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“Too bad,” he said, and leaned back in his chair. “What’s going on, Frances?”
“I quit my job at Sterling Realty this morning,” I said. He leaned forward and placed his forearms on his desk. “You did? That’s great.” He smiled.
I raised my eyebrows. “It is?”
“Of course. I didn’t know how to ask you to quit and come work for me, but you did it. I’m so relieved.”
“What about Ryan? How does he feel about me working at Crawford Corp again?”
“Ryan never wanted me to fire you. He just wanted to get to the truth. He said he wants to apologize to you. I can call him up now if you wish.”
“I don’t need an apology from Ryan. I understand why he did it now. I know quite well how one’s past can influence future decisions. I don’t hold it against him anymore.”
“That’s such a relief, Frances,” said Colton, sighing and running a hand through his dark hair. The movement still made my stomach do a little flip as it always had. “I’m sure once you start working here again, you’ll get to know him.”
“I do hope to get to know Ryan better, but it won’t be through work. I didn’t come here looking for a job, Colton.”
He tilted his head, and worry creased his brow. “Then why did you come?”
I stood and placed a sheet of paper on his desk. “I came to tell you that I’ve started my own marketing business. Erika and Mrs. Morgan have hired me to help them with their ventures. It’s time I put into practice what I studied and love to do—helping new businesses.”
He looked down at the contract signed by Marie Morgan, the first for my new consulting company. “So, you won’t be taking the job here?” he asked.
I shook my head, “No.”
“And you’ll be helping Marie Morgan, even though I still haven’t heard which way they’ll go with their property?”
I nodded, “Yes.”
He stood and walked over, sitting on the edge of his desk with his arms crossed. I raised my chin to look him in the eye. I couldn’t help but recall the moment I pretended to be Ava Grady and how different this felt. How in control I felt now.
“Do you love me?” he asked.
“Yes,” I whispered. “With all my heart.”
He nodded and pressed down on his lips. “I told you before that I want you, Frances. I want you beside me every day. Your smile would brighten up every room in this office, but I also love that you have your own dreams.”
He pushed off his desk and walked toward the back cabinet. Grabbing his keys from his suit pocket, he unlocked the top drawer and pulled out a box. “I had big plans on how I would do this, but I can’t wait any longer.”
He walked toward me, his eyes seizing mine, as he dropped to one knee in the middle of his office. My hand flew to my mouth, catching my loud gasp. “Colton,” I said, breathless, as he took my hand.
“From the moment I saw you standing there, you took my breath away. I was blind for not noticing you before, but I see you now. I love everything about you. You showed strength, courage, and grace throughout this entire ordeal, and I am humbled to kneel before you and ask you to be my wife.” He opened the box. A gold and emerald ring with diamonds around it sparkled under the fluorescent light. “Frances, will you marry me?”
Although I’d never seen the ring before, it reminded me of the necklace we’d found. It must have been his mother’s ring and now he offered it to me. What had once been stolen from him had been found, and I couldn’t help feeling the same about myself. Chris had stolen my eagerness to love and be seen, but now that I’d found it again, I wanted to share my love with Colton.
“Yes.” The word shot through my lips and I laughed at his relieved expression. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
Standing, he cupped my face and took my lips in a fierce kiss. “I love you, Frances,” he whispered when he moved his mouth to my jaw.
“I love you too.” My voice held the passion I felt and the conviction Colton deserved.
With a low groan, he picked me up off the floor and held me in his arms. It felt like home. A new home, one we’d built together working through deceits, personal failures, and messy pasts. I wanted to leave it all behind and start anew. But I had one more secret to share with him first.
“I wasn’t expecting you to surprise me like this, especially when I had planned to do all the surprising. But there’s one more thing I came here to tell you.”
He put me down and watched my every move as I fetched an envelope from my purse. “Marie gave this to me this morning to pass along to you.”
“What is it?”
