Forever Shade
Page 14
Smiling, I look down at my plate again.
“Why do you have to bring that up?” he asks, prompting me to lift my gaze.
“Because I like to see your face going through colors.”
“It’s not funny,” he says.
“I know, I’m sorry,” I say, unable to suppress a smile. “And other than that?”
“I used to come here as often as I could,” he says as he briefly sets his eyes in the distance.
The sea is calm, a few ships lighting up the dark waters.
I look at him in silence.
“I love this place as much as you do. Besides, it always reminded me of you,” he says, swinging his gaze back at me, no longer smiling.
“I didn’t use much help around the house this year. I just wanted to be by myself. I thought that…”
He pauses, smiling faintly, and looking at his glass of wine before he shifts his eyes to me.
“I thought that you would’ve liked it that way. And I envisioned how my life would’ve been had you been here with me.”
I swallow the last bit of food before I drink wine as well, my eyes trained on him.
“How would have been?” I ask, stroking Sparky.
A small smile tugs at his lips.
“In the summer, I imagined you dressed in colorful cotton dresses, and gladiator sandals, going on foot to the market and coming home before we both cooked lunch or dinner. And then I imagined us on the terrace, drinking coffee and eating croissants. Making love in the mornings, in the afternoons, in the evenings and late at night. I imagined you down in the cove, lying on the sand, your skin golden like the sun, your eyes blue like the sea, your hot body mine to love it till the end of time…”
He looks at me, his eyes soft, light up by a grin.
“I know it sounds poetic.”
“I like the way it sounds.”
His smile dies out as his gaze trails down.
“The truth is I was a coward,” he admits unexpectedly.
He brings his eyes to mine.
“Yes, I was… I acted out of fear. I was afraid I’d lose you, and that’s exactly what happened. I thought that time would work for me, for us. That me leaving you behind with this perfect love story would protect you from everything.”
“It did.”
“I know. But that wasn’t enough. You can’t stop life from happening. And we, in many regards–– were so lucky, to be able to find each other in the end. But again, it wasn’t enough.”
A few more moments pass by.
“So anyway, that’s how my life was this past year. There wasn’t much structure in my life, my work deadlines were tight, and my heart was yours.”
He throws it casually as if he talks about a mundane thing.
“In the winter, I spent a lot of weekends here as well. As I was reading and drawing I tried to figure out what you would’ve done. I imagined this place warm and smelling like food. You reading with me as you always did. Telling me stories while sifting through old pictures.”
“Why pictures?”
He shrugs.
“I remembered that picture of yours with your dog and your grandparents. I mean the dog that wasn’t your dog…”
I smile, my gaze going blank as I trail it down, the images he painted with his words flashing in front of my eyes.
“It would’ve been a good life,” I say, raising my eyes.
He studies my face for a few seconds.
“It could be a very good life,” he mutters.
“For one, we can never live here. Not for a few years, at least.”
“Maybe, but we can spend summers here. Even winters.”
I observe him for a moment.
“What are you saying?”
“We can do anything you want.”
“It’s really up to me?”
He nods.
“Mmm-hmm.”
“What else have you seen in your perfect life with me?”
He rests his elbows on the table, and nods in my direction, grinning.
“I’ve seen him,” he says,
I laugh.
“Sparky?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“How?”
“You always said that you wanted a dog. I pictured a dog in our life as well. Maybe more.”
“Okay… What else?”
He starts playing with his lighter, his gaze tipped down, his smile charming me.
A beautiful thought flashes across his face, making his features even more handsome.
“A little girl with sparkling blue eyes and long brown hair like you.”
My lips tilt into a grin as well.
“And perhaps a little boy with green eyes and blonde hair like you,” I add.
“Perhaps,” he says, laughing softly.
A few moments tick by.
“I can’t believe that you had all that in your mind.”
“I did,” he says seriously as he pushes to his feet. “I’ll show you the proof,” he adds on his way out.
“Where are you going?” I ask swiveling in my seat, waking Sparky.
He looks up at me and yawns before he rolls in my arms, turning his belly up.
I slowly set him on a pillow in the basket sitting next to me. Once he feels the comfort of the wool cover beneath his belly he sets his head on his front paws and falls asleep again.
“Good boy,” I say, stroking his back just as Shade reenters the room carrying a small box and a piece of paper.
My eyebrows tilt up.
He sets a red velvet jewelry box on the table. It has two gold initials imprinted on the lid. T, and H.
Concealing the price on the receipt, he points to the corner where I can spot the purchase date.
He bought it six months ago.
Once he makes sure that I notice the date, he removes the receipt from the table and slips it into his pocket.
I lift my gaze.
He slips back into his seat.
“Now, you know,” he says.
“May I see it?”
“No,” he says seriously.
My eyebrows flick up.
“No?”
“Of course, you can see it.”
Carefully, I lift the lid, his eyes on my face, reading my reaction.
My eyes widen even more.
“Shade… Oh, my God. This must’ve cost a fortune,” I mutter as I take in the diamond ring.
“Would you like to try it on?”
His question takes me by surprise.
“Um… Yes. Of course.”
He removes it from the box and slides it on my finger.
“It fits perfectly,” I say.
“That’s a good sign, isn’t it?” he tosses at me, grinning.
The more I look at the piece of jewelry, the more my thoughts paint a different picture and I learn about a different timeline.
“You’ve had this ring all this time.”
“Yes, I have.”
“When we met for the first business meeting.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“And the night you brought in an escort that looked liked me.”
“Yes.”
“What did you plan on doing with it?”
“I had it with me in Bariloche. I planned on proposing to you there, but you blew me off.”
A sad smile clings to his lips while mine dies out.
“It wasn’t a good time,” I murmur, saddened as well.
“I know,” he says. “Truth is…” he starts a moment later. “I wanted to propose to you last year before Elia pulled that stunt on me. Her revelations came earlier than I expected and the fallout impossible to stop. I didn’t have the ring back then and couldn’t buy it without raising suspicion. That was bad timing as well,” he concludes thoughtfully. “It was never a good time, I guess.”
He looks down, regrets reading on his face.
My hand slides to his forearm. The hand wearing the engagement ring.
“Not, until now.”
&
nbsp; He tips his gaze up slowly and looks at me incredulously.
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly what you heard.”
He laughs.
“Are you messing with me?”
“I wouldn’t dare, Shade Hennessy. I’m not that kind of woman. Ask me.”
Slowly he picks up my hand and brings it to his lips. He leaves a soft kiss on the back of my knuckles before he mutters the most amazing words.
“Tara Hart… Will you marry me?”
His eyes glint with a grin as I slowly nod.
“Yes, I will.”
I look at him, my eyes brimming with love.
His eyes glowing with an affectionate smile.
He leans to me, his eyes and kiss and smile telling me the same thing that his words say.
“I love you, baby.”
A flutter spurs in my chest as my mind absorbs his words.
“I love you too, Shade.”
“And I will love you till the end of time,” he murmurs, nostalgically.
“Till the end of time,” I say before he locks my lips again.
THE END.
Thank you for reading The Golden Heir Series. If you like Tara and Shade, you may want to check the spin off series, Shades of Love, A Billionaire Dark Romance. They make a few appearances in Book 2 and 3.
Shades of Love features a mysterious lead man that was part of Shade and Tara’s story.
Also by Shayne Ford
LOVE IS WAR SERIES
A Dark Mystery Romance
FALLEN (Love is War Series #1)
BROKEN (Love is War Series #2)
TAKEN (Love is War Series #3)
OWNED (Love is War Series #4)
NIGHT OF THE KINGS SERIES
A Billionaire Romance
JAMES (Night of the Kings Series #1)
DARK JAMES (Night of the Kings Series #2)
TAMING JAMES (Night of the Kings Series #3)
ALEXANDER (Night of the Kings Series #4)
HARD LEX (Night of the Kings Series #5)
LOVING LEX (Night of the Kings Series #6)
EDWARD (Night of the Kings #7)
WILD ED (Night of the Kings #8)
TAMING ED (Night of the Kings #9)
FIGHTING ED (Night of the Kings#10)
LOVING ED (Night of the Kings #11)
DARK HEART SERIES
A Dark Romance
JADEN (Dark Heart Series #1)
WILD JADEN (Dark Heart Series #2)
JADEN’S HEART (Dark Heart Series #3)
SHADES OF LOVE
A Billionaire Dark Romance
DARK MCKENNA (Shades of Love #1)
REAL MCKENNA (Shades of Love #2)
MCKENNA (Shades of Love #3)
GOLDEN HEIR SERIES
A Billionaire Romance
SHADE (Golden Heir Series #1)
LOVING SHADE (Golden Heir Series #2)
FOREVER SHADE (Golden Heir Series #3)
WILD HEART SERIES, A Menage (MMF) Romance
JAGGER (Wild Heart Series #1)
LOVING JAGGER (Wild Heart Series #2)
LOVING BRAXTON (Wild Heart Series #3)
WILD NIGHTS (Wild Heart Series #4)
FINDING HOME (Wild Heart Series #5)
STEEL SERIES (A Rock Star Romance)
A Rock Star Romance
Layla’s Story
River Steel (Steel Series #1)
Loving River (Steel Series #2)
River’s Story (Companion Books to Layla’s Books)
River (Steel Series #3)
River’s Heart (Steel Series #4)
About the Author
Shayne Ford writes New Adult, Erotic Romance novels. 18+ audience only. The male cast includes Rock Stars, Billionaires, Bad Boys, Alphas with a heart, and the sweet, strong man you may find next door. The stories are emotional and deliciously hot. Sometimes they're unconventional, and sometimes they are a bit dark.
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www.shayneford.com
shayne@shayneford.com