She tilted her head. “Why did I ever think you were clueless about women?”
“Just where you’re concerned,” he corrected. “I got tongue-tied and brooding.”
“Tongue-tied, you?” she teased. “Matt Whittaker, corporate titan?”
“I didn’t want to screw things up, but I wound up doing it anyway.”
She shook her head. “No, they turned out just right.”
His expression turned serious. “I made an error in judgment. For starters, I should have told you when I first came into your office about my conversation with Parker on the night before the wedding. I should have let Parker come to his own decision about calling off the wedding.”
“He would have made a lousy husband. I can admit that to myself now.”
Of course, it was possible Parker would have been a different person today if their wedding had gone on as planned, but she doubted it.
“The thing is,” Matt went on, “if I’d admitted to acting badly, I would also have had to face the reason why.”
She gave him an inquiring look.
“And the reason is that I’m attracted to you.” He paused significantly. “I’ve been attracted to you since the moment we met, but you were Parker’s fiancée, and I needed to stay away.”
“You acted as if you didn’t even like me,” she said. “I thought you were cold and aloof.”
He gave her a self-deprecating look. “It keeps my business rivals on their toes. But with you, there was a guilty attraction, and the last thing I wanted was for you to guess it.”
She felt full to bursting with emotion.
“I purposely made your job difficult,” he admitted. “I started rejecting match after potential match because the only woman I wanted was you. At some point I realized I should have told you what happened with Parker, but the stakes were too high. I didn’t want to risk driving you away.”
“I was knocked over by Parker’s charm and sophistication and wealth,” she responded. “The relationship had problems, but I refused to see them.”
“You found it easy to resist my charms,” he teased.
She shook her head. “No, I couldn’t resist, and that’s what tied me up in knots. I thought I knew better now. When I met Parker, I was still a die-hard romantic who was eager to walk down the aisle. I saw him as my knight in shining armor.”
Matt arched a brow. “His left hook is too puny to make him anyone’s knight. The armor’s rusty, too.”
She gave a quivery laugh. “I was naive.”
“You were beautiful,” he countered.
She blinked away sudden tears. She’d turned a blind eye to signs of Parker’s wishy-washiness. He hadn’t been the settling-down, long-term commitment type, particularly with a nobody from the Sacramento suburbs.
But even worse, she’d compounded her mistake by attributing to Matt the characteristics she’d discerned about Parker.
What had Matt said? I don’t want to date women you think Parker would have liked to marry. She winced thinking of how accurate the accusation had been.
Matt was witty and amusing, smart and socially adept, and willing to take risks for the woman he wanted. He was baring his soul to her and revealing his hidden heart. He was all she could hope for, and then some.
“You’re all I ever wanted,” she said, her voice full of unshed tears.
“In that case,” he responded with amusement, “I hope you like this.” He fished in his pocket.
She gasped when he pulled out a small velvet box and opened it to reveal a filigreed band with a large oval diamond.
His eyes twinkled. “It should go with the earrings and necklace you’re wearing.”
She felt herself flush. So he had noticed! “I was planning to return those to you. Tonight.”
He tilted his head inquiringly.
“Actually, it was an excuse to come see you,” she said. “I—I was really hoping we could work things out.”
A slow grin spread across his face. “I’m a fan of kissing and making up.”
“Yes.” Her voice broke as she said it.
He nodded at the ring. “It’s a Whittaker family heirloom. It’s a platinum band worn by my great- grandmother. I had it cleaned up by the jewelers. That’s why I held off on coming to see you. You deserved a proper proposal, even if—” he smiled wryly “—you wound up throwing the ring in my face.”
She felt the tears well as he got down on one knee.
“Lauren, do you love me?”
“Yes,” she warbled.
“Good. I was betting Candace wasn’t wrong.”
She sniffled. “I don’t know whether to fire or promote Candace.”
“Promote,” he said emphatically. “That woman has the skills to be a first-class matchmaker.”
She gave a tremulous smile.
His face got serious. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes, of course!”
He looked relieved—as if, she thought, there could be any doubt!
He slipped the ring onto her finger, then tossed the empty box onto a nearby chair.
He rose, and she stood, too.
“I love you,” she said, pulling his head down to hers.
She’d never been happier, and with her newfound happiness came a newfound confidence.
She kissed him with all the passion and love pent up within her, her fingers diving into his hair.
The kiss went on and on, seeking and tasting, giving and taking, until she was dizzy with desire.
He pulled his mouth from hers, and said thickly, “Someone could come in.”
“No one will come,” she responded in a low voice. “It’s after-hours, and I’m not expecting anyone—” the look she swept him was pure need “—or anything except spectacular sex.”
“I’ve created a sex fiend,” he murmured.
She gave him a wicked smile and went to work on his belt.
He shrugged out of his suit jacket and let it fall to the floor, then worked on loosening his tie.
Once she would have worried—worried about her performance and worried about measuring up—but not anymore. She was floating on a cloud powered by happy air.
“Hurry,” she urged, then stifled a giggle at his look of male frustration mixed with explosive desire.
“Okay, that’s it,” he growled, his control seeming to come untethered.
He hoisted her, and she wrapped her legs around him as he took three quick strides to Candace’s desk.