"That's the one," he said. "Go get it and open it."
Elsa walked across the room, picked up the box and returned to the sofa. "Do I get a proposal first?"
He grinned. "You've already proposed to me, remember? This is just my way of officially saying yes."
Her hands trembled ever so slightly as she opened the box and removed a small velvet case. Holding her breath, she flipped back the lid. Elsa gasped. She stared in total disbelief at the impressive diamond ring. Square cut, sparkling brilliance, perfect. And no less than four carats. It had to be a fake, she thought. No way could Rafe afford such an expensive ring.
"It's real," he said, as if he'd read her mind.
"But how—"
Rafe scooted closer to her, removed the ring from the case, lifted her left hand and slipped the ring into place. "You know how you always dreamed of marrying a rich guy?"
Elsa swallowed hard.
"Do you think marrying a man worth about six hundred million would make that dream come true?"
"Six hundred million?"
"Yeah, give or take a million."
"Rafe Devlin, are telling me that you're. . .you're a multimillionaire?"
"I'm afraid so."
"But why—You were a cop and a private security agent. You told me you were a kid like Troy, always in trouble."
"I was. But rich kids can get in trouble, too. And as far as my jobs—I liked being a cop and a security agent. I'm not all that interested in being a businessman. I leave all that to my executives who love the corporate world."
"Does this mean I can have anything I want?" Elsa cuddled up to Rafe, careful not to press against his wounded side.
"You name it, it's yours."
She kissed his lips tenderly and gazed into his eyes. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you. That's all." Rafe cupped the back of her head and brought her lips to his for a thorough kiss. About that time the door flew open and Troy rushed in.
"I'm staying in Maysville for the time being," Troy said. "Alyssa told her father he could either accept the two of us being together or she'd leave town with me. So Dr. Alden backed down and has agreed to let us date."
"Oh, Troy, that's wonderful," Elsa said, "but selfishly, I wish you were going to Knoxville with us."
"We are," he said breathlessly. "Or we will be as soon as we both finish up here at the junior college. We're going to enroll at UT to get our degrees. Then once we finish college and get good jobs, we're going to get married."
"My goodness. It looks as if you and Alyssa have everything worked out."
"Yeah, we do." Troy glanced from Elsa to Rafe. "What about you two? When are y'all going to get hitched?"
Rafe put his arm around Elsa's shoulders and pulled her close to his side. "Just as soon as your sister can plan the biggest, most extravagant, most expensive wedding of the year."
"Yeah, right." Troy chuckled.
"No, he means it," Elsa said.
"Huh?" Troy frowned.
"Oh, did I forget to tell you that your future brother-in-law is a multimillionaire?"
"Are you kidding me?"
"Nope, she's not kidding," Rafe said. "I'm a multimillionaire."
"How cool is that?" Troy laughed. "Damn, sis, you not only got the best guy around, but you snagged yourself a rich husband like you always wanted."
"That's what I thought I wanted. But now I know that all I want is Rafe," Elsa said. "Rich or poor. I'd marry him and spend the rest of my life completely happy even if he didn't have a dime to his name. What we have together is far more important than all the money in the world. We love each other and we both know the importance of family."
"I figured Rafe was the right man for you way back last year in St. Camille," Troy told her, then looked directly at his future brother-in-law. "I guess you know you're getting the best there is, don't you? There's nobody in the world like Elsa. And I'm going to be around to remind you on a regular basis what a lucky SOB you are."
Rafe chuckled, then reached over and pulled Elsa close. "I don't think I'll ever need anyone to remind me. I came close to losing her and realized then that she meant everything to me. I swore to myself that I was going to spend the rest of my life loving her and doing my best to make her happy."
"Just keep on loving me," Elsa said, "and I'll always be happy."
Epilogue
Elsa and Rafe's six-year-old daughter, Jill, walked down the aisle, dropping rose petals as she preceded the bride. When the wedding march began, everyone stood to pay homage to Alyssa, who looked like an angel in her elegant white gown. Dr. Alden proudly escorted his daughter down the aisle, straight toward the beaming bridegroom. The couple had followed the plans they had made seven years before and not only achieved degrees from UT in their chosen fields, but Alyssa was now working toward her doctorate and Troy was in law school.
As the matron of honor, Elsa stood front and center, as did Rafe, as the best man. Their four-year-old son Jordan fidgeted restlessly where he stood a couple of feet from his father, the ring bearer's pillow in his hand. Milly and Sherrie, bridesmaid and matron, wore dresses that matched Elsa's, in a pale shade of pink. Sherrie and Chris had been living and working in Knoxville for five years now and were expecting their first baby, after years of thinking they'd never have a child of their own. Milly lived with Rafe and Elsa, along with her full-time companion, and family gatherings at the Devlin house—a twelve-thousand-square-foot mansion—was like a three-ring circus.
Rafe worked as a Knoxville detective and she as the manager of WKNB, the stations Devlin, Inc., owned, and except for a few luxuries—like a companion for Milly, a huge house, the Jaguar Elsa loved to drive, and being able to afford extravagant Christmas and birthday gifts, the Devlins lived a fairly normal life.
As the minister performed the ceremony, Rafe and Elsa had eyes only for each other, remembering their own wedding and silently reciting the vows they had exchanged that day more than seven years ago. Rafe had indeed made all of Elsa's dreams come true, not because he was a millionaire but because he loved her. She had learned along the way that love is life's true treasure.
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