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He opened the box. A ring. She couldn’t quite believe it until she saw it, sitting right there. A tiny part of her had still been thinking he might have a special box of rare and expensive minerals.
But no. These were diamonds, four of them, flanking a spectacular sapphire.
Five rocks.
“I’ve been looking for you all my life, Sandra. Half the time I didn’t know it. More than half. But I’ve found you now, and it would make my life truly complete if you’d agree to share it.” He slid from the bed and got down on his knees, which meant only his head showed over the top of the mattress. She would have giggled, except his beautiful face was so sincere, and so solemn. Her lovely, sweet Erik, truly hers now, for the rest of her life.
“Sandra McKinley, will you marry me? And yes, money comes with the deal. Because I don’t want you alone and struggling, either.”
“Yes, Erik. Yes, I will marry you.” She touched his face tenderly, happy tears spilling over onto her cheeks. “But I swear I’d take you even if you didn’t have a cent.”
16
“OKAY.” ALLIE STEPPED into the cottage and turned to face Jonas. Rain had blackened his hair and tamped down his curls and was running in droplets down from his temples. His blue eyes were searching. She held up the champagne. “Let’s kill this bottle.”
He lifted his eyebrows. “Any left?”
“Not much. Got any more?”
“Not of that stuff.” He took the bottle from her and strode over to the refrigerator, and took out another champagne, an outrageously expensive one. “Looks like if we want any more, we’ll have to make do with this.”
“Oh, for—” She glared at him. “Don’t you do anything like normal people?”
“Um, actually.” He winked at her, suggestively, looking sexier than any man had a right to. “Yes.”
“Oh. Well. That.” Allie found herself smiling at him, when she should be staying strong and letting him know what was what. All of which was a little fuzzy at the moment.
“Jonas.” She drew herself up tall. “I want you to know that I really don’t care about your money.”
“Good.” He took down two flutes from the cabinet and poured out the rest of the Taittinger, a full glass for each of them, which under the circumstances was plenty. “I only care about money in that it makes life easy and comfortable, and I can afford to be generous.”
“Oh. Well, yes. I meant that your money isn’t the issue for me.”
“No?” He turned, holding the glasses.
“No. I was the issue for me. I mean, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about my life and my dad sooner. I shouldn’t have been ashamed of—”
“No.” He brought the glasses over and handed her one. “That’s not the issue.”
“No?”
“No. I was the issue. I didn’t understand how important it was that you did tell me. It was a big risk for you, a huge show of trust in me. I took it the opposite way, and I was wrong.”
“Oh. So...” She frowned at him. “What’s the issue?”
“As far as I’m concerned, Allie, there isn’t one.” He leaned in to kiss her, a slow, sweet kiss that made her heart rise up and threaten to spill over like champagne poured too quickly.
Allie looked up into his handsome face, so close in the dimming light, completely undone. “Oh my goodness.”
“Yes.” He held her gaze, and this time she felt totally at ease. He could look inside her and see whatever he wanted. “I agree.”
“With what?”
“What you said.”
“What did I say?”
“You said?” he took her champagne, set it on the kitchen table “?that we are really, really good together, and that after this somewhat bumpy start, we should be thinking about getting serious.”
Allie put a hand to her chest. “I said that?”
“Uh-huh.” He drew her into his arms, bending her back in the crook of his elbow, and kissed her until she became somehow disconnected from the planes and right angles of her regular life.
“Wait, wait.” She pressed a finger to his lips to stop his next kiss. “There is an issue. I just remembered it.”
“What?”
She pointed between them. “Boston, you, New York, me. You have a job and I just accepted one.”
“What job?”
Allie looked at him in concern. “The one I was just offered.”
“No, I don’t have a job.”
Her eyes shot wide. “You don’t have a job?”
