Secrets of the Rich & Famous (14 page)

He looked back up at her, his gaze clear and unapologetic.

‘So I made a new one. I was rich, I was successful,
I had plenty of pretty girls crossing my path, so I decided to enjoy the bachelor party lifestyle without letting anyone get close. And for a while I thought I’d made the right decision. I had a scream of a time.’ He paused. ‘It’s just recently that it’s begun to feel like not enough.’

‘Recently?’

‘I began to wonder just who the hell I was slogging away like this
for
. And when I met you I began to understand.’

‘Understand?’

‘I’m still a family man underneath it all. Depriving myself of my family couldn’t change that. For the first time in so long I started to think my life could be about more than just work. You make me want that, and if you give me a chance I promise we will always be an equal partnership. I will never do anything to undermine you again. I love you too much to want to restrict you.’

Jen was distracted from delicious shock at the fact he’d used the L-word by Elsie’s gobsmacked gasp from across the bar as he put a tiny blue velvet box on the table in front of her.

‘Is that …?’

‘A proposal? Yes, it is. But before you say anything there’s something I want to mention.’

She stared at the box on the table between them. In that box was the moment her life diverged. Two paths. One way with him. One
way alone. And suddenly she knew what was coming.

The caveat.

She didn’t blame him. She understood his reasons perfectly. And yet there was disappointment. That he thought she would be interested in half a fortune she’d had no part in earning and that her life was to be overshadowed by yet another contract. She’d thought he knew her better than that.

‘You want to talk about a pre-nup,’ she said.

He looked at her for a long moment.

‘Why? Do you want one?’ he asked.

She stared at him, unsmiling, and he dropped the light-hearted tone.

‘You probably think a pre-nup is a given with me, right? Based on my past.’

She nodded slowly.

‘Based on everything. You don’t leave anything to chance, and that’s something I’d have to try and work on if we were to go with this. Make you fly by the seat of your pants a bit more.’ She offered him a smile. ‘I don’t blame you for being that way after what happened with your marriage.’

She glanced down again at the box in front of her. Give up Alex because of a principle? Could she do that? Her heart twisted at the thought of being without him again.

She could let all the prejudices her father
had given her slide and just be with him. What did she care if there was a pre-nup, anyway? If they ever broke up she knew perfectly well she wouldn’t want anything from him that she didn’t deserve.

She could forgive him for giving
Gossip!
the interview, because despite all the angst and bitterness he hadn’t swung the job for her. Not really. Just being connected to him opened doors, and if she wanted to be with him that was something she’d have to swallow however hard it stuck in her throat.

The choice was simple. She could be lonely and feel victorious or get rid of her stupid pride and be happy.

For him she would compromise. For
him
.

‘
If
we were to go with this?’ he said. ‘How big is that “if” exactly?’

She took a deep breath.

‘I love you,’ she said. She saw his eyes light up at that and it strengthened her resolve still further. ‘I’m willing to sign a pre-nup, if that’s what you want.’ She paused. ‘If that’s what you need.’

He visibly tensed, and a light frown touched his face. Her hands were suddenly in his, surrounded by them.

‘Thank you,’ he said.

She smiled a little.

‘But that won’t be necessary.’

Her heartbeat jolted into action. She looked at him through narrowed eyes.

‘What do you mean?’

‘I’m guessing the thought of a monetary get-out-clause isn’t something you want in your future, being as you have the one from hell in your past,’ he said. ‘So the answer is no, I won’t be wanting a pre-nup. I don’t intend to need one. I love you. I’ve never been more certain of anything.’

He lifted one hand to her cheek, stroked it gently. Heat sparkled along her cheekbone as if it might burst into flames. Her stomach did a slow and delicious cartwheel. She felt such love for him that it made her throat dry, and she knew tears might follow pretty soon if she didn’t swallow hard.

‘Jen, will you quit with all the questions and marry me?’

She waited a moment, just to let the full deliciousness of that question sink in and envelop her.

He got her
.

It filled her with happiness. He lived his life with a safety net and he was letting that go. For her. Because he understood how important it was for her.

As he opened the box she looked down in awe at the square-cut diamond, yet nothing
could have meant more than the trust he was putting in her.

‘Yes,’ she said, finally letting excitement bubble over. She wanted to jump up and down, leap around the bar.

He slid the ring on her finger, then held her hand tightly in his. He leaned forward to give her a hot kiss that made the locals gawp, and then something occurred to her. She put a hand on his shoulder, broke the kiss gently.

‘Hang on,’ she said. ‘Didn’t you say there were a few points you wanted to bring up before I gave you my answer?’

‘I meant wedding details, you idiot. You can choose whatever you want—location, theme, guest lists. Anything. Just one condition.’

‘What’s that?’

‘You have to include my family in there. I’ve got some bridges to build. Otherwise you get
carte blanche
. Marlon can do the styling, if you like. He really took to you.’

They both turned at the sound of exaggerated throat-clearing.

Elsie drew herself up to her full height.

‘If there’s any styling to be done,’ she said, an indignant tilt to her chin, ‘look no further.’

ISBN: 9781472039408

SECRETS OF THE RICH & FAMOUS

© Charlotte Phillips 2013

First Published in Great Britain in 2013
Harlequin (UK) Limited
Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR

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