“We shared a kiss,” he whispered, keeping her at arm’s length. “And that is all we shall share tonight. I vow it.”
Her eyes widened, revealing the rich, silky brown that had the power to undo him and make him forget about everything else. “But what does the kiss mean to you? What can it mean? I just don’t know where this can go.”
“What does it mean to me? Where can it go?” Should he be completely honest with her, even if his honesty scared her away?
“We live in two different worlds,” she continued, “have two different lives—”
“I want to marry you.”
Another happy tsk came from the other side of the wall. Apparently, Braun approved of his bumbling efforts at winning Emberly.
Emberly, on the other hand, was studying his face again, this time with eyes narrowing in disbelief. She gave a huff, then pushed at his chest and took a large step back. “Don’t say that, Max.”
“That I want to marry you?”
She moved farther away. “You can’t say that.”
“Whyever not?”
“Because it’s not true and would never happen.”
“It certainly is true, and I can marry whomever I wish.”
She bumped into the couch and plopped down. “What about Sarah?”
“I have never loved her.”
“I thought you wanted to learn to be love-crazy so you could win her.”
“You are the only one I want to be love-crazy with.”
She palmed her head as though she could not quite believe what he was saying.
He had to make it very clear that his intention to marry her was genuine. He crossed to her, lowered himself to one knee in front of her, and then reached for her hand. “Please do me the honor of becoming my wife.”
15
Was she dreaming?
Max had told her he loved her. Twice. Now he was down on one knee proposing marriage to her.
This was crazy. Wasn’t it?
Even if it was crazy, it was the kind of love-crazy she’d always witnessed in her family, the kind she’d always longed for but never believed possible.
His handsome features were taut with earnestness, and his eyes were bright and filled with hope.
They’d just shared an amazing kiss—the kind of kiss she would never forget, not even if she lived a hundred years. It was a kiss that she hadn’t wanted to end, one that had whisked her off her feet and deposited her on the clouds so that she’d been floating in pure bliss.
His lips . . . his mouth . . .
Her gaze dropped to his lips and mouth—so firm, so determined, so sensual. He was an amazing kisser, and she wanted to kiss him again right now.
In fact, she wanted to answer his proposal the same way she’d answered his declaration of love—with a kiss. Was it a way to avoid responding? Or was it her way of saying yes? She wasn’t quite sure.
But he was waiting for a real answer this time, and she had to say something. “Max, I want to say yes... because I think I’m falling in love with you too...”
He expelled a tight breath at the same time as a smile broke free—one of his genuine smiles that made his face irresistibly charming.
