Soul Scars (Dog Haven Sanctuary Romance) (43 page)
Read Soul Scars (Dog Haven Sanctuary Romance) Online
Authors: Tasman Gibb
Tags: #Romance, #Dog Story, #Lovers, #Dog Rescue, #Contemporary Romace
“You might not realize this, Lulah, but the more I loved you, the more love I received from you. By loving me, you made me seek the help I needed, so that today I feel like a whole and worthy person. I want to be that person for you, too. Not in a selfish way, but in a way that I can make you happy, be the person you can turn to, as I’ll turn to you, too, when something troubles us. To see you happy, Lulah, is the most precious gift to me.”
He opened his palm, exposing her hand that he held. Her fingers were lightly curled, and he stroked the back of them with his thumb, taking a moment to try and compose himself, because while he might be fit, he wasn’t sure his heart could continue at the rate it raced. He coaxed her hand open with the draw of his fingers, taking hold of one of hers. God, she was beautiful. What sort of fool was he for imagining he deserved what he was about to ask? But they were defeatist ideas, and in his heart he knew that it was Lulah’s heart that was so beautiful, Lulah’s heart that he wanted.
“Marry me, Lulah. Let me be strong for you the way you are for me.”
Her eyes glistened, and he wasn’t sure if that was a good sign. She seemed speechless, and he smiled because it was pretty hard to render Lulah mute for long.
“Vince…”
“I want you to know that you can rely on me. My name won’t be on that list of people who have let you down, because it would break my heart to do that. We can live here, Lulah. I’ll fix up the barn as a workshop. We can add a bedroom or two to the cabin for—”
“Vince, we can’t.”
Oh, God. Tears, denial. Probably sensible, to be honest. They needed to talk about it more. He shouldn’t have sprung it on her like this. Still, this was a starting point, and he wouldn’t give up. “I don’t need an answer right away.”
“No, Vince.” She pulled her hand from his grasp. “Stand up, please.”
He would have stayed there for hours if she’d demanded it, but it was a relief to be off his knee. He stole another look, and now she smiled.
“I mean yes, but no. No, we can’t continue to live in the cabin, because it’s sold, but yes, Vince, I would love to marry you, spend my life with you, just not here in this cabin.”
Jesus, he thought his heart would burst. He wrapped her in his arms and fell into the most wondrous kiss they’d ever shared. And now it was easier to break that kiss, because it was no longer stolen in a small moment, but the first of many. He laughed. His speech came out all wrong, and he’d forgotten one vital piece of information.
“Sorry, imp, I messed this all up.” He reached into his pocket. “I performed the down-on-my-knees bit okay, I even asked Ray, which was why I missed lunch this afternoon. Well, that, and…here, hold out your hand again.”
He took hold of her finger and slipped the ring on. “I sat at the jewelers for an hour and waited for this to arrive.”
“Vince, it’s stunning.”
“Oh, you like it?”
“I adore it. It’s that sketch you did one day.”
“I’ve done a lot of them, been doing them for two months, and it took a while for me to find someone who could make it.” The ring was plain gold but the solitaire diamond was held in the clasp of two hands, one slightly larger than the other. One clearly Vince’s hand, the other, Lulah’s. “Oh, and there’s one more thing. Wait there.”
How had he forgotten this vital part of the evening? Perhaps because he’d already spent weeks imagining not only this moment but their entire life spent loving each other in this cabin. At times, the fantasy grew to a couple of children and Gable spending a lot of time with them. Lulah as a mother would be awesome. In his bag, he found the papers from the lawyer. When he handed them to Lulah, she obviously noticed the legal envelope.
“What’s this, Vince, a pre-nup already?”
He grinned at her. “Read it.” She was going to marry him, wasn’t she? Is that what she’d said? He waited, his heart settling to a steady thump as he watched her try to make sense of the papers. The small crease on her brow showed she wasn’t quite getting it.
Her face screwed up. “I don’t understand.”
“I bought the cabin.”
“You bought the cabin? But you knew I wanted to buy it, Vince, you knew all about my insecurities. Why did you do that? You took my prize from me.” She stepped back from him.
“I do know all about your insecurities, and I’m hoping that together we can work on those, because you can trust me.”
She waved the papers at him. “I did trust you, but this makes me question that trust.”
“I wanted to surprise you. It’s my wedding gift to you. The cabin is in a trust, and you’re the sole beneficiary. It’s yours, Lulah, and if it makes you feel better, you can buy it off the trust. I wanted to secure it for you in a way that you would never lose it. No matter what happens to us, this cabin will always be yours.”
She threw her arms around him, burrowing her head into his chest. Ah, hell, he’d made her cry again. She pushed off him, swiping at her tears.
“I want you to know this, Vince. I don’t intend anything happening to us but good things. I expect us to be sitting out there on the porch, rocking our way into old age together. Always together. Thank you for considering my insecurity about my home. That means more to me than you can imagine. Now, about the extra bedrooms you were planning, are you expecting guests, or children?”
“Oh, children, definitely.”
“Good, because I’ve already met one stunning child of yours and I think the world needs a few more.”
“Hey, imp…have I told you you’re unbelievably stunning yourself?
Lulah made a jump for him, wrapping her arms around his neck, her hands slipping up to capture the back of his head, her legs clasping him around his hips. “In that case, Vince Marr, our children will be scorching.”
He grinned. “Let’s move this to the bedroom, imp. You’re dessert.”
THE END
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I’m working on a new series set in the fictitious seaside town of Waitapu on the east coast of New Zealand’s Coromandel Peninsula. The beaches in the area look like this:
Come and meet five tanned, deliciously alpha males in a friendship forged through a yachting tragedy. Each successful in his own right, they co-own an exclusive lodge on the cliffs above the town. Now it’s time for them to settle down and find their soul mate.
Book One belongs to Oliver and Darcy.
A year ago, Oliver Sackville broke off his engagement to a scamming fiancé, confirming his belief that women go where the money is.
Darcy Kennedy has just returned to New Zealand after two years in Australia that took her from a high-flying career to flat broke. Small-town Waitapu seems the perfect place to pull her life back together especially when Oliver offers Darcy a well-paid short-term contract. Their attraction is mutual and steamy, but Darcy has a reason to hide, and Oliver hates liars.
New Zealand-born, Tasman Gibb loves to write contemporary romance featuring emotionally flawed heroines and heroes. She lives in Auckland, New Zealand, but spends as much time as possible on the Coromandel Peninsula. Life is shared with Mr Scott and Skipper, a fired-up, almost completely fox terrier rescue dog.
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