Page 147 of Not Your Average Vixen
“Russ, Bridget and I met the day before we arrived at the Kringle Mountain House, and from that moment on, I haven’t been the same,” Soren answered.
“Do you mean that?” she asked.
“Every word. You’ve challenged everything I thought I knew about myself. You took me to task, and you never gave an inch. I didn’t believe that someone like me deserved someone like you. I didn’t trust myself. I thought I was destined to follow in my parents’ footsteps. But I was wrong. I don’t have to be like them. I get to choose the kind of man I want to be. And I choose to be someone worthy of you, Bridget. I’m sorry for all the terrible things I said last night. None of them were true. But here’s what is. I choose you over everything else. I promise I will guard your heart and never be reckless with it again,” he said, taking her trembling hand.
“You do?” she whispered.
He stroked his thumb across her knuckles. “I want to be with you. I want to dance with you while you bake. I want all your chocolate kisses. I want to watch you eat funnel cake. I want to kiss you under the mistletoe. If you let me, I want to spend my life proving to you that I’m worthy of your heart. I know I can be that man for you. I know because I’ve learned from the best,” he said, first, meeting the judge’s eye, and then, glancing over his shoulder at the Abbotts.
Who was this man?
“What happened to you?”
She had to ask.
He chuckled. “A bunch of Santas kicked my butt in poker last night, then they sat me down this morning and helped me get off the naughty list.”
“The naughty list?” she repeated, unable to hold back the ghost of a smile.
“Let’s just say that they helped me see the person I need to be for my friends and for the woman I love.”
The breath caught in her throat. “You love me?”
He cupped her cheek in his hand. “You know, I do. I was just too stupid and too blinded by my fears to admit it. And that’s the promise. Right here, right now, I promise to love you and protect your heart every day for the rest of my life.”
Time moved slowly. She could see the edge and feel the pull to follow her grandmother’s advice and take the leap.
But not yet.
“Your best friend is marrying my sister. You could have just pretended to like me if you wanted to be around them.”
“I never thought of that,” he replied, those cat-like eyes glittering with mischief.
She cocked her head to the side. “It might have been an easier solution than professing your undying love and giving me a multi-million-dollar company.”
His jaw dropped, and she laughed.
“I’m just giving you a hard time,” she added with a vixen smirk.
“She’s a real Alice, this one, isn’t she?” the judge said, clapping Soren on the shoulder.
“She sure is, Judge,” Soren answered with sweet devotion coating each word.
“Tell me if I’ve got this right,” she said, unable to hold back a grin. “You want to give me a company. You love me, and you promise to always protect my heart.”
“And I’m not going to be a giant creep to your sister anymore. Don’t forget that part,” he added with a playful wink.
“Thanks, man! We appreciate it,” Tom teased with his good-natured grin back in place.
Bridget shook her head and laughed. “I can see why the Santas beat you at poker. It looks like I’m holding all the cards, and you’re supposed to be the big-time businessman. From where I’m standing, it appears I’m getting all the perks in this deal.”
Soren’s expression grew serious. “That’s where you’re wrong. If you say yes, then I’ll have closed the best, most consequential deal I’ve ever made. From the first time I held you in my arms, I knew that I didn’t want to be without you. Tell me you feel it, too.”
She stared at his beautiful face as a memory bubbled to the surface. She was seven or maybe eight as she watched Lori leap from bench to bench in the Kringle Chapel.
Now, with her guardian angels watching over her, it was time for her to jump.
She blinked back tears. “I agree to your terms, Mr. Rudolph.”
