Trent's acquiescence lasted about 15 minutes. As he sat at his desk trying to get work done, he got progressively more and more angry, and he wasn't sure what he was angry about or whom he wanted to punch out. He only knew he was beginning to feel as though a pressure valve had blown and he was about to explode into some sort of terrible rage.
What is it? he thought. What is the matter with me?
The answer came easily. It's simple. You're in love.
He choked. The words came to him like a real voice talking briskly into his ear.
In love? No. In like, definitely. In quite a bit of lust. But love?
Yes. You might as well face it. You're in love.
If he was in love, that would mean he wanted to have Chynna as his wife — that he wanted to sleep by her side, to make love with her every night, to share her hopes and fears, to hear her laugh, to hold her when she cried, to have children and grow old together.… To his surprise, it all sounded pretty good. In fact, it sounded darn good. Sitting where he was, he began to smile.
Yes. I'm in love.
Bounding out of his chair, he headed for the elevator, then changed his mind and jogged to the stairs. Bursting into the conference room where Chynna had her work set up, he found her talking to a pretty young account assistant named Sharon Davies, and Julia Parker, another employee.
"Excuse us," he said as he stepped between them and took Chynna into his arms. "We have an unfinished kiss to take care of."
Chynna was too surprised to put up much of a fight and he got her in a deep bend and began to kiss her with passion and gusto.
The two women were stunned for only a moment, then Sharon laughed and said, "Hey, this is a place of business, you know."
Trent looked up and said, "Don't mind us. We're on break." And he went back to kissing the woman he loved.
"Oh, I see." Sharon gave Julia a comical look and nodded toward the door. "We get the picture. Catch ya later." And they departed, chuckling as they went.
"Trent!" Chynna struggled, coming up for air and laughing at the same time. "What are you doing?"
"Kissing you," he told her helpfully. "I'm going to kiss you into submission, and then I'm going to make you agree to marry me."
"You…what?" She felt dizzy.
He smiled at her lovingly. "Chynna, I can't let you go. Don't you see that?"
"Trent, I thought I explained. There's too much…"
He didn't let her finish. "You're wrong, Chynna. This is between you and me. This has no more to do with what your sister has done than it does with the fact that my mother wants me to get married."
She squinted at him. "Trent, I have no idea what you're talking about."
"I want to marry you. And not because of my mother. In fact, I want to marry you in spite of my mother. And in spite of your sister. If my mother turned against you tomorrow, it wouldn't make any difference in how I feel about you. If Melinda robs a bank today, it won't matter. No one else matters in this, Chynna. It's you and me."
"You and me?" That sounded so good. Could she trust it?
"You and me."
He slipped his hand into his pocket and brought out an antique diamond ring that caught the light and sent sparks around the room. "My mother noticed I hadn't given you a ring yet. She wants me to give you this one. It's been in our family for over 100 years."
Chynna drew in her breath, staring at the beautiful piece of jewelry. "Oh, Trent, I can't.…"
"Yes, you can." He slipped it on her finger. "You realize what this means, don't you? My mother believes in you. She believes in us." He dropped a soft kiss on her lips. "How about it, Chynna?" he said softly. "Do you believe in us?"
She looked at the sparkling light on her finger, then looked into his sparkling eyes. "Oh, yes," she breathed, sinking into his embrace. "I believe."
She said it like a promise and he sealed it with a long, loving kiss.
