Page 15 of His Toughest Case

“Thank you,” she whispers after a while, a lone tear sliding down the corner of her eyes.

I nod in response, tightening my hands around hers. At that moment, there’s no need for more words between us. Her eyes speak volumes, and I understand them all.

“I guess it's all over now,” she says, finally breaking the charged silence that descended between us. “Now I can do everythingI've always wanted to without being ridiculed and gaslit by my parents.”

“What do you want to do?” I ask. “Have you thought again about going to culinary school?”

She smiles, her eyes brightening up just a little, enough to light a spark of hope in my soul. “You remembered.”

“Of course I did.” I brush a lock of hair behind her ear. “So tell me about it.”

"Being a chef is all I ever really wanted," she replies, her smile turning wistful. "When I was younger, before my dad died, we'd sit down together in the evenings and watch cooking shows together. I remember always telling him I wanted to be a chef and cook fancy meals like the ones on TV. I'd lost the dream somewhere along the way, but I'd like to make it a reality now."

“You can do that, baby,” I say, returning her smile. “You can be anything you want.”

Her expression grows sad again. This time, there's an air of defeat about her.

“Is this goodbye?” she asks in a small, quavering voice.

I blink at her in surprise. “What are you talking about?”

She shrugs her shoulders lightly. "I heard you speaking with Amelia in the study when I first arrived… You gave me one month to figure things out. It's about time…"

“Amelia was right,” I say with a chuckle.

“About what?” she asks with an adorable frown.

“About you growing on people before they realize it,” I reply. “Now I can’t live without you.”

She stares blankly at my face for a while, as if trying to make sense of my words.

“What does that mean?” she finally stammers.

“Marry me, London,” I say quietly.

It’s not an impulsive proposal; I've thought about it from the very first day we made love, but I'd planned to do it differently. I planned to give her enough time to get to know me, to convince her to want to be with me, but the events of the past few days have made me realize the fickleness of life and time.

There's really no promise of tomorrow…

So I'm going to lay my heart out at her feet. It doesn't matter if she tramples on it; I'll pick it up and give it to her again. And again.

"You can go to culinary school, become a chef, and anything else you want," I continue, ignoring the anxiety in the pit of my stomach. "But please give me a chance to walk with you… To hold your hand through the good and bad times. To laugh and cry with you. To love you…"

“Oh, Curt….”

"I love you, London," I say quickly, as if that will influence her response. "I know it's only been a few weeks and it seems like things are going too fast, but I've never been more sure of anything in my life. You complete me, London, and life without you would be a misery. So, please… please, marry me. You don'thave to love me back right away. I'll love you enough for both of us.”

“Yes.”

I clear my throat. “What?”

"Yes, I'll marry you, silly," she replies with a giggle, her eyes brimming with tears that do nothing to dim the happiness sparkling in those beautiful brown depths.

“Really?”

My heart is beating so fast and hard in my chest, but she's all I can see at that moment. Her gorgeous smile… The heartwarming emotions swirling in her eyes… The love that I should have seen ages ago.

I see it all now.

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