Always (20 page)

"I made love to you because I love you," Cole said quietly, "and I asked you to marry me because I love you." He handed her the envelope. "Maybe nothing could convince you of that, but I have to give it a shot."

He turned back to the car then, and without another word got in and drove away.

Surprised by his sudden departure, Elinor stood staring down the drive, her fingers clutching the envelope.

Chilled in her damp clothes, she turned and went into the house. Her mind worried over his every word, every inflection of his voice. The look in his eyes had given her pause. If Cole was ever going to be serious, that would be the way he'd look, arrow-straight and sober.

Laying the envelope on her bed, Elinor stripped off Cole's shirt and the tattered remnants of her milkmaid dress. She stared at the envelope he'd given her as she shrugged into her robe.

The brown manila paper felt dry and stiff beneath her fingers. She pried open the clasp and drew out a slim sheaf of legal-looking papers.

The documents shook as she read them, her hands growing less steady as the words penetrated her brain. Elinor sank onto the bed, shock reverberating through her.

The papers in her hand gave her full ownership of Oakleigh and its environs, taxes paid in full.

Cole was giving her the house? After he'd planned and schemed for so long to get it? After he’d paid for it? She felt stunned.

At the most, she'd expected Cole would return the contract she'd signed. But this turn of events left the contract in force. He would pay her the originally-negotiated price for the house, and after the closing, Oakleigh reverted back to her.

Elinor's eyes squeezed shut and a ragged sigh broke loose and a tear ran down her cheek. When Cole gave up his dreams for a woman, he did it with a vengeance.

Smoothing down her skirt with nervous fingers, Elinor took a deep breath. It had been terribly discreet of Mrs. Bouvier, the proprietor of the Bayville Bed and Breakfast, to suggest that she go on up to Cole's room.

Particularly after the woman said, "I think he's just out of the shower. The poor man came in soaking wet a few minutes ago."

It was foolish to be nervous about seeing Cole, but she was. Raising her hand, Elinor knocked on his door.

"Just a minute, Mrs. B." His voice was muffled by the thick door.

Elinor heard the handle turn and her heart rate accelerated to an unsteady stumble as Cole appeared in the open door. A few stray drops of water from his shower still gleamed in the hair on his bare chest. He wore only a thick towel knotted at his waist.

"No wonder Mrs. Bouvier loves running this place," Elinor said shakily. "Does she get to interrupt your shower frequently?"

Heat flared in Cole's eyes, mingled with something close to relief. "Come in." He stepped back.

She crossed the threshold, still flushed with an uncertain edginess while her unruly heart tried to do a jitterbug in her chest.

Cole leaned against the closed door, his expression vivid with hope and anticipation.

"I—I don't believe I ever answered your proposal," she stammered.

"Not in so many words," he agreed, amusement curling his mouth as he pushed away from the door and started toward her.

"I'll marry you under one condition," she started as his arms closed around her.

"Anything." Cole buried his face in the curve of her neck, his indrawn breath unsteady.

"You keep Oakleigh in your name." She'd thought everything through with painful clarity. Cole had made his sacrifice for her, fully aware that he could end up empty-handed all the way around.

He straightened and looked at her, his blue eyes dark with emotion. "I gave the house to you because I don't want you to ever doubt that you're the most important thing in my life."

"I know." Tears of joy and wonder clogging her throat, Elinor swallowed hard. "But it's time I grew up and put my past behind me. I don't need to hang on to the house as insurance. I know you love me."

Cole closed his eyes as his arms tightened around her. When he opened them a second later, he cautioned, "I'm still worth a lot of money. You know that?"

"Yes." She stroked a trembling hand over his bare shoulder. "And I'm looking forward to helping you spend some of it on the house where our children will grow up."

With a groan, Cole lowered his mouth to hers and captured her in a kiss filled with promises. Never again would she allow her past to threaten her heart's treasure.