Lovers' Dance (83 page)

“Why didn’t you leave with me?” he asked quietly. “Why would you make me leave alone if you were going to choose me? I could’ve supported you, been there for you. Why would you put me through this? Why would you make me feel like nothing in front your family—”

I smacked his chest before I knew what I was doing. Matt’s jaw clenched, and I took a few steps back then stopped. Fuck it. “Do you hear yourself, Matt? This isn’t about you. How you felt. I walked out on the only family I have left. They took me in when I had no one and now I’m alone again.” I burst into a fresh bout of tears. 

Matt swallowed hard, then said, “I could have supported you during—”

“No,” I shouted. Why couldn’t he understand? “No. I had to do this myself. This couldn’t be about you, even though in a way it was. This was between me and my family, things that had nothing to do with our relationship and everything to do with the way I was made to feel growing up. It’s not all about you, Matthew Bradley. Get over yourself. I am having a bad day, a really bad day, and I don’t have the strength left to deal with your hurt feelings. I have to go.”

Matt closed the distance between us. “No. You’re not going anywhere.”

“Excuse me?”

He took me by the arm and herded me into the living room where he sat me down on the huge sofa. On my forced descent to the sofa I caught a glimpse of my reflection in a huge ornate mirror above the mantle. Crap. I was definitely an ugly crier. I watched him hurry away, leaving me alone for a few minutes before he came back with a box of tissues.

“I’ll be right back,” he said, then added softly, “Poppet.”

Good thing I had tissues now, hearing him confirm I was still his poppet made my eyes leak some more. I blew my runny nose and tried to compose myself. After a short while, Matt came back and took a seat next to me. In the space between us he placed a little box. I blinked tears away. What the?

“Open it,” he commanded before saying, “Please.”

I raised my gaze to his. “What’s in it?”

Matt gave me a small smile. “Open it and see.”

It was a plain black, velvet box, no markings; just a little black box. “Why don’t you tell me what’s in it?”

“Open it,” he urged.

I shook my head, trying not to stare at the box as if it was plutonium.

“Okay.” Matt picked the box up. “I’ll open it.”

And he did.

“Do you like it, poppet?” he asked, barely above a whisper. “I had it made for you. Do you like the colour? It’s a natural red diamond and quite rare. Here, let’s put it on you and we can see how lovely it looks against your skin.”

Matt was holding my left hand with one hand and this oh-my-God-amazing ring with the other.

I finally broke out of my stupor and snatched my left hand away, putting it to my chest and covering it with my right hand. Matt looked shocked.

“Is that a sorry-you’re-having-a-bad-day sort of ring—” I started, and Matt cut me off with an arched eyebrow.

“Does this look like that sort of ring, poppet?” he asked dryly, a glint of amusement twinkling in his eyes. He was smiling at me, a real smile.

I shook my head slowly. “No, it doesn’t, Matt.”

He reached for my hand and I jerked away.

“Madison.” His eyebrows furrowed at my reluctance to let him take my hand.

“Wait,” I said.

“What?” He exhaled loudly, leaning back a bit.

I took a deep breath and asked, “If it’s not a sorry-you’re-having-a-bad-day ring, what sort of ring is it?”

Matt gave me an exasperated look before saying dryly, “It’s an engagement ring, of course.”

He reached for my hand again and I pulled back even further.

“Madi,” he hissed. “Stop pulling away.”

“You haven’t asked me yet,” I said. Matt grinned at me. And I was grinning back. If this was a dream, I never wanted to wake up. “You have to say ‘Poppet, I love you.’” I paused, looking expectantly at him.

“Poppet, I love you,” he said with raw emotion.

I scrunched my face up. “No, say ‘I love you, poppet.’ That sounds better.”

Matt growled at me and my grin widened as he repeated, “I love you, poppet.”

“And I want you to be my wife,” I stated, but my voice ended on a questioning lilt. This couldn’t be happening…it was happening.

Matt’s grey eyes glistened. “I don’t want you to be my wife, poppet.”

Sorry, what? He didn’t want…what sort of—

“I need you to be my wife. There’s a difference,” he said huskily. “I need you in my life, every day of my life. I need you to be mine, completely.”

Matt eased my left hand free and was about to put that exquisite ring on my hand when I yanked it back.

“Bloody hell, poppet,” he exclaimed. “What are you doing?”

“I haven’t said yes,” I replied with a pounding heart. Matt asked me to marry him. Well, I asked Matt to ask me to—who said what didn’t matter. Oh my God. Matt wanted to marry me.

Matt nabbed my hand and slipped the ring on. It fit perfectly. “I already know your answer,” he murmured. “You’re here, aren’t you? That’s my answer.”

I blinked at him. At least I was too shocked from this startling turn of events to cry. “What?”

Matt raised my left hand to his lips and kissed my bejewelled finger. “You came after me. You left your family, and I’m sorry because I know it must hurt you, but you chose me, poppet. You’re here, not there. That’s all the answer I need. I’m going to kiss you now.”

And he did. It was the sweetest kiss I’d had from him to date.

“Is your day improving?” he asked moments later, while I tried to catch my breath.

“I don’t know,” I replied, looking at the glinting ring on my left hand. “I’m waiting for you to tell me the requirements that go with being your fiancée. This ring does have a return period, doesn’t it?” I was trying to be humorous, seeing as my world had crashed around me earlier and was now slowly being rebuilt. One massive red diamond at a time. Jesus. How much had it cost? And could I convince him to exchange it for something less expensive? But he’d said it was made for me, and it did look fantastic on my hand. It was the most bittersweet moment of my adult life. The man I love had asked me to marry him, and I had no family left to share the news with. At least none that were willing to speak to me. That bridge had been razed, the earth beneath it salted. There was no going back for me.

Matt, regarding me closely, must have seen the sadness in my eyes because he said, “I’ll always be here for you, poppet. Whatever the future holds for us, know that I’ll be right here”—he linked his hand with mine—“holding on to you. Reminding you that you are not alone.”

I looked at our entwined hands and nodded slowly. Who would have thought that night he’d saved me we would end up here?

“I was right about you,” I said with conviction, as Matt wrapped his arms around me and pulled me on top of his lap.

“In what sense?” he asked, beginning to kiss the side of my face.

“You are a crazy gazillionaire,” I explained. He had to be, that was the only logical reason behind him proposing.

Matt laughed, a deep masculine laugh that lightened my underlying sadness. “I’ve told you before, gazillionaire isn’t an actual word, poppet.” 

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Matt quietly finished getting dressed, conscious of the tiny snores coming from the bed. The covers were halfway off the bed, and the morning light streaming through the open drapes danced playfully over her sleeping form. His eyes rested on her hand, flung haphazardly over his pillow and in possession of the ring he had given her. Amusement curled his mouth up. She always did that. Whenever he left their bed, she would immediately roll into the spot he’d vacated. It was endearing. His amusement withered away as he remembered their conversation over dinner the night before. Her dismay that she bravely tried to hide even though her eyes flinched at every mention of her family. It had been a shock finding her here yesterday afternoon. It had taken everything inside him to fight the instinctive urge of wrapping his arms around her and wiping those tears away. He never liked seeing her cry.

But his pride had been dealt a hard blow. A cruel blow. Making him painfully aware of the place she held in his heart and the gut-wrenching emptiness of potentially losing her, even if it was only for a few hours. Matt never wanted to experience those feelings again. His eyes rested on the ring gracing her dainty hand and he smiled. It hadn’t gone exactly the way he planned, but his ring was on her finger and those were the results he’d prayed for. She was his. Like the male of any species, he felt satisfaction at laying claim to his female, marking her so others would know she was off limits. She was spoken for, she was his. The flawless red diamond she wore was a bold and suitable notification to all that she was his intended.

Matt made his way over to the bed and bent down, brushing her wild curls off her face to reveal the smoothness of her cheek.

“Poppet,” he murmured after pressing the lightest of kisses across her skin.

“Mmm.” She snuggled further into the pillows.

“I’m heading out for a bit,” Matt said in a soft voice.

“Mhmm.”

“I’ll be a few hours,” he advised as he reached over to tug the covers over her nakedness lest she get chilled. “Ryan will be outside. If you need anything, let him know.”

One brown eye opened as she squinted at him and asked in a sleep-laced voice, “Is that one of the requirements, hon?”

“Pardon?”

“Of being your fiancée? The”—she stifled a yawn—“bodyguard thing.”

“Yes,” Matt confirmed as she closed her eye.

“Mmm, we’ll see. Love you.” She turned on her side and moments later resumed snoring.

Matt toyed with her curls before moving away. If he stayed any longer, he would not leave at all and there were things he needed to do. Pulling the bedroom door closed he made his way out the condo, pausing to pick up the brown envelope, his wallet, mobile and keys. He instructed Ryan to ensure Madi had everything she needed while he was away, then he and the remaining two guards took the lift down to the waiting limo. Matt fingered the envelope as the limo pulled away from the curb. His poppet’s capacity for love had floored him. She had told him everything that had transpired after he left her aunt and uncle’s house. The things Jenny had said to her; those hurtful things. Yet, she had no malice in her heart for her younger cousin. Instead, she had written another cheque and, on a piece of paper, she had written a few words: ‘I’m sorry I made you cry, Jenny-penny. I love you all.’

She was a better person than he, and being with her made him a better man. That was why he was now on his way to Queens. He was furious—livid would be an apt description of his thoughts on their treatment of Madi. But, if there was any way to fix the breach between her and her family, he would do it. Just to make her smile.

“We’re here, Mr. Bradley.” The chauffeur’s voice came over the internal intercom and Matt raised his head. He’d been lost in his thoughts for the whole journey.

Matt exited the limo before the chauffeur had a chance to get out and open his door. A minute later, his finger pressed the doorbell. It wasn’t a long wait until the door cracked open and Madi’s uncle peered out at him. The man’s eyes widened as he opened the door fully, then darted eagerly to the limo parked on the street.

“Is Madi—”

“She’s not with me,” Matt interrupted, and hastened to add she was at his place when he saw the worry flood her uncle’s face.

“Who is it, David?” came from inside the house.

Matt stiffened and asked, “May I come in?”

David stepped back to allow him entrance. When Matt walked in, it was to come face to face with Cleo. The look she gave him said it all.

“Why are you here?” She got straight to the point, but her eyes jumped to the front door. Like her husband, it held the embers of eager hope that died when David closed the door.

Cleo held a hand out gesturing for him to take a seat. Matt did so, all the while silently promising to maintain his cool reserve.

“Madi wanted to have this mailed, but I thought it best to deliver it by hand,” he said, handing the envelope over to her uncle. David handed it over to Cleo as he took a seat opposite Matt.

“I’ve asked her to marry me,” Matt stated without aplomb. “And she’s accepted my proposal.”

Cleo’s face when he said he had asked Madi to marry him was a picture. It became more shocked when he advised her niece had accepted. Her aunt took a seat next to her husband, wearing a dazed expression. They stared at him in silence.

“It was not the way I intended to ask,” Matt said, glancing at her uncle. “I would have preferred to discuss such matters with you first. Unfortunately, things did not work out that way.”

“No,” David finally responded. “They didn’t.”

Cleo looked away from Matt’s gaze and her jaw clenched, whether in anger or despair Matt could not tell. She hid her eyes from him.

“It’s a cheque.” Matt gestured to the envelope in Cleo’s hand. “From Madi for your daughter’s tuition.”

Cleo’s bottom lip quivered for a second before she inhaled softly and straightened her shoulders, lifting her head to stare at Matt.