Heir to Scandal (Secrets of Eden 3)

Xander stopped on the metal bench directly ahead of her. He squatted down, carefully balancing where she couldn’t avoid looking at him.

“What do you want, Xander?” Her voice was cold and angry, but he wouldn’t be deterred by that.

“I want to talk to you.”

“We’ve talked enough. I’ve told you to leave us alone. Now get out of the way so I can watch my son play.”

Craig suddenly stood up. “I need a drink.” He gestured for Xander to take his seat as he stepped out toward the concession stand.

“Thanks,” Xander said, plopping down beside her.

“Craig!” Rose complained, but it was too late. She sighed and inched away from him, although there wasn’t really anyplace she could go.

Xander sat awkwardly beside her for a moment before he said anything else. “How is Joey playing? Is his arm holding up okay?”

Her eyes were focused on the field as she spoke. “He’s doing well. The arm doesn’t seem to be holding him back. He made a run in the third inning.”

“I’m glad he got his cast off in time to play.”

“Me too,” she said, seeming to grow more comfortable as they focused on the safe territory of their son.

“I love you, Rose.”

That finally drew her attention, as well as the attention of several people sitting around them. Rose’s pale skin took on a pinkish hue of embarrassment. “Xander, shhh!” she said with wide eyes.

“Shhh?” Xander repeated. “That’s not exactly what I was hoping to hear.”

Her lips twisted with anxiety. “Well, both of us seem to be suffering from disappointment lately.” She turned back to the game and cheered enthusiastically at the boys on the field.

“No one is perfect, Rose. Not me, not you. Perhaps we’ve both built up this fantasy of one another since our high school days. I’m sorry I haven’t lived up to your expectations. But you’ve got to believe me when I say the only crime I’m guilty of is loving you too much.”

Rose didn’t respond, but she’d stopped cheering and seemed to be listening intently despite refusing to look at him.

“We’ve all made mistakes. We’ve all got secrets. Believe me when I say that if I could go back, there are a couple of things I would do differently. The first would be letting you walk away from me all those years ago. It’s my biggest regret. But I’m not going to make the same mistake twice. I’m not going to let you push me away again.”

Xander reached out to caress her cheek and gently turn her to face him. “I know you’re scared, Rose. So am I. But these last few weeks I’ve realized that the reality of losing you is far worse than the fear of what might happen if I came back here and told you how I felt.

“I want to focus on my future. Our future. You and me and Joey together the way a family should be. I don’t want anything you and I did in the past to come in the way of that.” Xander reached into his pocket and grasped the small velvet box in his fist.

“Xander,” Rose began, but stopped when she saw the box.

“I had this made for you. There’s only one other ring like it in the whole world.” He held it out and opened the lid on the hinge. “My hope is that you will wear this one every day of the rest of your life.”

* * *

It couldn’t be. It just couldn’t be.

It was surreal enough to have Xander here, telling Rose that he loved her. Tori had told her as much was true, although she hadn’t believed her. Having him produce an engagement ring was beyond her most secret of fantasies. But then he opened the box and the world tilted sideways.

Her mother’s engagement ring. At least, it looked like her engagement ring. After the cancer claimed her, Rose’s mother had been buried with her wedding ring and engagement ring on her finger. Xander had had it re-created for her.

With her hand shaking, Rose reached out for the ring and then gripped the platinum band tightly to keep from dropping it under the bleachers. Upon closer inspection, she could tell it wasn’t a perfect replica. For one thing, her mother’s ring had been white gold, not platinum. And the sideways oval diamond inset into the band was much larger and sparkled brighter than any stone her father could ever afford.

But the band had the same intricate crisscrossed mount with cutaways that revealed more tiny diamonds, just as her mother’s ring had. “How did you ever find a ring like my mother’s?”

“Like I said, I had it made. With help from Craig, if you can believe it.”

Rose tore her gaze away from the sparkling ring to frown at Xander in disbelief. “Craig helped you?”