One Night with Prince Charming (Aristocratic Grooms #2)(44)
Author: Anna DePalo

Pia felt her heart constrict. It pounded loudly.

She couldn’t bear it if Hawk was toying with her. If this was a gambit to win her back into his bed even as he planned to marry Michelene or search for a properly-pedigreed duchess…

She bit her lip. “Why are you giving it to me to wear?”

“Why do you think?” he asked thickly, searching her face. “It’s a new year and a new beginning…I hope.”

“I—I don’t need a tiara to ring in the n-new year.”

Hawk touched her chin and rubbed his thumb over her lips.

“I know,” he responded tenderly. “The question is do you need a duke who is very much in love? He comes with a big house that needs someone who can preside over large and boring parties.”

Pia’s eyes welled.

Hawk cleared his throat. “You once fell for plain Mr. James Fielding, and it was the greatest gift that anyone ever gave me.”

Her shock turned into a crazy kind of hope as Hawk went down on bended knee. He fished a ring out of his pocket with one hand even as the other lifted one of hers.

Pia glanced down at Hawk and began to tremble with emotion. She reached up with her free hand to steady the tiara.

Hawk smiled up at her. “This is meant to match the tiara.”

Pia could hardly breathe despite his attempt at levity.

Hawk’s expression turned solemn, however. “Pia Lumley, I love you with all my heart. Will you do me the very great honor of marrying me and becoming my wife? Please?”

Her first proposal. Ever.

She’d dreamt of receiving one—from him.

And yet…and yet…

“Wh-what about Michelene?” she couldn’t resist asking.

Hawk’s lips twitched. “Usually a man doesn’t expect a marriage proposal to be met with a question of its own.”

“Usually the woman concerned hasn’t been expecting him to propose to someone else.”

“Touché, but there isn’t anyone else,” he responded. “Michelene decided not to attend today after it became clear she could no longer have the expectation of becoming a Carsdale bride.”

“Oh, Hawk.” Pia’s voice caught on a sob as she grasped the tiara and lowered it to her side. “I—I l-love you—” she watched as Hawk’s face brightened “—and I want to marry you. B-but…”

“No buts.” Hawk slid the ring on her finger, and then rose and, taking the tiara from her, placed it on a nearby table.

He took her in his arms and kissed her deeply, quieting her upset.

When he raised his head, Pia swallowed hard.

“I’m not fit to be a duchess.”

“I disagree,” he said tenderly. “Where else does the heroine of a fairy tale belong but in a palace?”

“Oh, Hawk,” she said again. “I have lived a fairy tale. Not because you’re proposing that I be your duchess, but because this was a test of character. After I found out about Michelene, I considered continuing an affair until you were officially engaged. But then I realized I couldn’t do it. I loved you too much, and I wanted all of you.”

His eyes sparked like brown and green flames. “You have all of me. My heart and soul.”

“Your mother won’t be pleased.”

“My mother wants to see me happy,” he contradicted. “She and my father had a happy marriage, unlike those of some of their ancestors.”

“I’m not conventional duchess material.”

He shook his head. “You are in character, if not background.”

“But you’re eminently responsible these days,” she protested.

Hawk smiled. “Then I suppose it’s time for me to follow Lucy in her rebellion. You know, as of today, my mother already has one American in-law.”

“So far you’ve managed to shoot down every good reason I have for not getting married.”

“That’s because there are no good reasons.” Hawk touched her cheek. “Pia, do you love me?”

She nodded. “I do.”

“And I love you desperately. That’s all that matters.”

Their lips met, their bodies drawing together.

When they finally broke apart again, Hawk raised her hand. “This ring is one of the Carsdale family jewels. I didn’t want to make a proposal empty-handed, but we can get you something you like better if you prefer.”

Pia shook her head. “No, the ring’s perfect.”

“We got a second chance.”

She smiled, though she remained misty-eyed. “I’m glad.”

He grinned. “Your ringtone on my cell phone is the notes to the song ‘Unforgettable.’”

“Really?” she inquired with a tremulous smile. “Then I succeeded. I never wanted you to forget me. It was one of the reasons—”

She stopped and blushed.

“Yes?”

“It’s one of the reasons I went to bed with you again,” she said in a rush. “I told myself that this time I’d leave you wanting more.”

“You were unforgettable the first time.”

“And yet you left.”

He nodded. “Much to my regret.”

“Because your brother died unexpectedly, and you needed to rush home.”

“I left not because our night together meant too little,” he said with a note of self-deprecation, “but because it meant too much.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were Lord James Carsdale?”

“Because I’d grown used to moving around as James Fielding. It was liberating not to have to shake off women who were overly impressed by a title and money. And frankly, it was freeing for me to avoid some of the trappings of my life as a duke’s younger son. Little did I know—”

“That one day you’d be the duke yourself?”

He nodded. “And that someone—someone I’ve come to care about very much—would be hurt by my charade.”

“Oh, Hawk, we’ve lost so much time. I wanted to hate you—”

“But instead, deep down inside, you waited for me, didn’t you, Pia?” he murmured, his voice low and intimate.

She nodded, caught by the sudden heat in his eyes.

“And I’ll thank heaven every day for that,” Hawk said as he lowered his head to hers again.

Pia opened her mouth under his, wanting more of him, wanting to feel their customary flare of desire.

“We can’t do this here,” she said eventually against his mouth between kisses. “We’ll scandalize everyone.”