Page 57 of Royal Hottie
She purses her lips. “Only you ruined it. I couldn’t enjoy any of it, couldn’t even start to apartment shop because I’ve been miserable without you.”
I stroke her hair back from her face. “I’ve been miserable too.”
She exhales sharply. “That doesn’t make me feel as good as I thought it would.”
“You hoped for my misery?”
“Oh, yeah. I wanted you to be an empty shell of a man cursing the day you lost the best thing to ever happen to you. I hoped you’d become impotent in your grief and never be able to enjoy another woman for the rest of your miserable life.”
“Damn, remind me never to get on your bad side again.”
She laughs. “I know. I just wanted you to be as miserable as I was. Phillip, you really hurt my feelings. It’s like you thought you were so much better than me, that I was being greedy and small-minded while you were taking the higher path. I’d felt so close to you, closer than I’ve ever felt with anyone, and then it seemed like the gap between us was too great to ever bridge. We do come from different worlds.”
“It works for Gabriel and Anna.”
“Anna has always longed for a stable foundation and family. Gabriel gave her that. But Phillip, that’s not me. I have everything I need right here, except you. I just don’t know how we fit.”
“I’ll move to Tampa.” I surprise myself with the impulsive decision, but it’s the only way I can think of to keep her happy.
Her jaw drops. “What? You can’t move to Tampa. You have to continue your good work. It’s important to you and the world.”
We stare at each other at an impasse. She wants me to do what I most want to do; she just doesn’t want to do that with me. And I don’t really belong here. We both know that.
She turns away, and my heart leaps in my throat.
“Ruby.”
“Maybe you were right before,” she says quietly. “We’re on two diverging paths.”
“Marry me.”
Her head whips toward mine, her green eyes wide. She looks as surprised as I am, but now that I’ve said it, I want to. I love her. That’s everything. The only thing.
I take both her hands. “I need you in my life, Ruby. Permanently. You aremystable foundation, the heart of it, the center of everything I do. I know it’s sudden. I don’t even have a ring, but there’s nothing I want more than you by my side for life.”
She looks happy for a moment, but then she frowns. “How does that solve anything?”
“We were asking the wrong question. It’s not which job takes precedence. The right question is, how does everything else in our lives fit around us as a couple? We start with love.” I give her a quick kiss. “We’ll be a unified front, and we’ll decide everything together. Where we live, how we live.” I frame her beautiful face with my hands. “There’s just nothing more important to me than you. None of this means anything without you in my life.”
Her brows draw together as her gaze searches mine.
I drop my hands and wait, barely breathing, hoping for the answer I most want to hear.
Her lips purse as she mulls it over. Finally, she says, “I like that a lot. We could set aside blocks of time. Six months here for my career, six months traveling as ambassadors for clean water. You have the pull to get people to work with your schedule, and you could take the occasional trip without me.”
I can breathe again, joy spearing through me, making everything feel light and bright. She’s on board. “And you’ll marry me?”
She smiles cheekily. “When I hear a proposal worthy of Prince Phillip Rourke.”
I drop to one knee in front of her and gallantly take her hand. “Ruby Evans, will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?”
“Yes!”
She throws herself at me, and I catch her, holding her close for a long moment. She kisses me, and it’s the sweetest welcome. Suddenly we’re ravenous for each other and tumble to the floor. She’s on top of me, and I run my hands all over her petite soft curves.
She lifts her head suddenly. “We should go somewhere more private.”
“Yes, and quickly.”
