And it broke her heart into tiny pieces if he thought he could win her back by trotting out the right phrases.
"I spent so much time thinking about how to make the proposal perfect-how to make you stay-I never gave any thought to what you might want. What was important to you." He shook his head. "It's like spending all my time shoring up the defense and ignoring the fact that I had no offense."
She tried not to mind the sports metaphor. And, heaven help her, she did understand exactly what he meant.
"So I was just caught off guard at how much I missed the mark that day. It must tell you something that a mention of love threw me so far off my game I didn't even know what to say in return."
"You would know what to say if you felt it, too." She stepped back, needing to protect herself from the hurt this conversation was inevitably going to bring.
"No. Just the opposite. I didn't understand what I felt because I don't say those words, Addy." He looked at her as if he was perfectly serious.
And beneath the trappings of the wealthy, powerful man who was the CEO of international companies and would one day coach a team to the Super Bowl, Adelaide saw the wounded gaze of her old friend. The boy who hadn't been given enough love as a child yet still found enough kindness in his heart to rescue a little girl from a trouncing because he was an innately fair and honorable person.
He blinked and the look vanished as though it had never been, but she was left with an understanding that should have been there all along. She, who thought she knew him so well, hadn't seen the most obvious answer.
Dempsey Reynaud had never been in love. Had probably never spoken the words in his life to anyone. There was certainly never a mention of love in those notes she'd written to accompany the parting gifts to his old girlfriends.
"I understand." She nodded, the full weight of his explanation settling on her, yet still not quelling her concerns about the future, the ache of her heart. "But you can see why I'd want to feel loved and to hear that I'm loved if I was going to be your wife?"
She edged closer to him again, understanding now that she didn't need to worry about protecting her heart. If anything, she ought to think about his.
"I understand now. But it took three days of hell-not sleeping, not eating, missing you every second and damn near killing every guy on a fifty-three-man roster-to get it through my head." He swallowed hard. Tipped his forehead to hers. "So please, Adelaide, let me slide this ring on your right hand. And I want you to wear it forever because our friendship is even more beautiful now than when I gave you that bracelet so long ago."
She took a moment to think, to look in his eyes and see the truth. That they were bound together through years of love and friendship, tied together in a way that was strong. Lasting.
"Yes." She nodded. Kissed his rough cheek and liked it so much she kissed the other one, too. "But it's going to be hard being just friends after-"
He produced the second ring.
She made an unintelligible sound that might have been a cry of relief, hope or pure joy. She wasn't sure. She could feel her legs going unsteady beneath her, though.
"I brought this back with me, too." He held it between them, their foreheads still tipped together.
"It hurt leaving it behind." A few of her tears splashed down on it.
"It tore my heart from my chest to find it." He leaned back to kiss her forehead. Her temples. "But since I didn't get to personally put it on your finger the first time, I'm looking at this as my chance to do something right."
He got down on one knee in her tiny, ancient kitchen, his handsome face so intent on her that her heart did backflips.
"Adelaide Thibodeaux," he continued. "You are my heart and I am not whole without you. I love you more than anything. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?"
Speechless because her heart was in her throat, she nodded. But as the beautiful yellow diamond slid into place on her left hand, Adelaide recovered enough to fling her arms around him.
"I love you more than anything, too. And that was my favorite proposal yet." Her voice was all wobbly, along with the rest of her.
Her big, strong future husband lifted her off her feet and pressed his lips to hers, his arms banded around her waist. He took his time with the kiss, making up for the days and nights they'd missed each other. Heat tingled over her skin, awakening every part of her. She was breathless and a little light-headed by the time he broke contact.
"I meant it as a compliment that I wanted you to be on my team." He smiled up at her and she laughed.
"I am complimented." Her heart swelled with love for him. She bracketed his face in her hands while he carried her into her bedroom. "But thank you for letting me be more than that."
"I'm going to be the best husband you can imagine," he promised, his golden-brown eyes dazzling her more than either of the rings on her fingers.
"I'm going to remind you every day that I love you," she promised him in return, her body sinking into the bed as Dempsey laid her down.
He stretched out next to her, his muscular frame filling her small bed so that he crowded her in the most delicious ways.
"I'd like to start now, by adoring every inch of you." His words were warm on her neck as he kissed that vulnerable spot.
"That's perfect, because every inch of me has missed you." She trailed a hand through his dark hair, knowing she was the luckiest woman on earth.
Her fairy tale hadn't ended. The best part was just beginning.