“I’m done doing what I have to do, Ri. I’m doing what I want to do.” He reached behind him, and Savannah picked up a bouquet of yellow roses from a nearby table and handed it to him.
Riley’s eyes burned with tears.
“Yellow roses, the promise of a new beginning. Babe, I want to share my life with you. We’ll get through all the garbage, and then we’ll put it behind us.” He handed her the flowers.
Riley’s arms wouldn’t move. A tear dripped down her cheek. Riley felt her knees weaken. She reached for the back of her chair. “I want that too.”
Her mother appeared beside her and took the bouquet from Josh, then set it on the table behind Riley.
Josh dropped to one knee. The tears Riley had been fighting slipped down her cheeks.
“Josh?” Unable to hold her trembling body erect any longer, Riley sank into the chair.
“Riley June Banks, I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone in my life.”
OhmyGodohmyGod. She couldn’t take her eyes off of him. He was really there, before her, sticking by her. He was catching her. He looked at her like she was the only one in the room, like he wanted to wrap her in his arms and keep her safe forever—and, oh God—she wanted that too, so much that her booming heart ached, but…
“But what about work? The allegations?” The words tumbled out before she could stop them.
“I’m not asking you to work for me,” he explained.
You’re firing me? On one knee? I thought…
“I want you to be my wife, my partner in every aspect of my life, including my business. You won’t work for me. You’ll work with me. Partners. No hiding in any aspect of our lives.”
She couldn’t breathe. Riley feared she might pass out. Could this really be happening? She gripped the sides of the chair. The hope in his eyes mirrored the hope in her racing heart. “You don’t have to do this,” she said.
“If you accept my proposal, it’s done. I never want to hide again. Partners in love and life. Forever. That’s what I want, and it’s what I’m offering you. Side by side, you and me, out in the open.”
Riley leaned forward and practically fell out of her chair. Josh caught her in his arms.
“Is that a yes, or were you trying to run away?” Josh teased.
“Yes,” she said through her tears. “Yes. Oh, Josh. Yes!”
They rose to their feet and Josh kissed her like he’d been waiting for her his whole life. Riley came away trembling even more than she had been before.
Rex stepped forward and handed Josh a Tiffany’s jewelry box.
“Here you go, little brother,” Rex said.
Riley covered her mouth; her eyes flew open wide. “Josh,” she whispered.
He opened the box and slipped the ring on her finger. “I wasn’t sure what you liked, and we can have one designed eventually. It’s a cushion-cut yellow diamond with, well, you can see, surrounded by white diamonds.”
Riley had never seen anything so beautiful in all of her life.
“I love it, Josh, and I love you.” Riley wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again. When they parted, his brothers were beside them, reaching out to them, embracing Josh, and her mother was crying as hard as Riley was.
Riley looked up, and in that second she saw Jade, her cheeks streaked with tears, too.
Jade mouthed, I’m so happy for you, which only made Riley's tears come faster.
Jade jumped into Riley’s arms with a squeal. “You got engaged before I did!”
Riley was still in shock, moving on autopilot. “You knew?” she asked Jade.
“Of course I did, and it was painful not telling you.”
Hal Braden extended his arms to Riley. “Looks like we’ve got two weddings to plan.”
Plan? Riley could barely think past her next breath. She folded herself into his arms. “Thank you, Mr. Braden. I promise to make him happy.”
“Oh honey, you can’t make anyone happy. That’s not how happiness works. Being part of his life will feed his happiness, and he’ll feed yours. We’re honored to have you as part of the family.”
Riley watched Josh from across the room. Treat had his arm around his shoulder. Hugh and Dane said something that caused Josh to bend over in fits of laughter. His back was to Riley, and he must have felt her eyes on him, because he turned and instantly found her eyes and smiled.
Riley couldn’t take her eyes off of him as he crossed the room toward her. She saw the gallant man he’d always been and couldn’t believe he was going to be her husband. Husband! She blinked away tears of joy as he approached. His dark eyes washed over her body, lingering on her breasts, then lowering to her hips, and finally drawing back up to her eyes as he closed in on her.
He wrapped his hands on either side of her waist and whispered, his cheek against hers, his breath hot on her ear, “I cannot go another night without touching you.”
A shiver ran up Riley’s back. She scanned the immediate area, making sure no one was within earshot. Josh slid his hands down to the curve of her hips.
“You’re wearing Gucci Première, just like our first night together,” he said.
“You remembered,” she whispered.
He pressed his hips in to hers and embraced her. “I’ll always remember. I want to feel you close to me.”
Riley felt his desire swell against her. “Josh,” she whispered. “Kiss me.”
He took her face between his warm palms in the way he had so many times before, the way that made her knees weak and her heart sing, and he kissed her, hesitant at first, she assumed because of their families in the room. Their tongues touched lightly; then, as if they were both too entranced to control their body’s demands, more aggressively, their tongues colliding. Riley felt her body giving in to him; her hands wandered down his legs. Shit. Restaurant. Riley’s eyes flew open.
She pulled back. “Josh.” His name came out in one long breath.
He looked around and she saw reality coming back to him, too. “Come with me.” He took her hand, and they hurried past the groups of family members, who were too busy talking to notice as they escaped.
Josh pulled her toward the front of the restaurant. She giggled.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“Shh.” Josh looked around when they neared the entrance.
“No. Someone will see us,” she protested.
Without a word, Josh lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her again, until she had no breath left to breathe and her legs threatened to dissolve beneath her. He guided her down a hall toward the bathrooms, stopping short at a closed door. Her eyes scanned the plaque, coatroom. He opened the door, and in the space of a breath, they disappeared into the dark room.
“Josh.” She reached for him in the dark. Her eyes tried to adjust, but there wasn’t an ounce of light.
He brought her hands to his waist and cupped her cheeks again. God, I love that. He was so tall, so muscular beneath her hands as they moved up his chest and then down his back.
“You deserve more than a coatroom quickie, but I have to love you, Riley. Now. Not later, not tomorrow, not when we get to New York. Now.”
She stood on her tippy-toes and met his lips, sinking to her flat feet with the weight of him as he deepened the kiss. Dizziness reminded her that she needed to breathe. She stole air from his lungs, unwilling to part. His hands roved and groped her ass, her waist, her breasts. Please, please, kiss me forever. She worked the button on his slacks. They dropped, and she tugged at his briefs, taking his girth in her hands with a moan. His lips parted long enough for her to gasp a heady breath and kiss her way down his body.
“Mmm,” he moaned.
“Shh,” she reminded him. She licked the tip of his erection, inciting another amorous moan.
“Riley,” he whispered, then tangled his fingers in her hair as she took him in her mouth, working his shaft with her hands. His hips arched into her.
Riley was aware of the passing time, afraid someone would come looking for them, but she couldn’t pry herself away. She was an addict and Josh was her drug. Josh took a few steps backward, her hair still clutched within his fists, and he leaned against the wall. She licked her way up to his hips, feeling her own need swell. They were so in tune with each other; every thought she had, he mirrored. He tugged her dress up and yanked off her thong. In one swift move, he lifted her beneath her arms and she wrapped her legs around him, accepting every inch of him as he plunged into her, stimulating every sensitive nerve as his powerful arms rocked them in perfect unison. She slammed her palms flat against the wall, caught up in the urgency of their love, adding pressure to their already vigorous lovemaking.
She whimpered at the sheer titillating pleasure he was driving into her.
“I love to hear you make those noises,” he whispered.
“Can’t”—she breathed heavily—“help it.”
“Don’t help it.” He shifted her in his arms and hit a spot that sent her body reeling over the edge, throbbing and quaking against him. She gritted her teeth and clawed at the wall behind him, trying to gain a modicum of control, just as he tightened his grip on her thighs and buried his face in her chest, grunting against her hot skin as his release stole their voices. The sound of their heated breaths filled the small, dark room. Before lowering her to the ground, Josh kissed her again.