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I flicked my cuff back and looked at my watch again. A whopping two minutes had passed, but that inched me closer to the last segment, where my father and I were to appear—the one just as the clock would strike midnight and the crystal ball we’d be standing on the roof to watch would drop to herald another year.
And I would make either the worst or best decision of my life by changing Leah’s carefully crafted plan. For the fiftieth time just that day I questioned my choice of timing, but I came to the same decision. I didn’t want to wait, and it was worth the gamble.
“Mr. Lanza? We are ready to take you and your son up now for the finale.” A young intern who’d been put in charge of keeping us on schedule announced as he poked his head in the door. He stepped inside, holding a coat for each of us—ones that neither of us actually owned but had been loaned by a designer who sponsored the special.
I shrugged the cashmere over my shoulders just before my father clapped my back. “Quédate con quien te bese el alma. La piel te la puede besar cualquiera. Stay with the one who kisses your soul. Anyone can kiss your skin.” He settled a hat on his head and stepped into the hallway. “Just breathe,mijo. Just breathe.”
We rode in silence in the elevator, and I focused solely on inhaling and exhaling…until I saw Leah, her hair falling around her face in soft curls with a bright red coat and matching cap. Her eyes lit up when her searching gaze landed on me, and every butterfly that was assaulting my stomach went into hibernation.
She closed the space between us, lifted onto her toes and kissed my cheek. “This is going perfectly.” Her cheeks were rosy from the cold air and pure happiness. This project had been her baby, and she was seeing it take off. And I could only hope she wouldn’t hate me for changing her plans slightly.
My father and I took our places, microphones in hand, and bounced off the pre-planned commentary scrolling through the prompter in front of us before I kicked my own plan into gear five minutes before midnight. “I want to sincerely thank everyone for tuning into this broadcast. My father has wanted to take this on for many years, and the entirety of the night was in jeopardy just a few weeks ago when our scheduled host encountered some…issues.”
I avoided Leah’s deep frown as she realized I was going off script. “But what many don’t know is that there is one person behind the scenes who took control of everything and righted our ship that was far off course.” I motioned to her then intensified my stare when she shook her head until she relented, stepped up and linked her glove-covered fingers with mine.
“I would like to introduce the head of our PR and marketing department, Leah Carson. She has been with Lanza Broadcasting for many years and has been the brains behind some of the campaigns you have all loved the best.” I released my hold on her and stepped back, an odd sense of calm taking over my previously nearly-out-of-control nerves.
“However, after recent discussions with my father and hers, I would like to offer Ms. Carson a new position in addition to her current one.” I pulled the box from the inner pocket of my coat and bent down on one knee. “Leah, I love your brains, your creativity, your smile, your obsession with tea and your snarky mug collection. I love everything about you and every part of you.”
I lifted the lid to display the two-carat pear-shaped diamond set in a double halo of surrounding smaller gems in each of our birthstones. The platinum band was encrusted with another three-quarter carat’s worth of diamonds. With thirty seconds left on the clock, I finally uttered the words I had wanted to say since the first time we’d made love, “Leah, will you marry me?”
She leaped into my arms with such force that I nearly dropped the box and the ring and barely made it to my feet. She sobbed into my neck, her entire body shaking in my embrace. Just as everyone around us uttered the ‘ten’ to start the final countdown, she pulled back slightly. Much louder than I expected, she finally gave a resounding response. “Yes!” I slid the ring onto her finger and internally rejoiced when it fit perfectly.
Leah’s shout was powerful enough to transcend the crowd around us, who somehow managed to cheer as they continued ticking down the numbers on the clock. The boisterous ‘Happy New Year’ rang out around us, but we were too lost in each other to notice or even care. I took possession of her lips, needing so much more, but settling for a far more PG-rated kiss than I’d have preferred.
Several long minutes stretched out as our tongues tangled and we poured every ounce of emotion into the action. Finally, Leah broke her mouth away and I leaned my forehead down to rest on hers.
She offered a saucy grin as everyone around us began the task of closing the show and disassembling the equipment. “So, about that boardroom fantasy you mentioned… I’m sure the cameraman and interns will clear out pretty quickly so they can enjoy what’s left of their night.”
The inferno of desire she always managed to ignite in me sparked to life, and my body was in full agreement with her idea. I groaned. “I’d love nothing more, sweetheart”—I moved my mouth closer to her ear—“but you may not have noticed we have an audience. Your parents flew in for the proposal, and my father has no plans to go anywhere any time soon… But you can bet your sweet little ass I am taking a rain check on that offer…soon.”
She finally noticed the little party of three, huddling near the door, clearly ready to get out of the frigid air but all beaming joyfully at us. Her smile deepened and she patted my chest. “Guess we will have to make up for lost time when we get home.”
With that, she stepped away, but before she got too far I gave her rear end a playful swat. “I’m holding you to that, sweetheart.”
She winked. “I’ve already proven I’m a woman of my word.”
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Luca’s Lessons
Amelia Foster & Deana Birch
Excerpt
Luca
A silver foil wrapper tumbled down the stone walkway along the Limmat River, and Luca stepped to the side, his arms crossed. A giggling young couple with too many piercings for his personal preference hurried by, unaware of the menacing, forgotten paper. In his dark suit, crisp white shirt and matching silk navy tie, he waited.
The improperly disposed-of litter flopped one more time, trapped itself at the edge of the stone wall and, away from the light breeze, rested. Satisfied by his small conquest—surely it was his will that had brought its journey to an end—Luca smirked. He walked over, picked it up and secured its fate in a wire bin. A pestering thought of germs poked at his side, but he brushed his hands together at a job well done and continued on his path to the private bank.
While the inconvenience had been a distraction, it had been welcomed. Early and eager were two qualities he admired, but not in himself. He reached for the door of the gray, historic building at exactly seven minutes past his scheduled appointment.Perfetto.
After a brief check through security, including a confirmation of his identity, he climbed the two flights of stairs to the private bank of Steinmetz and Favre.
The heavy wooden doors of the suite opened to sleek metal-and-cream marble that created a stark contrast to the building’s dated exterior. But the interior did not surprise Luca. He’d already seen the clean, powerful reception in the magazine article about the youngest woman entrepreneur in the history of private banking.
And it was no mistake he’d sought out Claire Favre. Young, driven and on-the-rise was exactly the kind of mind he wanted handling his soon-to-be-acquired secret business. The piece about her and her partner in the weekly publication inserted into the Sunday paper had done more than pique his interest. Fortunately, Luca’s reputation and family history had provided enough of a motivation that he’d obtained an appointment without too much delay.
