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“That’s not love,” I disagreed.
Landon laughed shortly. “It is to them. They’re used to acquiring things, Cami. They love things and money like other people love…” he broke off, his lips compressing into a thin line.
My instinct was to defend them the way I’d been doing for years, but I couldn’t this time. Landon was right. They’d treated Emma and me like the Renoirs. Precious and valuable, but possessions all the same. Something they could store in a vault for safekeeping or put on display as the mood struck them.
“You’re right,” I said quietly. “I guess it’s easier to tell myself they aren’t capable of love.”
“Nuance is messy,” Landon agreed. He turned to me. “For example, I love you, Cami, but what you did was so fucked up I wonder if you’re just like them. If I can ever trust you again.”
It hurt, but it was no more than I deserved. I’d taken Emma away from Landon, not once but twice, like she was a thing rather than a person. A precious, valuable artifact that I had to protect at all costs. My eyes ached from the amount I’d cried over the last two days, and the sting of fresh tears was sharper than usual. I tried to blink them away, but they fell anyway. Faster and faster, until the horizon blurred, and I didn’t see Landon coming closer until his arms were around me.
I turned toward him blindly, wrapping my arms around him. I turned my face up, hoping desperately that he would kiss me, but his face remained hard and distant.
Landon’s hands slid up to my shoulders and he pushed me away from him a few inches. “I didn’t know how I’d feel seeing you again.” His pale green eyes moved over my face. Though he’d just said he loved me, I sensed that might not be enough. Landon was a man who had built his life around one core tenet — security. If he couldn’t trust me, it would never matter how much he loved me. I could never have him.
“I’m not like them,” I swore. “I’ll never manipulate Emma the way they did me. And I’ll never take her away from you again.”
“I don’t know, Cami. It’s a pattern with you. When you get scared, when you think it’s in Emma’s best interest, you run. What happens when things get hard for us? When we have a fight? How the hell am I going to sleep at night not knowing if you’ll be there when I wake up?” Though he had decades of practice at keeping his emotions on a short leash, I heard the anguish in his words. His fingers were tight around my upper arms, not punishingly but as though he was afraid I’d slip away if he let go.
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him it would never happen, but I swallowed it back. Landon wasn’t a man who trusted words. It was a person’s actions that mattered and nothing else. Even the most impassioned speech wouldn’t make him believe me. I took a deep breath and pushed my hair out of my face, trying to get my jumble of thoughts straight.
“You told me you wanted to marry me,” I said slowly.
Landon raised his eyebrows in surprise. “I did. I didn’t mean to do it like that. I meant—”
“I know that now. At the time, I thought you didn’t mean it. But I get it now. I’m learning you. I want you to learn me. I’ve always been glad that you couldn’t read me the way you could others. It made me feel different. Special. But I don’t want to be mysterious anymore. I love you, Landon. I want to spend the rest of my life proving that I’ll never leave you again. If you’ll let me.”
I let out a shaky breath. There was more I wanted to say, but I forced myself to wait. Let him absorb what I’d already told him.
“Damn,” Landon murmured. “That was a better proposal than mine.”
His response surprised a laugh out of me. With it, I felt some of the tension leave my body and a wave of relief swept through me. “That’s exactly what it was,” I said. “I’m sorry I don’t have a ring either.”
Landon paused, and I saw one last struggle cross his face. I waited wordlessly for it to resolve. I wasn’t going to push him anymore. He didn’t know it yet, but I had my entire life to wait for him to be ready. To trust me. To let me in again.
I only had to wait a few seconds.
“You made the speech,” he said. “Let me provide the ring.”
And with that, he sank down on one knee.
My heart flipped and soared and cracked wide open all at the same time as Landon reached into his back pocket and pulled out a square velvet box. I recognized the name of the jeweler. The most sought-after designer of engagement rings. I didn’t care about the brand or the prestige, but that name told me that Landon hadn’t bought this ring on a whim. He’d planned this.
Tears still in my eyes, I got the impression of a twisted gold band, two thin bands actually, twined together like vines, supporting a brilliant round diamond that sparkled up at me. “It’s beautiful,” I whispered. “But are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” Landon said seriously. “I’m surer that I want to be with you than I’ve ever been about anything in my entire life. But don’t say yes unlessyou’resure, Cami.”
“I’m sure.” I sank down on my knees, too, wanting to be closer to him. “Both times, leaving you was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I’ve only ever wanted to be with you, knowing you want to be with me.”
Something finally cracked in his green gaze, and I could practically see his mind accept the truth of my words. His face softened. His eyes brightened. As he extracted the ring from its velvet holder and slid it onto my finger, I felt his hands shake slightly with all the released emotion. He held onto my fingers for a long time after the band settled into place, staring down at our joined hands. I stared at them too, marveling at how far we’d come.
“I love you, Landon Campbell,” I whispered.
“I know,” he said, but it wasn’t arrogant. It was marveling, disbelieving, awed. “I love you, too.”
“I know.”
And then, finally, his mouth met mine and I knew we were beginning something that would last forever.
