“There is no more all of that, only you.”
Derian pushed up on the bed and pulled Emily into her arms. “Clearly, I have
not done a good job of this proposal business.”
“You did a perfectly wonderful job. I will
never forget you, on your knees in the park, or the things you said.”
“Good, because I meant all of them.” Derian
brushed Emily’s hair from her neck, kissed the tender spot below her ear, drew
her in. Emily’s scent flooded her with the essence of belonging. “You’re the
only woman in the world I want, the only thing I need. I love you. I need you,
I need to be with you.”
“Derian…” Emily put her lips to Derian’s
throat where she could feel her pulse race, taste the life and power of her,
bask in the preciousness of being so close. “I love you too, with all my heart.
And I want you to be happy. I want you to live the life you want to live, and
it’s not back in—”
“It’s with you, Emily. Where you are, that’s
where my life is.”
Emily swallowed hard, wishing that little
logical part of her brain would shut up and let her just believe in this fairy
tale. But she loved Derian too much to let her give up the things that mattered
to her. “I’ll always be there for you, I promise. I’m a one-woman woman, and
you have my heart.”
“Then why don’t you believe that you are my
heart?”
“I would like nothing better than to go to
sleep with you every night and wake up next to you every day,” Emily said,
giving voice to the dream. “But not if it means caging you in, making you
unhappy.”
“It won’t. I want that too. Every day for the
rest of my life.” Derian kissed her. “So if it’s all right with you, I’ll be
heading home with you. And staying.”
“I would love that, but what will you do?”
“I’ll have to travel sometimes for racing
business, sure, and I’ll hate every second away from you. But I can cut down my
personal appearances so I won’t be away very often.”
“Maybe,” Emily said slowly, a new, breathtaking
image of the future forming, one she believed was not a dream, “I can come with
you sometimes.”
“I’d love that.” Joy erupted in Derian’s
chest. “Whenever, wherever you want to go. I’d love for you to come.”
“As long as you promise no celebrity photos.”
Laughing Derian nuzzled her neck. “Can’t
promise that—you’ll look gorgeous on camera.”
Emily pressed against her. Beautiful is
exactly how Derian made her feel. “What will you do the rest of the time?”
“I thought I’d get a little more involved in
the business. I have a seat on the board I’ve never bothered with. I’m good
with numbers, and I have accumulated a great many international contacts.” She
shrugged. “It might even be fun.”