“Get over it,” he said curtly. “So maybe your grandfather tried to control you—there’s lots worse problems—like not having enough food to eat, not having a home.”
She nodded slowly, remembering her father’s futile efforts to hold on to a job and how tired her mother had been coming home after cleaning houses all day. “I know I shouldn’t complain…but it’s not just the control. When I moved in with my grandfather, everyone treated me differently. People who never would have given me the time of day suddenly sought me out. Everyone laughed at every stupid joke I told. Men told me I was the most beautiful, exciting, wonderful woman ever to walk the earth. I never knew for sure who really meant what they said.”
Garek opened his mouth to dismiss her excuse, then paused. Actually, what she said had some truth in it. He’d experienced it himself.
“Rafe told me he loved me, but he couldn’t dump me fast enough when my grandfather disinherited me,” she continued, not noticing his distraction. “People think about me differently, knowing I have all that money. You probably think of me differently.”
Again, he started to deny it, then paused, realizing that it was true. In a few, fundamental ways, their relationship had completely changed. No longer was he the wealthy businessman rescuing the poor working girl from a life of poverty. In some way that he hadn’t even recognized until now, his money had given him an advantage over her. A sense of superiority, perhaps, a sense that she should be grateful to him.
His financial status no longer gave him that edge over her—in fact, the exact opposite was true. She had more money than he did. The thought wasn’t pleasant.
Frowning, he looked at her. “I suppose it does change things—”
She stepped back, a stricken look coming over her face. “I understand—”
He reached out and grabbed her arm. “No, you don’t, Ellie. I can’t deny that it changes how people will look at us. But it doesn’t change how I feel about you.”
She looked at him. “And exactly how do you feel about me, Garek?”
He let go of her arm. He stood silently, not speaking. Ellie felt as though her heart was cracking in two. She turned again to leave, but then he spoke, his voice quiet.
“That painting,” he said. “Woman in Blue.”
She stopped in her tracks.
“I didn’t like it at first. It made no sense, the colors and shapes seemed haphazard and inexplicable. But when I looked harder, I noticed a balance in the picture, an equilibrium that somehow connected all the elements together. And then I noticed how intense the blue was. How bright. How true.”
She felt him standing behind her. “It’s you, isn’t it, Ellie? Woman in Blue is you. It took me a long time to figure it out, but I finally did. And that’s when everything became clear.”
He took her shoulders and turned her to face him. “I’ve made a lot of stupid mistakes, Ellie, like asking you to sign that prenuptial agreement. You gave me a second chance once, and now I’m having to ask you for a third one. This relationship business is a lot harder than I realized. But I’m willing to learn. I’m a hard worker and I’ll do whatever it takes to make our relationship work because I love you, Ellie. I love you, and if you’ll marry me, I’ll spend the rest of my life proving it to you.”
“Oh, Garek.” She smiled shakily. “I love you so much.”
And then, suddenly, she was in his arms and he was kissing her as if she was more valuable, more beautiful, more precious than a museum full of the finest art in the world.
“Oh, Garek,” she sighed again when they finally had to come up for oxygen. Her cheeks stung from the scrape of his whiskers, but she was too happy to care. “Let’s give the lawyers the prenuptial agreement and go.”
He brushed a curl back from her forehead, his fingers lingering on her skin. “What prenuptial agreement?”
“The one Larry prepared. When I really thought about it, I realized that I’ve let money control me. I believed money was causing all my problems. But it was me and my own fear causing the problems, not the money. I knew I loved you too much to let anything spoil what we had. I have the contract right here, all signed.” She pulled the sheaf of papers out of her purse.