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A New Foundation

Page 21

by Rochelle Alers


  Taylor rounded the bar and eased her off the stool. “I’m so sorry, darling. I’ve been a fool and it was only after you’d left me, and Viola told me what you’d gone through with your ex that I had to apologize to Dom.”

  With wide eyes, Sonja stared at him not daring to believe what she’d just heard. “You approached him about me?”

  “I did.”

  “To tell him to stay away from you.”

  “You didn’t!”

  “Yes, I did because I was jealous, Sonja. And angry. I saw how he’d linger outside the library door, waiting for you to open it.”

  “You’re a fool, Taylor. I’d text him to come and pick up a crate I’d finished to take back to the cellar. He’d wait until I opened the door to come in. It was more than I could say for you when you’d walk in without bothering to knock and lock the door behind you.”

  She turned her head to hide a smile when his expression became sheepish. It was during those times when he’d come in to massage her back and shoulders and they’d end up kissing and touching each other, stopping short of making love.

  Taylor rested his hands on her shoulders. “You enjoyed those impromptu visits as much as I did.”

  “I did. What did Dominic say when you accused him of fooling around with me?”

  “He told me in no uncertain words that I wasn’t his boss and couldn’t tell him what to do. But he did promise to stay away from you because he didn’t want to cause any trouble between us.”

  “Wouldn’t it have been easier to tell him that I’m your fiancée?”

  “But you weren’t, Sonja. I know we talked about marriage, but we hadn’t made a formal announcement.”

  “You’re right about that. Maybe if I’d been wearing an engagement ring Dominic would’ve reacted differently to my agreeing to keep his promise.”

  Taylor’s hand went to her waist, pulling her close. “I’m so sorry for not trusting you. Will you forgive me?”

  “I’ll think about it.” Sonja wasn’t going to let him off that easily.

  “You said you wanted honesty, and I’m going to tell you something about myself because I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  “Is it something most people don’t know about?”

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  Sonja cradled his face, her eyes making love to it. Talking with her mother had made her look at life differently, that as a thirtysomething woman she couldn’t continue to run away when she had to stand and work out her problems. Spending time away from Taylor had made her realize how much she loved and missed him, and the next time he proposed marriage she would give him a resounding yes without any attached stipulations.

  “What’s said in this house will remain in this house.”

  She rested her forehead against his chest, holding back tears when he told her he never knew the man that fathered him because he’d deserted his mother when she told him she was carrying his child. And he didn’t remember his mother, who’d died from kidney disease when he was three. He had gone to live with an aunt who neglected him, and it wasn’t until he’d entered the first grade that the school social worker intervened and he was placed in the home of Conrad and Elise Williamson as their first foster child.

  “It took a while to adjust to wearing clean clothes, sleeping in my own bed, having enough to eat and calling a woman that looked nothing like me Mom. It took me a while to trust her when she said I could live with her for as long as I wanted. That’s when I told her I never wanted to leave, and I would always be her son. She was able to convince Conrad to apply for more foster children, and that’s how I ended up with a sister and three brothers. The day we were all legally adopted we promised one another not tell folks we weren’t biological brothers and sister even though we don’t all look alike.”

  Tilting her chin, Sonja smiled up at Taylor. “Your parents were truly remarkable people.”

  “My Dad was, and mother is,” he said proudly.

  “And they raised a remarkable son and daughter.”

  “My other three brothers are also remarkable.”

  “I can’t wait to meet them.”

  Taylor’s inky-black eyebrows lifted. “Are you saying you want to join my remarkable family?”

  Sonja couldn’t help smiling because she was so happy she feared her heart would burst. “If it means becoming your wife, then my answer is yes.” Tightening his grip on her waist, Taylor lifted her off her feet and kissed her until she struggled to breathe. “Taylor, stop before I pass out.”

  “Now that we’re engaged, you need a ring. I’m going upstairs to look at your jewelry stash to see if I can find one Conrad Williamson would want to pass along to his future daughter-in-law.”

  Sonja sat on the stool, waiting for Taylor to return. She’d brought all the jewelry home and stored it in a portable safe in the closet in the spare bedroom until it could be appraised. She estimated the rings, bracelets, necklaces, brooches, watches, hair and tie clips were worth millions and told Taylor he should confer with his mother and siblings which estate pieces they wanted to keep or sell.

  Sonja covered her mouth with her right hand when Taylor returned holding the Asscher diamond ring between his thumb and forefinger. Her eyes widened when he went down on one knee and grasped her left hand.

  “Miss Sonja Rios-Martin, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

  She had accused of him being traditional and he was playing the part. “Yes, Mr. Taylor Edward Williamson, I will marry you.”

  Taylor slipped the priceless ring on her finger, rose and kissed her mouth. “Thank you, muñeca. And thank you for trusting me enough to accept me as your future husband.”

  “I love you for being you and for trusting me with your family’s secret.”

  He eased back, meeting her eyes. “You have no idea how much I love you, Sonja.”

  “I think I do,” she said shyly when she saw lust shimmering in the dark eyes. “Dinner will have wait until you show me, papi.”

  Taylor scooped her off the stool, took the stairs two at a time and walked into the bedroom. No words were spoken because their bodies communicated wordlessly how much they had come to love each other. They fell asleep, their limbs entwined, and it was much later when they left the bed to shower together before returning to the kitchen to eat and make plans for their future and establish a new foundation for Bainbridge House.

  Coming next month

  TUSCAN SUMMER WITH THE BILLIONAIRE

  Susan Meier

  It wasn’t right. He was feeling things he wasn’t allowed to feel, definitely mixing business with pleasure, when he knew better.

  He shook his head. “I could virtually run our multibillion-dollar conglomerate in my sleep, and your simple family business is breaking all my rules, making me crazy.”

  She shrugged. Her lips turned up into a smile that stole his breath and made his blood race.

  He still held her hand. They stood only a few inches apart. The full moon smiled down on them while the vineyard that was at the center of their problems rustled in the breeze.

  But she was smiling. Amused by him.

  The humor of it struck him and his own lips rose. “This is crazy.”

  “There’s that word again. You use crazy a lot…especially about yourself.”

  She really was funny. Fun. He felt like he was getting a glimpse of her as she really was, maybe as she had been before their employee embezzled.

  With their gazes locked, everything inside him slowed to a crawl. Warmth suffused him, along with a yearning so pure he couldn’t fight it. He inched closer. The connection between them rose, swelling around him, urging him even closer.

  “I think I’m going to kiss you.”

  Her eyes didn’t even flicker with surprise. And why would they? They’d been attracted since the second they’d laid eyes on each other.
<
br />   “You shouldn’t.”

  Her voice was a soft whisper that skipped along his spine, but she didn’t move. Didn’t step back. Held his gaze.

  Expectantly.

  The hum of whatever it was that buzzed between them drowned out his common sense and reasoning. Simple curiosity filled him, as desire surged in his blood and temptation promised fulfillment, pleasure enough to make it worth the risk.

  He lowered his head and kissed her.

  Continue reading

  TUSCAN SUMMER WITH THE BILLIONAIRE

  Susan Meier

  Available next month

  Copyright © 2021 Susan Meier

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