She wasn’t quite catatonic now. Just a bundle of nerves. Without needing to be told, Alex understood the trauma she was reliving.
It was her wedding day all over again. She’d been left to face the crowd alone. But she wasn’t alone. He was there with her. He’d always be by her side. And Leo and Esme were hot on his heels.
Jan was surrounded by the ones who loved her most. The ones who believed in her. The ones who’d never let her down or let her walk down an aisle alone.
She needed to know that. As she opened her mouth to speak, Alex stepped up. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into his warm body.
Jan startled. She turned and looked up at him, her gaze wide with surprise. In real time, Alex saw the tension release from the corners of her eyes. He saw her mouth relax as she let out a long, slow exhale.
As she leaned on him and took comfort and solace in his hold, Alex felt like the king of the world. “I have an announcement to make,” he said, never taking his eyes off the woman he wanted to hold onto for the rest of his life.
All went silent. The reporters stopped questioning. The cameras stopped clicking. The pencils stopped scratching. Even the night crawlers hushed to hear what their prince had to say.
“Chef Peppers and I are opening a restaurant together. We will serve fusion fare of the likes your taste buds could never imagine. We will install hydroponics in the back of the garden for fresh fruits and vegetables. This is a tactic that I learned from my time in Nairobi where I helped locals to install the technology. Our restaurant, The Prince’s Palette, will be entirely farm to table produce using recipes and spices I learned while helping cities install food co-ops and farmer’s markets around the world. This venture will be successful because when this woman and I are in the kitchen together, magic happens.”
A grin spread across Jan’s face. She looked up at Alex as though he’d hung the moon for her. Alex felt certain he could stretch that tall and reach the night’s sky for this woman.
“And the wedding?” shouted a reporter. “The inheritance?”
Alex’s gaze never left the woman he loved, the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. “There’s not going to be any wedding.”
Jan blinked. Her bottom lip trembled, and she shut her eyes. Alex felt a shudder run through her body, and he pulled her closer into his heat.
“I don’t need any collateral to secure my future with this woman,” he said.
Jan opened her eyes and looked at him. They stared directly into each other’s gazes. Alex felt she was seeing into his soul.
“I know with every fiber of my being that we will be partners for the rest of our life. And that that partnership will be fruitful, and bountiful, and filled with mutual respect and utter devotion and … love.”
Another tremble went through Jan’s body. This time, it didn’t have the tinge of sorrow. It was a shiver of delight.
Alex went down on one knee. He took Jan’s hand in his. “Jan Peppers, will you do me the honor of never marrying me.”
There was a confused silence that rippled through the crowd. Alex only had eyes for Jan. He saw when the true meaning of his words, meaning that only those in their circle would understand, hit her.
“Will you go on this journey through life with me with no safety net knowing that I believe in us and will do everything in my power to bring about our success?”
Jan opened her mouth, but no words would come out. After a few deep breaths, she tried again. “Yes, Alex. Yes, I’ll never marry you.”
Alex rose and scooped this magnificent woman into his arms. Jan was smart and witty and talented and his. “You know it’s not just your cooking I love, don’t you?”
“You know I’m not in it for your inheritance.”
“Or the crown?” he asked
“Well …” She cocked her head as though considering. “A tiara is way cuter than a chef’s hat.”
“I’ll give you a tiara.”
“I’m good with your heart.” She placed her hand over the beating organ to the right of his chest.
“You have it,” he said.
“And you have mine,” said Jan.
“What just happened?” one of the reporters asked. “Are they getting married or not?”
“Oh, they’re definitely getting married,” came Leo’s commanding voice.