Aiesha felt a smile break open her face. It unlocked something gnarled and tightly bound inside her chest. ‘I guess when you put it that way, how could I refuse?’
His hands tightened again on her shoulders. ‘You mean it? You’ll marry me?’
She laughed at his shocked expression. ‘Aren’t you going to ask me to say it?’
‘Say what?’
‘The three little magic words.’
He grinned as he pulled her close again. ‘I heard you the first time.’
She wrinkled her brow as she tilted her head back to look at him. ‘When was that?’
‘On stage tonight,’ he said. ‘You turned to the audience and I knew you were speaking directly to me. I sat and cried like a baby through that song. I was surrounded by thousands of people and yet I felt like I was the only one in the audience.’
Aiesha blinked through tears of happiness. ‘That’s because you’re the only one that matters to me.’
His eyes twinkled. ‘What about my money?’
She twinkled her eyes right on back. ‘I’ve got my own money.’
‘What about my mother? She matters to you, doesn’t she?’
Aiesha felt a warm rush of love flow through her. ‘You know she does.’
‘Have you ever told her?’
‘Not in so many words, but I think she knows.’
He stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. ‘You could call her and tell her. I think she’d love to hear you say the words. She’s ridiculously sentimental like that.’
Aiesha put her arms around his neck. ‘I want you to hear them first. I never said them to anyone else before.’ She looked him in the eyes, her heart suddenly feeling too big for her chest. ‘I love you.’
His eyes watered up. His throat moved up and down. His arms around her tightened. ‘I love you, too. So much. I never thought it was possible to love someone this much. You will marry me, won’t you?’
She gave him a teasing smile. ‘I wonder if anyone’s ever accepted a marriage proposal in a dressing room before?’
He brought his mouth down to within a millimetre of hers. ‘First time for everything,’ he said, and then he kissed her.