“Guess what else?” He quirked an eyebrow.
“What?”
“The reason MasonCorp didn’t move on the property was because they knew.”
“Edward Mason knew?”
“No, not directly. One of his executives did a handshake deal with Dennis Walker before doing his due diligence. By the time he realized his mistake, Dennis Walker was in the wind, so he buried the sale and hoped it would stay undiscovered.”
“Until we found it.”
“Until we found it.” He nodded.
“So what happens now?”
“Nothing.” He smiled again. “Armed with my most trusted attorney—”
“CJ?” I interjected with a grin, and he nodded.
“—I set up a meeting with Edward Mason and negotiated a fair sale price for Eleanor and David.”
“Wait, sale?” I asked, confused. “But the sale was never valid.”
“True,” he conceded, “but if Edward Mason decided to take this to the courts, it could cost David and Eleanor years and millions of dollars to prove it. A guy like Edward Mason isn’t gonna take something like this on the chin. This way, everyone gets what they want. No muss, no fuss. No bad press.”
“Wow. You did all this on your own?”
“I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“How are David and Eleanor?”
“Well, if you get ready for dinner, you can ask them yourself.”
I smiled, planted a kiss on his lips, and stood from the table, cradling his cheeks in my palms.
“You’re amazing.” I smiled down at him. “How did you even get these?” I placed my fingertips on the stack of papers.
“Cynthia mailed them to me”—he reached into his messengerbag again—“along with some other things that were left behind.” He pulled out a ring box, and I knew exactly what was inside.
“I wasn’t sure I’d ever speak to you again, and it didn’t feel right to keep them.” I shrugged.
“Jasmine”—Derek looked up at me—“I will never stop apologizing for the way I treated you that last night we spent in this apartment, but I will also never stop loving you. I will never stop needing you. There has been a Jasmine Morgan–shaped hole in my heart for the last thirteen years, and now that you’re back in my life, I never want to let you go. I know you said you needed time, so I’m gonna hold on to these and I’m gonna ask you again when the time is right.”
Not even a full minute later, he slid off the chair and onto one knee, holding the ring box in one hand and my bare left hand in the other.
“Derek.” I giggled.
“I know I’ve asked you this question before—” A sly smile was curling at the edge of his lips.
“Twice before,” I corrected him with a smile. “Although the first one wasn’t really a proposal and more of an invitation to commit fraud. But it still counts.”
“Yes, twice,” he conceded. “The last two times were built on a foundation of deceit, lies, and secrets. Now that everything is out in the open, I want to ask you again, for the very last time—”
“It better be the last time,” I quipped.
“Jasmine Naomi Morgan, will you do me the supreme honor of becoming my wife, for real this time?”
“Well, we’ve already done the ‘through sickness and health’ thing.”
