Chapter 19 #2
“My father believed a woman should not work outside the home. So, Mom took care of the house and everything…but she nagged my father to death. He would ignore her, but I couldn’t.
I knew how hard my father worked, so she wouldn’t have to.
But he loved her anyway. The only time she didn’t nag him was during Christmas and New Year’s.
Those were her favorite times of the year. ”
He paused a moment, then added, “He loved her. Dad truly loved her, and I always thought there wasn’t enough love in the world to make me endure the constant abuse that he took.”
“Did you ever ask your father about it?”
“Yes.”
“And what did he say?”
Drew shoved his hands into his pockets. “He said that Mom had lots of other admirable qualities and that he understood her need for emotional release that stemmed from her childhood experiences. He said he would always be there to help her cope with them and to give her the love she had missed getting. And he was there for her until the end.”
He didn’t say anything for a minute, then said, “That seemed like a lot for any man to have to take on. I knew what I wanted and didn’t want in my life, and assumed I had it all together. Until I met you.”
He rubbed a hand across his face. “That time we spent together in the Smoky Mountains was the best, and the seven months after it were, too. But a part of me felt like I was falling into a trap. I knew I could come to care for you, and I didn’t want that to happen.
With you, I had become vulnerable. So, I panicked and decided to get you out of my life. ”
He came to sit beside her. “It didn’t work out the way I thought it would.”
“No?” she asked, studying his features and noticing the lines of strain around his eyes.
“No. I honestly thought I’d be better off without you. That I wouldn’t miss you when there were so many other women out there. But over these past four months, I’ve discovered I’d only been lying to myself.”
He stood again and began pacing a few times, and then stopped in front of her. “I found out the hard way that you’re all I want. I’m no longer attracted to other women, sexually or otherwise. No one compares to you.”
He looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes before looking back at her.
“Hell, I got it so bad for you that I can’t work without thinking of you.
Whenever I close my eyes at night, I think of you.
I saw an ad for a little girl with green eyes and imagined her as our child ─mine and yours.
And the strange thing about that is that I’ve never wanted kids.
It took me nearly five months, but I finally realized and accepted what had happened to me. ”
Eden swallowed deeply, then asked. “And what had happened to you?”
“I’d fallen in love with you, Eden. As much as I thought I could never fall for any woman, I fell in love with you.
I fell in love with every single thing about you, and want everything I thought I didn’t want.
I have not slept with anyone since meeting you.
I haven’t desired another woman. You are the only woman I want in my life.
I want kids with you. Girls who look like you and act like you.
And I promise that I’ll never try to control them. I will be a good father.”
Eden couldn’t stop the tears that she felt flowing down her cheeks. She loved him, and he had just admitted to loving her. Then, to her surprise, rather more like shock, he lowered to one knee before her as he pulled a small box from his pocket.
He took her hand and asked, “Will you accept all the love I want to give, be by my side, and one day shower our kids with love. I know how much modeling means to you, and I will always support the career that you want. I love you so much. Will you marry me, Eden?”
She swiped tears from her eyes. “I love you, too, Drew. The answer is, yes. I will marry you.”
He slid the ring on her finger, and she gasped upon seeing it. The brilliance of the huge diamond nearly blinded her. “My gosh, Drew! This ring is gorgeous!”
“Just like the woman wearing it,” he said, pulling her into his arms.
He then proceeded to give her the kiss she’d missed getting for the past five months.
**
Later that night, wrapped in each other’s arms, Drew and Eden made plans.
He would return to the States next week to finalize his company’s year-end accounts and then return a week before Christmas.
They would marry here in Paris on New Year’s Eve.
Then a week later, after honeymooning in Scotland and Ireland, she would return to the States for photo shoots in New York.
Drew had a capable office manager handling things in his absence since he planned to spend his time between Phoenix, New York, and Paris.
Eden looked forward to her time off when she could ride shotgun in his rig again.
He had called his family in Charlotte to share the good news, and she had called Mark, Sophie, and Amélie.
Her agent had had mixed feelings about giving Drew her address and was glad things had worked out so well for them.
They had surprised Renard with the news when he called later.
Only, he hadn’t been surprised. He said it hadn’t been hard to see that Drew had been a man on a mission when he’d arrived on her doorstep.
“Are you happy, sweetheart?” he asked his fiancée.
“Enormously. Are you?” she asked.
He grinned broadly. “I’ve never been happier. Thank you for giving me another chance.”
She reached up and cupped his chin. “Thank you for wanting to take that chance with me, Drew. Sophie told me that Dad tried to destroy your company, but a friend of your family came to your rescue.”
“Yes, they did. Valerie and Ivory Axlewood.”
“How do you know them?” she asked.
Remembering what Valerie had told him —that she and Ivory had no secrets —he decided to be honest with Eden. She knew about his womanizing past, so she might as well hear about all of it. It was the best way to start their life together. “I knew Valerie before I knew Ivory.”
He then told her everything, how he and Valerie had met, their cougar/cub relationship for a year and a half, and how they ended things when she met Ivory.
He told her how happy Valerie and Ivory were, along with their twin sons.
He mentioned the phone call he had received from Valerie and what she and Ivory had decided to do to help him.
“I’m so sorry about my dad, Drew. I’m glad you have such good friends.”
“I am, too, baby.” He was quiet for a moment, relishing the feel of her in his arms and appreciating that they were back together again.
“For the first time in my life, I understand my father’s need to be there for Mom.
It was all about love. He understood her when nobody else did.
Not even her son. I am glad Mom had such a strong, loving, and caring man like Dad. ”
“I am glad she had him, too,” Eden said. “And I believe he passed all those qualities on to you, Drew. You are the type of man I will need, and when we have our kids, you will be the father they need, too.”
Her words touched him. “Thank you.” He kissed her cheek when he said, Your birthday is Saturday.”
She smiled. “Yes. I’ll be the big twenty-two.”
“Have you made any plans to celebrate?”
“Renard and I are going out to dinner.”
“May I join the two of you?”
Her smile widened. “Of course. In fact, knowing Renard, he will likely bail out and let the two of us go alone. Although he hasn’t admitted anything, I think he has met someone.”
“I’m happy for him,” Drew said.
“Me, too, Drew.”
“You’re still wearing the necklace,” he said, fingering it around her neck.
“I figured that regardless of how things had ended with us, and how much it reminded me of our time together at the lodge, I wasn’t ready to stop wearing it.”
“I’m glad you didn’t. I see it as a symbol of our bond, one that will last forever.” And then he kissed her. He needed to make love to her again. Because now, this woman was his. His one and only.