One Night On The Virgin's Terms - Melanie Milburne Page 0,61
to be there now.’
‘Ivy. Look at me.’ His tone had a note of desperation about it, his expression etched in remorse. ‘I can’t begin to tell you how much I regret how I handled things in Paris. I was a fool to let you go like that. I don’t know why it took me all this time to see what has been staring me in the face from the start. You were right when you said I wasn’t being true to myself. I wasn’t. I was living a lie, denying any feelings in case they made me vulnerable. But, over the last few days, I’ve come to understand how little I knew myself—the real me. I had stopped listening to my heart for so long, I didn’t recognise the signs that were there all along. I love you. I adore you. I can’t imagine my life without you in it—not just as a friend but as my lover, my partner. My wife.’
Ivy stared at him, speechless, for long, heart-stopping seconds. Was she hearing him correctly or was her mind and the foolish hopes it contained conjuring up the words she longed to hear from him? ‘I don’t know what to say...’
He came to her and grasped her by the shoulders, his eyes pleading. ‘Say yes, mon ange. Say you’ll marry me. Say you’ll have babies with me and build a life together.’
Ivy’s eyes filled with happy tears, joy bursting out of every cell in her body. She threw her arms around him and hugged him close. ‘Oh, Louis, you can’t imagine how wonderful it is to hear you say those words. I love you so much. I’ve been so unhappy, so desperately miserable since I left you. I’d given up hope that we could be together.’
He tilted up her face to gaze into her eyes, his face wreathed in a smile. ‘I love you to the depth of my being. I can’t bear the thought of another day without you by my side. Marry me, ma chérie? I need to hear you say yes otherwise I won’t believe you’re really mine at last.’
Ivy pressed a kiss to his lips. ‘Yes, I will marry you. I can think of nothing I’d love more than to be your wife. You’ve made me so happy I can barely stand it.’
He cradled her cheeks in his hand, his eyes so full of love it made her heart contract. ‘I love everything about you. Your goodness and kindness, your ability to always see the good in people instead of focussing on the bad. You have opened my heart like I thought it never could be opened. I feel I can cope with anything with you by my side.’
Ivy stroked his lean jaw. ‘I love everything about you too. You’re kind and generous and hard-working to a fault. You’re everything I’ve ever dreamed of in a partner. I know we’ll be happy together. I will do everything in my power to make you the happiest man on earth.’
‘You made me that by saying yes just now.’ He reached into his jacket pocket and took out the flat rectangular jewellery box she’d left behind in Paris. ‘I want you to have these. They’ll match the pink diamond I’ve purchased to go with them. I thought Millie might like to design our engagement ring.’
Ivy took the velvet box off him and peeped inside to see the pendant, earrings and beside them a loose pink diamond. ‘Oh, Louis, that’s so thoughtful of you. She’ll be tickled pink. Ha ha.’ She closed the box and put it to one side so she could return to his warm and loving embrace. Back where she belonged. ‘But what changed your mind about being with me?’
‘My dad had a heart scare a few days ago. I spent a fair bit of time sitting with my mother while he was being attended to in hospital. I came to understand the dynamic between them a little better. They don’t always show it but they truly care about each other. And something you said a while back really started to resonate with me. You said at least my father hadn’t run off with someone else but had stayed loyal to my mother. I’d always seen that he’d stayed out of fear of her trying to take her life again, but he stayed with her because he loved her and didn’t want to lose her. He’d only suggested a separation all those years ago because she was