Page 481 of Billionaire Temptations

“Wow. This place is a mess.” She laughed.

“I know. But look at it beyond the mess.”

“It’s beautiful. So what do you have to check?” She turned and looked at me.

“It’s over here in the living room.”

Leading her into the living room by her hand, she looked at me with surprise.

“What is this?” she asked as she stared at the round, candlelit table draped with white linens, fine china, and a vase of gerbera daisies that was perfectly situated in front of the fireplace.

“This, my love, is where we’re having dinner.”

“Here? In an empty house?” She twisted her face.

“Yes. Here in this empty house.”

“Sebastian, I love you to pieces, but I’m really confused right now.”

I swallowed hard, trying to push down the lump in my throat. This was it. Hopefully, the night that would mark the beginning of us as an engaged couple and a life of happily ever after.

I took hold of both her hands and stared into her beautiful green eyes.

“Chloe, I never thought that I would ever be able to love someone. My heart was nothing but a rock-solid stone. But then you came along and showed me that my life was lost without love. You hammered through all the stone until you reached my beating heart. A heart that wouldn’t beat if you weren’t in my life. You taught me things about life I never knew. You helped me to embrace my past, and you took away the anger and bitterness that resided inside me for so many years.”

She stood there and listened to me as a tear fell from her eye. Taking my thumb and bringing it to her face, I gently wiped it away.

“You turned my dark and stormy life into one that is full of brightness and purpose. We were meant to meet that night at the bar in London, just like we were meant to meet again here in New York. It was all in the timing, baby. The universe had it planned out perfectly for us. I was brought into this world to love you.”

I reached in my pocket, pulled out the box, got down on one knee while holding her hand, and proposed to her.

“Chloe, I want nothing more in this life than for you to become my wife.” I flipped the lid open and revealed the ring. “Will you marry me?”

She cupped her right hand over her mouth as she stared into my eyes.

“Oh my God, Sebastian. Yes! Yes! Yes! I will marry you!”

I sighed in relief as I took the ring from the box and placed it on her finger.

“Holy shit, that’s huge.” She smiled as she held her hand out in front of her.

“Do you like it?”

“I love it. I adore it, and I love you, Sebastian Bennett,” she said as the back of her hand ran down my cheek.

Standing up, I wrapped my arms around her and passionately kissed her lips.

“I love you too. More than you’ll ever know.”

“I have a pretty good idea how much.” She grinned as another tear fell from her eye.

“No tears.” I wiped it away.

“They’re happy tears. I can’t believe you did all this. I can’t believe we’re engaged! But I do have one tiny little question.”

“What’s your question, baby?”

“What’s up with the house?”

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