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"Congratulations." She wriggles in place when I massage her shoulders with my fingers, then rests her hands on her knees.
"Not looking for congratulations."
"What, then?"
"I want what you promised me yesterday when you thought I couldn't hear. I want—I need for you to say it now."
She aims her lustrous hazel eyes at me. "Okay."
My hand on her thigh tenses, and I curl my fingers. Will she say it?
"I forgive you, Lachlan."
Chapter Thirty-Two
Erica forgives me. I feel light-headed when she says that, and for a few seconds, I wonder if I actually heard the words or if I just imagined I did. That day in my hotel suite, I hadn't been sure I'd heard her either. Tonight, with Erica gazing at me lovingly, I know she spoke those words—and she means them.
I lean in again, my breaths reflecting off her lips. "I took the last two months to clear out my life. Finalize the divorce. Sell my company." I withdraw my hand from her thigh, clenching it on my lap. "And to work out my, ah…fears."
She turns her face toward me, bringing us eye to eye, our mouths skimming each other. "Why sell your business?"
"Because I don't need the income anymore, and I've lost my taste for helping avaricious elites stuff their coffers with more money than they'll ever spend."
Her brows lift. "Were all your clients that bad?"
"No, most were good folk. But I'd had enough of the few greedy ones." I scratch my jaw. "I want a better life. I want to build a family, but I'm missing the keystone."
"And what's that?"
I drop my voice to a whisper. "You, Erica. You are the keystone, and the life I want will fall down around me without you."
"Oh." She opens her mouth as if to speak, then shuts it.
All I can do is watch her and wait. Forgiveness doesn't mean she wants to spend the rest of her life with me. I move closer until our bodies collide and her mouth hovers so near to mine that not kissing her takes all my willpower. "I made a mistake. I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I love you, lass, with all that I am. My life will be meaningless without you in it."
She searches my face again, like she's waiting to see something there.
The time has come to risk everything. Win or lose, I need to do this.
I reach into the breast pocket of my T-shirt and take hold of the small object hidden in there. With it concealed in my palm, I close my fingers over the object and offer her my hand. "This is yours, whether you take me back or not. It's a token of my love and respect for you, both of which will never die. I'm yours forever, my sweet Erica, mygràidh, the bonniest, sexiest lass ever to grace this earth and the cleverest, strongest woman I've ever known."
She holds perfectly still, not even blinking.
The moment of truth has arrived. My face has started to tingle, probably because I've stopped breathing. I won't catch my breath until I know her answer, so I spread my fingers, revealing the object in my palm.
Erica stares at the diamond ring.
My first impulse had been to buy the most expensive ring I could find, but that's not Erica's style. We both want a simple life, so I bought her a simple ring. A single glittering diamond tops the plain gold band. I'm praying she'll think it's tastefully beautiful, not a rubbish excuse for an engagement ring. The diamond isn't enormous, but it's not small either. When I'd bought the ring, the stone had seemed like the perfect size for her hand.
Erica jerks her head up, and our gazes intersect.
Maybe I've gone off my head for good, but I swear a bond snaps tight between us when she looks into my eyes. I crook a finger under her chin. "Will you marry me?"
Her gaze flits to the ring, then back to me. She raises a trembling hand to her throat. "Remember on our road trip, the first night we stayed in the bed-and-breakfast?"
Why is she talking about that? "Yes. I upset you, though I didn't understand why at the time."
"Now you do?"
