Page 102 of Lady Scandal
He grinned. “Their loss, then. Does this mean—” He paused, taking a deep breath, not wanting to make assumptions. With Delia, that always got him into trouble. “Does this mean you aren’t moving to Paris and taking up Ritz’s offer?”
“It does.” She slid her arms up, wrapping them around his neck. “I came back to see if that other offer was still open.”
“So my letter convinced you? Well then, damn it, woman,” he added before she could reply, “what took you so long to come back? It doesn’t take two weeks to read a letter.”
“What you sent me wasn’t a letter, it was a tome. And anyway, I didn’t even read it.”
He blinked. “You didn’t? But then…” He paused, pulling back so he could look fully into her face. “I sent it to show you that I trust you and that you can trust me.”
“Yes, I know.”
“But you didn’t read it?”
“No.”
He must have looked as disconcerted as he felt, because she laughed. “I didn’t have to read it, Simon. I knew what you’d done and why the second I saw the letterhead at the top.” She sobered, her laughter fading. “I know it took me a while to open it, but I was sohurt. I thought it was just some long-winded explanation from you, justifying what you did, and I was in no mood for that. I thought you were just my latest romantic mistake. I mean, falling in love with the wrong man seems to be my special gift, you know. But then, when I was with Ritz talking about the new hotel, some of the things he said made me seehimin a whole other light. He was my mentor, my friend. I worshiped him.”
“Yes, I know,” he said with feeling.
“I thought he could do no wrong, but then, suddenly, I realized that you and the board were right about him.”
He stared at her, hardly able to believe it. “How did that happen if you didn’t even read the report?”
“He offered to let the hotel pay for my apartment.”
“That scoundrel. He hasn’t learned a thing.”
“That’s when I realized he and the others had been skimming off the Savoy profits for years in ways that went far beyond the trivial things I knew about, and I couldn’t look the other way about it. I knew at that moment that I had picked yet another wrong man in whom to place my trust, but that it wasn’t you. It was him. And I caught the next train for home.”
“A miracle,” he said, having no idea what else to say but to repeat her own words back to her. “I must be rubbing off on you.”
“You are. I really think you must be, because when Ritz was showing me the new hotel, I was adding up what everything cost, and even I was a bit staggered. Don’t misunderstand me. I still believe Ritz is a wonderful hotelier. He is,” she added as he scoffed. “And the Paris Ritz is going to be the most famous, amazing hotel in the world.”
“If it stays afloat.”
“If it stays afloat,” she agreed. “And it might not, the way he’s spending money like water.”
“My Delia becoming frugal,” he said and kissed her nose. “Definitely a miracle.”
“That’s not even the biggest miracle of all, though.”
“No?” He smiled, sliding his arms around her waist. “What is?”
“I’ve finally fallen in love with a man I really can trust. And who trusts me, trusts me enough that he risked everything he’s worked for to prove it to me. And that’s you.”
“I’m glad you know that, my darling. So you’ll marry me? Are you sure? If you’re not, and you want to think it over, I’ll wait however long it takes.”
Her black brows came together in a little frown, but her mouth was a teasing curve. “For someone who was so sure he was the right man for me a few days ago, you’re not sounding very sure now.”
“It wasn’t a few days ago,” he grumbled. “It was fourteen days, one hour, and about seventeen minutes ago.”
“Been counting the hours, have you?” She smiled, the little devil, clearly pleased that he’d been suffering in an agony of suspense.
“Don’t tease. Are you going to marry me or not?”
“Yes, Simon,” she said so meekly that he was instantly suspicious, and then she looked around and added, “but only if you promise to let me be the one to do up this place. It could certainly use a decorator.”
“Decorator?” He shook his head. “I’m afraid that’s not possible, darling. I’ve already hired someone to handle that.”
