Page 76 of Tangled Roses

I cut the call and as I turn, the worry in Ellie’s eyes causes me to say quickly. “You were right. We are not related.”

“Oh my god.” She sobs as she stumbles toward me and, as my arms close around her, I bury my face in her hair and breathe deeply.

The relief is enormous. It’s as if I’ve been holding my breath for days and my mind and body were in shock as I attempted to operate normally. Now nothing stands between us and it changes everything.

Ellie is mine, just as I always believed, and nothing can come between us again.

I cling on tight. My hand clasping her head to my chest as she sobs in my arms and I swear I never want to let her go, even for a second.

That phone call could have been different. It may have destroyed me—us. Now we have hope and I won’t take that hope for granted. No more games. No more messing around. When you face losing something incredibly important to you, it makes you determined to hold on tightly and fight for it.

This is how I’m feeling and I doubt that will ever change and as Ellie sobs with relief in my arms, every single one of her tears melts into my heart.

Somehow we pull apart and Ellie smiles tearfully, “I have so much to tell you.”

I stroke her face and whisper, “Then make it quick. We have wasted enough time already.”

“Okay.”

She pulls me to the couch and as we sit, my arm wraps around her shoulder tightly as if I’ll never let her go.

As she fills me in on what Adele said, I hate how much it hurts. Knowing my father was involved with his mistress at the same time as he dated my mother is a hard truth to face. There are many questions that come to mind as I listen to her recap and when she finishes, she has a worried frown on her face that I hate seeing there.

“So, what happens now, Arman?”

Her voice quivers as she peers at me through her long lashes and I push aside my problem and smile, gently stroking her face and whispering, “We take a moment for us.”

“Us?”

“I nearly lost you, Ellie. I’ve struggled with that, which surprised me.”

“I know.”

Tears glisten in her eyes as she rests her cheek against my hand and says softly, “I’ve just met you and yet it’s as if I have known you my entire life and I’m unsure what to do about that.”

“You have a choice to make.”

She looks so worried I kiss away her doubts and love how my heart beats a little faster knowing the threat has gone for now.

Intimacy of the mind isn’t something I’ve had before and knowing she feels the same is a powerful drug I never appreciated the joys of before.

As I pull away, I whisper, “The choice is to move in with me, but keep your job and work as a team in every sense of the word.”

“Or?”

She smiles into my eyes and I whisper, “Or move in with me and be a lady of leisure and enjoy the benefits that brings with it. Travel with me, see the world, and experience life together wherever this takes us.”

“You want a mistress?”

“No. I want a girlfriend. A soulmate and a best friend. I’m not my father, Ellie. I’m a one woman man and I’m only just discovering that. I’ve never wanted anyone before, but I want you. But we must tread carefully and build strong foundations that will never crumble. I see my future with you and I hope you feel the same, but only time can create the strongest ties and I want to do this properly and leave nothing to chance.”

“Then my answer is–” She reaches up and this time cups my face in her soft hands and whispers, “I choose the first option because I want the whole of you. I want to work alongside you and experience every part of your life. To be your everything as you are mine and become the strongest team that can take on the world.”

“You want twenty-four seven?”

I raise my eyes. “Are you sure about that? You may regret your choice.”

“I am in no doubt at all.” She rolls her eyes. “I know this will test us. It’s not healthy to spend so much time with one person, but I can’t bear the thought of business coming between us. I want to work and learn from you. To be the best and earn my keep. I’m not interested in being the kind of woman who gets her nails done and shops, counting the hours until you come home. That’s not me and I hope it never will be. Business is everything to you, Arman. You told me that. Well, you are already everything to me and so I will also become business. That way, I have the whole of you and not what’s left at the end of the day.”

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