and with each movement he showed her. With each stroke of his tongue, with each caress of his hands, he opened his heart to her. He showed her that he was hers, and only hers.
And for the first time he discovered that love was more potent than any attraction.
‘Stop!’ she said breathlessly as she pushed him away.
Somehow they’d ended up against the wall, and when he moved back he wished he’d had it behind him to steady him. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘What’s wrong?’ she repeated. ‘Jacques, you’ve had my best friend trick me into coming here. You tell me you got your club, but that it hasn’t made you happy. And then you give me this gift, tell me you love me, and kiss me until I don’t know who I am...’
Her chest heaved, but he couldn’t tell if it was from their kiss or her words.
‘You’ve got what you wanted and it hasn’t made you feel the way you wanted it to. So...so maybe you’re just moving on to the next thing. What happens if this—if I—don’t make you happy? Do you just move on again? Because that...well, it won’t work for me.’
‘We weren’t even a real couple and you made me happier than I’ve ever been, Lily.’ He took her hands in his. ‘I know you’re worried that this is a rash decision for me, but it isn’t. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.’
He could see that he wasn’t convincing her, and panic gripped his heart. But he took a deep breath and reminded himself that he always did whatever it took to get what he wanted. That meant that he needed to fight for Lily.
And that meant laying it all on the line.
‘I resisted it from the moment we had dinner on that beach and I saw the person you really were. I resisted it through every dinner after that, through every event when I saw you fight against your insecurities. When I saw you overcome them.’
He took a deep breath.
‘I fought it because I’d seen what a terrible relationship looked like. I was terrified that I would be like my father—that whatever relationship I was in would turn out to be like my parents. So I stayed away from them.’
‘And had multiple partners instead?’
He winced. ‘Yeah.’
‘So what changed?’
He could tell he had her attention now, and the panic began to subside. ‘I met you.’
‘As simple as that?’
‘As complicated as that. I’ve told you that you changed me, Lily. I mean it. Fear kept me from telling you this before, but I love you.’
Her eyes shone with tears, and her voice was hoarse when she asked, ‘And this is not because you’re looking for the high you hoped to get when you heard you’d got the club? I’m sorry it didn’t feel the way you wanted it to, but...but that can’t be the reason you’ve realised you love me.’
‘Not that alone, no,’ he agreed. ‘I realised I loved you when you called me out on the beach.’
‘You love me,’ she repeated.
‘I do.’
Her eyes began to shine with that hope he’d seen when he’d proposed to her. So he took the box from her hand, opened it again, and handed the frame to her.
‘What do you see in that picture?’
‘You’re proposing.’
‘What do you see on my face?’
Tears gleamed in her eyes when she looked at him. ‘Is it...is it love?’
He set a hand under her chin, brought her head up to look at him. ‘Tell me what you see on my face now, Lily.’
‘You mean it?’ A tear ran down her cheek. ‘Don’t do this if you don’t mean it.’
‘I do mean it,’ he said quietly, and lowered his hands to her arms. ‘Do you want to know what I see in that picture, Lil?’ He didn’t wait for an answer. ‘I see a beautiful, kind, caring woman. One who sacrificed her own insecurities to help someone get what they thought they needed.’
He pulled her closer to him.
‘I see a woman who has fought to overcome all the things life has thrown at her. Who has used her failures, her mistakes, as lessons. Who showed me how to do that too.’
His arms went around her waist, and he closed the distance between them until she was gently pressed to his body.
‘I don’t want to make this mistake, though, Lily. Because I don’t know how I’d come back from it. I don’t know how I could learn from it when it would be the worst mistake of my life.’
‘I didn’t know how I could learn from it either,’ she whispered. ‘I told myself that I could use it as a lesson to be better in the future, but I didn’t know how.’
‘So we won’t make this mistake?’
‘No, we won’t.’
She looked at him with those beautiful eyes, more piercing now after her tears.
‘I love you, Jacques.’
He rested his forehead on hers. ‘I’ve never heard anything that’s made me happier in my life.’ He took another moment to appreciate it, and then he said, ‘I could never imagine being married to someone after seeing what my parents went through. But that’s because I’d never loved anyone. And then I met you—I fell in love with you—and I imagined it all so easily. In fact I can’t stop thinking about it.’
He held his breath, hoping she understood what he’d meant.
‘Me either.’
It wasn’t the answer he’d hoped for, but the words sounded like trumpets in his ears.
He had a chance.
‘I think about a future with you,’ she said. ‘I look at this gorgeous ring—even though it’s pretend—and it undoes every resolution of mine to move on. It undoes every thought of mine that I can move on.’
She paused.
‘I always thought I didn’t deserve the good things in life. And I’d accepted it.’
‘You didn’t accept what I offered the other night.’
She smiled. ‘That was your fault. You showed me that settling for anything less than what I wanted wasn’t right. Every time I thought something demeaning about myself I heard your voice telling me to snap out of it. Or reminding me of all the things I’ve achieved. I wouldn’t have been able to survive with just a part of you, Jacques. I wanted all of you.’
Her eyes flashed with uncertainty, and then the look was replaced with boldness.
; ‘And I think maybe I deserve all of you.’
‘You do, my love,’ he said in relief. ‘I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you.’
‘No, Jacques. We’re stronger than that now. Together we’re stronger. And we deserve each other.’
‘Say it again, Lily. Tell me you love me again.’
‘I love you.’
She’d barely said the words before his lips were on hers again. This time there were no reservations. This time there was passion. There was greed. There was urgency. But there was also love and intimacy. He gave just as much as he took, his passion fuelled by their acknowledged feelings. By their love.
And then he pulled back.
‘I love you too.’
* * *
With those words all the turmoil inside her was calmed. All the insecurities faded. And she believed that she deserved this happiness. She deserved this happiness with the man she loved.
‘You’re a pretty lucky man, Mr Brookes,’ she said, looking at the picture again. Now looking at it didn’t hurt. ‘Some people would say you have it all.’
‘Those people would be right,’ he replied, grinning. He pulled her in for a hug, his head resting on hers. ‘Though you have to admit you’re pretty lucky too.’
Her cheek rested on his chest, the picture still in her right hand, and she smiled. ‘Oh, I know I am. Haven’t you read the papers? I’m the one who tamed Bad-Boy Brookes.’
He chuckled. ‘Yeah, you did. And I’m looking forward to a lifetime of it.’
Her heart sped up and she pulled back, setting the picture on the table.
‘Do you mean...?’
‘You can’t possibly be surprised.’ He smiled. ‘How do you like that ring?’
‘I’m pretty in love with it.’ Her heart bursting, she asked one more time. ‘Do you really mean it?’
‘With all my heart, Lily. I can go down on one knee again if it would convince you?’
Lily looked at the picture again, saw the expression on his face. The real one since the emotion she hadn’t been able to identify before now had a name. And then she looked at her own face again, and her eyes filled with tears.
‘It was real, wasn’t it?’ she whispered.
‘It was, but I’d like to ask you again anyway.’
She smiled when he went down on one knee, this time holding her hand with the diamond ring on it instead of inside its box.
‘I love you, Lily. You will always be my real redemption. Will you marry me?’
‘I can’t imagine wanting anything else more.’
He grabbed her, twirled her around. And when they kissed Lily knew that the only thing that would define them in future would be their love for one another.
* * * * *
If you loved this story, check out
A MARRIAGE WORTH SAVING
by Therese Beharrie.
Available now!
If you’re looking forward to indulging in
another proposal of convenience story,
featuring an enigmatic sheikh,
then you’ll love
SARAH AND THE SECRET SHEIKH
by Michelle Douglas.
Keep reading for an excerpt from
CAPTIVATED BY THE ENIGMATIC TYCOON
by Bella Bucannon.
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Captivated by the Enigmatic Tycoon
by Bella Bucannon
CHAPTER ONE
JACK RANDELL GRINNED at the sound of Strauss, his Aunt Mel’s favourite composer, as he reached the back door. Hopefully this meant her feisty spirit was resurfacing as she’d rarely listened to any music she could dance to since the accident three months ago.
Although she was technically his great-aunt, he could never envision her as being that extra generation older. She and Bob had given him unconditional support during his teenage years when understanding between him and his parents had seemed irretrievable. This house had become his sanctuary, still was even at the age of twenty-eight.
His spirits lifted in anticipation that she’d also begun baking again, and that the kitchen would be filled with mouth-watering aromas. He automatically inhaled as he stepped across the threshold.
No tempting smells and no sound of human activity. He wasn’t surprised at the lack of heating; Mel rarely turned it on until the sun began to set. While he’d been visiting his parents in Brisbane, he’d thought July’s bitterly cold days in Adelaide might have changed her mind. Another reason to believe she was active again and didn’t need it.
After glancing into the kitchen, disappointingly neat and clean, he was about to call out when he heard a scraping sound from the family room on his right. He walked in and stopped, breath caught in his throat and heart skipping intermittent beats.
An enticingly filled-out pair of denim jeans occupied the space in front of the heavy coffee table now placed in the far corner. Definitely not Mel, who declared denim was for the young. His tightened as the pleasing form leaned in further, angling past the bookcase that had been pushed almost to the table, partly blocking the window.
He heard a triumphant huff, followed by a pained, ‘Ow.’ The taut bottom jiggled, and he became decidedly uncomfortable. Mesmerised and immobilised, he watched as the wriggling continued towards him.
A long-sleeved navy woollen jumper appeared, followed by a cap of cropped black hair. The woman snaked onto her haunches, holding up a small object. Her light harmonious laugh rippled through him as she rubbed a spot on the top of her head.
‘Got you. I’ll sew you back on later.’
‘Cassie, coffee time. I’ll... Jack, I didn’t expect this early surprise!’
Fixated on the figure in front of him, Jack didn’t react to his aunt’s voice. He was spellbound as the head spun, dark hair flew and a hand hit the floor to prevent toppling over. Scrambling to her feet, she twisted towards him and he found himself fighting for air again.
Walnut-coloured eyes framed by long black lashes widened as a delightful pink hue tinted her cheeks. Natural red, not quite symmetrical lips parted as she sucked in a deep breath and glared at him as if he’d been the cause of her injury.
Holding her gaze, he suddenly jerked back as Mel’s face loomed into his vision, eyebrows raised, perceptive smile in place. A great improvement since he’d said goodbye sixteen days ago.
&nb
sp; ‘Remember me?’
He wrapped her in a bear hug and kissed her cheek, thankful she’d regained her normal happy disposition.
‘Great timing as always. Coffee in the lounge, and you can tell me how your parents are. Oh, by the way, this is Cassie Clarkson. Cassie, my great-nephew, Jack Randell.’
She walked out with a slight hint of a limp, paying no heed to his dropped jaw. Who the hell was Cassie Clarkson, and what was she doing here when Mel had family who’d willingly come any time she needed help? Had she provided references for whatever she did, and had they been checked?
Hadn’t his aunt learnt from previous attempts to cheat her, two of them by so-called friends? An older woman on her own was considered an easy target by unscrupulous people. Even he had been duped by an attractive friend of his sister. He’d lost unpaid rent, plus his own time getting the damaged property fit to let again.
The young woman who was pinning whatever she’d picked up onto a coat hanging on a clothes rack—he now became aware of it, plus two by the window—was delightfully curved and a perfect height to nestle her head cosily on his shoulder.
Which he really should not be imagining when he had no idea who, why or what as far as she was concerned. Good looks and toned bodies might attract but they could also mask a desire for the lifestyle and prestige marrying into a wealthy family offered. Hard lessons learnt weren’t easily forgotten.
Ignoring the acceleration of his pulse and the warmth spreading through his body despite the cool air, he stepped forward. She looked up, and he had a hankering for warm Christmas brandy heated by the glow in her eyes. Instantly tempered by his self-imposed wariness of mere physical attraction. He took another pace and held out his hand.
‘Hello, Cassie.’
She wiped hers on her thighs before accepting.
‘Dust. Hello, Jack. Mel’s mentioned you a few times.’
The Millionaire's Redemption Page 16
