‘Darius?’
‘I knew I had to tell you about my family before I said any of this—my father in particular. Because I never want you to think that I’ve held anything back from you. I want to share all of myself with you, Miranda.’
‘Darius...’
‘Even the bad bits.’
‘Darius, please.’
‘Because I do truly love you—more than I ever believed it was possible to love anyone. More than I believed it was possible for me to love anyone. And—’
‘Darius...!’ Andy’s exasperation at not being listened to came out as a cross between a protest and a choked laugh. Of happiness. Pure, unadulterated happiness.
Darius loved her.
He genuinely loved her!
And she had no doubts that when Darius loved he loved wholeheartedly, with every part of him.
Andy had begun to hope these past few minutes as he talked to her of his family—her heart had more than hoped!—but to hear Darius actually say that he loved her was beyond anything she might ever have imagined.
‘I love you too, Darius!’ she exclaimed joyfully. ‘And if you think your family is a little crazy, then you need to spend some time with my sister and Colin. For starters, they collect antique mirrors, they have a house full of them, and they spend most weekends going to markets and car-boot sales looking for more. My sister is the worst cook in the world. And Colin—’
‘You love me?’ Darius looked down at her with glowing, hesitant eyes.
It was a hesitancy, an uncertainty that Andy couldn’t bear to see in this innately strong and wonderful man whom she loved with every fibre of her being.
‘I love you so much, Darius. So, so much,’ she repeated huskily even as she placed her hands on his shoulders before moving up onto tiptoe to kiss him.
It started as a slow and wondrous kiss, but quickly developed into so much more as the passion instantly flared between the two of them, and they lost themselves in the pleasure of each other’s arms and love.
‘Marry me, Miranda,’ Darius murmured a long time later as the two of them lay in each other’s arms on the sofa together.
Andy looked up at him with wide eyes. ‘You want to marry me?’
He gave a happy laugh. ‘Where did you think this conversation was going, Miranda?’ He pretended some of his old sternness.
‘I— Well, I—’
‘I trust you didn’t think I was going to let you take me down to your studio and ravish my body, and then just let you walk away when you’d used me all up?’
‘Ah.’ Andy felt the warmth of a blush enter her cheeks. ‘Regarding that ravishment...’
Darius saw the uncertainty in the green eyes that couldn’t quite meet his gaze, along with that telling blush to her cheeks. ‘Miranda, are you—? Is it possible that you’re—?’
‘Still a virgin? Yes.’ She buried her embarrassed face against his chest. ‘I was going to tell you, of course.’
‘Well, I should hope so!’
‘It’s just not the sort of thing you blurt out to a man who you think just wants—well, who just wants...’
‘I get the picture, Miranda,’ he drawled ruefully, totally thrown—enchanted—by the thought of his virgin bride. Except she hadn’t said yes to his marriage proposal yet...
Darius sat up to move down onto his knees on the carpet beside the sofa before taking both of her hands in his.
‘Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife, Miranda?’ he prompted seriously. ‘Will you marry me, and be with me, live with me for the rest of our lives, be the mother of our children?’
It was more, so much more, than Andy had ever dreamed of. That Darius loved her was miracle enough, that he wanted her to be his wife, to be with and live with him always, to have his children, was happiness beyond measure.
‘Oh, yes, Darius, of course I’ll marry you.’ Her eyes were blurred with tears of happiness as she launched herself into his arms, overbalancing him so that they both fell onto the carpet, followed by complete silence apart from their happy sighs and the wondrous murmurings of their love for each other.
‘IT’S ALL GOING to be fine, Darius.’ Kim reached out to firmly grasp his hands in hers as he peered tensely from the theatre box down onto the stage as they waited for Miranda to make her appearance as Odette. ‘I haven’t said this to you before, but your love and belief in Andy are what has made tonight possible,’ her sister added huskily. ‘And I will be forever grateful to you because of it.’
Darius and Kim had developed a friendship over the past three weeks, mainly because of the deep love they both felt for Miranda. The same deep love that had made Kim distrust him that first night at the restaurant, but which now gave the two of them, and Colin, a deep family bond.
It had been the happiest three weeks of Darius’s life, his love, and admiration and pride for Miranda growing stronger every day.
His love because somewhere in amongst the chaos the two of them had managed to organise a wedding for next month, and in just two weeks’ time he would finally claim his virgin bride.
Admiration because Miranda had found the courage to go with him to the police about Tia Bellamy. The other woman had vehemently denied Miranda’s accusation at first, but broken down and confessed when informed that several other people had come forward—with a little helpful nudge from Darius, after he had made his own investigation into the other woman’s behaviour—with reports of the other woman’s vindictiveness, to a degree that the ballet company had now suspended Tia’s contract while the investigation continued.
Miranda, as he had known she would, had remained strong throughout that ordeal.
And he was so proud of her for the way in which she had battled to overcome and conquer the years of not dancing, by pushing herself to the limit and beyond with hours and hours of punishing rehearsal in preparation for tonight’s performance.
Not just for herself, she had told him, but also for him. Because he had believed in her when she hadn’t.
Was it any wonder, knowing that he was the reason Miranda had found the courage and will to dance in public again, that he now felt so nervous he thought he might actually be physically ill?
‘Courage, mon brave.’ Xander placed a reassuring hand on Darius’s shoulder, nowhere near physically recovered, but having managed to hobble to the box in the theatre with the help of his crutches. ‘Andy is going to be amazing,’ he added with certainty.
All of Darius’s family, and Miranda’s, were sitting together
