MOONLIGHT ON DIAMONDS (31 page)

“What are you
thinking about now?” asked Placido peevishly, his darkly handsome face looking
like a cranky schoolboy’s.

Maggie smiled. “I’m
thinking that when I get you back to my apartment…,” she leaned over to whisper
in his ear.

The petulant
expression changed to an excited grin. Maggie thought her feisty bullfighter
might be ready to charge before she even got him in a taxi. That was just fine.
The dark alleys of Les Halles had witnessed the more sordid, urgent side of
romance for several centuries. When it came to l’amour, nothing fazed the
French.

****

Veronica, clad in a
pair of worn Levis and a vintage, white lace top, trotted in with a bottle of
fresh milk and warm scones that she’d picked up at the little bakery in the
medieval town half a mile down the mountain. The summer breeze carried the
smell of wild flowers through the open door and John turned to give her a kiss
as he finished brewing coffee in the little chalet’s kitchen.

“I spoke to your father
this morning,” he told her, lingering over her ripe lips.

Veronica snuggled
into his arms so that the cold milk bottle pressed against his back. “Really,
what did he have to say?”

“He said it looks
like Dick Spencer is going to lose the election in November. He’s way down in
the polls.”

“Karma,” quipped
Veronica, pressing her nose against John’s neck and breathing in the fresh
smell of soap. “What else did he say? Does he want me to call him back?”

John did not reply.
Instead, he unwound her arms and led her out to the front steps where the clear
blue sky rose up from mountains still capped with snow. Lower down, the
hillsides were covered in a riot of white Edelweiss, purple Gentians, and
maroon Lady’s Slippers with bees buzzing good-naturedly around and clean fresh
streams gushing icy water along their slopes. It was the most magnificent view
he had ever seen, but it couldn’t quite compare to the beauty of Veronica’s
face smiling up at him with open, trusting eyes. It had taken a while for John
to win that trust. Slowly, he had seen the change come over her during the
months they had ensconced themselves in their alpine Shangri-La.

Every evening they
lit a fire and, one by one, revealed their secrets, their stories and deepest
scars. Finally, one night, there was nothing left but the love that had grown
up between them and he knew it was time. With no more secrets to keep, maybe
love could finally work.

John inhaled a deep
breath of fresh mountain air and took the plunge. “I’ve had an interesting day
today.”

Veronica nestled in
closer, “Really?”

“I called Simon and
had a little chat with him. Then, after that, I called my mom and had a little
chat with her, and then I called your father because, I had to ask him…,” and
John, still gripping her hand in his, sank down onto one knee, “I wanted to ask
him for permission to ask you to marry me.”

Veronica, the ice
princess, gasped, covered her face with one trembling hand and started sobbing.

“Oh wait, wait before you answer,” he
slipped his hand in his pocket and pulled out a very small diamond ring. It was
less than a carat, but it had a pretty antique setting. “This, I can promise
you, is not hot. It belonged to my grandmother. I had to explain to my poor
mother how to FedEx it to me last week. It’s not the Hope…”

Before he could
finish, she had taken the ring and slipped it on her finger. Though her cheeks
glistened with tears, he had never seen her smile so bright.

“Johnnie, this is one
diamond I’m never going to let slip through my fingers!” and she collapsed into
his arms, sending them both rolling across the dew-covered grass in a kiss that
felt like it might just last forever.

Thank you for
purchasing

this Wild Rose Press
publication.

For other wonderful
stories of romance,

please visit our
on-line bookstore at
www.thewildrosepress.com
.

For questions or more
information,

contact us at
[email protected]
.

The Wild Rose Press

www.TheWildRosePress.com