Page 72 of Arrogant Heir

‘Will he not support it?’ she asks.

‘No. There’s an advantageously arranged marriage on the cards for Seb. He’s had one failed marriage after following his heart, and Grandfather won’t tolerate a second divorce. Poor sod probably doesn’t know it yet, but this time he’s going to have to marry for the good of the family.’

‘Oh, that’s sad. Seb is such a good guy,’ she whispers.

‘He is. But he’s had his one fuck up and now he needs to do it Grandfather’s way. For all that my grandparents were besotted with each other from the start, my grandmother was the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in the country. That’s how Grandfather got the funding to open his first department store. Her father—my great grandfather—was a railway and shipping magnate, and he backed him. Once he got over the shock, that was!’

‘He didn’t mention that,’ she quips.

She’s still in my arms, and her head nestles against my chest. She fits me perfectly and I feel my heart beating fast.

I laugh. ‘No, well, he’s no fool.’ I draw back so she can see my face. It’s important to me to tell her everything she needs to know. I want her to see the real Damian—not the façade I put up to protect myself.

Summoning every inch of courage in me, I say, ‘I’ve been insecure and jealous ever since Stephanie left me. I see that now. It was such a painful time after my father died and then losing her pushed me over the precipice. I fell to pieces and was a total wreck. I jumped to conclusions about you and Seb. And then about you and your ex. I’m sorry for that too. It’s as if I was determined to see the worst in everyone.’

She reaches up to kiss me, as if she knows how difficult it is for me to bare my soul, and our lips brush lightly. My groin stirs and I ache for her.

She draws back and says, ‘I love you, Damian Rochester. There’s been no one else for me since the moment we met. You’ve dominated every thought since that day, and I’ve hated every second we’ve been apart.’

Then we kiss like we’ve been wandering parched in the desert for a lifetime and lose ourselves in each other. Nothing else matters. She’s the love of my life and she’s back in my arms where she belongs.

‘Will you marry me, Red?’ I say, determined to go all the way. I’m playing full-out and I’m certain of what I want.What I need.I hold my breath and wait for her answer.

She nods. Her caramel eyes gleam as she says, ‘Yes.’ And then more loudly, ‘Yes!’

‘I’ve never been so nervous in my life!’ I laugh. ‘Jamie Rochester,’ I say. ‘It has a fantastic ring to it. They called us Jamian in the paper, you know. The press will have a field day when we announce our engagement.’

‘They can call us whatever they want. Who cares as long as we’re together?’ she says, and her words are like a soothing balm to my weary spirit.

‘And talking of rings, I’d drop onto bended knee right now and do it properly, but we must get you the perfect engagement ring. I realise I was in such a rush to get over here, I completely forgot about needing a ring to propose. I’ll call the master jeweller and you can have any ring you want.’

‘That sounds amazing,’ she says, giving me a coy look and then trailing her hand across my groin. ‘But I wantyoufirst.’

I pull her tighter against me and an urgent need to feel her skin on mine takes over. I’m rock hard as I sweep her into my arms in one swift move. ‘Great idea. Which way is the bed?’

She points to a door. ‘Thank God for the headlines,’ she says. Her eyes shine and her cheeks are pink.

‘True. For once, the press got it absolutely right,’ I say.

Fairy tales do come true, after all.

EPILOGUE

Jamie

I don’t think you’ll be surprised I’m having the last word. Falling into the world of the Rochesters started with me escaping London and fleeing to Hampshire. Little did I knowthe onewould be waiting for me at Greystone.

Well, he wasn’t exactly waiting for me, but you know…

It’s like a fairy tale come true. I’m at my flat in Clapham, sorting through the rest of my stuff.

It feels like the right time to let my flat go because I’ve spent every night (and most days) with Damian since he turned up at my door and proposed.

No one was more surprised than me. My heart was bleeding, and I ached for him every day, but I didn’t know he felt the same. I thought the chances were that he was back with his ex, and I’d never see him again. I thought whatever it was between us—as passionate as it seemed—was over. The last thing I expected was a marriage proposal from thearrogant heir.

My heart glows just thinking about him, and I’m buzzing about us spending the weekend at Greystone.

Damian’s at the London office and he’s picking me up soon and we’re driving there this afternoon to visit his grandfather.