‘I want to come back here all the time too,’ she said, lifting her head to look him in the eyes. ‘I want to help the way you do.’
His heart pounded as he saw the love in her face. He wanted her. So much. The desire was so intense it hurt. Even now, when they’d been together a year already, that passion hadn’t abated. If anything it was more potent. And he saw the signs of it within her too—the dilation of her pupils, the extra-strong gleam of green, the slight breathlessness, the colour in her cheeks despite that pretty layer of make-up. And then there was the way her nipples poked through her silken dress. On this hot, hot day it was arousal lifting those goosebumps on her skin.
But there was something else he’d been wanting for a while now.
‘Maybe we ought to get married first,’ he said huskily. ‘Before we start adding kids to the mix.’
She stared up at him, her soulful eyes widening even more.
He reached into his pocket, pulled out the box that had been weighing him down for the last few days while he waited for the right moment. This was definitely the right moment.
He hoped.
He flicked open the box and showed her the contents. He’d seen it a million times already—from concept to design to completion. The square-cut diamond was, he hoped, perfect for her.
But she’d gone very, very quiet. Her beautiful eyes had filled with tears again.
He licked his lips and decided the tears were a good sign.
‘I figure it’s like a brick,’ he said, going fully old-fashioned and dropping to his knee. He lifted the ring from the box and caught her hand.
‘You said it!’ She choked on a teary laugh.
‘It’s supposed to symbolise a foundation stone. When we first met I was wanting to know about my past. But then I learned that what really matters is building my future. So I’m building the future I want. With you.’ He looked up at her. ‘Will you accept it? Will you marry me?’
‘Oh, yes.’ She threw her arms around his neck, bending to kiss him. ‘I love you, Jack Wolfe.’
‘I love you, Stephanie Johnson. Every beautiful bit of you.’ He stood and drew her into his arms. ‘I’m always going to love you.’
An hour later Stephanie rolled onto her back and picked up her phone. Getting the right angle, she snapped a picture of the gorgeous ring on her finger.
‘For the blog?’ Jack asked lazily beside her.
‘No!’ She laughed. ‘For my brother.’
Her blog was still in existence, though she didn’t update it as often. She’d abandoned any idea of monetising it—now it was purely for fun. She didn’t feel the pressure to post every other day for fear of losing all her followers, and it was bliss. She’d convinced Tara to step up more formally, as she deserved, so now there were two names in the tagline.
She and Jack had spent half the year in Australia, half in the States, and had travelled extensively all the time. She’d written some pieces for the Wolfe Guides, and taken photos for the website he’d got his designers to develop.
Now she smiled as a series of texts pinged back from her brother. He’d gone crazy with the emoticons—and they brought stupidly happy tears to her eyes.
Too many tears, already.
‘He wants to meet us in New York for Christmas,’ she told Jack as she read the messages. ‘He’s looking forward to the flight.’
‘That’s fantastic.’
‘Yeah.’
Dan was in full-time study and working towards his goal of becoming a teacher. And he reckoned he was training as well—aiming for the stars already, right back to super-sportsman.
‘Put your phone down, “Steffi Leigh”, and come pay attention to me.’
She tossed her phone to the floor and rolled back towards her handsome fiancé. ‘Face to face?’
‘Yes, please,’ he muttered, sliding his hand down her back to pull her right on top of him. ‘In real life.’
‘Very real,’ she murmured as she kissed him.
‘You have no idea how much I love you.’
‘Yes, I do.’ She slid over him, feeling him touch her deeply—physically, emotionally. ‘With all your heart. And it’s such a big heart.’
‘Overflowing right now,’ he groaned.