Mid Life Love: At Last (Mid Life Love #2)(5)

“Wait...” I slowly pulled away. “I want to take you down to the other part of the beach. Leave your shoes.”

“Can I change first?”

I nodded and kissed her again before she slipped back into the suite. Leaning against the railing, I looked out into the sunset and shook my head at the couple that was attempting to kayak without a paddle.

I was trying my best to distract myself from the looming CS account, but it was all I could think about.

“I’m ready now.” The sound of Claire’s voice made me turn around and—I stopped.

She was wearing a tightly fitted short white dress that hugged her in all the right places, a dress that flowed with each short gust of wind that blew past us. It was strapless and thin enough to where I could see the bright red bikini she was wearing underneath.

“You don’t like it?”

“I do.” I reached for her hand and led her down the shore.

We paused ever so often to take in the waves or watch another couple run into the water. We were halfway down the shore when I walked her over to a small clearing that was hidden away from everything else.

I slipped my arm around her waist and sighed.

“You promised me that you weren’t going to do any work while we were on this trip, Jonathan...” She looked up at me.

“I did, and I meant that.”

“Does that promise not cover when I’m sleeping?”

“Excuse me?”

“I was going in and out of consciousness when we had that layover. I heard you talking about the CS account again...We could have pushed this trip back if you were that worried about the deal. You’ve pushed things back for my projects before.”

“Claire...” I released her hips and shook my head. “There is no CS account.”

“What? So what have you been doing for the past eight weeks?” She paled. “Is that—you made up the biggest deal of your career to...to do what? Why? Why would you lie to me?”

“CS stands for you, Claire...It stands for what I want—what I need you to be.”

She raised her eyebrow in confusion, shaking her head as if she didn’t understand.

I gently grabbed her hand and got down on one knee. “Claire...” I stopped once she gasped. “I need you to know that there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. Nothing. Ever. And I’ve never felt for anyone what I feel for you.” I resisted the urge to stand up and wipe away her tears. “I fell in love with you the moment we stopped at those vacation rental houses in San Fran, the moment I realized whatever it was between us was more than physical. Much more. And I—” I felt her trembling.

“I told myself that no matter how much you frustrated me, no matter how much you tried to deny that you were falling in love with me too, that I would never let you go.”

“Jonathan...” She was crying.

“This is the biggest deal of my life and it’s worth much more than my company or any other billion dollar deal that’s come across my desk. And I can’t go another day without knowing.” I pulled the eighteen carat ring out of my pocket. “I want you to be mine—officially. I want you to be Claire Statham.” I paused for a few seconds. “Claire...Will you marry me?”

“Yes. Yes!” She joined me down in the sand as I slipped the ring onto her finger.

I kissed her lips—again and again, wiping all her tears away with my fingertips, stifling her cries with more kisses.

When we finally pulled away to catch a breath, we simply stared at one another in silence, smiling. Then I pulled her on top of me.

“What are you thinking about?” I looked into her eyes.

“You...How do you think Claire ‘Gracen-Statham’ sounds?”

“Like it’ll never happen.” I narrowed my eyes. “It’s an all or nothing deal.”

“Is your jealousy included in the package?”

“It’s the best part.”

“Hmmm...” She smiled. “How many days do I need to set aside for negotiations and paperwork?”

“Paperwork?”

“Yeah...” She lowered her voice. “I’m not silly enough to believe that you won’t draft a pre-nup for this. I mean, I’m sure you wouldn’t rake me over the coals if you and I didn’t work out, but—”

“Stop.” I pressed my finger against her mouth. “There is no pre-nup. And there won’t be one. Ever.”

She gasped.

“This is forever, Claire. Do you understand? It’s you and me, together forever, until the very end.” I kissed her lips. “Would you like a wedding?”

She nodded.

“A big one?”

She nodded again.

“Okay.” I smiled. “We can plan that the second we get back. In the meantime...” I slipped my hands underneath her dress and untied the strings of her bikini top. “I’d like to explore the future Mrs. Statham right now.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ve told you over and over that sand and sex don’t go together.”

“I remember you saying that...” I ripped off the bottom of her swimsuit. “But I’d like to find out for myself.”

Mid Life Love: At Last

Whitney G.

Friday August 15, 2014