Chapter Thirteen #2
‘Do you have any idea how often I thought of you in the years that we were lost to one another?’ He tipped her chin up, forcing her to meet his gaze again.
‘In Lake Como, when I first realised your identity, I hoped for just one more night to be free of my obsession with you. After finding out about our son, I tried to think clearly, to keep you at a distance. I thought I could, that maybe it would be better if we remained platonic co-parents.’
She bit her lower lip, remembering how simple that had seemed and how sure she’d been. She watched as Apollo shook his head, tutting softly.
‘My parents were romantics—a whirlwind love match with nothing else in common to hold them together when times were tough. Living through their turbulent ups and downs is what made me swear I would never marry or have children, Astrid. I swore that I would never put a child at the mercy of fleeting and fragile adult emotions. What we could have…would be built on something so much stronger—our love for Luca, our commitment to building a family after our time apart. I know you want it, too.’
‘I’m afraid to want it,’ she said honestly. ‘I’m afraid it won’t be enough.’
‘It’s not just that we have great sex. It’s your sexy supreme competence.
You make parenting Luca look easy and you never make me feel less for having missed so much of his early years.
We enjoy one another, we respect one another.
You remind me to enjoy the smallest moments, and I spur you to live a little louder.
It’s the kind of balance I never thought I could have for myself.
Take a chance on this. Be a little impulsive with me. ’
‘Dancing barefoot on the sand, going kart racing, spending the night together here in a treehouse…those things are what most people would describe as being a little impulsive, Apollo. Marriage is a long-term commitment. I’m not religious, but I believe that making vows means something,’ she said gently.
‘You believe that I would break my vows?’ he asked incredulously. ‘Dio, I’ve barely looked at another woman since I walked into your office last year. I’ve wanted you since the first time you looked at me over those delicious spectacles and read me your rulebook.’
She was stunned silent at his admission, at the honesty in his eyes as he told her he hadn’t slept with anyone in the past year. It was madness, all of this was utter madness, yet she felt a tiny flicker of hope within her grow.
‘Maybe it’s twisted, how much I savour pushing you to break your rules. And knowing that…maybe…you like breaking them just as much, don’t you?’
‘Yes.’ She kissed him then, her mouth greedy on his, her hands hungrily seeking the heat of his skin beneath his shirt.
But he wasn’t done; of course he wouldn’t let her off so easily, not until he’d said his fill.
He held her wrists pinned in his hands, breaking his mouth away from hers and smirking as she made an angry little sound in her throat.
‘You want to know what I think? I think that, even if I’d waited years to ask you, you would still be scared to commit to marrying me.
You would still hold yourself back, just in case.
’ He leaned in, running small kisses down her neck.
‘Remember what you told me? In our business, every second counts. Strike while the scandal is hot, baby, and take control of the narrative with me.’
Despite her fraught emotions, a stunned laugh escaped her lips. ‘Are you seriously using my own PR tactics to convince me to marry you right now?’
‘I’m an Accardi, utterly ruthless when it comes to getting what I want.
’ His voice was a sensual growl, his dark eyes glittering with intent.
‘And I want you, Astrid Lewis. Make no mistake about that. I want you in my bed and no one else’s; my ring on your finger.
I want our son running in to wake us up every morning.
I want there to be an us. A team of our own. ’
She closed her eyes at his words, at how badly she wanted it too. She’d spent so long being strong, proving that she could do everything alone. She knew that they could make things work separately, that everything she’d said to him when she’d rejected his proposal was true.
But she also knew that last night she’d been afraid.
Afraid of how he made her feel. Afraid of how much he made her want him.
Apollo wasn’t just offering her a cold business marriage.
They would share a bed and a life, they would be partners—but she would never have his heart.
He was offering as much of himself as he was prepared to give…
and maybe she was the unrealistic one for craving more.
For their son, she knew that having a clear label on their relationship would actually be the strongest way to present themselves as a pair.
The same was true for quieting the media, too.
He’d seemingly thought of all of these answers long before she had, and he had come to one simple conclusion: marriage made sense.
His had not been a proposal made with empty promises of sweeping romance or adoring love; it had been one filled with honesty, thoughtfulness and dreams for their future. It was steady and scary and maybe even a little exciting: all the emotions that Apollo made her feel whenever he looked at her.
She met his patient gaze, realising that she wanted this. She wanted him. She wanted their wild, scandalous headline-worthy reunion simply to be the prelude to their happily-ever-after, even if that wouldn’t include love. It would be better than love, because it would be real.
‘Ask me again,’ she whispered, feeling her entire body shake anew.
He didn’t need any further prompting, but he chose to drop on one knee again, his eyes hopeful and earnest upon hers as he spoke. ‘Astrid Lewis…will you marry me?’
Astrid closed her eyes for a second.
‘Yes,’ she said breathlessly. ‘Yes, I’ll marry you.’