Page 42 of Christian Clause

Christian rises and my eyes enlarge as he walks around the counter. He gently takes my hands and lifts me from the stool.

“Hope, I love you.”

My lips part with shock. Christian’s hands tighten around my body.

“I don’t want to sneak around anymore. I want the entire world to know I love you and you’re my woman.”

I can’t believe my ears. All I do is gawk at him, not knowing what to say. I secretly feared that all he wants from me is sex. Joy wells up inside me, causing tears to sting my eyes.

“Do you really mean that?”

He smiles and nods. “I mean every word. I see you being my wife and the mother of my children.”

“Oh, Christian,” is all I can say as tears of elation spill down my cheeks.

He wipes my tears with his hands and captures my lips with his in a stunning kiss. I drown as his lips move expertly against mine.

And then, like a bolt of lightning striking me, I remember what had made me indecisive all day. I wrench my lips from his.

“What about Katherine?”

He frowns. “What about her?”

I take a step back. “You left the office with her today and as usual, she was all over you.”

Christian runs his hands through his hair. “Sweetheart, Katherine is an old friend. We met in high school and lost contact until after college. I have never dated her and I don’t have any intention of doing that.”

My eyes narrow. “Then why have you been seeing her if nothing is going on between the two of you?”

“She had a problem with her business. She was almost at the point of bankruptcy, but she didn’t want anyone to know. So, she asked for my help. With a few investments and investors here and there, she’s back on her feet again.”

I chew my bottom lip, looking at him with skepticism. I don’t want what happened with Terrance to happen again. Christian might wake up someday and tell me he’s going back to Katherine.

Christian places his hands on my shoulders. “Hope, darling, I know you’ll find it hard to believe me because of Terrance.”

During the night we spent making passionate love in Gray Rock, we talked for a long time about our lives and past relationships. He didn’t mention Katherine that night, but I kept wondering as the woman was still in his life.

He cups my cheek. “I promise you, Katherine and I are just friends. True, she wanted something other than friendship, but I have made it clear to her that it will never be because I love you and want to be with you.”

His head descends and he renders me breathless again. I’m smiling like a ninny when he raises his head. I clasp his face in my hands and laugh joyously.

“I love you, Christian.”

His eyes widen. Then he shakes his head. “You don’t have to say it because I did.”

I laugh heartily. “Now you doubt me?”

He looks so cute in his uncertainty; I kiss him.

“I fought real hard not to fall in love with you, but I failed woefully.”

He chuckles. “Me, too.”

“I have been so frightened that you’d break my heart and leave it in tatters. I thought all you wanted from me was sex.”

Christian throws back his head as laughter rumbles from his throat.

“I started with wanting only that, but I knew instinctively that you were different. I couldn’t stop thinking about you. When I kissed you for the first time, it became worse. You were in my mind, my heart, and my dreams. Everywhere I went, I saw you. For the first time since I started my business, I found something better I wanted to do.”

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