His dark gaze settled on her face. “Is that all that happened?”
“It’s all I’m going to admit to.”
“I’m giving a toast tonight. At the dinner. I would appreciate it if you’d listen to it and tell me where I can improve it.”
He wanted her advice? Even worse, she was pathetic enough to be willing to give it.
“Fine. Read away.”
He pulled a piece of paper out of his shirt pocket and unfolded it. “The Bible tells us that love is kind. Scholars tell us that love can change the course of history. Scientists tell us that love is chemical. Poets tell us that love is eternal. But true love is so much more than that. It’s about believing and risking. It’s about committing to always being there for one person and believing that person will be there for you. Love is about hanging on through the roller-coaster ride of life. Love is having faith, in yourself and the person you love. For Julie and Ryan, love is who they are.”
His words wrapped around her like a hug. She wanted to both laugh and cry, but mostly she wanted to go to him and tell him that no matter what, she would always love him. That’s what love was for her. How had he known?
Instead she said, “It’s lovely. They’ll be deeply touched.”
He took a step toward her. “I mean it. For a long time I didn’t know what to say about them getting married. I thought Ryan was a fool for trusting Julie. Eventually she won me over and I was happy for him. But not envious. I never wanted what he had…until now.” He smiled wryly. “Not Julie—the in-love part.”
“Good to know,” she managed to say even though her throat felt tight. What was he saying? That he cared? That he wanted to care? That she mattered?
“You know my past,” he said. “You know why I hold myself back, never really getting emotionally involved. You know what I’m afraid of.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe I just admitted I’m afraid.”
Neither could she. “I do know why.”
“When you said you were pregnant, I thought you were just like them,” he said, staring into her eyes. “I was angry, but more at me than at you. I was angry at myself for wanting you to be different. For wanting to believe you hadn’t tricked me. I said a lot of things I shouldn’t have said. I was wrong. Because you’re not like them.”
Her eyes filled with tears, but she blinked them away. He took a step toward her.
“Marina, when you told me there wasn’t a baby, I was devastated. I want to have children with you. I love you. I want to marry you and grow old with you. I want to live with you in that damn house of mine and have you change everything in my world. I want to believe in forever.”
She was already on the emotional edge, barely able to believe he was actually speaking these words to her. Then he stunned her by dropping to one knee, taking her hand in his and asking, “Can you forgive me? Can you give me another chance? Will you take that step of faith and believe in me? Will you marry me?”
She didn’t mean to burst into tears, but she did. She also managed to nod and that must have been enough because then Todd was standing and pulling her close. She went into his embrace and knew she would always feel safe when she was with him.
He held her tightly against him. “I love you,” he whispered into her ear. “I think I’ve loved you from the first. It was safe to be friends and so I let down my guard. One day I woke up and you were a part of me. I’m so sorry for what I said, how I reacted.”
“It’s okay. I understand.” She looked at him and smiled through her tears. “I love you, too.”
He wiped her face with his fingers. “I’m glad you didn’t change your mind.”
“I wanted to, but I couldn’t. I seem to be a one-man woman.”
“Thank God.”
She laughed and so did he. Then he kissed her. At the first brush of his mouth, her whole world righted itself.
“We need to get to the rehearsal,” he said when they came up for air. “But first…”
He pulled a small box out of his slacks front pocket. “This belonged to my grandmother. If you don’t like it, we can pick out something else.”
He opened the box and she gasped. Nestled in the velvet lining was a sparkling diamond ring. A huge, round center stone was surrounded by other diamonds. The light glinted off the facets and nearly blinded her.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered, “but it’s really…”
“Big?” He grinned. “We Astons don’t do anything by halves. It’s about eight carats total.”
“Wow.”
“Too much?”
“I’ll adjust.”
He slipped the ring on her finger and it fit perfectly.
“It was meant for you,” he said just before he kissed her. “I love you, Marina.”
“I love you, too.” She gave herself up to his embrace, then pulled back. “Does this mean there’s going to be a Todd Aston the Fourth?”
“Probably.”
“I can live with that.” She glanced down at her ring, then pulled it off her finger.
He nodded. “After the wedding?”
“If that’s okay. I don’t want to take away the spotlight from Julie and Ryan.”
“I’m good with that. We have our whole lives to celebrate.”
He set the box on her dresser and she put the ring into the box. Then they walked out together.
“I have some very specific ideas about our wedding,” he said as she collected her purse. “Color schemes. Place settings.”
She laughed. “So you think we should plan it together?”
“We did a good job on this one. We’re a great team.”
“Yes, we are.”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-1986-5
Copyright © 2008 Harlequin Books S.A.
The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as follows:
The Substitute Millionaire
Copyright © 2006 Susan Macias Redmond
The Unexpected Millionaire
Copyright © 2006 Susan Macias Redmond
The Ultimate Millionaire
Copyright © 2007 Susan Macias Redmond
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