“I won’t use him against you,” she vowed. “I know that’s hard for you to believe, but I won’t.”
He nodded absently, gaze fixed on the middle distance.
“You don’t have to be like your dad, you know. The company doesn’t have to be your sole focus. You can make other choices.”
You can love your family. Love us. Love me.
She didn’t say it. She was a little put out with herself for thinking it. For yearning for it. They were in a very good place. She didn’t want to want more from him.
But she did. Because she was falling in love with him.
“I know,” he murmured and brought her hand up to kiss the back of it.
She waited, but he didn’t say anything more than that.
They were served a meal soon after, and she moved into the stateroom when she finished, wanting a nap before they landed, but her heart was still panging with yearning.
Fliss didn’t know how Saint managed the time change so easily. He rose to shower a few hours after they arrived, whispering that she should continue sleeping. It felt like the middle of the night, so she did exactly that. Granted, Saint wasn’t growing a whole other human, but despite her nap on the flight, she was exhausted and thankful for the lazy day where she only had to meet with the estate agent for an hour in the afternoon.
They had dinner with some of his London executives that evening. They were photographed going into the restaurant, but she was used to the attention now. Aside from dressing strategically to promote fellow designers, she ignored the cameras and shouting.
The next day, Saint arranged a car to take her to Nottingham to visit with Mrs. Bhamra. This was for Fliss, since he was busy working all day. They would have a proper dinner with the woman and her family later in the week so Saint could meet everyone.
Fliss picked up a text from Saint as she was leaving the hotel.
I asked the driver to bring you to me on your way out of the city.
At the office? Why?
You’ll see.
A few minutes later, the car pulled into a posh square in Knightsbridge. Saint waited outside a beautiful town house.
“Are we looking at a house?” she asked as he helped her from the car.
“No. You look lovely.”
“Thank you.” She picked up her saucy ballet flat with its colorful pink ribbon, giving the hem of her stretchy knit skirt a lift. The powder blue hugged her bump and hips before falling to her knees. A lacy white crop top with long sleeves and a scalloped hem covered her arms and upper torso.
Saint brought her into the foyer where a guard touched his hat in greeting. At the elevator, Saint tapped in a code.
“This is starting to feel like a secret location for spies or—Oh.”
The doors opened into a sparkling wonderland. A jewelry shop. A very, very exclusive one if the thick glass and security precautions and displayed tiaras were anything to go on.
A woman introduced herself as Ms. Smythe. She had long black hair, bright mauve lips and vintage-style sunglasses with yellow lenses that sat low on her nose.
“Ah. My earrings found their owner after all,” Ms. Smythe said with warm approval. “They suit you.”
“Oh. Thank you. I do love them,” Fliss said sincerely, touching one self-consciously.
“Please make yourself comfortable.” She waved at a love seat with a low table before it.
Fliss’s heart clenched as she saw the array of diamond rings in a specialized black tray waiting on the table.
“I’ve prepared a selection for you to peruse, but it’s only a starting point. I can also create a custom piece once I have a sense of your taste. Shall I fetch some nonalcoholic bubbly?”
“Yes.” Saint nodded at Ms. Smythe. “Give us a moment, if you don’t mind.”
He brought Fliss to the table. She could hardly breathe, realizing what this moment was. Her whole body grew hot, her cheeks stung and her eyes welled.
“I keep thinking,” Saint began gravely while circling his hand in her lower back.
She looked up at him, wanting to capture and memorize everything about his proposal. He was as handsome as ever, still looking freshly shaved and crisp from his morning shower. His suit was a lightweight sage green, his collar bone white, as was his tie. His mouth was twitching as though he wasn’t as steady on the inside as he looked on the outside, and his dark coffee eyes were so compelling she could have fallen into them.
“For the baby’s sake...” he continued in a voice that was growing husky.
For the baby’s sake.
She knew that wasn’t the best reason to marry, but it was a good one. She wanted more commitment between them. She already knew that she wanted to spend her life with him. She loved him.
Oh, God. She loved him.
Her insides felt as though they tilted and glinted, reflecting rainbows through her as she accepted all the lovely colors of love he provoked—the bright yellows and laughing greens, the passionate reds, the introspective blues and the endless fire of pure, white love.
“We should have more commitment between us. You’re shaking.” He reached for her hand. “I should have warned you this morning. Asked. I am asking,” he said wryly. “Will you marry me, Fliss?”
“Yes,” she whispered, blinking to clear her welling eyes, so suffused in the power of her love for him she could hardly speak.
