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Ainsley frowned. This conversation was getting dangerously close to being personal, and she wasn’t emotionally prepared for that. “Santiago—”
He held up a hand, forestalling her objection. “Please, just let me say this.” He took a deep breath, then met her gaze. His green eyes shone with vulnerability, and she sucked in a breath. Never, in all the years she’d known him, had he looked so...exposed. Her heart beat hard in her chest, and a sense of anticipation slammed into her. Santiago hadn’t come here to talk shop. There was something on his mind. Something big.
“Ainsley, I love you.”
His declaration knocked the wind out of her, and she leaned back in her chair.
“I always have. I realize now that I always will. You’re the one for me, the only one for me. I think I’ve known it all along, but I was too afraid to do anything about it. I walked away from you because I thought I was protecting you. Now I realize I was only trying to protect myself.”
Ainsley gaped at him. She’d dreamed about this moment for years, imagining the day when Santiago would come to her and admit he’d made a mistake letting her go. Was this really happening now, or was this simply a product of her overactive imagination?
He shook his head. “You don’t owe me anything. And I certainly don’t deserve another chance with you. But I’m going to ask anyway. Do you think we could try again?”
“Try again?” she echoed weakly.
Santiago nodded. “I’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching. I realize now that I spent too many years letting my past dictate my future. I don’t want to do that anymore. I want to build a life, with you. I want to marry you, if you’ll have me,” he said shyly.
Say yes! her heart screamed. Do it now!
But her brain wasn’t so impulsive.
“This is quite a change of heart,” she said, unable to keep the emotion from her voice. Oh, how she wanted this to be real! But Santiago had spent years feeling like marriage wasn’t for him, and that they didn’t have a future together. “How can I be sure you’re not going to change your mind again?”
“You can’t,” he said simply. “Just like I can’t be sure you won’t change yours. But I can promise you this—if you’re willing to give me another chance, I won’t make the same mistakes again.”
Tears welled in her eyes as emotions warred in her chest. “I want to believe you,” she whispered. “I do. But...” She shook her head. “You’ve walked away from me twice. I don’t know if I can survive a third time.”
Santiago circled the desk and gathered her into his arms. She went willingly, her body desperate to be close to him even as her mind insisted on keeping him at arm’s length. “Oh, Ainsley,” he said. “I’m so sorry. Please believe me when I say I thought I was protecting you.”
“I know that,” she sniffed. “I know you still care for me. Your actions during the retreat proved it time and time again.”
He ran his hand down her hair. “Tell me to go, and I will. Ask me to stay, and I will. I know I have a lot of work to do to regain your trust. But I’m going to put in the time, however long it takes.”
She sniffed and leaned back. “How do you feel about couple’s counseling?”
He nodded. “I think it’s a good idea. Just as long as we find someone reputable.”
She laughed. “That goes without saying.”
“So...is that a yes?”
Ainsley smiled, feeling her world click into p
lace. “It means, if you’re willing to do the work, then so am I.”
Relief stole across Santiago’s face. “I am,” he breathed. “We’re a team. I’m just sorry it’s taken me so long to realize it.”
“Better late than never, I suppose,” Ainsley teased.
He leaned forward and pressed his mouth to hers. His kiss was full of promise, the start of a new chapter in their story. Ainsley cupped his face in her hands and gave herself over to this man, feeling him take his place in her heart once more.
“It’s always been you,” he whispered against her lips.
Ainsley smiled, her tears falling freely now. Santiago leaned back and wiped them away, the pads of his thumbs caressing her cheeks. “Beautiful,” he said softly.
“I don’t have a ring,” he said, sounding a little shy. “Unless... well, what do you think about the emerald for now?”
Ainsley smiled. “Yes. It’s perfect.”
