He lifted me off my feet and kissed me hard. Finally. Just what I needed. I ran my fingers through his hair as his mouth claimed mine, his tongue sliding between my lips as he held me tight. His hands slipped down to grip my backside, and I moaned as I felt his cock twitching, trapped against my belly.
Then he pulled away, looking pained, glancing at the grocery bags I had dropped the moment I was in his arms. “There’s something I need to do first,” he said. “Then we’ll get back to this.”
He sent a message on his phone and then gathered up the bags. I followed him into the kitchen, certain I could get him back on track, but also curious about the mysterious thing he thought he needed to do. As he helped me unload the ingredients and we started to chop vegetables, he asked me when I was coming back to work.
“As if I was the one who wanted to stay away,” I said, tossing a sprig of parsley at him.
He grabbed it and brushed it across my nose. “The Koboyashis have been asking about you. They think you’re on sick leave for now, but Erina wants your input on the packaging design for the US rollout. She won’t go ahead without it.”
“Wow, I didn’t think I was that important,” I said, feeling a blush of pride creeping up my cheeks.
“You’re the most important thing about this deal,” Rurik said earnestly. “I couldn’t have done it without you. I wouldn’t even know about them without you.”
I fell silent, the warm rush of accomplishment fading as we kept putting together the Russian stew recipe I'd found online. Was there still a bit of rubble hanging around the perimeter of my heart? I set aside my knife and leaned against the counter, facing Rurik until he turned to look at me.
“Go on,” he said, instantly seeing I was holding back the only question that continued to bother me.
“Is the deal with the Koboyashis the reason for our arrangement?” I asked, thinking back to that harried day with the paperwork. Was I remembering right? “That’s a lot of zeros to add to your bank account, no matter how rich you already are.” And the Koboyashis were asking about me…
Rurik’s face turned stony, and he shook his head as if he were disappointed in me. I raised my chin, crossing my arms over my chest, waiting for the answer.
“Excuse me, sir,” one of his many discreet guards said, poking his head into the kitchen. “I have what you requested.”
Rurik gave me a hard look. “Hold that thought.”
He hurried over to the man, and they stepped into the hall. I saw him take something from the guard and pocket it, then return to where I was, as still as a statue.
“First of all,” he said, as if we hadn’t been interrupted. “It’sourbank account, those zeros are landing. What’s mine is yours. And you already know the answer to the other question.”
I nodded slowly. “You had me sign those papers before I ever told you about how conservative they were. You had no idea they would only do business with a married couple.”
“I had those papers ready to go before you ever told me about the game system. You were going to be my wife, Clem. Without or without the extra zeros.”
Sighing with relief that I heard it from him at last, I turned back to dinner prep, then stopped when I realized Rurik had reached into his pocket and lowered himself to one knee.
“What?” I yelped when he held out my rings in the palm of his hand.
The crazy man had sent someone to get them from my apartment and bring them back. I reached for them, but he shook his head, bringing my hand to his lips to kiss my knuckles.
“From the moment I saw you reading a tattered paperback, I was obsessed. From the daily perfect coffees, to the sarcastic replies you think I don’t notice, to the way you take on whatever life throws at you and never crumble, I’ve loved you. I love you now, I’ll love you more tomorrow, and I’ll love you even more the day after that. I want you to want to be in my life, Clementine. Will you marry me? Again?”
“I knew you were lying about there being too much sugar in the coffee,” I said, sniffling, then finally bursting into tears. “Oh my God, Rurik. Yes. So much yes.”
He wrapped his arms around my waist and stood, lifting me up as salty tears fell onto his face. Laughing now, I wiped them away, then held on as he kissed me. His hands, his mouth, the happy rumbling laugh. This man was mine. And I was his.
I was the only thing that mattered to him; I could see that now as clear as crystal. Letting me down, he took my hand and slid the rings back onto my finger, where they belonged.
“I love you,” I told him, gripping his shirt and tugging him closer to me.
“About damn time,” he said, picking me up and twirling me around.
I looked at the diamond on my finger, along with the sparkling gold band, then at Rurik’s smiling face. I had so much now because of him. A job I loved, security, a gorgeous home, shopping sprees with beloved family members, I couldn’t wait to tell them that they’d get their wish of a big wedding. So many things, but the only one I needed, the only one I couldn’t live without, was Rurik.
And that was fine, because I would never have to. We were going to be together for the rest of our lives. He’d see to that.
Epilogue - Rurik
One month later