“Yes.”
“I don’t know if I believe you, Lance. I want to, but I don’t know if I can.”
Lance blanched. “I deserve that. I should have let you say it that night, Willa. I was just so afraid I wouldn’t say the right thing and I’d lose you again.”
What Willa had held in for so long came rushing forward, and she knew she couldn’t say yes or no to him until she told him the truth. “I wasn’t going to say I loved you that day. What I needed to say was about what happened after that summer night ten years ago. After we were together.” She closed her eyes briefly for strength, then opened them and plowed forward. “I was pregnant, Lance. Pregnant with your baby, but I was too afraid to tell you. I considered all possibilities, even abortion, then finally decided to keep it.” Her eyes blurred with tears. “But I miscarried. I lost our baby, and it was like losing you all over again. It nearly destroyed me.”
Lanced cradled her to his chest, shattered by the news. “Willa, I don’t know what to say. I had no idea.”
Willa breathed in the scent of him, not sure if she would ever be so close to him again. “I know you didn’t. No one did.”
He released his hold and raised her head by placing a finger beneath her chin. Looking in her eyes, he said, “I was young. I was stupid, but I would have been there for you. You have to know that. I am so sorry you went through that alone. I would do anything to be able to go back and shoulder that pain for you, or to stand with you as you went through it. I should have checked on you. I knew the condom broke. It’s my fault you were alone through that. I let you down. No wonder you couldn’t look at me. I should have been there for you, Willa. Give me a chance, and I’ll be there now and every time you need me from this moment on. I swear to you I will.”
Willa searched his face and the love she saw in his misty eyes melted away the wall she’d erected to protect her heart. She’d known him for over twelve years, and he wasn’t one to lie. He hid his heart, but he was a good man. She understood what others would have seen as his flaws. It was habitual, instinctive for him to pretend, hiding away his true emotions. But . . . he wasn’t hiding his feelings from her. He meant every word he’d said. The truth was in his eyes. He looked as devastated now as she had felt when she knew she was losing the baby. She reminded herself of what she’d acknowledged in her sculpture. I don’t need Lance to be okay. I am stronger than anything that can happen to me or anyone who can leave me. I’m not more or less than Lexi. I’m simply Me. And, I don’t have to hide anymore. I may be afraid, but my fears will no longer rule me. I won’t throw away this chance of happiness because it can be torn away from me. My ability to love and forgive is my strength, not my weakness.
His face contorted with pain and he didn’t hide the tear that spilled over. “I would do anything to be able to go back and be the man you thought I was. I should have been at your side through everything. I will be from now on, Willa. I love you.”
He loves me.
Believing him, believing in him is my choice. I could walk away and protect my heart, or I can take this leap of faith.
I choose him.
She would always feel the loss, but now she wasn’t alone in that loss. “I love you, Lance Barrington.” I always have. “Lance, I do love you.”
He laid his forehead on hers. “Does that mean you’ll marry me?”
“My head is spinning. I need a minute.” Things with Lance were always full speed, and she simply needed to take a breath before agreeing.
Lance took a piece of paper out of his pocket. It was a design for the City Complex. In the middle of it was a spot circled with her name written on it. “I knew there was something missing in my designs and my life, Willa. It was you. I want you to be part of this project. You can choose what the centerpiece of the complex will be or you can design it yourself.”
“You want me to be part of your project?”
“I want to share this and every other part of my life with you. All you have to do is say yes. Yes to me. Yes to my crazy family.” He glanced over his shoulder at the building behind them. “I’d like to apologize ahead of time for what’s in there.”
Willa looked past him. “What’s in there? Isn’t it just the food tasting?”
Lance chuckled and pocketed the paper. “You wish. My immediate, as well as my extended family is all in there waiting for us. At least a hundred of them.”
“One hundred? Here? For us? Why?”
Lance held out the engagement ring again. “Because I told them you’re the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.”