“You can’t have me,” she told him.
“If you’re so sure about that, then what’s the harm in hearing me out?” He paused then added, “Unless you’re afraid.”
She wasn’t afraid—she was terrified. But she couldn’t let it show, because men like him fed off fear. “Fine,” she said, walking to the sofa, remembering halfway there that it was where they had sat together his first time here, so she changed course for the chair instead. She sat primly on the edge, arms folded over her chest. “Say what you have to say. Even though it will be a waste of time.”
“First,” he began, taking a seat on the sofa and setting the envelope beside him, “I want to thank you.”
Thank her? “For what?”
“For reading those e-mails. You needed to know the truth, and God knows I never would have had the guts to tell you myself. The fear of you someday finding out and of what it would do to us would have haunted me for the rest of my life.”
She didn’t know what to say to that, but he didn’t seem to expect her to say anything.
“Second, for the record, as far as lies go, I only lied to you twice. And before you go saying that a lie by omission is still a lie,” he continued, which was exactly what she’d been about to do, “you have to admit that it’s at the very least a slippery slope, because no one says everything they’re thinking one hundred percent of the time. And while I may not have always been forthcoming about my intentions, I was always honest. Except those two times.”
“One was about your brother, right?”
“Right.”
“So what was the other one?”
“No man, especially one with my past dating habits, forgets to use a condom.”
Her jaw dropped. “You did that on purpose? Why? So I would have to marry you? And isn’t it typically the woman who traps the man?”
He grinned, his dimple winking at her, and her knees went soft. “It had nothing to do with trapping you. It was more of a base instinct thing. My way of branding you or possessing you or something.”
She frowned. “I’m pretty sure the last man to act on that particular instinct wore animal skins and carried a club.”
“Nope. Men still do it. And if they don’t, they want to. It’s nature.”
She didn’t know if she was buying that.
“And, quite frankly, it feels better,” he admitted, and she thought that sounded like a much more plausible excuse.
“But back to my original point. I lied twice. That’s it.”
Okay, fine, so he wasn’t a liar. That didn’t mean he wasn’t a lot of other awful things that she wanted nothing to do with.
“Okay, third,” he said, “for all the times in my life that I told myself I didn’t give a damn what my father thought of me, I was still trying to impress him. To show him that he was wrong about me. And unfortunately, that desire manifested itself in an overdeveloped sense of greed and entitlement. Coincidentally, all the things you claimed to hate in men. I guess I was just good at hiding it.”
“So, Daddy made you do it?” she snapped, and instantly felt guilty for the heartless comment. She was just no good at being snarky.
But Garrett didn’t look wounded. “Don’t misunderstand. It’s not an excuse. What I did was wrong and inexcusable. It’s only an explanation of why I acted that way.”
“Do you still care?”
“What my father thinks?” He regarded her curiously, as though he’d never really considered it before. “I suppose I’ll always care somewhere deep down, or at the very least, wish things were different. The difference is, now I know that the things my father said and did were his problem. They had nothing to do with me.”
So, unresolved past family issues were always a nuisance, and she was glad that he’d finally made peace with it, but it had nothing to do with her. And it certainly didn’t mean she could trust him.
“Okay, fourth, and this one is important so you need to really pay attention. You are not stupid or naive. In fact, you’re one of the smartest, most resourceful people I know.” He leaned forward, meeting her eye. “When I met you, Louisa, I was in a dark place. I had sunk about as low as I could go, but despite that, you saw the good in me. The real me that was trapped underneath all the lies. By putting your trust in me, you drew me back out into the light. You saved me. You also made me realize what’s important.” He picked up the envelope. “And it isn’t this.”
He held it out to her, and only when she took it did she realize her hands were trembling. Her heart was pounding, too. So hard it felt as if it might beat right through her chest.
“What’s in here?” she asked.
“The deed to every parcel of land I own on both Thomas and Morgan Isle. Everything I own. Except my father’s land. That one I want to keep.”
He was going to sell his land?
“Of course, the names will have to be legally transferred,” he explained. “But as far as I’m concerned, they’re yours now.”
“Mine? You’re giving it to me?”
“Consider it an early wedding gift.”
“But what if I won’t marry you?”
He shrugged. “Then just consider it a gift.”
“But…Garrett, this is your livelihood. Everything you’ve worked so hard for. You can’t just give it away.”
“I just did.”
“But—”
“Louisa, I would rather be penniless than ever be that man again.”
“But…what will you do?”
He shrugged. “Who knows, maybe I’ll try farming.”
God, he was serious. He was going to give up everything for her. But not just for her, for himself. Everything.
This was crazy.
No, this was Garrett. The real Garrett. The one she had fallen in love with. And still loved.
“Well,” he said, rising from the couch, “that was pretty much all I came here to say. I won’t take up any more of your time.”
He made a move toward the door, and Louisa launched herself at him. She didn’t even know she was going to do it until she was on her feet. But she knew, deep down to the depths of her soul, that she couldn’t let him go. Not ever. And when his arms went around her and he held her close, all the emotions she thought might have shut down forever came rushing back at the same time. It was a little overwhelming, and even a little scary, but it was wonderful.
Garrett buried his face in her hair, nuzzled her neck. “I love you so much, Louisa.”
“I love you, too.”
“As long as we both shall live?”
She squeezed him tighter. “Definitely. Even longer.”
“I have a ring in my pocket with your name on it, and if you would let go for a second, I’ll even get down on one knee.”
Instead of letting go, she held him tighter. “The ring can wait. This can’t.”
For a long time they just held each other, and Louisa thought about marriage and babies and loving only him for the rest of her life, and she started having another feeling, one she was sure both she and Garrett would be feeling a lot from now on.
Happy.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-6018-8
VIRGIN PRINCESS, TYCOON’S TEMPTATION
Copyright © 2010 by Michelle Celmer
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*Royal Seductions
Virgin Princess, Tycoon's Temptation Page 15