“Convenient.” He gave a self-deprecating scoff. “You asked for a marriage of convenience.”
“You had kissed me twice and hadn’t proposed! I thought you didn’t want to marry me! Why else would you leave?”
“Because I wanted to court you properly, to try to do the right thing! Blazes, Jasmine! What’s worse is I can’t be angry, because I got what I wanted.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Were you in love with me then?”
Jasmine paused, and Matthew waited.
Turning the key had been an act of desperation. She had loved him, had wanted him. But not like this, where she couldn’t breathe without him, couldn’t imagine a future that didn’t have him in it. Would she have the strength to push him away if that was best for him?
“No,” she admitted. “I didn’t love you then.”
He nodded.
The silence between them filled with the creaking of an old house, the ticking of a clock, and Matthew’s steady breathing. She didn’t know what to say, how to make it better.
“Please say something,” she whispered.
“My mind hasn’t changed.” As if in surrender, he said, “I want to be your husband, but I don’t want it like this, Jasmine. I don’t want to fight. I can’t force you to love me.”
She wanted to say something romantic, but the words kept spilling out of her. She hadn’t fallen in love, but had grown into it. Love hadn’t happened for her in one grand moment, but a collection of small ones. Times when their eyes would meet over a table, when the sound of his voice eased her worries, and through countless smiles she had overlooked. So sure that love should be wild and reckless, she hadalmost missed it completely. All she had needed to do was open her eyes. Matthew had always been there, and she had never truly seen him.
But she did now.
And Jasmine had a confession of her own to make.
“Matthew, I love younow.” Tears flowed from her once more. “I want to be your wife. The woman you return to after a long day. To laugh with you, and have you hold me when I’m scared. To holdyouwhen you doubt yourself. Iknowyou. You aren’t evil or broken. You have my entire heart, and Iloveyou—”
He pressed his lips to hers, and she melted into him. They fit together perfectly—as they had all along. Like a key opening a lock, welcoming her home.
“I’ve been in love with you since our first dance, Jasmine.” And her heartachedwith the longing in his voice. “You were so nervous, your hands were shaking.” He gave a soft laugh. “But when we danced, it was only me and you. You relaxed, giggled, and my heart soared.Like we were made for each other.” Holding her gaze, he whispered, “I have loved you in every moment since.”
“You should have said something. It would have made a difference.”
“I wanted to,” he said. “The timing was never right, and I had nothing to offer you, either way. When I finally did, I asked your father for his blessing.”
“And he gave it to you?”
“He’s given it to me four times now.”
She buried her head in his chest and fought wrenching waves of grief. He had waited an eternity for her—opening his watch to her portrait, counting the minutes slipping away from them.
“Why did you let me leave for Spain? You told me to leave. You shut a door in my face.”
“I couldn’t ask you to marry a murderer, have my children, and walk the streets in shame. Better for you to be a world away than bear the curse of being my wife.”
“I would have done it gladly,”she said. “Don’t push me away this time, let me love you.”
“Let’s do it right this time,” he whispered, pulling her close. He kissed her slowly. “How do you say ‘I love you’ in Spanish?”
She pressed her lips to his, allowing him to feel the words, “Te amo.”
Jasmine felt the smile on Matthew’s lips as he repeated, “Te amo.”
And in that moment, it was only the two of them. Who knew when they would be alone again? The future was unpredictable, and right now she only wanted him. Cupping Matthew’s face in her hands, she gazed into his amber eyes.
“Start over with me one more time,” she breathed. “Make love to me.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
