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“You might get the loving brother speech.” She feels at my arms, looking so awkward.Too late.“Do you think you could humor him?”
“You mean another man telling me how to look after you?” I ask. “I don’t think so.” It’s bad enough I’ve bent to her brother’s ego already. If he starts throwing his weight around, I can’t promise I won’t help him take the weight off his feet and put him on his arse.
“Whatever it takes?” she says despondently, worried.
I can’t stand it. So I bend again, kissing her sweetly. “Whatever it takes. Come on.”
I herd everyone out of the kitchen to make way for Cathy and Luigi, watching, interested, as Ava’s mother swoons all over the penthouse. It’s a bit of a reality check. I’ve spent my life immersed in luxury, became a multi-multi-millionaire at twenty-one, and I’ve only recently come to truly see what I’ve got. Because for the first time in years, my vision is clear and so is my mind, letting me process my life. My world. A world that I want to be in now, because I’m with this woman.
This incredible, graceful, sometimes challenging, woman.
I watch her as she takes a seat along with everyone, smiling, relaxed, and I take the bottle of white, working my way around the table, pouring wine for all.
Except me.
And Ava.
She doesn’t acknowledge my move, helping herself to a bottle and pouring herself. It’s another challenge. Should she be drinking? Do I have a whole new other reason to curb her alcohol intake?
I sip my water, trying to distract myself, running over my proposal repeatedly, except now, I’m not nervous. It could be because I’ve got Joseph and Elizabeth’s blessing. It could be simply because Ava looks so content in this moment. I smile, continuing to watch her, as she chats, laughs, completely at ease. With her parents and me in the same room. Or on the same terrace of my ten-million-pound penthouse above the dazzling, bright lights of London.
“Dan, come on,” Ava drones, looking a little uncomfortable. It pulls me back to the present, and I follow her attention to her brother opposite me.
“I mean it,” he says, relaxed back in his chair. “You’re my baby sister.” He points his bottle at me. “You’ve had your warning.”
“Daniel O’Shea,” Elizabeth snaps on a hiss. “That’s enough.”
I smile on the inside and raise my glass to my lips. “It’s fine, Elizabeth,” I assure her, taking a sip. “He’s just being a big brother.”And a cunt.I smile across the table at him, all friendly. I have a feeling it’s going to get harder and harder to keep this front in place. But for Ava? I’ll manage. I look away from him before we get into a staring deadlock.
“Kate’s not her normal self,” I say to Ava as I watch her friend chat with Elizabeth. “Is she okay?” I refill Ava’s water, a silent gesture to drink up. Hopefully it’ll balance out the wine, which she’s having far too much of. When should I intervene?
“She and Dan have a bit of a history.” Ava looks at her brother. “It’s complicated.”
Oh? A history as in,a history? And is it really history, because the vibe around the table tells me not? “I see.” I look at Sam. Has he sensed it? I need to dig on that. Ava’s brother doesnotneed to be giving me another reason to dislike him. “Did you enjoy your pasta?”
Her joy is infectious. Her plate is empty. An appetite? She’s definitely eating more. “It was lovely. Thank you.”
“You are more than welcome.” I take her hand that’s on my knee and squeeze. “Nothing stands in the way now, does it?” No scorned exes, no scorned fucks, no parents or brothers, or too-familiar clients.
“No,” she agrees, looking as light as I feel. “The path is clear.”
Good. Let’s get this over with. “I’m glad you said that.” I stand and get a startled Ava up. “Excuse us for a few minutes.”
“Where are we going?” she asks as I lead her away from the silent table.
I smile at thin air before me, taking one last deep breath before I stop, turn, and drop to my knee. Her face. God, I wish I could take a picture of it and add it to my bespoke wallpaper. “Shall we try this the traditional way?”
“Oh God.” She looks over her shoulder.Yes, baby, they’re all looking at you.I can feel her fear through our joined hands. Her nerves. Her worry. I’m quick to ease it.
“I’ve trampled them all,” I say when she’s back facing me, to check I’m really on my knee. “Delicately. ..ish.” Very fucking delicately. I don’t want to even consider where we’d be if her parents had hated me and insisted Ava walk away. I shudder at the thought. “I’ve even asked your father,” I add, knowing that’s the biggest hurdle for her. She jerks on a sob. A happy sob. “You must know how hard that was for me.” I gaze up at her, her hair cascading over her shoulders, creating a kind of veil. A barrier. A private space for us in this moment. I take my other knee to the floor and hold the backs of her thighs, applying a little pressure, telling her I want her closer. She obliges, feeling through my hair. “Anything it takes, Ava.” I want a picture of this expression too. It’s the best kind of acceptance. “Marry me, baby,” I whisper, and she shakes her head mildly. It’s not a refusal, I know that. It’s awe.
“You’re crazy mad.” She chokes, her emotions falling past her lips and creeping into her eyes as she dips and places her lips on mine. “You crazy, crazy man.”
“Will I be crazy mad and married? Please tell me I’ll be crazy mad and married to you.” She’s not said yes. I want a firmyes. So I pull her to the floor, and she blinks back her tears. “It’s all about you and it always will be. For the rest of my life, it’s only you,” I promise her. “I love you, beyond crazy. Marry me, Ava.”
She collapses into my arms, the moment overwhelming her. She’s not alone. My damn throat has closed up on me, and my eyes are burning. “Is that a yes?”
“Yes.” She sobs over her answer, laughs a little too, and I tumble back to the decking, taking her with me. “I can’t breathe.” I kiss her like we always kiss, with passion and power, and I could not give a flying fuck who judges. “I love you so much.” I find her ring in my pocket and slip it on, while Ava remains hiding in my neck.
