by Joanna Neil
‘I just know we’ll be perfect together,’ he said, coming up for air, his voice rough around the edges. ‘It won’t be like it was for my parents—I’m not the same person as my father. I don’t need to go looking at other women because I know you’re the one for me. I love you. I thought—’ He broke off. ‘It felt as though you loved me, too.’ He looked at her, his eyes shimmering with passionate intensity.
She smiled, her lips parting in invitation. ‘I do, Connor. I do. I wasn’t sure you could love me in return.’
‘What’s not to love? You’re gentle, thoughtful, caring…I’ve never met anyone like you, and I know we make up two halves of the whole. We’re right for one another. I just needed to get my head right and see past the mistakes my father made, that’s all. That’s not going to happen with us. I know that we’re right for one another.’
‘That’s how I feel, too.’ She wrapped her arms around him and he gave a deep sigh of contentment, holding her close for a long time while the birds called to one another overhead and the sea lapped desultorily at the fringes of the beach.
After a while, he stirred and said huskily, ‘I’d almost forgotten your birthday present. It’s in a drawer in the apartment.’ He clasped her hand firmly in his. ‘Come with me and I’ll get it for you.’
They walked back along the beach towards the house. ‘I wasn’t sure what to do for the best, but then I talked to Carys, and she said what I had in mind would be just right.’ He frowned. ‘I hope you like it. I’m still not sure…I mean, I could have…’ He stopped talking as she came to a halt and placed her fingers on his lips.
‘Whatever it is, I know I’ll love it, because you gave to me.’ She sent him a thoughtful glance. ‘Is this what you and Carys were talking about that day—before you took her to the airport?’
He frowned, and she said, ‘I saw you both on the deck. Your heads were close together, and at first I thought…well, it doesn’t matter what I thought, but perhaps that was when you were discussing it? Is that why you wanted to drive her there?’
He nodded, but studied her cautiously. ‘What went through your mind when you saw us?’
She wriggled her shoulders. ‘Nothing. It isn’t important.’
He curled his fingers around her upper arms in a firm but gentle clasp. ‘You thought I was making a play for her, didn’t you?’
She tried to escape from his grasp but he wasn’t letting her go until she answered him.
‘Okay, yes…It did cross my mind. Only I gave it a lot of thought and decided I had to learn to trust you. If I couldn’t do that, we were doomed, and I really wanted us to have a chance.’
He gave a shuddery sigh. ‘Next time you have any doubts or worries, talk to me about them. Promise me?’
‘I will. I promise.’ She gave him a tremulous smile. ‘It was hard for me, Connor. I was badly hurt when James cheated on me, and I could see the same thing happening all over again.’ She breathed deeply. ‘Then I came to my senses and decided that I was willing to risk everything by putting my faith in you.’
‘I will never, ever let you down, Alyssa. Believe me.’
He tugged on her hand and they started towards the house once more. ‘Mind you,’ he said, almost as an afterthought, ‘I had to explain my motives to Ross when I arrived back home. He wasn’t at all happy that I’d pipped him to the post by driving Carys to the airport.’
Alyssa laughed. ‘Yes, I remember he was very quiet that night.’
They went into Connor’s apartment and he went straight over to a bureau in the sitting room and took out a box that was about half the size of a shoebox. He held it out to her.
‘Happy birthday,’ he said.
She took it from him, gazing at it in wonder. It was beautifully wrapped in gold foil and tied with a pretty silver ribbon. ‘It’s so lovely, it seems a shame to open it,’ she said softly.
‘Please do. I really need to know if you like it, if I’ve done the right thing…I could always…’
She stopped him with a glance and a slight rise of her eyebrow. He laughed. ‘Okay, I won’t say any more. I’ve never felt so nervous…’
Carefully, she undid the wrapping and there inside was an exquisite, hand-carved jewellery box, heart-shaped and decorated with an inlaid pattern and delicate enamelling in the shape of a rose.
‘Oh, Connor,’ she gasped. ‘This is beautiful. You made it yourself, didn’t you? That’s why you were anxious. You shouldn’t have been. It’s absolutely lovely.’
He breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Open it up,’ he urged her.
She did as he asked, lifting the lid to reveal a velvet lined interior with sections for necklaces and rings. And in the centre there was another small box, again with an enamelled flower decoration. She lifted it out, and Connor took the jewellery box from her, putting it to one side on a table.
Alyssa’s heart began to pound. ‘Is this what I think it is?’
He nodded but didn’t say anything more, and she carefully opened the box.
Nestling on a bed of silk was a sparkling diamond ring. The gemstones were dazzling, reflecting the sunlight, and the flawless setting took her breath away.
‘I’ve never seen anything so lovely,’ she said huskily. ‘It’s stunning…’
‘That’s another reason I had to have Carys’s help,’ he murmured. ‘I needed to get the right size, and she said she had a ring that fitted you. We took the measurement from it.’
‘No wonder you were so secretive,’ she breathed. ‘I’d no idea.’
‘Let me slip it on your finger,’ he said. He smiled. ‘Third finger, left hand…’ He held up the ring and pulled in a deep breath. ‘Will you marry me, Alyssa?’
‘Oh, yes. I will. I do love you, Connor,’ she said, her voice husky with emotion.
‘I love you.’
He slipped the ring on her finger, and they stood by the open doors of his sitting room, arms around one another, gazing at the ring and looking out over the vista of the ocean. Alyssa sighed happily. This was truly their paradise island, and a dream come true.
ISBN-13: 9781460376935
HIS BRIDE IN PARADISE
© Joanna Neil 2012
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