One Night to Risk It All(58)

“I am that man,” he said, kissing her cheek. “That I promise you. I want all that you are. All that you will be. We’ll both keep changing, but we’ll change together. Whatever life has in store for us, I think we can meet the challenge head on, as long as we’re together.”

“I think so, too.”

“So, when are we getting married?”

“Not for at least six months,” she said.

“What?”

“I need time to plan it. I love you and this is for life. And you love me. This is a real wedding. Also, I don’t dig the pregnant bride look, I’ve decided.”

“You’re going to make me wait, Rachel?”

She smiled, her heart swelling. “For some things, Alex. Not for others.”

* * *

A long time later they lay in her bed, limbs tangled, breathing hard. She was tracing his biceps with her fingertips, a smile on his lips. Yes, she loved this man, more than anything. Their start had been rocky at best, but they had forever ahead of them.

“You know, if we can make it through all of this, I think we can make it through anything,” she said.

“I agree.”

“Just as long as we’re honest, from now on.”

“In the interest of honesty then,” he said, “may I say, I think your breasts have gotten larger. I like it.”

“Wow. Romantic.”

“Maybe not. But honest.”

“Appreciated.”

Suddenly, she flashed back to that evening they’d eaten pizza in a fancy hotel in Cannes. When he’d talked about happy endings. “You got your happy ending,” she whispered.

He kissed her on the cheek and she could have sworn he left a teardrop behind. “It’s not over yet.”

“No,” she said, snuggling closer. “It’s not. And thank God for that.”


“Yes. I get a whole lifetime with you. With ups and downs, with every emotion. But it will be with you.”

She kissed his forearm and held his arms more tightly to her. “That’s much better than any old happy ending.”

He sighed, and she could hear the smile in his voice. “I agree, agape. I agree.”





EPILOGUE


“IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL WEDDING,” Leah said.

“And it happened,” Ajax added.

“You’re sensitive as a blunt instrument,” Leah said, beaming at her husband.

Ajax shrugged and turned to face Alex, who was standing there in a tux, his tie undone, his two-month-old son wrapped in a blanket and nestled in his arms. “Am I insensitive, little brother?”

Alex shrugged and looked down at his son. Liam didn’t care that his parents had just gotten married. He was at peace, as he always was, everything in his world right. Alex’s heart swelled with love, with pride. That his son had so much family to love him. That his life would be so much more beautiful than his or Ajax’s had ever been.

That he would never know the harsh criticism of a mother the way that Rachel had. Never feel like he had to rebel or close up completely, rather than being who he wanted. That he would never wonder if he was loved at all. They told him every day.

“Yes, but it’s part of your charm.”

“Don’t encourage him, Alex,” Leah said.

Rachel returned then, on her father’s arm. They had just finished their dance and Rachel was beaming. Her figure was still fuller than it had been before giving birth, her cheeks round. He loved it.

“How nice,” Joseph Holt said, “to have all my children, and my grandson together in one place.”

Alex’s heart tightened as he looked around at his family. “Yes, it is,” he said.

“Do you mind if I steal my grandson for a moment?” Joseph asked. “I’ll trade you your bride for him.”

“A deal.”

He handed Liam to the older man, then took Rachel’s hand, leading her out to the lit dance floor. “This wedding was much more you, wasn’t it?” he asked, looking around at the simple décor. At the bright colors. It exuded joy. Just like his wife.

“Yes,” she said. “But then, with you, I am much more me.”

He kissed her nose. “I’m glad. I’m certainly a better me. It’s amazing what can happen inside you when you start to understand love. When you replace anger with it.”

“I’m glad you did, Alex, because you have so much love to give.”

“I’ve never been as happy as I am today,” he said, his wife in his arms, his son nearby.

“Then we have a new goal,” she said.

“What is that?”

“To find even greater happiness, every day. As long as we live.”

“With you, Rachel, that won’t be hard at all.”

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt from SECRETS OF A RUTHLESS TYCOON by Cathy Williams.









CHAPTER ONE


IN THE DIMINISHING light, Leo Spencer was beginning to question his decision to make this trip. He looked up briefly from the report blinking at him on his laptop and frowned at the sprawling acres of countryside reaching out on either side to distant horizons which had now been swallowed up by the gathering dusk.