Friends to Lovers (33 page)

She handed him a sprig of white flowers. Delicate purple veins spread across the bottom of each petal. “These are white violets. They say
let’s take a chance on happiness
.”

Gib looked from Mira to Sam, then back again. “I think you’re both off your rockers. Definitely the weirdest going-away presents ever. Thanks, though. Nice of you two to come see me off.”

“Oh, there’s more than just two of us,” said Mira. She pointed back toward the entrance.

Panting slightly, Ben jogged through the doors and over to them. “Sorry. Parking was a bitch. Sweet ride, though,” he said with a wink.

Panic shot through Gib. He’d left the keys to his precious Moll Davis with Ben. And the first thing he’d done was stick her in rush-hour traffic? “Airport parking lots are a free-for-all. Do you realize how likely it is she’ll get dinged?”

“It was an emergency. I didn’t have any choice.”

“What? What the hell was an emergency?”

“This.” From behind his back, Ben produced a clutch of light purple, five-petaled flowers. “It’s lungwort. Most hideously named flower ever.” He looked at Mira. “I feel like an idiot. Do I really have to say it?”

Before she could answer, Ivy scooted in next to her fiancé. Her cheeks were flushed as if she’d run from the parking lot, too. The ends of the pink ribbon around her ponytail flapped against her neck. “Yes. Romance won’t kill you, Ben. We’ve been over this.”

“Fine.” He thrust the flowers at Gib. “In the Victorian flower language, these mean
thou art my life.
”

Gib was picking up on a theme. He just didn’t know what to make of it. “Thanks. I think.”

Ivy whipped a long, trailing cutting of ivy out of her shoulder bag. “
Wedded love and fidelity.
”

He took it from her. “Same to you?” Was anyone going to explain what the hell was going on? There were two hours to fill before his flight, but this was downright weird. Weirder still when Milo pushed his way out of the stream of travelers along with a tall, older man Gib had never seen before.

“Coral roses signify
desire.
” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively and rolled his hips as he handed the long-stemmed blossoms to Gib.

“We slept ten feet away from each other for how many years, and you wait to seduce me in an airport?” Gib heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Bad timing, mate.”

“Well, I know a lost cause when I see one. Besides, my unrequited desire’s not the issue.”

The loose semicircle formed by his friends parted. There stood Daphne. The sight of her stole his breath away. And shattered his heart all over again. She wore the white sweaterdress that she’d worn to the magazine party. The one that clung to her like a sexy second skin. Her hair fell in loose waves down her back. And in her hands was a single yellow flower, its stem wrapped in florist tape as a boutonniere. As she pinned it to his lapel, she said, “This is a jonquil. It translates to
return my affection.
”

He grabbed her hand. Drank in the unexpected sight of her before him. Helpless to respond with anything in that moment but the truth, he said, “I do.”

Eyes bright, she triple blinked. “A week ago, you jokingly said something to me. At the party. The more I thought about it, the more I realized you were on to something.”

What the hell had they talked about at that party? He racked his brain to think, but he couldn’t. Gib could only stare at Daphne, grateful for every extra second he got to spend with her. And pretty damn relieved she didn’t seem ready to clock him anymore.

“So I’m going to repeat it to you, word for word. With a slight twist. I’m not joking.” Daphne rubbed her hands together, then dropped them at her sides. “The solution’s right in front of you. Gib, I’m giving you a reason to stay.” Awkwardly, she dropped to her knees. Then she grabbed his hand. “Will you marry me?”

He didn’t believe her. Half expected a camera crew to pop out from behind a ticket counter. For the life of him, Gib didn’t know what to say.

“You see, I was upset when I said all those horrible things to you.” She rushed on, her words spurting out faster than a shaken-up soda. “But I heard what you said, too. I should’ve had more faith in myself. I should’ve realized you only left me to protect my heart. It doesn’t matter that you hooked up with Debra after.”

“But I didn’t,” he protested. The truth might as well come out now. Gib couldn’t hold anything back from her. Not anymore. “When we quarreled that night, I thought it would be easier for you to hate me than to pine for me. It was why I let you walk away. Hell, why I goaded you to walk away. That was stupid.” He dropped to his knees to look her in the eyes. Laid the flowers on the ground so he could take both her hands. “Please, you have to let me explain.”

“It’s not necessary.”

Yes, it was. He couldn’t let any speck of hurt or doubt linger in her heart. “It is if I want a clean slate. Look, I had every intention of going to
Flower Power.
As I was leaving, my brother showed up unannounced.”

All his friends gasped. It was almost funny. “Good surprise or bad?” asked Daphne.

“I’d call it the emotional equivalent of the napalm drops back in Vietnam. By the time Gerald left, I was a wreck. I placed an emergency call to Doc Debra so she could help me deal with it. She stepped back into her role as my therapist. All she did was help me—as a professional and as a friend—come to terms with returning home. Aside from saying goodbye, nothing physical happened.” Gib gripped her hands even tighter, trying to squeeze the naked truth in his words straight into her. “It couldn’t, because I’m so in love with you, Daphne.”

Her smile broke across her face with the soft promise of a rainbow. “That’s the first time you’ve said it.”

More fool him. “I’ll tell you every day, every hour, if you’ll let me.” He moved her hand onto his chest. “Do you feel that? You’re the reason my heart’s beating so hard. You’re the reason it wants to beat at all. It was a hollow shell when I moved here. And you, you filled it with laughter and life and happiness.”

“I want to be your reason to stay—and I want you to choose to stay, with me. Gib, we built such a strong foundation of friendship. Then wove together even tighter as lovers. Now I want us to take the final step. Become husband and wife. Not so you can stay in America. But so you can stay with me.”

Without her hand there, his heart might very well fly right out of his chest. “I’m not much of a catch.” Gib thought of the behind-the-scenes machinations his brother had already engineered once. Who’s to say he wouldn’t try again? “There’s no guarantee the Cavendish will slot me right back into Chicago. Doc Debra offered to hook me up with a part-time job teaching hotel management at the college where she’s on the faculty. It wasn’t enough of a job to legally keep me here, but now it could give me a foothold while I continue to search for something more.”

“It’ll all work out. As long as we’re together. I love you so much, Gib.”

“I promise to make you proud of me.” He shook his head. “No, more importantly, I promise that you are now, and will always be, more than enough woman for me. There’s no one in the world better for me.”

“And believe me, he’s looked,” deadpanned Milo.

As of right now, he was closing the book on that Chapter of his life. Starting fresh. Starting over as a one-woman man. The only woman for him. He stood, and tugged her up with him. “Call me traditional, but I want to do this right. Your proposal means the world to me. But you have to know how much I want to be with you. You’ve been brilliant, knocking against my thick skull. Making me fall in love with you just by being yourself.”

Daphne swiped at the tear trailing down her cheek. “If I’d known all I had to do was be myself, I’d have kissed you in the dark and set things in motion years ago.”

“I’ve cocked this up so many times. Been a blind, buggered idiot. I need to start fresh with you. Please, let me make the grand gesture. Let me prove to you, for once and for all, that you take precedence over everything and everyone else. That you are my whole life.”

More tears sparkled in her eyes. She nodded wordlessly.

Gib dropped back down to one knee. Took her left hand and cursed the lack of a ring. She deserved the bloody Crown Jewels for putting up with him. But all he could do for now was press his lips to her fourth finger, where he’d soon put a diamond to seal their love.

“I didn’t know I could be so full of love. That I could look at you and see a future of happiness reflected back at me. Will you marry me? Promise to always be my best friend and lover? Vow to let me adore you with all that I am for all the days to come? Because nothing would make me happier than to spend the rest of my life with you, Daphne.”

Another nod. A sniffle, then a tight squeeze of his hands. “Starting right now, I hope. Right here. We’ve brought along Judge Henderson to perform the ceremony so you can legally remain in the country.”

Looked like Daphne was one step ahead of him, yet again. How’d they manage to scoop up a judge and drag him out to the airport? “You’ve got a judge on retainer now at Aisle Bound?”

“You aren’t the only one in this town with connections,” said Ivy. “He’s a friend of my father’s. There’s some paperwork to be cleared up, and you’ll have to go a few rounds with the INS. But it’s all legal and binding, I assure you.”

The gray-haired man stepped forward. “Judge Martin Henderson.” Shook his hand. “Daphne convinced me to help with this unusual ceremony by explaining that you’ve been best friends for years. That should smooth over most any wrinkles that arise.”

“She’s my very best friend. And always will be.” Gib stood, pulling Daphne up with him. Wanted to sweep her into his arms, but Ivy pulled them apart.

“We’ll do the ceremony in a chapel over in Terminal 2. Don’t worry, it’s outside the security checkpoint.” Ivy picked up the flowers and handed them to Daphne. “There’s your bridal bouquet.”

“I should’ve known you’d have a plan.”

“Yes, you should have,” she sassed back.

“I made the same mistake once,” said Ben. “Look where that got me.” He kissed Ivy’s finger, right above her engagement ring.

“We’ve got you covered for the rings, too.” Sam unfolded a handkerchief. Inside were two green rings, plaited out of flower stems. “At least for today. You might want to upgrade to something less biodegradable soon, though.”

“They’re perfect.” He twined his fingers through Daphne’s. A simple act he’d done time and time again. This time, it felt like coming home. England hadn’t been home for a long time, and neither was America. It was Daphne that was his home.

“Of course, we’ll throw you a bigger, better wedding.” Mira patted his arm. “Just give us a few months to pull it together.”

Gib looked at his friends—no, his family—clustered around him. Looked down at the beautiful woman who’d poked holes in the casing around his empty heart, and cascaded love into it. Knew that he’d never, ever let her go. “This is perfect.”

Ivy’s ubiquitous schedule would have to wait. A man had priorities, after all. So there, in the middle of the airport teeming with strangers and surrounded by friends, Gib kissed Daphne. Claimed her as his friend. His lover. His bride. His one and only.

* * * * *

Don’t miss Aisle Bound book 4, A MATCHLESS ROMANCE, coming in February 2014.

Their futures are up in the air, but will they find love? Find out in the first two installments of the Aisle Bound series, available now!

Planning for Love

Wedding planner Ivy Rhodes is the best in the business, and she’s not about to let a personal problem stop her from getting ahead. So when she’s asked to star in the reality TV show
Planning for Love
, it doesn’t matter that the show’s videographer happens to be a recent—and heartbreaking—one-night stand.

The more time they spend together, the more Ben realizes Ivy isn’t the wedding-crazed bridezilla he’d imagined. But if he doesn’t trust himself to make a relationship last, how can he convince Ivy to give him another chance?

A Fine Romance

They say you form your first impression of someone within thirty seconds of meeting them. Or, in Mira Parrish’s case, within thirty
minutes
of
not
meeting them, when said person is supposed to pick you up from the airport and never shows. This is not a perfect start to her new life. Her friend Ivy is depending on her to run a new romance store, and Mira can’t afford to let her down.

Sam Lyons should probably apologize. There’s something about the sexy, straitlaced woman that drives him crazy. He can’t get involved, though. He has too much baggage to be any good in a serious relationship. But if there’s going to be anything permanent between them, they’ll need to let go of their pasts and look to the future...

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