Chapter Twenty-One
Hannah stood in front of the big windows of her apartment, looking out over New York. She’d actually slept through the morning and felt more relaxed. She hadn’t heard a word from Darryn since he’d left early that morning. He might have left for South Africa, although she hoped not.
But, ever since she’d woken up, things were clearer, somehow.
Darryn loved her. He’d told her in so many words, but more than that, he’d shown her.
Yes, in the grand gesture to fly to Paris when he thought she was in trouble, flying to New York to be with her, but also in all the small gestures—the way he put a hand on the small of her back when they crossed a street, the way he opened doors for her, the way he watched her, the way he made love to her.
She didn’t know why he hadn’t asked her to marry him, but she knew he loved her. A piece of paper was not going to change the way she felt. A sigh escaped. But, yes, if he asked her, she would say yes. No wait, she would yell out that yes!
And she knew now that for him she would give up everything—her modeling, her apartments, her life. In a heartbeat. She had to find a way to tell him that.
A loud knock on her front had her turning around. Dazed, she stared at the front door. It had to be Darryn. She moved forward.
He hadn’t left. They had another chance to make this right. She ran the last few steps and flung open the door.
And there he was—tall, gorgeous, and smiling uncertainly.
“Yes,” she said very calmly, while clutching the door frame for support. “Of course, I’ll bloody well marry you!”
*
Darryn was still thinking how exactly to do what he wanted to do when the door opened. He was probably still suffering from jet lag, because he could have sworn the exquisite creature in front of him had just accepted a marriage proposal he had yet to make.
But before he could say anything, she was in his arms, and talking became unimportant.
Scooping her up, he closed his mouth over hers and walked toward her room with long strides. At times like this, talking was overrated. He could show her more convincingly how he felt by simply loving her.
*
She was lying on top of a warm, hard body. A hand was stroking her back, up and down, up and down. For the first time in three weeks, she felt at peace. Darryn was with her. Hannah opened her eyes and turned her head.
They had to talk, she knew that. She’d accepted a marriage proposal and hadn’t even been asked!
That was taking being brazen and bold to a whole new level. A blush crept up her neck, and she buried her face in Darryn’s body.
Beneath her, his body started shaking, and it took her a few seconds to realize the rumbling beneath her ear was his laughter.
She looked up and scowled. “Why are you laughing?”
“You’re blushing,” he teased and combed his fingers through her hair. “And that after last night and just now!”
There was no way she could stop the smile. “We made love. I could never be embarrassed about that, although I never thought I’d be so…”
“Innovative? Creative? Sexy? Amazing?” he said pulling her up so their eyes were on the same level.
“So were you,” she breathed and kissed him.
“So, what are you embarrassed about?” he said, still with that lazy smile.
“I…” She buried her face in his neck. “I said…no, make that I yelled that I’ll marry you, and you hadn’t even asked. So, please, can we just forget about my outburst? You don’t have to ask me to…”
He stilled and warily she lifted her face. “What did you just say?” he asked.
She rolled away from him, but before she could get off the bed, she was pulled backward and was lying on her back, pinned down by his leg.
“What did you say?” he asked again, his voice cool.
Sighing, she rubbed her face. “Just forget about what I said. I was at the end of a long argument with myself. Can we please move on and forget—”
He put a finger on her lips so she had to stop speaking.
“I don’t talk much,” he said. “But I try to show you how I feel. Why do you think I caught a twenty-one hour commercial flight to New York? Merely for the sex?”
All the oxygen left her body in one swoosh. She stared at him, trying to read his face, trying to make sense of his words. “What do you mean?”
“Hell, I can’t screw this up again. Why is it so damn hard?” he muttered.
With a string of swear words, he scooted off the bed. She sat up, staring at Darryn’s back. Buck naked and mouth-wateringly sexy, he looked around, picked up his pants, patted the pockets, and took something out before he turned back to her.
She kept her eyes on his face. She needed to breathe, but she didn’t want to move.
With two long strides, he reached the bed again.
With his gorgeous naked body right in front of her, it took all of her willpower to keep her eyes above his neck, but she wanted to make sure she saw every emotion, every expression.
Something was about to happen, something she had thought was impossible.
“I have this long list of dos and don’ts I got from the mothers, and I was going to take you out to dinner, go down on my knee, and the whole damn thing, but now you…and I…” He motioned with his hand toward her.
At this point, her eyes simply refused to stay on his face. She still wasn’t quite sure what he was trying to say, but there were other parts of his body that had no trouble communicating. A giggle threatened to escape, but she swallowed it forcefully. This was so not the time to become hysterical.
With a tremendous effort, she forced her eyes upward again. The expression on his face was priceless.
“I’m trying to ask you to marry me, damnit, and you’re not paying attention!” he said, and he dropped his hand holding the little box.
For a few seconds more, she was so busy trying to keep her eyes on his face, she didn’t grasp the meaning of his words. But then…there it was, the flicker of vulnerability. And finally, she understood.
She tried to breathe. Inhaling was supposed to be instinctive, not something one had a problem with, but there was a huge lump in her throat that refused to let any air into her body.
Light-headed, overjoyed, and crying, she jumped up on the bed and threw herself into Darryn’s arms. He staggered backward, his arms folding around her.
“Why are you crying? What have I done wrong now?” he cried out, frantically pushing her hair back from her face.
“Because…” She hiccupped, “I’m happy!” she said and kissed him all over his face.
“Oh.” He sighed, obviously relieved. “I’ve heard about that.” He pushed her back on the bed. “Sit over there, I’m not done yet,” he said and looked around again.
“What are you looking for now?” she asked, wiping her eyes.
“I…can’t talk to you if you look like this,” he said through clenched teeth and, grabbing a corner of the sheet, he draped it over her body.
Smiling, she crossed her arms over it. Her heart was beating frantically, her mouth was dry, and she wished she could have recorded all of this. But looking up into his face she realized—that wasn’t necessary. She would never forget this day, this moment, here with Darryn.
*
Darryn stared down at Hannah’s lovely face. He knew the answer to his question already. She had said yes hours earlier.
But, within seconds, she was going to put his ring on her finger, and then she would be his fiancé—he never even thought he’d wanted one of those.
But standing here, with absolutely no clothes on, he had literally and figuratively nothing more to hide behind—he’d run out of excuses to be with her a long time ago.
He wanted this, yes, but much more than that, he needed this, needed her.
His heart had surrendered to her over two years ago already.
He sank down on his knees at the side of the bed and opened the little box.
“Hannah Sutherland, you stole my heart two years ago on a beach on Mahé, and I’ve never been able to get it back.
Now, I don’t want it back. Ever. I love you with every fiber of my being, with every breath I take.
And I know this is going to be crazy. You work long hours in various cities around the world and so do I.
I’ll figure out the logistics if I know you’re by my side. ”
He inhaled deeply and took her hand in his.
“Will you marry me and be my wife?” he asked and held the little box out to her.
“That’s it. There are no other stipulations.
You don’t have to quit your job; we’ll figure something out.
Hell, if need be, I’ll quit mine. Exactly how this will work, I don’t know yet, but I do know I never want to be without you again. ”
She stared down at the ring for long minutes. Oh, hell. Maybe he should have waited and asked his mother or one of his sisters-in-law about the ring.
He opened his mouth to tell her they could exchange it, but she sniffled, wiped her cheeks, and took the ring out of the box with great care.
Again, she stared at it without saying anything.
“If you don’t like it, we can exchange it, but I thought…”
She lifted her eyes up—emotion had darkened her blue eyes. “It’s exquisite,” she whispered.
“The blue of the sapphires reminded me of the color of your eyes when we make love,” he whispered and took the ring from her.
Gently, he pushed it over her finger, praying it would fit. It slid easily over her long finger—it was a perfect fit.
She stared at it, tears streaming down her face. “What’s with the damn tears?” he finally asked and lifted her onto his lap. He never could stand a woman crying.
She put an arm around his neck. “We Sutherland women cry when we’re happy, and I’m so, so happy.” She smiled through the tears and held up her hand. “It’s perfect.”
“Look, it’s very plain, but I didn’t think you’d like an ostentatious ring. But if you want something more—”
“You’ve been paying attention,” she smiled. “I don’t like flashy jewelry.”
“I know,” he said. “But if you want a different ring…”
She put a finger on his mouth. “I love it,” she smiled.
“Let me show you something.” She bent forward and picked up her phone.
“I’ve never been one of those girls who started planning her wedding even before she could walk, but when Caitlin got married, she started this wedding board on Pinterest and she pinned all things wedding,” she said while scrolling down her phone.
“And then Zoe and Dana got married and made boards.”
“Boards?” Darryn asked, not quite following her.
“Yes, on Pinterest. Anyway, then I…” She smiled self-consciously while still scrolling. “Well, I’ve been thinking about weddings and dresses and rings and on the flight over, I found myself creating my own board.”
She clicked on her phone and a picture opened up. Wordlessly, she handed him the phone. It was a picture of a wedding ring—almost the exact ring he had just given her.
He stared down at his ring on her finger and was amazed to realize his throat was clogged up.
“Darryn?” she said.
He had to swallow hard before he looked at her. Her soft smile told him exactly how moved she was.
“I’ve told you already,” she said. “But I’ll gladly answer you again.
” She folded both arms around his neck and pulled his face closer.
“Somehow, you get me. You see beyond the model and know me, love me. You knew exactly the kind of ring I’d like.
So, yes, of course I’ll marry you,” she whispered.
“I love you. And you don’t have to quit your job. We’ll figure something out.”
The smile that nearly split his face in two started deep within him.
“Yes.” He breathed, and gathering her close, he fell back on the bed taking her with him.
Laughing, she held him tightly. “Can we please make love now? It’s either that or you have to put on your clothes. There is no way I can look at you one second longer and not jump your bones.” She giggled before she started kissing him.
He threw his arms out on the bed and laughed “By all means—jump my bones!”
And with great enthusiasm she did exactly that.