No. No, it wasn’t time yet. I went back to the living area and tucked the box deep into the tree, where it would live until Christmas morning. Much like sleeping together, I didn’t want to jump the gun with her.
I could hear Luke laughing in my head. Sure, six days isn’t that far away, and probably would still be considered jumping the gun, but whatever. When you know you want to spend forever with someone, you want that time to start immediately. And with Emerson, I knew.
Touching my cheek, I thought back to the small kiss she’d given before going to get ready for dinner. Did she sense we were destined, too? She hadn’t seemed scared or angry with me, that was a good sign. And her stalker comments sounded as teasing as they had when coming from my brother. Wait…were either of them teasing?
“Emerson?” I called out. I could hear her moving around the bedroom area but didn’t want to interrupt her privacy if she needed it.
“Yes?”
“Can I come back there?”
“It’s your room,” she said.
“Our room,” I countered as I walked in. When I saw her, I lost all ability to think or speak for several moments. She was absolutely stunning. Her long, dark locks were twisted up into some fancy hairdo and pinned to show off her graceful neck and throat. The black dress hugged every delicious curve of her body, ending with a little flair just below the knee, drawing attention to her milky calves. Her heels were low, sensible, but strappy, and cute little pink-painted toenails peeked through.
“Fine, our room,” she huffed. She slid earrings into her ears then looked back at me. “Did you need something? Are you okay?” Her eyes crinkled in concern as she stared at me.
“You’re gorgeous,” I said, unable to come up with any other words. I stalked quickly across the room and pulled her into my arms. Her gaze widened, but she didn’t pull away. “May I kiss you?”
The fact I resisted claiming her mouth like a caveman showed I had more restraint than I felt. I wanted nothing more than to throw her onto the mattress, rip that dress off her body and never let her go. But in this situation, I needed to be careful with her. She had to know I respected her, I loved her, not just that I wanted her.
“On the forehead like a good brother,” she said, a weird twang in her voice.
“What?” I stared down at her in confusion. The words sounded familiar, but I had no idea what she was talking about.
“I’m sorry. You startled me, and you look so much like Clark Gable. That quote’s from Gone with the Wind. I’m a dork.” She shook her head then stared toward the floor.
I lifted her chin with my finger. When she finally locked her gaze to mine, I searched for hesitation, and when I found none, I leaned forward and softly pressed my lips to hers.
“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” I whispered against her mouth before pulling away. “And I’d best get ready for dinner before I forget myself.”
She nodded and stepped away. I mourned the loss of her in my arms already, but it was the truth. If I didn’t change, we’d be late—or we’d never make it there at all.
I snagged a suit from the closet, glad Marco had gotten most of my things put away before Emerson had arrived.
After putting on a more formal suit, I stepped back into the bedroom and pulled open one of the top dresser drawers. As requested, there were multiple jewelry boxes stowed away there. Pulling out the wide, flat necklace box, I took it with me to find Emerson in the front room.
She sat on the sofa, her legs tucked under her, staring at the bay of windows. Her gaze looked calm, but there was a tightness to her body that was hard to miss.
“Em?” I asked softly, not wanting to startle her.
“Are you ready to head down?” she asked, uncurling herself and getting to her feet.
“Almost,” I said. “I thought you might like to wear this tonight.” I opened the box, and her sharp intake of breath was exactly what I’d hoped for. When I’d seen the necklace in a shop in Vegas, the chocolate diamond pendant had reminded me of her eyes. It was the first of many purchases I’d made over the last three months as I found things that had made me think of her.
“Is that a chocolate diamond?” she asked, running a finger over the stone.
“Yes,” I said. “Do you like it?”
“It’s lovely,” she said, her tone almost grudging. “But you know chocolate diamonds are just imperfect stones marked up as special to unsuspecting customers.” Her eyes opened wide, and her lips clamped shut for a moment. “Oh my God, I’m sorry. That was incredibly rude.”
I laughed so hard my head actually rocked back.
“Oh my darling,” I said, picking up the necklace and reaching around to clasp it behind her neck. “You’re completely right. But usually, beauty is found because of imperfection, not despite it. Besides, I didn’t purchase it to be passed onto our children for future wealth. I bought it simply because it reminded me of your eyes, and it made me smile. There are times that spending money is a chore, and there are times that spending money on someone you care about is just about the best thing in the world. Don’t ever apologize for your intelligence or your savvy.” I lifted her hand and placed a kiss to her palm. “Let’s go to dinner. We’re at the captain’s table, and I’m afraid we’ll be noticed if we’re late.”
* * * *
“Mr. Malloy, Ms. Blake.” The maître d’ smiled warmly when we entered the dining room. “My name is Devon, and
