“What are you doing here?” she asked. So afraid of his answer but she had to know.
“I abdicated.”
“Oh, Rafe. Are you sure?”
“Very,” he said, getting up and coming over to her. “I can’t rule a country when my heart is somewhere else.”
“Your heart?” This was more than she’d hoped for. She had dreamed that he’d come for her but she’d never let herself believe it. She wasn’t the kind of woman who a man like Rafe would give up everything for.
Yet she knew now that she was. She could see it in his hazel eyes and his wide grin. Only love made a person grin like that. She knew because she was grinning the same way.
“I love you, Red. I’ve never met another person who completes me the way you do. I know that sounds cheesy, but I’m new to this kind of thing.”
She shook her head. “You can’t abdicate. I don’t want to be the reason you gave up the throne—”
“You aren’t the only reason I abdicated, Em. My time in Alma was constraining. I didn’t like having to follow all the rules or answer to a committee. That’s not my way. I want to focus on you and our child. And I can’t rule without you by my side. Plus, it wasn’t really a choice when it came down to picking between you and Alma. You were miles ahead.”
“Really?” she asked. “Miles?”
“Yes,” he said, getting down on one knee in front of her. “Will you marry me?”
She got down on her knees in front of him and wrapped her arms around him. “I love you so much. I’m sorry for all the mean things I said today.”
“Me, too,” he said. “I think I knew even as you walked out that I was never going to be king of Alma. I didn’t want it, especially given the way I needed you. So are you going to be Mrs. Rafael Montoro IV?”
“Yes.”
He took the ring box from his pocket and put it on her finger.
“You should know that there is some question as to whether I will remain CEO of Montoro Enterprises...I might buy you that restaurant you were talking about after all.”
“We can see about that. Am I dreaming this? Are you really here?”
“I am.”
She still couldn’t believe it. She was just so happy to have Rafe in her arms and to know that he was going to be hers. She put her hands on his jaw and kissed him with all the love she’d been afraid to admit she felt for him. He held her close and whispered softly that he was never letting her go again.
There was a knock on the door and Rafe got to his feet, lifting her up, too. “You better eat your dinner.”
She went over to the desk and sat down to her meal while Rafe opened the door. It was Harry. The two men exchanged a look before Harry smiled at her.
“Everything better now?” he asked.
She nodded. “I’m engaged.”
Harry let out a whoop. “Drinks on the house. And you can take the rest of the night off.”
Fourteen
The moon shone brightly down, warming them as Rafe led her toward the hammock in her backyard. The grass path under her feet was soft.
He stopped, turned her around and drew her into his arms from behind. His head rested on her shoulder and his big hands spanned her waist. She stood still, feeling the heat of his body against hers.
They fit perfectly together, which was something she’d rarely experienced in real life before Rafe. There was something about him that made everything sweeter. But this was a dream. She found it hard to believe that she’d found a man she could trust with her heart and soul. But he was that man. She could just let go of everything and enjoy it. But a part of her was afraid to.
He turned her in his arms and she let him. He kept his hands at her waist and when she was facing him she was struck again by how he was quite a bit taller than she was. He gave her a half smile before he leaned in closer.
“You have a very tempting mouth,” he said.
“I don’t... Thank you?”
He gave a small laugh. “You are very welcome. It was one of the first things I noticed about you when you told me to wait in line at the bar. But I knew that you wanted something more from me.”
“What?”
“You seemed to be begging me to kiss you,” he said.
“Perhaps I was,” she admitted.
His mouth was firm on hers as he took his time kissing her. He rubbed his lips back and forth over hers lightly until her mouth parted and she felt the humid warmth of his exhalation. He tasted so...delicious, she thought. She wanted more and opened her mouth wider to invite him closer.