Page 61 of Persuading Penny
I shrugged. “I figured you’d want to say goodbye to your family before leaving.”
He chuckled softly. “You figured right.”
“Um...is...are you...I mean...” The words wouldn’t come, but I had to know. “Is Bridget here with you?”I finally asked, afraid she’d suddenly storm out of the house.
“No. Bridget isn’t here. Her head is in the stars...far beyond the man I am.”
“You must be heartbroken,” I said, trying to gauge his sentiments.
He chuckled. “Not at all. She’s a fine actress and it’s been a pleasure working with her, but... I guess you could say that she was a distraction.”
We stopped walking as we reached the edge of the forest.
“I tried to forget you, Penny.” He took my hands in his, his fingers gently running over mine. “I tried to dive into my work, to ignore the fact that you were right there within reach.”
“Yes. I noticed that.”
“I tried to turn to someone else, thinking it would help me forget you. I concentrated on Bridget to better ignore you. But it didn’t work, and Bridget saw right through me. As attentive as I tried to be to her needs and wants, she saw right from the start how my gaze always managed to find you.”
“But all the rumors. Everyone said you were planning to propose; that you’d bought a ring.”
He laughed. “Yeah. I heard about that. I don’t know how that rumor started, but it was just that; a rumor. I never had any intention of proposing to her...to anyone.”
Squeezing my hands, he pressed his lips as if reluctant to say more. “And you,” he finally said. “You and Steve. You two were quite handsome together at the poetry reading. He seems very interested in you.”
It was my turn to laugh. “Yes. He’s very interested in everything you see around you.” I pulled my hands away from his to gesture at the property around us. “Turns out that Copperfield Corner has always been his true aim. You even mentioned this plot of his in your letter. How embarrassing that you should know of this plot while I naively believed him to find some interest in me.Oh, I admit, I found his proposal a little pre-mature, but...I was just a tool to get to what he wanted. And the only reason he wanted this property at all was to prove his maturity and business acumen so he could inherit his father’s fortune. I was just a fool to believe he could be interested in me; an absolute fool.”
He snorted. “You’re no fool, Penny.”
I resumed walking, heading back to the front of the house. “Can you believe that he wanted to turn all this into some sort of mall? Destroy a beautiful home, mow down this forest, level up a property that is larger than Tillsbury Estate, and all for another spot to go shopping.”
He stopped me before I reached my car. “You came out here to see me. Did you want to say anything before I left for London?”
I faced him, tears in my eyes. “It wasn’t my decision, Cliff. I barely had any choice in the words that I had to write in that letter. The adults around me convinced me that it was the best thing to do, that I would forget you, that I would move on and meet someone more...well, as far as my father is concerned...more appropriate, better suited.”
He nodded.
“You have to believe me, Cliff. I never wanted this separation. You say as much in your letter, that you’d begun to suspect that I hadn’t written that letter of my own accord. That I’d been persuaded to...”
“Yes. I know,” he said, a faint smile on his lips as he looked into my eyes. “I believe you. I realized it the moment I saw you, that look in your eyes. I knew then that our breakup wasn’t your idea. But I guess I was still too stubborn to accept what I saw. I was too angry with you, too hurt to see beyond my own pain.”
“I was angry with myself.”I paused.“I never wanted to hurt you, Cliff.”
“Penny,” he said, coming closer. “I meant every word of that letter. I love you. I’ve never stopped loving you. Seeing you with Steve almost killed me. And before I leave for London, I had to let you know how I really feel.”
I leaned closer to him. For all these days of seeing him at a distance, of barely getting close enough to smell him, I suddenly had a need to touch him, to be in his arms.
“Marry me, Penny,” he whispered.
Stunned, I looked up at him. “Cliff, what are you saying?”
He laughed. “Isn’t it plain enough? I don’t want to lose you again. Marry me.”
I nodded as I fell into his arms.
“Marry me.” He wrapped his arms tightly around me, kissing me as he did years ago.I kissed him back, feeling so right in his arms.Yes, Cliff and I could not give up this second chance at love.Never again would I be persuaded to give the man I was meant to be with up.
“Yes!Yes!”I cried, tears falling down my cheeks.“I’ll marry you.”I had never felt better in my life.
