The Seduction

“By me too. I know this.” He grasps my wrists and holds on. “But I meant what I said that last night. I fell in love with you. And I’ve never said that before to anyone.”

I can’t hold back anymore. I don’t want to. “I love you too,” I say and throw myself into his open, waiting arms.

I’m not sure how long we stand in the driveway, arms wrapped around each other. I just know I need to feel his hard body against mine until I believe I’m here with him, he’s real, and he’s mine.

He eventually releases me. “I want to show you around.”

“Okay.”

“Question.”

I tip my head and look up at him. “What plans did you make for when you move out of the dorm?”

“Umm … I was going to sleep on Callie’s couch until a real solid job came through and I could afford a place of my own.”

Without warning, he drops down on one knee. “I know it’s soon, I know you probably want to live life on your own for a while, but I also need you to know I’m in this for good.” He slips his hand into his pocket, and suddenly I’m looking at a ring.

A real diamond engagement ring. “It’s here whenever you’re ready to wear it,” he tells me. His hands are trembling as he holds out the gorgeous sign of his intentions.

Oh my God. He’s here, he’s real, and he’s offering me something I’ve always wanted but never ever had the courage to dream I’d have — someone who loves me unconditionally. Who will be there for me in good times and bad. I’ve never had a real family in my life, and this man is offering that to me. And if it weren’t something he truly wanted, he wouldn’t have come back to me. Which means this is all real for him. I know it. I feel it in the deepest part of me. And it’s that knowledge that strips me of my fears and lets emotion and my love for him take over.

“I can wait—” he says.

“I can’t.” I hold out my own shaking hand and let him slip the ring onto my finger. It’s a perfect fit. Just like we are.

“I take it this means you forgive me?” he asks.

“Hmm. Any more secrets?” I ask, teasing him.

“Umm—”

“Zach!”

“One more little thing. Maybe two.”

I lift my eyebrows and wait.

“I may be a member of The Westchester Country Club where you wanted that sous-chef position.”

“What?”

He grins. “Have been since I moved here two years ago. Which means I might be able to pull a few strings. But I also just might have found the perfect place to open the most decadent breakfast place in the county, if you’d prefer to give that a try.”

I’m startled and overwhelmed and so in love I want to cry. “You’re offering me all these things… I have nothing to give you in return.”

He shakes his head and grasps my chin in his hands. “Don’t you know that you’re giving me the most priceless thing in the world?”

“What’s that?” I ask through happy tears.

“You,” he says before sealing his lips over mine.