Her lips curved. “I’m happy to hear you admit that you were idiotic and pigheaded, but what caused your enlightenment?”
He leaned against the car and drew her into his arms.
“My dad swung by my house earlier and we had a long talk about what happened after my mother and sister died.”
She sighed and relaxed against him. “You’ve talked with him about it before, haven’t you?”
“We talked about his depression, but I never understood what was at the root of him trying to take his life.”
“I thought it was because he was so much in love with your mom that he couldn’t live without her.”
“That’s what I believed. Turns out I didn’t know the whole story.”
“There’s more?”
“Today I found out why he was so depressed after my mother and sister died. Apparently he stayed at work when he was supposed to drive them the night they died. He thinks if he’d chosen his family over the business they might still be alive. It was eating him up.”
“You mean he felt guilty?”
Jason nodded. “Guilty because he’d failed her. Not devastated by loss. All these years I was wrong to think love only led to pain.” He watched Ming’s expression to gauge her reaction to his tale. “When my dad fell in love with Claire, I thought he was nothing more than an optimistic fool.” Jason winced. He’d spoken up against his father marrying her and a rift had formed between them. “Then Max fell in love with Rachel. Until he met her, he’d had a block of ice where his heart should be.”
“But Rachel’s great.”
Jason nodded. “And she’s perfect for Max, but when he fell head over heels for her, I was even more convinced that love made everyone else crazy and that I was the only sane one.”
It scared her how firmly he clung to his convictions. “And now your brother has gone mad for Lily.”
“That he has.” He gave her a sheepish smile. “Max and his brothers. My dad. Evan. They’re all so damned happy.”
“You’re happy.”
“When I’m with you.” He set his forehead against hers. “I’ve been a stubborn idiot. All this time I’ve been lying to myself about what I wanted. I thought if you and I made love, I could keep things the way they were between us and manage to have the best of both worlds.”
“Only I had to go and fall in love with you.”
“No. You had to go and tell me you wanted us to be together as a family.” At last he was free to share with her what lay in his heart. “Did you know when you chose me to help you get pregnant that a baby would bind us together forever?”
“It crossed my mind, but that isn’t why I decided on you.” She frowned defensively. “And I’d like to point out that you agreed to help me. You also had to realize that any child I gave birth to would be part of us.”
“From the instant you said you wanted me to be your baby’s father, all I could think about was how much I wanted you.” He took her hand and kissed her palm, felt her tension ease. “After prom night I ran from the way I felt about you. It went against everything I believed. I’ve been running for the last fifteen years.”
“And what is it you want?”
“You. More than anything. Marry me. I want to spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you.” He produced a diamond ring and held it before her eyes.
Heart pounding, she stared at the fiery gem as he took her left hand and slid the ring onto her finger. It fit perfectly.
“Yes. Yes. Of course, yes.”
Before she finished her fervent acceptance, he kissed her. As his lips moved with passionate demand against hers, she melted beneath the rush of desire. He took his time demonstrating how much he loved her until his breath was rough and ragged. At last he lifted his head and stared into her eyes. Her stark joy stopped his heart.
Grinning, he hugged her hard. “And just in case you’re worried about everyone’s reaction, I cleared this with your sister and parents and my brother. The consensus seems to be that it’s about time we take things from friends…”
“To forever.” She laughed, a glorious sound of joy. “How lucky can a girl be?” she murmured. “I get to marry my best friend and the man I adore.”
Jason cupped her face and kissed her gently. “What could be better than that?”
Ming lifted onto her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Not one single thing.”