Page 79 of The Billionaire Offer
One Year Later
On our official one-year anniversary, I sank down lower into the hot water and rested my head on Bart’s shoulder, looking up at his face and the gorgeous Northern Lights dancing across his handsome features.
“When you said we were going to be taking a break for our anniversary, I should’ve known you were planning something big.”
He chuckled before leaning in to kiss my forehead. “Last time we stayed in this cabin, I really wanted to share that damn bed with you. I figured it was only right to get to do it now that we can really soak in the romance of the cabin.”
“True,” I murmured. “For what it’s worth, I wanted you to share the bed with me, too. I just knew that if we did, we’d end up letting the romance get to us and I was scared we might do things that’d make the trip awkward.”
“The things I wanted to do to you,” he mused, a soft grin spreading on his lips at the memory. “As frustrating as it was not being able to touch you, I’m glad everything happened the way it did. It brought us here, didn’t it?”
“It sure did,” I agreed, smiling as I thought back over everything that’d happened since the last time we’d been here, at this same remote lodge in Iceland.
It had been one hell of a year, but it had been the best one of my life—excluding those few weeks when I’d thought I’d lost him for good. Those had been terrible, but even they had served their purpose to make us both realize just how much we loved each other.
After we’d made up at the tournament, we’d embarked on our greatest adventure yet—learning how to be together despite our sometimes hectic schedules. We’d made it, though. Even though it had been a total whirlwind at times, we were happier than ever and, by now, pretty experienced in working through the challenges life threw at us together.
While my agent had been thrilled for us, she’d also warned me the day after the tournament that the interest in me was enormous. My admission of love and subsequent performance had gone viral, especially in certain circles, and the fact that it had turned out to betheBart Philips that I’d been confessing my love to had added alotof fuel to the fire.
The interest in me and in our story had gained traction in the weeks that followed, and before I’d even known it, I’d had months of shows booked and I’d been recording my first album. All the songs on it were ones I’d written on our trip, and when that came out, it was like our relationship became some kind of icon for inspirational second chances.
Almost overnight, the value of the songs I’d written also went up exponentially, and I’d gained so many new clients that I now had a waiting list of months for people who wanted to purchase songs from me. A waiting list so long that Valerie had shut it down for now. She was insisting that I focus on writing the songs I needed to for the clients I already had, and after that, she wanted me to start writing for my second album.
Bart had been more supportive than I ever would’ve been able to imagine. He’d traveled with me for shows far away, he’d stayed up late with me while I’d written or practiced new songs, and he’d even written software for me to use on my computer at home to help me with the process.
About six months ago, when he’d surprised me with the software, he’d also surprised me with the computer it was on and a whole bunch of other equipment. Then he’d told me that it wouldn’t all fit into my apartment and that the only solution was moving in with him.
I’d agreed without even pointing out that I’d seen through his ploy. We could’ve made space for the computer and the equipment, but neither of us had even tried. Ultimately, we’d wanted to live together and he’d made it happen.
“I think it went well in Egypt,” he said, his voice easing me out of my thoughts. “Do you think everything we did there is actually going to make a difference?”
My brows rose. “Do you mean the thousands of laptops we donated, the workshops you ran for three full weeks, and all the people you appointed to provide ongoing training in all those community centers? Because yes. I’m pretty sure that’s going to make a difference.”
He laughed. “Yeah, I meant all that. I know we just flew out of there, but I still feel like we need to do more.”
“We will,” I said, smiling as I lifted my head and looked up at him. “It was so good seeing Arun again. He’ll keep us up to speed about what’s working and what’s not, what else we need to implement, and what other kinds of support they need. It was a smart move to keep piloting everything from there with him overseeing it.”
He shrugged. “He’s become a good friend. We’re lucky to have him. Now all we have to do is find counterparts for him in so many other places, and we’ll be golden.”
I smiled. “We’ll get there. The centers we’ve got up and running so far are already a miracle considering that we’ve only been at it for a year. Also, do you have any idea how incredible it is that you’ve managed to bring internet to so many people who’ve never had access before? You haven’t only changed my life since you’ve been in it. I think you’re just a blessing all round.”
Chuckling as he pushed away from the edge, he got up and climbed out of the hot tub on our deck, turning to glance at me. “Hold on to that thought. I’ll be right back.”
I frowned, wondering what on earth he was up to now but knowing that it wouldn’t help to ask. Instead, I made good use of the opportunity while he was gone and took off my bathing suit, planning on surprising him by being naked when he got back. The last time we’d been in this hot tub, I’d wanted him so badly, and while it had been more than a year ago, I still wanted him just as much. Plus, this was our do-over trip for that leg of it, and making love under the Northern Lights was just one of the things I’d added to my secret bucket list in order to make up for not having just been honest with him about my feelings from the get-go.
It took him longer to return than I’d thought it would, but when he finally came back out, he had two champagne flutes, a champagne bottle, a piece of paper, and a strange black box carved out of volcanic rock with him.
Too distracted by all the stuff he had with him to realize that I’d taken off my bikini just yet, he set the drinks down on a table next to the hot tub and slipped back into the water next to me. He seemed strangely nervous all of a sudden, which was odd because I hadn’t seen him looking that way very often, either the first time we’d been together or now.
“What’s up?” I asked cautiously, scooting in closer to him and taking his free hand. “What’s going on?”
He turned to face me, sucking in a slow, deep breath. He let go of my hand and reached for the box. As he opened it, he started speaking and my jaw dropped when I saw the beautiful, intricately detailed ring inside it.
“What’s up is that I don’t want to wait any longer to ask you to marry me. More than a year ago when Arun took us to that silver shop in Cairo and you were picking out the charm for Leah, I saw this ring, and even though I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to give it to you, I couldn’t stop myself from buying it.”
He smiled, his eyes locked on mine. “I know it’s not a traditional engagement ring. It doesn’t have a diamond in it and it’s not made of gold or platinum. It’s precious gems and Egyptian silver. It didn’t cost an arm and a leg, and while I do have a traditional ring inside, I wanted to ask you with this one because the gems reminded me of your eyes. I’m not sure if you can see it in this light, but the detail on the band is of all these interwoven swirls and they made me think of us and our lives. How every time we separate, we come back together somehow.”
Tears burned the backs of my eyes. “It’s beautiful. Perfect. I love it, and I love you. Of course, I’ll marry you.”
