“Yes. Yes!” she said, filled with happiness. “Yes, I will marry you.”
“Thank you,” he said, getting back to his feet and pulling her into his arms. “For a minute there you had me worried.”
The people around them cheered and clapped while a smiling Aidan pulled Jillian into his arms and kissed her.
* * *
Aidan walked down the long corridor to his suite. Jillian had sent him away an hour ago with instructions not to return until now because she would have a surprise waiting for him when he got back. He smiled thinking she had probably planned a candlelit dinner for their last day on the cruise.
It was hard to believe their two weeks were up. Tomorrow they would return to Barcelona. After two days in Rome they had spent two days at sea before touring Athens, Greece. While there they had taken part in a wine-tasting excursion and visited several museums. From there they had toured Turkey, Mykonos and Malta. Now they were headed back to Barcelona and would arrive before daybreak.
He couldn’t help the feeling of happiness that puffed out his chest when he thought of being an engaged man. Although they hadn’t set a date, the most important thing was that he had asked and she had said yes. They talked every day about their future, and although they still had at least another year before she could join him in Maryland, they were okay with it because they knew the day would come when they would be together.
They decided not to wait until they went home for Adrian’s wedding to tell the family their news. Some would be shocked, while others who knew about their affair would be relieved that their secret wasn’t a secret any longer. They would head straight to Denver tomorrow when the ship docked.
He chuckled when he thought about Jillian’s excitement over her engagement ring. The book-club ladies had definitely been impressed as well, ahhing and ooing every night at dinner. Jewelry by Zion was the rave since Zion was the First Lady’s personal jeweler. Jillian hadn’t known that he knew Zion personally because of Aidan’s friendship with the Steele family, who were close personal friends of Zion. Zion had designed most of his signature custom jewelry collection while living in Rome for the past ten years. Thanks to Dominic, Aidan had met with Zion privately on board the ship in the wee hours of the morning while Jillian slept, when they first docked in a port near Rome. Zion had brought an attaché case filled with beautiful rings—all originals hand-crafted by Zion. When Aidan had seen this one particular ring, he’d known it was the one he wanted to put on Jillian’s finger.
When Aidan reached his suite’s door, he knocked, to let her know he had returned.
“Come in.”
Using his passkey, he opened the door and smiled upon seeing the lit candles around the room. His bride-to-be had set the mood for a romantic dinner, he thought, when he saw how beautifully the table was set.
Closing the door behind him he glanced around the dimly lit suite but didn’t see Jillian anywhere. Was she in the bedroom waiting on him? He moved in that direction and then felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and his breath caught. Jillian wore a provocative black lace teddy that showed a lot of flesh. Attached to the teddy were matching lace garters and she wore a pair of stilettoes on her feet. He thought he hadn’t seen anyone as sexy in his entire life and he couldn’t help groaning in appreciation.
She leaned close, swirled the tip of her tongue around his ear and whispered, “I’m about to give you the lap dance of your life, Aidan Westmoreland.”
The next thing he knew he was gently shoved in a chair. “And remember no touching, so put your hands behind your back.”