"Oh, Kitty. You must be thrilled." His eyes burned bright as they met mine and I fought the urge to beg him to take me back. To forget everything bad that had happened between us and just accept me the way I was, wanting to be his, wanting to be with him forever. "We'll have to celebrate."
"Oh?" I asked lamely, but Grayson merely gave me a knowing smile. The carolers came to a stop behind him, still singing the well-known tune that would forever remind me of that moment. My eyes widened as the man of my dreams slid down, resting on one knee as he looked up at me. "W-What are you doing, Sir?"
"I'm asking you to reconsider," he said firmly. "I've done bad things, Amicia. I... I want to spend the rest of my life atoning for them, with you by my side. I can't—won't—live without you. You've changed me in the twenty-four days we spent together. You've made me a better man. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you by my side, learning to be a better person, and owning up for my mistakes."
"So what are you saying?" My voice was embarrassingly shaky, and I swallowed the lump in my throat as I stared at him.
"I'm saying I want to marry you," he went on smoothly, opening the red velvet box that had materialized in his hand. A huge, solitaire diamond stared at me from a simple white gold band. "And this is the first, and last time I'm ever going to do this. I want you to be mine, forever. I want you by my side."
"But I'm no one," I said. "I'm a cabaret dancer... I'm... I'm going to embarrass you."
"You couldn't embarrass me if you tried," he said with a smooth smirk. "But I want to spend the rest of my life being a better man for you, Amicia. Now, will you help an old man and tell me I can get off my knees? Will you marry me, my sweet Kitty?"
I wanted to consider his offer. I wanted to make him work for it. But there was really only one answer I could give him.
"Yes," I whispered.
He stood up, slipping the ring on my finger. I couldn't get the grin off my face, and as our eyes met again, my heart pounded with the knowledge of what I'd just done. It was foolish. It was too fast. Yet I'd never been surer of any decision I'd ever made than right there, at that moment.
Grayson embraced me, his strong arms holding my shaking body still as his lips found mine.
"I'm sorry," he whispered against my mouth.
And even though the words were final, it was only the beginning of our story.Chapter 20
Grayson
It was our first Christmas together since Amicia had accepted my marriage proposal, and the first Christmas I was excited for. I had fun with her the first year, but this time around, I wouldn't let anything stand in my way of enjoying my Christmas captive to the full of her capabilities.
On Christmas Eve, we had dinner together and toasted to our upcoming marriage. Amicia was all smiles and I found it impossible to wipe the grin off my face. I told myself we both deserved this. Some happiness in a world of darkness, some light shining through the night. And yet I knew there was a conversation we had to have before my conscience could rest easily. And as Amicia set down her glass of red wine, I cleared my throat and began to speak.
"Shall we talk about Margaret?"
Her face fell in an instant, and I wanted to regret my words, but I knew we had to talk about this.
"Do we have to?" Amicia asked softly.
"We do." I nodded. "I know how much her death hurt you, and that you still blame yourself for it. But that ends today."
"Oh?" She raised her brows at me. "What do you mean?"
"She died because of the debt," I went on. "And you're not going to blame yourself for that anymore. She took that money from you, didn't she?"
Amicia swallowed before nodding. "But that doesn't excuse what I did."
"You did nothing wrong, and I accept the full responsibility for her death," I went on. "But Amicia, you have to stop blaming yourself. She was a mean woman. She beat you and took things away from you. She stole years of your life, years that you can never have back. But you know what?"
"What?" she whispered.
"In a way, I'm grateful," I muttered. "Because without that old witch, we never would have met, and you wouldn't have become my Christmas captive."
She smiled reluctantly. "I wasn't a very good captive. I was more than willing to stay with you."
"If you hadn't been, I would've kept you anyway." My eyes glittered with desire as I drank her in. Amicia looked stunning in a midnight blue, jewel-toned velvet dress. Her hair was pinned up, with some dark tendrils escaping the chignon and framing her beautiful face. "Now, Amicia, are you ready for the real fun to begin?"