Page 189 of Capturing You
Brooklynn would keep praying for her.
It was hard for Brooklynn to be sad for Delaney when she was so happy for herself.
“You’re okay with it,” Forbes asked, “if I stick around?”
She felt a silly grin. “I’m better than okay with it. If you rebuild, can I help design and decorate? It’ll give me something to do when I lose my gallery.”
“Lose it? Why would you?”
“Oh, you know. It’s hard to keep the lights on. But maybe I’ll win that contest. The prize money would help.”
He laughed. A full-throated, head-back, out-loud laugh.
“What?” She couldn’t help joining him, even if she wasn’t in on the joke.
“My love,” he finally said, “I’m pretty sure we can keep the lights on.”
“Oh, but I wouldn’t ask you?—”
“I know. You didn’t.” He kissed her on the forehead. “I’m offering. And if you don’t accept my help, then I guess you’re a little more like me than you thought, hmm?”
“But it’s not… I wouldn’t want to take your money.”
“Why not? I thought you said we were in this together.”
“Well, yes, but?—”
“Then it’s settled.” He nodded as if there were nothing else to discuss. Not that she wanted to take Forbes’s money, but it was nice to know there was a safety net, if she needed one. And this from a man who respected her, who would share his wealth not out of obligation but out of love.
Forbes flicked his gaze to the burned-out ruins of his family home. “Maybe…maybe I can turn what was horrible into something beautiful.”
“It is a lovely spot.”
“Whether I do or I don’t”—he looked down at Brooklynn—“as long as you’re in my life, I’m up for anything.”
She tried to come up with some pithy response, but then his lips were on hers, and all rational thought fled.
She had no idea what the future held, but with this man, it would be a beautiful picture.
The End…
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