Neighbors with Benefits (Anderson Brothers, #2)(63)
She giggled, and he wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb, bringing home the fact that this was, in fact, real. She sniffled and he ran his fingers across her jaw as if touch grounded him as well.
“You told me that sometimes you do things just because you love someone.” He stretched the front of his sweater, displaying the crooked “M” on his chest. “Like wear a…” He glanced at Gladys. “…an interesting sweater. Or maybe even rethink your entire life.”
There was not a peep in the room when he paused, his shoulders lowering as he relaxed slightly.
“So, having done both of those things, I would like to now ask you the correct question.” He took her hand. “Please come with me.”
The crowd parted and they walked down the familiar hallway of Heart’s Home to the stoop outside and he came to a halt at the top of the stairs. Mia gasped. Standing in the street near the carriage were several photographers. One of them, a man with a huge lens on his camera, she recognized from the wedding. Mia sucked in a startled breath.
When she glanced up at Michael, he winked and she exhaled in a sigh. He wasn’t surprised by this. He wanted to be seen with her—had obviously planned it. The control freak. The beautiful, amazing, surprising control freak. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and she squeezed his fingers back, knowing full well this had to be hard for him. Ridiculously difficult after working on his refined public image, to be seen in that…ghastly—yes, the word totally fit—sweater in public.
“Thank you all for coming today,” he said to the photographers. “I’d like to introduce you to someone, but first, I need to ask her a very important question.”
No. No, surely not. A million possibilities flooded Mia’s mind, but one impossible scenario he might have planned kept popping to the forefront. She shook her head to clear it and stared at his beautiful face. Only then did she notice the dark circles under his eyes. Like her, he’d suffered, and she wanted nothing more than to kiss those circles away.
When he dropped to one knee on the stoop of Heart’s Home, Mia was certain she’d fall to her knees herself. Instead, as the cameras clicked, she supported herself on the railing.
“Hang in here with me for a moment longer,” he whispered as he pulled a small box out of his pocket. He opened it and she covered her mouth with her hand, grateful for the support of the railing. It was the ring she had described at the restaurant. A huge blue stone the color of his eyes was surrounded by gold ones that were almost the shade of the flecks in his irises.
“Michael,” she said, barely above a whisper.
Still kneeling and holding the small, velvet box he whispered only loud enough for her to hear, “You asked me in the park if my public image is who I really am…” His eyes sparkled like the stones in the ring. “It’s about to be.”
He inhaled deeply and cleared his throat. “Hermia Lysander Argarapolis,” he said in a loud voice. “I’m a controlling, demanding jackass, and I don’t deserve you, but if you’d do me the honor of marrying me, I swear I’ll do my best to fill the rest of your days with joy and love.” More camera flashes and clicks.
“What about the nights?” Gladys shouted from where she and the Queen B’s were watching through an open window, and everyone, including Mia and Michael, laughed.
“Those especially.” He squeezed her hand. “You asked me what I really wanted and I didn’t answer you. Well, I’m answering now. I want you.”
He removed the ring and handed the box to a nurse standing nearby, then took Mia’s trembling hand in his and slipped the ring on her finger. She closed her eyes briefly, and then met his gaze again.
“Marry me, Mia. Please.”
For a moment, it was as if the entire city had stopped to listen for her answer. There was nothing but she and Michael, and the hammering of her heart, and the heat of his hands on hers. She was living a fairy tale. She was within striking range of a happily ever after—one she’d never thought she’d have.
“Oh, for cryin’ out loud. Answer the man already!” Gladys shouted.
Michael’s intense expression held her spellbound for a moment. He appeared to be holding his breath—as if he didn’t know that for Mia there was only one possible answer to his question.
It was barely above a whisper, but that was all she could manage. “Yes.” She cleared her throat and found her voice as the cage around her heart flew open. “Yes, Michael. Yes.”
He wrapped her in his arms and swung her in a circle as Clancy barked and yipped. This time when the camera shutters snapped, it didn’t sound like gunfire. It sounded like applause.
Epilogue
Even wearing noise-cancelling headphones, Mia knew Michael had arrived home from the office because Clancy bolted from his dog bed in the corner of the studio. She lifted her brush and smiled, her body heating as she remembered the promises he’d made when he’d left that morning regarding ratios and how he planned to meet them. One thing about Michael Anderson—he always made good on promises.
Using every bit of self control she had—which was considerably more than before she’d met him, she pushed down the urge to strip off her paint smock and run to the living room to meet him. Instead, she dipped her brush again and continued work. This new series was almost finished and she had contracts for two more.