He drew back slightly. “I love you.” The words whispered against her skin.
She stared up into his blue eyes and saw the love there. “I love you, too.”
“Good. Now there’s one more thing.”
“There is?”
“Alexia Slater. Will you marry me? For real this time.”
“I knew the marriage was a fake,” her grandmother said. “I knew—”
Lexi whirled around. She slapped the envelope into her grandmother’s hand. “Bedtime reading,” she said. “Now go away and don’t spoil this for me.”
“Come on, Granny,” Harry said. “Let’s leave these two love birds alone. I think you’ve lost this particular battle.”
“She’s lost the goddamned war,” Josh growled.
Lexi waited until the others had gone then turned back to him as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring.
She held out her hand, and he slid it on her finger. “I will.”
Epilogue
“With this string I thee wed?” Lexi said.
Josh grinned. “I thought it was appropriate.”
They’d exchanged vows that morning—a quiet affair, with Logan and Vito as witnesses. He’d thought it appropriate, as they had been present at the start of it all. Evie had been there as well, and Harry and the rest of Lexi’s household. They hadn’t sent her grandmother an invitation, though he was sure Lexi would make an effort to heal the rift at some time. She was such a softie, and he wouldn’t have her any other way.
Vito had offered them his villa on the island of Sicily for their honeymoon, and they’d flown out straight after the ceremony. Josh wanted to show her where the cruise ship had sunk. Where it had all begun.
Now they were on Vito’s yacht, and the sun was setting, turning the calm sea to crimson and tangerine. He waved a hand into the distance. “The ship went down right there.”
“You must have been scared.”
“Not really. I do remember thinking at one point—when we nearly got cut off by the flames—that I was going to die. Hey, you would have been a widow.”
She shuddered. “Don’t even think that.”
“Well, you have Logan to thank that you’re not. He carried me out after I broke my leg. And Vito, he cleared the way—that’s where he got the scar. But it seemed unreal. Then later, when we were on the lifeboat, Logan was puking everywhere, Vito was cool, and I was in too much fucking agony to be scared.”
“So you decided you needed to get laid?”
“I made a solemn vow.”
“Really?”
“Hey, when you come face-to-face with death, apparently the need to procreate becomes the overriding imperative.”
“Getting laid and procreating are hardly the same thing.” She studied him for a moment. “Do you want to procreate? As in, have children?”
They’d never talked about it. He’d never even considered children before because he’d never believed he’d ever get married for real. But here he was.
It was scary, the thought of being responsible for another human being. Far more scary than going down on a burning ship. But he reckoned he could do it with Lexi to hold his hand.
“Yeah. I want the whole deal. We’ll probably need a bigger house.”
“I can afford it.”
“I know.”
“Does it bother you that I’m rich?”
“Not at all. You do so much good.” He took her hand stroked her palm. “So tonight, I think we need to get in some serious practice for the baby thing.” He drew her close, tipping her head so he could take her lips in a passionate kiss. “Tonight, I want to make all your fantasies come true.”
“You already have.”