Yours to Savor (57 page)

Josh said something, but Sandra ignored it. “And what if they come back?”

“They won’t. For the same reasons.”

Sandra nodded. She opened her mouth… and found herself at a loss for what to do next. Despite standing so close to Brandon, she felt like there was an enormous gulf between them. All she wanted was for him to know how much she loved him. She wanted him to know she was there for him. But she couldn’t find the words.

She
had
to tell him. He had to know how she felt. She opened her mouth again, and—

“Listen, Sandra. Going through this today, with you, only made me realize how much you mean to me.” Brandon took her hands in his. “Tonight, my only concern was for you. No matter what the danger was, no matter where we were. And when you were gone last week, when you disappeared from my life… the whole time, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I couldn’t stop thinking about how badly I’d fucked up. I never want to let you go again. I know you have a right not to trust me anymore. But I’m begging—
begging—
that you give me a chance to change that. Please. Because tonight, I realized, without reservation… that I love you.”

And just like that, the gulf was gone. It was the first time she’d heard those three simple words from him.
I love you
. It was what her heart had been waiting for her whole life.

She threw her arms around his neck. “I love you too, Brandon. And you’re wrong. I do trust you.”

And then, just like she’d imagined, just like she’d dreamed, he swooped down and kissed her. It was a kiss laced with passionate fury, but also full with the sweet, gentle touch she’d been craving.

When Brandon let her go, she had to suck in air through raw lungs. Always, as always, the feel of
him
left her unsteady and trembling. She realized, staring up at him, that she was completely and hopelessly smitten.

“Sandra… do you remember what I said today when I
came to your office? About the next stage of my life? About how I want to do it with you?”

She nodded.

“Well, I do. And… I’m there now. I made a promise to Clarisse to get out of the business when the time was right. That time is now. She took care of me after I left my family, but now, I’m ready to go back to them. And you’re the only person I want to do it with.

“Hell, I know this is fast. I know we have problems. But babe, today I realized I’d rather be in hell with you than in paradise with anybody else.”

“Brandon… what are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I can’t question the way I feel about you anymore, Sandra. Our relationship isn’t perfect, I know. But we can smooth it out. I love you, and I
know
our love will win out in the end. I’m ready to go back to Chicago. It’s what I’ve been waiting my whole life for. But I don’t want to do it alone. I
can’t
do it without you. I want you to come with me.”

When she couldn’t form an immediate reply because of the immense shock, Brandon started muttering.

“I know it’s a big step for you. It is for me, too. But I don’t want to be there with anybody else. We can build a future together, I know we can. And you’re the only person in the world I’d feel right doing it with. We can go home
together
.”

“You’re asking me to move across the country with you?” Sandra said.

Brandon laughed, a shaky laugh, and looked at her. “Yes. Yes, I guess I am. Yes, I am. I know it’s crazy. I know I just shot somebody. But everything that happened tonight… well, no secrets, remember? Clarisse told me I should never let you go. And I intend to take her advice. Moving in together—that’s just the first step. Sandra, I want you to be in my life. Remember what you said on my yacht? That you want us to last forever. Well, I do, too. That’s how I feel. So, what do you say? Will you come? Will you take that first step with me?”

Sandra heard his words, but she could barely comprehend them. Her brain and her heart were too busy doing cartwheels. Finally, after a delay that seemed to span eons, she sputtered, “Yes. Oh, Brandon! Of course, yes!”

And when he swept down to kiss her again, with Josh making sounds of disgust in the background, Sandra knew that tonight, she and Brandon would be making up for the passion lost during their time apart.

Their relationship wasn’t perfect. Sandra was no fool. But she wasn’t worried about the problems anymore.

She knew they had the rest of their lives to fix things.