Affair with the Rebel Heiress (2010) (12 page)

"You can't honestly expect me to trust you after this. After you--" Her voice broke. Without meeting his gaze she pushed past him to walk briskly through the hotel lobby.

He caught up with her in a few steps. Grabbing her arm, he turned her to face him. "I brought up your dyslexia in the press conference to prove you can trust me."

"That makes perfect sense. Betray someone's trust to prove that they can trust you." She tugged on her arm, glaring at him. "Except I hadn't even trusted you enough to tell you about my dyslexia. You wheedled that information out of my assistant."

She used the word
wheedled
with relish. Obviously she remembered he'd objected to it the last time.

"No, you're right," he told her. "You didn't tell me. But then you didn't tell Casey, either. I can almost excuse you not trusting me. But Casey? That kid would do anything for you." He shook his head in exasperation. "Have you ever wondered what all this deception has cost you?"

She stared at him blankly, as if she didn't understand his words, but at least she was listening.

He tipped her chin up so she was looking full at him. For a second he studied her face, taking in the lines of strain around her mouth, the clear green intensity of her eyes. Her perfectly kissable bow of a mouth, painted a tempting scarlet.

His heart seized in his chest. He may have royally screwed this up. If she didn't forgive him, this may be the last time he was this close to her. But he couldn't think about that now.

"Kitty, your family made you believe your dyslexia was something to hide. Something to be ashamed of. But it's not. It's--"

"Don't try to tell me it's no big deal. That it doesn't make me different than anyone else." She twisted her chin away. "Because it is a big deal. It makes everything harder."

"Which is exactly why you need to be able to ask for help. You need to surround yourself with people you trust." His frustration crept into his voice. "No one does everything on their own. The rest of us mere mortals need help all the time. Why shouldn't you?"

But she just shook her head. "You don't get it, do you? This was my secret. It wasn't yours to tell."

"Exactly. And you were never going to tell it. You would have let people go on thinking the worst of you forever rather than have even one moment of vulnerability. So I made the decision for you. I did it because it was the right thing for you.

"For once in my life, I did the right thing, not just the easy thing." He laughed wryly. "I could have just left things as they were. I probably could have even talked my way back into your bed." He waited for her to protest, but she didn't. They both knew he was right on that account. "Instead, I did that one thing that I knew would piss you off, because I knew it would make your life better."

"So you did it because you wanted to piss me off?"

"No. I did it because I love you."

Kitty's heart, which had been racing with fury and fear, seemed to stop in her chest. She squeezed her eyes shut for a second as emotion flooded her.

He
loved
her?

When she opened her eyes he was still there. Watching her expectantly. "Look, neither of us is any good at this. We're both slow to trust. Neither of us let other people close. And it would undoubtedly be easier on both of us
if we walked away right now. But I don't want to do that, and I'm betting you don't want to do that, either."

She opened her mouth to speak, but her throat closed off and all she could do was shake her head mutely.

"So I say we decide right now. We stick with this and make it work."

She wanted to believe him, but her heart didn't know how to trust what her mind heard.

"Biedermann's--" she began.

His hand tightened around her arm. "This doesn't have anything to do with Biedermann's. This is about you and me. And the baby we're going to have." He paused, his gaze dropping from her eyes to her belly. "I love you, Kitty. And I want to be a father to our baby. The only question is, do you trust me enough to let me?"

Her heart stuttered in her chest. Did she trust him? The question had barely flitted through her mind before she knew the answer. Of course she did.

An unexpected bubble of laughter rose up in her throat. Ford cocked an eyebrow at her giggle, his expression still expectant. But before he could ask why she was laughing, she threw her arms around his neck.

"Of course I trust you. Which is so silly because just a few minutes ago I didn't think I did."

She felt his arms wrap around her and tighten, felt his face nuzzle into her hair. Only when she felt the shudder of his deep breath did she realize how nervous he must have been.

She pulled back to meet his gaze. "You know I love you, too, right?"

His lips quirked into a half smile. "I thought my chances were pretty good."

"What would you have done if I'd have said no?"

"I'm not the kind of guy who takes no for an answer."

"Meaning?" she asked.

"Meaning, I would have pursued you until you said yes."

Just a few weeks ago, that answer would have infuriated her. Now she knew it was just exactly what she needed.
He
was just exactly what she needed.

She forced a mock frown. "You know, that was pretty gutsy. Asking a jewelry heiress to marry you when you didn't even have a ring to offer."

To her surprise he smiled broadly. "Hey, this I have covered." He reached into his pocket, pulled out something small. When he opened his palm, he revealed a single earring shaped like a bird.

"My earring," she gasped. She picked up the earring and let it dangle between her fingers. "I thought it was lost forever. I can't believe you kept it all this time."

He cupped her cheek in his palm. "Maybe I was just waiting for the right time to give it back to you."

As he pulled her into his arms one more time, she thought back to the first night they'd met. Maybe part of her knew even then that he was the perfect man for her. Or maybe she was just very, very lucky.

Either way, she was smart enough to hold on tight to this wonderful man and never let him go.