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Taking off her coat, she stepped back. “I want to be with you, too, but I don’t want to move in with you.”
He’d already gotten rid of his own coat and dropped both on the closest chair. His eyes were hooded, not giving anything away. “I hauled that damn suitcase all the way to Portland. I told you I’m happy to live with you in your house if that is what you want to do. It doesn’t matter where we live, as long as I can be with you.”
“That’s not what I want.”
*
Mitch’s heart droppedto the ground. What the hell? Clenching his teeth, he counted to ten before he tried to speak.
He was not messing this up again. “Then what the hell do you want, Riley? I told you I love you, and even though you’ve yet to tell me in so many words how you feel about me, I know you love me, too. I’ve seen your work tonight.”
Lifting her chin, her eyes a fiery blue, she glared at him. “I can’t move in with you.”
Inhaling deeply, he tried to read her face, but she wasn’t giving anything away. There was something else going on here; quite what it was, though, he didn’t know.
“So tell me what you want, Riley, because I sure as hell have no idea what to say at this point.”
Crossing her arms, she gave him a saucy smile. “You once asked me what it was you have to do so that you can kiss me whenever you want. I’ve figured it out. What you have to do, Mitch, is marry me.”
Speechless, he stared at her. Had she actually said she wanted to marry him or was he hallucinating?
Her smile wavered, and she dropped her arms. “Well, clearly that’s not what you had in mind. I… Would you please take me to Aunt Janice?”
Only when her hand reached out to open the front door, did he come out of his stupor. “Where are you going?”
Not looking at him, she opened the door. “It’s okay, I’ll walk.”
Before she could take another step, though, he closed the door, grabbed the small box on the table next to the door he’d noticed as they’d entered, and took Riley’s hand. Lacing his fingers with hers, he moved toward the couch in the living room.
Pushing her down on the seat, he crouched in front of her. “You are not going anywhere. I told you I love you; I told you I never want to be without you. I’ve been waiting for you my whole life. Of course, I damn well want to marry you so that I can kiss you whenever I want to! You were the one who was adamant about not ever marrying again, remember? How the hell was I supposed to know you’d changed your mind?”
She sniffled. “That was before I’d fallen in love with you. Loving you has changed me, healed me. You’ve changed me. I built high walls around my heart. I never wanted to be hurt again as I was hurt when my parents passed away, and I certainly never wanted to experience the pain and humiliation of being left at the altar.” Her eyes were bright with tears. “But then I met you—yelling and punching my brother one moment, crouching down and listening patiently to my son in the next. You’ve broken down the walls. You’ve touched my heart because, for some or other reason, you get me. I’m sorry I’ve sent you away in Portland. You see, I didn’t think I was good enough for you, for marriage. But you love me. I’m not easy to live with. When I’m working, I forget about the rest of the world, but I can promise you I’ll always love you. And…”
Joy exploded inside his chest, but trying to keep his cool, he kneeled down and opened the box in his hand. “Can you shut up for one moment, damn it? This is my mom’s ring. We can find you another one, but Riley O’Sullivan, I love you. I didn’t go looking for love, but there you were, red hair, gorgeous blue eyes, and legs that had me drooling, challenging me at every turn, making me rethink what I was saying and how I was reacting and I realized I’ve always been waiting for you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you please marry me?”
One lone tear rolled over her check. “I have a son.”
Smiling, he wiped the tear away with his thumb. “I actually fell in love with him way before I realized how I feel about you. I can’t wait to be his dad and I hope… Maybe you should answer my question first.”
With a tremulous smile, she put out her hand. “I’ve already told you I want to marry you.”
With infinite care, he took out the ring. For a moment, he saw his mom clearly, smiling at him, wearing the same ring. Swallowing against the lump in his throat, he slid the ring over Riley’s fingers. It seemed to be a perfect fit. “As I’ve said, we can buy you a new one as soon as the shops open tomorrow…”
Lifting her hand, Riley blinked a few times. “I don’t want another ring. I love that it was your mom’s ring. I’ll wear it with pride. Finish your question—you hope?”
He got up and held out his hand. As he pulled her close to him, the scent of orange blossoms seeped through his pores. “We’ll talk more later. But now I want to make love to my fiancée.”
*
This time theytook it slow. Mitch carried her all the way up the stairs, never taking his eyes off of her. In his room, he put her down slowly before he turned her around. “The back of this dress…” Bending down, his hot mouth slid down her back while his fingers found the tiny buttons.
By the time her dress had pooled around her ankles, she was shuddering with need. While Mitch got rid of his clothes, she got onto the bed. Lifting herself on her elbows, she watched him.
Days earlier, she had still been running around, trying to finalize everything for tonight’s opening. At the time, she’d had only one thing to hold onto—Mitch loved her. With all her quirks and idiosyncrasies. At the time, she’d had no idea that by the end of tonight she’d be wearing his ring.
Mitch kicked off his pants and was about to join her on the bed when he stopped. “Hang on.” Quickly he got his phone out of the pocket of his pants, pressed a few buttons, and the first notes of a song filled the room.
Mimicking the word of the song, he joined her on the bed.
