Page 37 of Vengeful Seduction
“Kaye James,” David said, his tone oddly formal, even though he still had the familiar glint of mischief in his eye. Of course he did—he nearly always did.
“What?” I asked somewhat stupidly, while a slight smirk tugged at the corners of his luscious lips.
“Will you marry me?” As he spoke, he slid a small black box out of his pocket, opening it up to reveal a ring with a single diamond on it that was almost as big as a golf ball. Okay, so I’m exaggerating a little, but it almost felt like it.
“Oh my God,” I whispered. It had been, what, four months since I’d even first laid eyes on this guy? Something close to that, anyway. I stared down at the ring, which sparkled, sending refracted candlelight around in a shower of rainbow sparks.
He rose to his feet, still holding the box, then guided me into my seat. I sat and was glad for it, since my legs seemed more wobbly than usual. I dropped down gratefully and then turned to him, looking at him almost imploringly.
He couldn’t be serious.
“Before you answer, I need to talk to you about something.” He shot me a charming wink as he settled down in his seat as well. He placed the ring on the table between us, and I felt my eyes drawn back to it, over and over again.
It was beautiful, no doubt about it.
“If you say yes, I want to talk about prenups. I know you’re a wealthy woman now,” he pointed out, and I winced. It still felt strange to me, but it was true. “And I’m not exactly headed to the poorhouse myself. I think we both need to protect ourselves.”
I took a deep breath and found it faintly fantastic that I was even considering his proposal enough to be having this discussion. Why hadn’t I just told him no? It was far too soon, and yet …
I loved him.
“What did you have in mind?” I asked, and he smiled at me approvingly.
“It’s pretty simple. What I think we should do is have everything we own belong to us jointly. If we, God forbid, get a divorce, everything would go to the injured party.”
I frowned a little. We weren’t even married yet, and he was already talking divorce? And, yet, in some way, I found it comforting. He was being practical, and as much as he had made me feel like I was lost in some romantic dream, I was—at my very core—a practical person.
“So the other person would get nothing,” I mused.
“Yes, that’s right. I think of it as a bit of a safety net,” he admitted. “For the marriage—to make sure it lasts. I don’t think I could handle losing you. This will encourage us to do the right thing—both of us—no matter what temptations come our way. Those temptations will definitely happen, but I want us to last through all of them.”
I frowned, looking down, but not at the ring. Honestly, I wasn’t seeing much of anything, lost as I was in my own thoughts. At first, it was difficult to get past the panic, but he gave me time to think and it definitely helped.
“I’d need that security if we marry,” David said, and I nodded. It made sense to me, actually, and I was sort of glad he felt the same way. It was better to be careful—to have everything set up so we would have the greatest chance of success.
As I looked at him, I realized he was exactly the sort of man I would marry. The only man I would consider.
What he was asking for really wasn’t much of a big deal, anyway. I knew myself well enough to be very sure of one thing: I would not be the one to end our marriage. This commitment would be for life, at least for me.
There was absolutely no risk at all—not to me. I would never want out of this marriage. I’d always been the type who was slow to make commitments, but once I’d made them, they were ironclad.
“I’ll sign it,” I murmured, gazing at him. No wonder he’d looked so nervous. I’d been silent, thinking about it, and I could feel him getting more and more anxious as I did. To his credit, though, he didn’t try to push me. He let me think it out.
There were so many reasons I loved him and this was one more. He was perfect for me. I’d never believed in soul mates, but with him I almost could.
“Really?” he asked, a smile spreading over his handsome face and making him look younger than he was. He acted so maturely and worldly most of the time, but I could tell I had sincerely made him happy by accepting his proposal.
“Yes,” I agreed. “I’ll marry you, and I have no problem signing a prenuptial agreement.”
“Yes,” he echoed me. “She said yes!” The people around us clapped, as they’d been listening in. A blush covered my cheeks.
I would marry David and I would bring the prenup to a lawyer—just to be safe—I decided. But the simple fact was, I was in love. It was completely crazy, but I did want to marry this man. I wanted to belong to him.
“Mrs. Kaye Black,” I murmured, then grinned at him. Elation bubbled inside of me and I held out my left hand, offering it to him. “I like the sound of it.”
“So do I.” David picked up the ring and slid it onto my ring finger. The band fit like it had been designed for me. I admired my hand, then turned a quizzical look on my new fiancé.
Fiancé!
