Page 62 of Bedding his Innocent Mistress

“I don’t know how to fix this,” she said, looking down at the sand and dropping her hand. “I can’t lose you.”

He shook his head and Ivy was full of desperate anguish.

“Please, Rafe, don’t! Don’t close the door on this because I made a stupid mistake. Damn it, damn you, I told you I was messed up. I was so messed up, so screwed up, and I can’t … Please, please, please tell me I haven’t ruined this?”

He expelled a breath. “Ruined this?”

“Us. I want to go back. I want things to be how they were. I’ll move here, to Spain. I’ll do whatever it takes. I want this.”

He swore angrily. “Stop it.”

Hope died a sharp death inside of her.

“Stop thinking that to be in love you need to give yourself away. I don’t want you to move to Spain; when did I ask that of you? You love London. You love your job. I’m proud of you for the work you do. You are clever and incredibly talented, a great asset. As if I would ever ask you to give that up, just to prove you care for me. Do you think I’m so small a man?”

His words were like a warm treacle balm over her fragmented nerves. “No, but… you love it here.”

“I love you more,” he said honestly.

Hope fluttered, just a small beat inside of her. “But you left.”

“Si.” He dragged a hand over his stubbled jaw. “I left so I could think, and thinking with you only miles away was hard. Do you know what I wanted to do after you left my apartment?”

“What?” It was a whisper from deep within her soul.

“I wanted to beat him to a pulp.” He grimaced. “I wanted to drag you over my shoulder and bring you here – caveman style, just like you said. I wanted to chain you to my bed and feed you champagne and cheese until you recognised that you loved me. And so I left. Because I had to. You cannot force someone to love you, and love that isn’t freely given is not worth having.”

Ivy held her breath. “How can you be so clever about these things when you’ve never even been in a serious relationship?”

“Because I met you,” he said with a shrug. “And I’m a fast learner.”

Her smile was counter-intuitive. She had no reason to think things would work out and yet somehow, she was full of faith.

“I came here to give you time. To make my peace with the fact that I might have to play the long game, and wait for you to get him out of your system. I came here to brace for the fact that I might have to watch you go back to him, that I would have to be your friend in the wings, seeing you with someone else, knowing I loved you and that meant letting you choose what life you wanted.”

She drew in a sharp breath. “You meant for us to stay friends?”

“I love you,” he said simply. “Sick as it might be, that means having you in my life in any capacity.”

Ivy sobbed softly, because it was the ultimate testament of his love, and his character, and she felt her heart blow wide open. “And what capacity will you have me in now?”

His smile was slow to spread but it reached right inside of her, stretching her in new places, making her whole body fly. “You are my friend,” he said, reaching down and tangling their fingers together. “My lover.” He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. “My everything.” And then, as the sun bled into the ocean, he dropped his knees to the cool, white sand. “My wife?”

Another silent sob and then Ivy was nodding, falling to the sand herself so that she could kiss him and feel their bodies wrapped together.

“You’ll marry me.” It wasn’t a question; Ivy was used to Rafe now. To his manner of dictating terms. And she loved that about him, just as she loved everything that made up this man.

Ivy had held onto the past with both hands, refusing to let go of who she’d been – but the future was ahead of her now, a future that was filled with everything she’d never been brave enough to admit she wanted. The sun dipped down, closing the day and bringing in darkness, but there was only light in Ivy’s heart, and the promise of many new days, with Rafe Santoro by her side.

EPILOGUE

“CAN I OPEN THEM yet?” She asked, a smile playing around her lips.

“Almost.” Rafe’s voice was deep and sensual, and even though they’d been married for two years, Ivy felt the same tremble of desire and anticipation that never failed to spread through her.

He guided her forward, her feet moving over the tiled floor, her mind trying to guess where in the Diego house they were. But she was convinced he’d been walking her in circles, until she had no concept of which way was up.

“Here.” He rested his hands on her shoulders and Ivy peeked her eyes open, blinking, and frowning as the room took shape before her.

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