Yours Seductively

Chapter 12.5 (Fin)

   "The sun's coming up."

   "That isn't the sun. It's the glow in your eyes."

   Jane looked away from the faint light coming through Tyler's bedroom window to give him a repressive look. "Don't try to be poetic, Ty, it just doesn't work for you."

   He chuckled and tucked a strand of hair away from her cheek. "Sorry. I guess I'm getting a little punch-drunk. It's been a while since I've stayed up all night talking and, uh..."

   She grinned. "I've particularly enjoyed the 'and, uh.'"

   But the talking had been good, too, she thought, resting her cheek on his bare shoulder. Tyler has told her more about his marriage, and the things he'd heard from his so-called friends after Stephanie's funeral. It had been a horrible time for Tyler, especially after he'd found Stephanie's frank, almost viscously worded journal.

   Jane has told him about We gradual realization that she hadn't been cut out for stardom, her desire to face her past, her reluctant acceptance that her parents would never be what she had always needed them to be. They had talked about dreams they'd had, mistakes get had made and the accomplishments they took pride in.

    She felt as though she had shown him more of herself than anyone else had ever seen. And he'd as much as said the same when he'd admitted that he and Stephanie had never really hated their souls to each other, that they had simply operated on assumptions about each other that had often proven to be wrong.

  "I'd better go back to the guest room," Jane murmured, looking again at the lightening window. "I don't want Tom to find me in here. It doesn't set a good example."

   "Does this mean we have to sneak into each other's beds until after we're married?"

   She lifted her head. "I don't remember anyone mentioning marriage."

   "We should make it pretty soon, I think, before the gossips get started again."

   "Aren't you forgetting something?"

   "Like?"

  "A proposal?"

   Pursing his lips, he shook his head. "You might say no. Better to just forge ahead, I think."

   "You've got a really sneaky side to you, did you know that, Tyiee?"

   "I've asked you not to call me that."

   "I'm going to call you worse if you don't get a proper proposal."

   "Should I get down on one knee?"

   Since they were sprawled so comfortably in his bed, she saw no need for that. "No. But I want you say the words."

   "Jane, will you marry me?"

   "Why?"

   He sighed. "Why can't you ever respond the way I expect you to? It's a simple yes-or-no question."

  "Why, Ty?"

   "Because I love you," he said after a moment, all teasing gone. "Because I'm not stupid enough to risk losing you twice. Because I want to spend the rest of my life waiting to see what fascinating and unpredictable thing you're going to do next. Because you have so much to give to me and to my children, and I believe we have a great deal to offer you in return. I like being a part of a family. That's something I'll never take for granted again. This time, I swear I'll work at making it a success. I think I've loved you since you were a precocious teenager flirting with me behind the gym. I know I'll love you until the day I die. Is that reason enough?"

   "Oh, yeah," she said shakily, swiping at her cheek with the back of one hand. "More than enough. I love you, too, Tyler Hamilton. And if you're sure you won't regret it, I'll marry you."

   "I'll never regret it," he vowed, tugging her closer. "And I'm going to make damn sure that you never do, either."

   "I never could resist a challenge," she murmured, pulling his mouth to hers.