Page 109 of The Husband Diet
‘Chocolate?’
My one weakness. I nodded. ‘I ate the whole thing,’ I giggled and bawled at the same time.
He chuckled and murmured, ‘Silly you…’ as he tucked me into his arms.
I rested my face against his warm chest, enjoying the feel of his lean body through his blue cotton polo shirt. It was almost summer now and I hadn’t realized it, so cold had I been inside.
Oh, how much easier my life would have been if I’d met Julian instead of Ira thirteen years ago. He took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto my finger, rolling my hands between his, his beautiful face flushed and excited like a young boy’s.
‘You, Erica Cantelli, are a magnificent woman. I love everything about you – your wacky sense of humor, your strength, your intelligence, your smile, these beautiful shoulders, your curves’—his hands slid down from my arms to my (ooh) butt—‘your skin, the twinkle in your eyes, the sound of your voice, the way you play with your hair, the way you—’
‘OK, I think I get it,’ I giggled. He really was smitten. ‘And you’re really willing to wait, until I’m ready?’
‘I swear. No pressure,’ he promised.
Wow. Something in me had definitely changed, if a guy like Julian was willing to wait for me, let alonelookat me. So I decided to push my luck. Why the hell not? ‘And you won’t try to take over my life? You don’t mind me keeping my spaces?’
‘I can handle that as well. As long as you don’t run off with some Italian lover.’
I snorted. ‘They’re not exactly banging on my door, you know. Which is why you should reconsider while you still can.’
‘I want to be in your life, but if and when you don’t, I need to know.’
‘Cool. But FYI, I’m not easy to live with. I’m bossy, arrogant, and I can be a real pain in the ass.’
‘Don’t I know it,’ he grinned.
Things had really changed for me. A man like Julian was handing himself to me on a silver platter and I was no longer shocked.
40
Coming Up for Air
Julian decided to sell his home and put the money toward buying a farmhouse with me and some guest annexes to open our business. He’d also added a pool, paddocks and a tennis court to his wish list. It blew my budget out of the water.
‘This is to show you how much I care,’ he said, kissing me. ‘This is my commitment until you decide to let me walk you down the aisle.’
‘And you can really afford to buy all this?’
‘Of course. Am I not a former sports celebrity?’
‘So you’re loaded?’ Not that I hadn’t noticed his house was a tad beyond a principal’s salary.
He grinned. ‘Let’s say you won’t have to worry about anything for the rest of your life.’
‘Hello, have we met? I always worry about everything.’
‘Not anymore, you won’t.’
I pulled his face to mine and delivered him a whopper of a kiss. ‘I love you, and not because you’re filthy rich,’ I whispered, feeling my eyes burn and moisten. Enough crying. After twelve years, I was finally happy again. I felt like friggin’ Cinderella.
*
We threw a leaving dinner party. It was mostly my family, but he invited a couple of colleagues from school and his old agent, Terry Petersen, who was salivating at the idea of another book. Also his father, Tom, a real British gentleman, just like his son, and his mother, Maggie, who was thrilled to see me in my clothes this time and to chew the breeze with me. She didn’t seem the least perturbed her favorite son was leaving the continent to live with a flasher like me.
‘You’re doing the right thing, Erica,’ my dad said as he kissed my cheek. ‘Follow your dreams, a wise woman once said to me,no matter what shape they may take.’
I smiled. ‘Nonna told you, too? Did you listen to her?’
