Warrick looked at me sharply. "Just a misunderstanding, Frank."
"You both agreed that her education comes first. So Brooke will be going back to school soon, and this…" He waved his hand vaguely between us both. "Whatever it is needs to be done."
Warrick turned to me. "You're right. Brooke's education comes first. She comes first. So I'm paying for her to go anywhere she wants, and I'm moving there with her."
"Really?" I whispered.
"Really. Unless you tell me to go, I'm not leaving you. Ever."
His thumb drifted along my skin as he turned to Dad. "You know that I'm a decent man. You know that I'm going to do everything in my power to be good for her. It's natural for you to be a bit freaked out about this at first, but if we all go for a beer in a couple of weeks, I promise that you'll see I'm treating her like the precious angel that she is."
Dad's face froze. It was as if his mind short-circuited. He was usually a mellow guy, and I'd only seen him this overwhelmed a handful of times. After a long pause, he nodded. "Fair enough."
Then he turned on his heel and went back into the dental office without a word.
As Warrick and I faced each other again, I couldn't believe the deep pull to him I felt right down to my bones. Even though it was fast, I knew that being with him was what I wanted. Needed.
He reached up to caress my cheek, leaning closer. "I've never really wanted anything before, Brooke," he said slowly. "Success in business came easily to me. I guess I'm just really lucky."
"Or really talented," I whispered.
He shrugged. "Whatever. I hope I'm lucky now. Because this is the first time I've ever wanted something purely for myself, and I want you, Brooke. With me. Permanently. Whether that's here, or at whatever university you choose, or if we bounce around the globe for a while. I just need us to be together."
He leaned closer, brushing his lips gently against mine as I shivered. "I'm sorry that things came out wrong. I'm sorry that I sometimes need help in order to communicate in a non-engineering way. But I love you. I need you. And I want to try very hard to make you happy forever. "
Warrick gave me a light kiss, full of promise. Then he sat back and stared calmly into my eyes while I tried to collect my thoughts.
Blinking quickly, I forced myself to smile as I took a few deep breaths.
Even though every second I paused was probably awkward for him, I had to pull myself together for the very important words I needed to say.
16
WARRICK
I'd never been so nervous in my entire life.
It felt like my heart was a live wire, ready to be shocked or explode from the slightest touch.
As I stared at Brooke’s perfect, angelic face, I didn't know whether the tears she was trying to blink away were a good sign or not.
"I love you too," she finally whispered. Then she laughed slightly at my exaggerated sigh of relief.
"I know it's fast. That doesn't mean it's wrong."
Brooke nodded, then leaned into me for a swift kiss. "You really want to move with me?"
"Of course. I'll keep the house here, though. Maybe when you're busy with exams or something, I might come back to the lab for a week or two. With video calls, it'll be like I never left."
I stared at her shoulder for a second. "Except for the time change. I might have to keep strange hours. But you'll be studying all the time anyway. We'll just schedule a specific time for dinner every night, so that we always connect—"
Brooke interrupted my babbling with a deep, sultry kiss. Then she murmured, "We will work it out. It means a lot to me that you called in some women for their opinions, that you went out of your way to understand the problem."
I nodded, reaching into my pocket. "I'm sorry that I'm going to be difficult to deal with sometimes. But I really do love learning, so the more you explain it to me, and tell me how I can improve, the better."
I opened the little black box quickly before she could guess what it held. "Amy, our office manager, said that it's way too early to give you an engagement ring. But the ladies all agreed that a little piece of jewelry was appropriate."
Brooke's hand trembled as she picked up the box, staring down at the three-quarter carat diamond stud earrings. "This isn't a man claiming his woman thing," I explained. "I just thought it would be sweet if you wore a present from me most of the time."