Bad Boy (An Indecent Proposal) - J.C. Reed Page 0,77
man I had never met. At a man I had no desire to ever meet. “I think I’m ready to move on and forget.
“That won’t be possible, Laurie,” he whispered. “You need closure. It doesn’t have to be now, or tomorrow, but someday, you will have to seek it out. And Kade will need it, too. Just not as long as he’s fighting his demons.”
“I know.” I eyed him. “I don’t blame Kade. The last thing I’d want is for him to feel abandoned. But there’s a letter my mom wanted him to have. I don’t know what to do with it.”
“Save it for the right time. Maybe after the trial’s over.”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “How much longer is it going to take?”
“The judge is a friend of mine. The case will be over before the end of summer.” His eyes grew distant, and when he spoke, his tone was low. “That’s when you’ll get your divorce. Just like you wanted.” His gaze was tense, an open question. “That’s what you want, right, Laurie?”
I bit my lip so hard, I could almost taste the blood. “I really missed you, Chase,” I said instead.
“You don’t have to lie,” he repeated the words I’d said in Acapulco.
I laughed. “It’s the truth.”
“So you say.” His eyes sparkled, and for a moment there was silence.
He cast his eyes down, avoiding my gaze. I pondered what else to say, how to convey just how I had missed him without giving away the true magnitude of my feelings for him. His gaze met mine, and I realized his expression had changed.
There was a glint in his eyes. The same glint I had glimpsed in Acapulco. My heart lurched as my feelings began to crush me.
“It’s been three months,” Chase said slowly.
“Yes.” I forced myself to smile, but my nerves got the best of me. “Time flies, doesn’t it?”
He shook his head. “Sadly, not for me, no.” His fingers began to trace circles on my naked arm. The familiar gesture was so erotic, my breath hitched and slow pull settled between my legs. “Are you sure you want the divorce because, you know…” Standing, he retrieved something from his back pocket and pushed it across the table.
I peered at the jewelry box, stunned.
“You still have it?” I asked.
“Yes. I sleep with it next to my pillow.” He winked, making it impossible to tell whether he was joking, or not. “Besides, this is worth a fortune.”
“Now you’re being stingy.”
“I know, right?” He winked.
Definitely joking.
I shook my head. “Why, Chase?”
“You know why. I already told you a hundred times. I’ll gladly repeat it if you need to hear it again.” He smiled gently. “I’m in love with you.”
His choice of words rendered me silent. It was no longer ‘I’m falling in love with you more and more every day.’ It was ‘I’m love with you.’
Definite.
Period.
“You really mean that?” I asked, my voice breathy.
He nodded and leaned over the table. His grip on my hand tightened. “I’ve never been more serious in my life. Indeed, if the situation wasn’t so tense, I would have asked you a question.”
“What question?”
He slid over, occupying the seat next to mine, and pressed my hand against his heart. “I would have asked you to marry me. In fact, that was the first thought that occurred to me back in the lift, when I thought we were about to die. I wanted to ask you to be my wife.”
I leaned back, my gaze connected with his, my mind devoid of thoughts.
When the meaning of his words finally dawned on me, I let out a laugh. “So you admit you thought we were going to die. Because I remember I kept insisting the possibility very much existed, and you kept claiming otherwise.”
He grimaced. “Now that it’s over, yes, my beautiful wife, I admit you were right. It took a near death situation to make me fall in love with you, but it happened that day.”
He had been in love with me from the first day we met? “You’re hilarious, Chase.” My eyes filled with tears.
“No, I’m not,” he said quietly. “In all honesty, Laurie, you’re the woman I want in my life. And so…” He opened the box and slid the ring onto my finger. “I’m asking you to stay my wife.”
“In a nightclub?” I eyed him, then eyed the beautiful ring on my finger. My heart was racing, my soul was flying—metaphorically speaking, my world was spinning.
“Given that you and I haven’t had the most conventional