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When she didn’t reply, something in his expression crumbled. He dropped his shoulders and looked away.
“I’ll get you something better if you don’t…like this one.”
All she could do was shake her head and stare at the size of that diamond. She knew it had taken a few of his paychecks to buy. She knew exactly how much he made. A few times, in between layoffs, his entire paycheck came her way. She never had to ask. He would just say, “Take what you need. It’s a gift, not a loan.”
She didn’t love him, didn’t want to play with him or his emotions. She’d done enough of that already. Every time she got on her feet again, she returned every penny, but he always found a way to get the money back into the house one way or another—paying her bills ahead of time, buying things for the house, or for her.
Mario was a good person, but the only thing they had in common was great sex. He
wasn’t as educated as she thought her man should be—he had only a high school diploma. She had never considered him permanent mate material. She had been comfortable with the way things were, and saw no reason to change—until her need for religion took over.
Glancing at him, she thought about his proposal. She thought about him: handsome, so very handsome, sweet, kind, loving, and passionate. She felt a sharp pain pierce her heart. She couldn’t take his ring. He deserved her honesty.
“Mario, I care for you, but I can’t say that it’s more than that.”
He crooked his mouth into something that wasn’t quite a smile.
“I know that, baby,” he said, stroking her face gently. “I know you try to keep it that way. You’ve never talked to me about your true feelings, or even tried to explore what we have. I still want to be with you. It’ll be all right. You’ll love me in your way. It’s only a matter of time.”
Amazed at his determination, she silently studied this gorgeous, generous man.
“Niyah, you’re the only woman I’ve ever been with who treated me like I was worth something. I might not be the man you think you need, but for the last two years, I’ve been more than enough. You’ve shared some of your feelings, your good times and bad. You’ve shared yourself.” He smiled warmly, stroking his hands across hers. “I might not have a lot, but I would have the world if I had you.” Mario looked different as he poured his soul out to her, stating his case with confidence and strength.
Why didn’t she see that before in him? How had she missed it?
“Even though you’ve held back sometimes, you’ve always thought about what I wanted, too.” Mario kissed her gently on the lips. “I’ve been with other women. I know when a person tries to use me. You never did—even when I gave you everything I had. I know you even stopped mentioning when you needed help because you knew I wouldn’t take back the money.” He shrugged sadly. “It hurt me when you wouldn’t come to me. You know I would give you anything. I’ve always considered you my woman, not just someone I sleep with.”
She winced. Because she’d been trying so hard to keep her heart safe, that’s all she saw him as—a sex partner. The guilt washed over her. She wondered how often the man had looked at her, read her, understood her.
Mario glanced at her, taking in her grim expression, and lowered his gaze.
“Maybe you saw things differently, Niyah, but all I know is that you’ve shown me in many ways that you really care. And you give yourself to me in a way that’s pure…cielo.” Heaven! She looked away, but he softly turned her face toward him until she was looking deep into his dark brown eyes. “Helping you is the least I want to do for you. That’s what a man does for the woman he loves.”
Shocked and moved by his admission, she found it hard to breathe.
Mario placed his warm hand over the delicate curve of her fingers. “I want to show you something.” Pulling a slip of paper out of his pants pocket, he presented her with the receipt for the ring. Scanning the description, she noticed he had used Wite-Out on the price. She smiled. Mario wasn’t trying to impress her. That’s how he was. Simple, giving, and honest. He wanted her to see the date of the purchase—two years ago. He had been holding on to the ring for a long time—long before she decided to stop seeing him!
Speechless, overwhelmed with emotion, tears welled up in her eyes and overflowed down her cheeks in spite of her best efforts to keep them at bay. She wanted to pull away, but his embrace kept her in place. He brushed his lips gently across her cheeks, licking away the tears one by one, and reaching deep into her soul.
Slowly lowering to one knee, he kept her hands in his.
“Niyah, will you marry me? I understand how you feel. For a while I’ll just have to have enough love for the both of us. Anything you want is yours. I need you and I would be wrong if I didn’t fight for this, because I know deep down you need me, too.”
Her heart raced and hurt all at the same time. Her emotions wouldn’t allow her to speak or even whisper a single word.
Mario’s eyes were intent in their constant contact. “I never asked you before. I was afraid of what your answer would be.” His gaze lowered slowly. “If you said you wouldn’t marry me, it would prove you weren’t looking at me as a man—you only saw me for how good the sex was.” He shrugged. “I wasn’t ready to hear that. I wanted you to see that I could be so much more to you. At times I thought you did.”
He stood slowly, linking their hands. “Sometimes when I’m at work and I’m around all those other men—men who are supposed to be smarter, or who are older—I see and hear their unhappiness. They talk about how their wives and girlfriends don’t seem to love and respect them. But you’ve never been like that. You treat me with love and respect in the way you do things and how you talk to me. That’s all I ask.”
His piercing, dark brown eyes reached into her soul. “Before you stopped seeing me, you’d treat me like a husband: loving me, listening to me, caring for me, cooking dinner for me every night, making sure I had everything I needed for work.”
His beautiful smile tugged at her heart.
“You didn’t have to do that. But I needed it. I needed you.” He kissed the back of her hand, sending shivers of pleasure through her body. “It’s so hard to find a woman with the right combination of everything. I had to do this, Niyah. I had to make things right for us. You have always been…mi vida—my life.”
He wrapped his arms around her as she laid her head against the beat of his heart. His deep, resonating voice penetrated her soul.
“Baby, my apartment has been the loneliest place since you’ve sent me away. That’s why I’m here every night, standing outside, not trying to hurt you, not trying to stalk you. I’m only trying to make my way in. This is where my heart is. You’re holding it hostage. You always have, but you’ve been too stubborn to see it.” He began stroking her back.
