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Her eyes fell but not before he saw the hurt blaze in them ‘You don’t have to say that I don’t want you to lie to make me feel better’

‘The only person I’ve been lying to wasto make her see the sincerity in his eyes

‘Love, it’s complicated It’s messy and emotional and difficult I wasn’t ready for it But then you ca in with your hats and that mouth—’ his eyes dropped to herof slick red ‘—your camera and your absolute belief in love Your belief in me and in Hawksley and you turned my world upside down And not just because of the baby’

Her eyes blazed blue with hope ‘Really?’

‘I hadn’t been able to stop thinking of you since that first night,’ he told her frankly It was all or nothing ti and he sent me a link to your website I must have clicked onto the contact ot under my skin like that before And then you came back’

She laughed softly ‘You looked like you’d seen a ghost’

Seb s back into her voice giving him a jolt of hope ‘I couldn’t believe my luck But I was terrified too Of how yousensible about that And the ot to know you, Daisy, the more terrified I was’

‘I’un to shine in her eyes, the full

‘You are quite frankly theyour in to believe in yourself, Daisy Huntingdon-Cross, then I don’t think there is anything you won’t achieve Because—’ he htly closer, emboldened by the curve of her smile ‘—you are definitely the s for e how I felt about you But now that I have I want to tell you every day Every hour of every day I love you, Daisy, and I really, really hope that you will marry me in two days’

With those words the load he had been carrying for so long, the fear, the shame, finally broke free Whatever her answer he would always be grateful to her for that—even if he had to spend the rest of his life proving the truth of his words to her

‘You love me? You think I’m smart?’ Her voice broke and he dropped her chin to encircle her waist, pulling her in close He inhaled the soft floral scent of her hair It was like co home