“Are you sure?” I ask with a tremor to my voice.
“I’m sure of it,” Bruce agrees before kissing me gently.
I sigh. What did I do to deserve this man? My happiness is paramount to him, and I feel safe and secure, in both my business and my personal life. With his help, I get back on my feet.
He kisses me again, and this time, there’s something behind his touch that I’ve never noticed before. A sense of urgency, like he’s trying to tell me something but can’t find the words.
Then he breaks away, holds me by the cheeks, and looks me in the eyes.
My heart skips a beat.
He reaches into his pocket.
I tilt my head in question before I find him moving down my body and getting down on one knee. The breath stops in my throat.
“This is all for you, sweetheart,” he rumbles. Bruce opens up the jewelry box, revealing a stunning diamond ring. “I hope you don’t mind that the box is a little wet, but I couldn’t resist getting you into the water and seeing that bikini cling to your body,” he says with a grin.
I can’t believe my eyes.
Bruce takes the ring and holds it out to me. “Katie, will you marry me?”
Tears immediately spring to my eyes. I can’t believe it. Bruce Lockhart is actually proposing to me. The girl with the dirty panty business from the wrong side of the tracks. My heart thumps out of control, and I nod, choking out a soft, “Yes!”
He smiles, slips the ring onto my finger, and then kisses me. We fall back down onto the sand, laughing together. After all, when this started, I figured things would take their natural course. I’d sell my business, slowly pull back from its day to day operations, and then go back to my own life. But instead, my buyer has made me a deal I can’t turn down: marriage, and the chance to be Mrs. Bruce Lockhart. How did I get so lucky? With one last kiss, we seal the deal and pledge ourselves to one another with our hearts and souls, always to be together.
Epilogue
Bruce
It’s a week later, and we can’t bring ourselves to wait long enough to go through all the formalities. All the churches in our area were booked solid for a few months, and honestly, I don’t think I’m the church type. So when Katie suggests we get hitched in Vegas, it seems like the perfect solution.
We fly out to Vegas, where we find a chapel.
As Katie walks down the aisle, she looks so gorgeous in her white dress that I can’t keep my eyes off of her. She’s smiling like she is the happiest woman in the world.
Her mother is here, one of our only guests. Her new husband seems like a good man, albeit a bit awkward around strangers.
After the wedding, Jesse, of course, gets completely wasted and blows a good chunk of his life savings at the casino. I actually have to bail him out at one point. Lucky for him, Katie is exceptionally good at the Black Jack table and is able to give all of those guys a run for their money. Literally.
I couldn’t have asked for a better woman.
It’s hard to believe that two years have already gone by. As I type up an email at my computer, the light from the window glints off of my wedding band. I look at it, a fond smile on my face. I never thought I’d settle down with someone, but I’m really glad I did. I guess it’s true what they say – there really is someone out there for everyone.
I’m about to finish up the email when there’s a knock at the door.
A second later, Jesse pops his head into my office. “Sir?”
“What is it?”
“Tom Benning is here to see you.”
I laugh. “Seriously?”
“Mm-hm. I’m pretty sure I scheduled your meeting with him two years ago.”
“You did. He never showed up, the coward.” I shake my head.
“So, what do you want me to do? Send him in or send him packing?”
“Send him in. I could use a good laugh.”
Jesse nods.
I get up and stretch my legs a bit. I wind up near the windows, looking out at the city. It really is a beautiful vista. The sun is bright, and the sky is a deep blue. There isn’t a cloud in sight. Maybe today will be the day I take Katie sailing. She’s been begging me to go, but I’ve been busy. I mentally promise myself that I’ll take her that very afternoon. No excuses.
Just then, there’s another knock on the door. This time, Tom Benning walks in. He looks much older than I remember from before. There are light sprinklings of gray through his hair. Wrinkles around his eyes. His lips are thinner and pressed together in a hard line, and his cheeks are sunken. He’s definitely lost his Hollywood glow. Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen him in any recent movies.