Her heart clenched at the thought of going over it again. ‘There really isn’t—’
‘You were right—I do love you.’ Tension was stamped in every line of his handsome face. ‘I think I’ve loved you from the day you walked into my office dressed as a nun, determined to find a way through my security cordon. Or maybe it was before that—maybe a part of me fell in love with the seventeen-year-old you—I don’t know.’
She’d never seen him look like this. Never seen him so unsure of himself. ‘Stefan—’
‘You were so open about your feelings. I’d never met anyone like you. It frightened me and it fascinated me at the same time. I liked the fact that you spoke openly without guarding every word. It made me realise the other people in my life were—’ he frowned as he searched for the word ‘—fake.’
‘So was I.’
‘No. I saw you that night. The real you. And when you walked into my office that day and pulled out your candles and asked for a loan I was so cynical, so sure I knew everything there was to know about women and had it all under control. I didn’t look deeper. I judged you based on everything that had gone before. But the truth was I knew nothing about you. You shook every preconceived idea I had about women. That night when you had too much champagne—’
‘You were so kind to me.’
‘You have no idea how much self-control it took to keep my hands off you.’ He groaned, dragging his fingers through his hair. ‘You were sweet and sexy rolled into one and so unbelievably curious—’
‘Why was it unbelievable? You’re the most gorgeous man I’m ever going to meet. I wanted to make the most of it.’
‘When I worked out your reasons for wanting to leave the island I couldn’t believe I’d been so blind. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t worked it out.’
‘Why would you? My father can be very persuasive.’
‘And I have more reason to know that than most.’
‘None of this matters now.’
‘No, it doesn’t, because you’re mine now and I’m never letting you go.’ His voice hoarse, he crossed the room in three strides and took her face in his hands. ‘Until I met you all I knew about love was how much damage it could do. I didn’t want that. I spent my life avoiding that. I couldn’t understand why anyone would take that risk and I certainly didn’t want to, so I kept my relationships short and superficial—and then I met you and suddenly I didn’t want to do either of those things. For the first time ever I cared whether I saw a woman again. I wanted to see you again.’
‘And you were scared.’
‘Yes, and you knew that. You knew I was scared. You knew I loved you.’
‘I thought you did. I hoped you did. But I never thought you’d admit it. Or want it.’
‘I do want it. I want you.’
He kissed her gently, his mouth lingering on hers, and her head reeled and her thoughts tumbled as she tried to unravel the one situation she hadn’t prepared for.
‘I— It’s too complicated. You hate my father.’
‘It’s not complicated. I’m not marrying your father and I’m hoping you won’t want to invite him to our wedding.’
Her heart thudded and skipped. ‘Is that a proposal?’
‘No. I haven’t reached that part yet but I’m getting there. I have something for you.’
He reached for a box on the table and her brows rose because she recognised the packaging.
‘That’s one of my candles.’
‘Close. It’s one I had developed just for you. You already have Relax, Energise and Seduction. This one is called Love.’
Love?
He wanted to marry her?
Hands shaking, Selene opened the box and saw a diamond ring nestling in a glass candle-holder. ‘I don’t know what I’m more shocked about—the fact that you’re asking me to marry you or the fact that you’ve actually given me a candle. Does this mean I’m actually allowed to light it in the bedroom?’
‘You can do anything you want with me in the bedroom,’ he said huskily, sliding the ring onto her finger and then kissing her again. ‘Just don’t tell me it’s too late. Don’t tell me you’ve given up on me for taking so long to discover what you knew all along.’