He touched his fingertips to Meredith’s chin and urged her to look at him. His steel blue eyes were dark like the sky. The intensity behind them crackled like the lightning in the distance. “I kissed you because I want a future with you. Not because of a bargain that I made before I met you. I love you, Meredith.”
Her breath caught, and she couldn’t speak.
“I love you,” he repeated and rested his forehead against hers. There was something very intimate and affectionate in his action, and Meredith’s heart began to open once more. “I cannot live another day without knowing you will be part of my life forever. I need you, Meri. I desire you like no other.”
When he lowered to one knee beside the bench and gathered her hands in his, she thought she might be dreaming. His gaze was as clear as his voice. “Will you become my wife?”
Meredith would like to say she made him squirm a moment, to agonize over her answer, but she didn’t. Unlike Lady Blackwood, she wasn’t playing games. But she would be grateful for her prize—the love of her handsome Lord Blackwood.
She captured his face between her palms and murmured, “Yes, my love. I will be your wife, and yes to forever.”
Then she pressed her lips against his to seal the promise of a long and happy future together.
