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“Opa!” Kieran proclaimed with a relaxed laugh as he uncorked the bottle on the sparkling sake.
They were sitting on an old bed sheet spread out on Los Leones beach. It was a warm, sunny afternoon—even though it was only February—but the weather in L.A. was like that. Sometimes it was warmer and clearer on the beach in the winter than in the summer when the high temperatures could produce a deep, coastal fog that seemed counterintuitive.
Today, however, the sun was bright, the air was clear, and the sky was blue. It felt like a painting.
They were celebrating the completion of Angela's second book, Los Leones. Everything had come together so easily and quickly the last couple of months. It was as though removing the wall between her and Kieran had also removed some sort of internal wall. Angela’s creativity seemed to flow effortlessly.
Kieran handed her a glass and raised his own. “To you mi amor, my angel, my everything. To your brilliant book that is going to be even more successful than your first. Congratulations. I love you.”
Angela warmed under the glowing shower of his praise and clinked her glass with his. He leaned forward and stopped just short of kissing her. “I love you so much Angela Holguín,” and then he kissed her with all the love, passion, and adoration that he felt for her. His kisses always left her breathless with their intensity. It was as if she and Kieran were a complete circuit when they came together. It was electric.
Angela took a quick sip and then held up the final manuscript in her other hand and waved it in the air excitedly. “Wait, wait. There is something I want to do to celebrate today.”
Kieran gave her a surprised smile as she took out a pen. She put her glass in the sand, burying the base so it wouldn’t tip over, took his free hand, and looked deep into his eyes. “Kieran my love. Your presence is all over this book. I would have never written this story without your encouragement, and really, it is—in a way—our story. You were just around the corner, and I’m so glad that I found you.”
Her eyes felt misty but she pushed through. “So in celebration of this moment—and in celebration of us—I want to name you as my co-author on this book, and I think you should share in the royalties accordingly.” With a dramatic flourish she added the words “and Kieran O'Connell” next to her name on the front page.
When she looked up at Kieran, his eyes were glistening. He put down his glass and pulled her to him—hugging her tightly. He pulled away from her briefly, searching for her eyes. “Angela, I'd like us to be partners in every way. I want you in all areas of my life—always and everywhere. Will you marry me?”
Angela was so caught off guard she couldn't consciously find her voice, but her heart and her subconscious found it and answered for her. “Yes, yes, yes!”
Kieran's face looked momentarily surprised at her answer, and then broke out into the biggest, most dimpled smile Angela had ever seen in her life.
He hugged her again and brought her lips to his. He tasted of peaches and lychee. He kissed her with a passion matched by the roaring of the surf: demanding, incessant, urgent. As they separated slowly, he lingered on her bottom lip, holding it hostage with his mouth, the edges of his teeth pinching gently. A flame of desire shot through her body. She groaned.
A sea lion barked its approval in the background.
When they came apart, their locked gaze smoldered. Who knew celibacy could be so hot?
Kieran reached into the inner pocket of his leather jacket and pulled out a small, black velvet box. “Let's make it official,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes as he opened the box to reveal a beautiful emerald cut diamond set sideways in a thick, chunky band of white gold. Around the band were set tiny diamonds within etched holes that looked like starbursts. The entire band was burnished with fine lines that caught the light.
Angela gasped. “Oh my gosh, this is really happening? It's gorgeous.” She had thought that his proposal was spontaneous, but seeing the ring made her realize that he had actually planned to ask her today. Somehow that knowledge made the proposal even more special; even more perfect following her addition of his name as author to the book. They were in harmony in every way; it felt so right.
“Do you like it? I designed it myself.” He took it out of its delicate, velvet bed and placed it gingerly on her long, slender finger.
“Yes, I love it. It's perfect. You're perfect, this is all so perfect,” she said, holding her arms up and gesturing all around them. She took a moment to look at the ring on her finger, a symbol of their love. When she looked back up at him, she smiled. “Thank you for not giving up on me. I couldn't be happier.”
He shrugged his shoulders as he scratched his head ruefully. “I’m not sure I ever had any choice in the matter. I was drawn to you from the first day we met—beckoned if you will. I would have waited for you forever.”
Angela shook her head, laughing. “Well, I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. But I’ll take it.”
Over the last couple of months, Angela had become more aware of the forces that had pulled her and Soren apart, and pushed her and Kieran together. Now as she admired the twinkling gem on her finger she realized Kieran was right—it all seemed so inevitable. Sometimes she felt that Soren had been a stepping-stone to help her appreciate what she and Kieran had. Kieran was her yang, she could see that now. Soren had been wonderful, exciting, and kind...it had been fun. But they had never had the opportunity to plumb the depths of the emotions that she and Kieran had already shared.
Kieran cleared his throat and gave Angela an embarrassed smile. “I have a confession to make.”
She popped a grape in her mouth and pulled her thin sweater around her. “Oh sure, now that I’ve said yes you have a confession to make.” She gave him a wicked smile. “What is it?”
Kieran looked chagrined. “The main reason I went with you to Barcelona last May was so I could talk to Soren in person. I know I told you a bit of what I said to him, but it was more than that. We met privately one of the days you and Dalia were being tourists.”
Angela was mid-sip as she choked on the sparkling sake in her mouth. “You and Soren met alone?” She wiped at the corners of her mouth, recalling Kieran telling Soren that he wouldn’t try to steal her away, but she’d always thought it was in passing one of the times they all went out. She didn’t realize Kieran arranged a private meeting.
It seemed her fiancé still had some mystery left.
Kieran pursed his lips as he nodded his head. “Yes. I felt so horrible about goading him on when he was here in L.A. over Christmas, but see, I already had feelings for you, and it was driving me crazy watching the two of you together. Also, I sensed that I was part of the reason he was pressuring you to move to London. I thought if I could make it clear to him that I wasn’t a threat, maybe you would stay in L.A. a bit longer. That way, even if I couldn’t have you the way I wanted, you would still be in my life. Plus I needed to apologize and set things right in person.”
Angela shook her head in disbelief. It was amazing how little humans ever really know about each other. “What did you say to him?”
“I told him that I wouldn’t make a move on you as long as you were in love with him,” he smiled ruefully, his eyes twinkling.
Angela felt a sweet ache in her stomach when she looked at him. She shook her head as she narrowed her eyes. “Wow. What was his reaction?”
Kieran shrugged. “Hard to say. Soren is good at guarding his feelings.”
Angela nodded, recalling the icy exterior Soren often projected to the world.
Kieran continued, “But I think part of him respected me for saying it. It felt like there was no longer any bad blood between us. But I invited him to your book launch because I needed to know that you were over him. When things ended back in May, they ended by his hand, not by yours. I already knew that I loved you and I needed to know if you were over him completely before we could move forward.”
She looked at this amazing man before him, dazzled once again by his courageousness.
“By the way, in full disclosure, Dalia and I conspired a little bit.”
Angela burst out with a surprised, “What?”
Kieran got a charmingly sheepish look on his face as he confessed. “Yes, she was in cahoots with me. She wanted us to get together all along.”
Angela laughed at the thought of her best friend conspiring behind her back. She should have suspected. It explained why she had always been so complimentary about Kieran while never making a play for him herself. “Any other secrets?”
Kieran scrunched up his face in concentration and after thinking for a few seconds said, “Just one.”
“What's that?”
“I love you.”
She smiled brightly. “That's not a secret,” she said playfully.
“It's not? Oh right? Thank God. It wasn't a secret I could keep much longer anyway,” he said as he winked slyly at her.
Angela leaned forward and kissed Kieran sweetly.
“Angela?” Kieran called her name, a sudden sense of urgency in his voice. “Let’s set a date.”
Angela started in surprise. “A date? Already? Can’t we just enjoy being engaged?”
Kieran shook his head emphatically. “I’ve been waiting a long time for you and I don’t want to wait any longer,” he gave her a seductive smile that sent a thrill through her body.
Celibacy had been easier than she imagined. Their daily lives at the store offered them so many ways to bond and spend time together. Sex had always felt like the best and easiest way to express her feelings for someone, but with Kieran, their words and actions took priority over their physical displays of affection. Besides, they had known each other for so long before admitting their feelings to each other, no sex was just business as usual. But at night, when Angela was all alone in her bed she had imagined them together so many times...she couldn’t wait to make her fantasies a reality.
She pursed her lips. “Okay, how about October? I love fall and it will give us just enough time to plan.”
“October? Really, that long? It’s eight months away,” he said as mock pain flooded his face.
She raised her eyebrows. “September?”
Kieran shook his head. “How about June?”
“We can’t. Charlene’s due in June.” Angela’s dear friend from BIN had found out she was pregnant right around the launch of The Festival. Angela felt like she was becoming an aunt.
“Oh right. Okay then, how about August? I can wait until August, but honestly I’d marry you tomorrow if you’d agree to it,” he said with a pleading look on his face.
Angela laughed at his desperate expression. “Tomorrow? No way, I want a wedding and August is just enough time to plan,” she added emphatically. “What do you think of an evening wedding?” she asked, her eyes dreamy as she began thinking about how she wanted their wedding to be.
“Love, as long as you meet me at the altar, everything sounds good to me, but an evening wedding sounds great. Where do you want to have it?”
Angela leaned forward conspiratorially. “I know the perfect place!”
