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Liza frowned. “Shit between you and Tony was burned down years ago.”
Matt didn’t respond, and she got the feeling he was waiting until…
The light went on.
“Because of me?”
“I told you she hoped to marry me. Originally, her intention was to increase her own wealth and fame. Patricia loves the limelight, and merging the Russo and Eddington names would certainly catapult her into a stratosphere very few ever reach in terms of wealth.”
“You said originally. Her intentions changed?” Liza was still trying to make sense of it all.
“You changed them. Jealousy is a powerful motivator for a woman as vain as Patricia. I had the audacity to choose you over her. Combine that with the fact I kept saying no to an extremely spoiled woman, and it was a recipe for disaster.”
“So she sent that marker hoping to drive us apart.”
Matt sighed. “I almost let her plan work. I thought…I was certain once you learned what I’d done to your uncle, how I’d plotted to destroy your family, you’d walk away.”
“I thought about it,” she confessed. “Thought about what you’d put Aunt Berta and Uncle Renzo through. I know he dug the hole…”
“But I handed him the shovel.”
“You were young,” she said.
“I was an asshole,” he clarified.
Liza was still on Matt’s lap, the two of them unable to be so close to each other and not touching. “You pushed me away.”
“While I was waiting for Tony to show up and confront me over the marker, a shit ton of guilt crashed down on my head, and I decided you deserved better than me.”
She hated that he believed that, that he couldn’t see the compassionate, wonderful man he’d become. “I’m sorry you felt that way.”
“Gage pointed out a few days ago that the only person’s forgiveness I needed was my own.”
“He’s a smart man.”
“Never tell him that,” Matt joked. “But you’re right. He is. I’ve spent the last three days alone in this penthouse trying to find a way to do just that.”
“Have you succeeded?”
Matt shook his head. “Not completely, no. I don’t think it’s something I can do on my own. So I’ve called a therapist and I’m going to start counseling.”
“That’s a wonderful idea.”
“Regardless of that, I was coming to see you to beg for your forgiveness. Gage forced my hand with tonight’s party, but I had already decided I couldn’t go another day without talking to you, without trying to make things right. If he hadn’t thrown that party, you still would have found me on your doorstep.”
“I’m glad.” Liza placed a soft kiss on Matt’s cheek. “So…is that all of it?”
He nodded.
“I’m still here,” she whispered, her heart doing flip-flops when Matt gave her the biggest smile she’d ever seen, pressing his forehead to hers.
“I promise you right now, I’ll never cause you another second of pain. I’ll spend every minute of the rest of my life making you happy, giving you the world.”
“You’re my world,” she replied. “All I want is you.”
“I hope you really mean that because…” Matt eased Liza to the cushion next to him, rising from the couch. Walking over to where they’d shed their coats, he dug through his pocket, pulling out a small rectangular box before returning to her.
Liza struggled to draw air into her lungs when he dropped down to one knee in front of her.
