She felt Branson’s warm breath in her ear. “I’m sorry I kept you waiting, but I wanted it to be the perfect surprise. Forgive me?” His lips nibbled on her earlobe, ripples of pleasure shooting all the way down into her toes.
“You’re cheating.” What was meant to sound stern came out weak and breathless. “You’re forgiven, but only if you promise this is the last surprise.”
“Then, I’m afraid we’re both out of luck.”
With Priscilla poised to begin the ceremony, Branson dropped to one knee. “Stephanie Knight, love of my life…”
Time stopped—no one breathing, no heart beating. The second hand froze in place. Though Branson’s lips moved, no sound penetrated Steph’s ears. She didn’t see the diamond engagement ring he slid onto her finger. For one single moment, she was blinded to all but one thing… she glimpsed into the soul of the man who loved her. The soul who refused to reject the society who rejected him. The soul who loved with his whole heart, even though his heart had been broken. The soul who saw her, with all her fla
ws, and called it beautiful. She saw a lovely thing—a treasure—Branson’s soul, offered into her hands for safekeeping.
As cheers and clapping broke into her cocoon, Bran kissed her hand, then turned to Ellie. From his coat pocket he retrieved a folded paper, which he handed up to Stephanie, while opening a small black jewelry case in front of Ellie.
“Ellie, will you do me the honor of being my daughter? I promise to—”
“Yes,” she cried as she jumped against him, her arms strangling his neck.
Not an eye was dry in the room, as Branson promised to love Ellie and be the best possible father he could be, over Ellie’s tearful wails. Stephanie unfolded the paper and almost choked when she recognized what she held in her hands—a legal form with Jeff’s signature. Her ex had given up his parental rights, paving the way for Branson to legally adopt Ellie.
“Surprise!” whispered Branson, as he stood up beside her. “Told you I couldn’t make any promises about that. Sorry it took me so long to get all this legal stuff done.”
“So it’s all done?” she murmured. “Because I’d like to sign that prenup and get that behind us.”
“Don’t you realize I trust you, by now? The only thing you need to sign is our will. It’s pretty simple. If I die, I’m leaving everything to you and Ellie.”
“But—”
His mouth descended in a kiss that made her toes curl.
A hand tapped her shoulder. She opened her eyes to find Priscilla peering at them, her toothy smile accented with bright pink lips. “Are we ready to start the wedding?”
“I am.” Branson stole another kiss. It was easy for him, since he couldn’t see George raise a disapproving eyebrow.
This time, when Branson spoke his vows, Steph knew he meant them as much as she did. Ellie was bouncing on her toes as Billy sang Love Me Tender to end the ceremony.
Ellie tugged on Branson’s sleeve, and he scooped her up to watch from a perch on his shoulder. “This is way cooler than a picture. It’s the real thing.”
Steph gazed at the two people who owned her heart. “Yes, it is.”
Within the crush of hugs at the wedding’s end, Fordham pushed his way forward and pulled the two of them aside. He handed a manila envelope to Branson.
“What is this?” Bran asked, extracting the enclosed papers. Finding no identifying Braille, he handed the pages to Stephanie. She stared, trying to make sense of the documents.
“It’s your wedding present,” Fordham told Bran. “I’ve been collecting these for the past year and a half, since you first realized you wanted to make that cystic fibrosis drug more affordable. I believe these shares of Parker-Aston should be enough to give you a controlling interest.”
Bran shook the empty envelope in his face. “Why didn’t you tell me all along? You let me almost marry Carina trying to get these stock shares.”
“Ironically, when you were acting a fool, willing to do whatever it took to get your hands on those stocks, I didn’t trust you with them. Why, when you could afford to buy the drug at any cost, would you feel compelled to marry Carina to control the price?”
Bran ducked his head. “Because I thought being married to Carina would help me get over Stephanie.”
Steph gave Bran a playful punch in the arm. “Really? You put me through all that misery because you wanted to get over me?”
“Because I knew I wasn’t good enough for you, and never would be.” Bran grabbed her hands and held them tight.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“No it’s true. No one is good enough for you, me included. But I realized something else… something more important. Nobody else loves you the way I do. I’ll become the man you deserve, or die trying.”