She clung to his shoulders, gently rocking him as their hearts hammered in unison.
When she lifted her head and looked at him, streaks of sweat were still sliding over the stubble on his cheeks. She touched his mouth, his cheeks, his eyelids. And then realized that the moisture wasn't sweat and it had come from his eyes.
"Matt?" she said tentatively.
He managed a bittersweet smile. "Must be this chaise," he said softly. "It just gets us every time."
Paige's cell phone rang just as Matt parked his car near Ghirardelli Square
late the next morning.
"I'll bet it's Megan," Paige said. "I'm sure she wants to know where the heck I am." As she answered the phone, she nodded to him and, rolling her eyes, greeted her sister.
"I'm fine, Meg. I just decided to…" A slow smile tipped her lips. A smile just for him.
"We're just celebrating our success." She spoke into the phone, but winked at Matt. "I'm in San Francisco. Nothing to worry about."
He liked that her family checked on her. For all their issues, for all their gossip-generating activities and ancient secrets and unsolved mysteries, there was a foundation of love among all the Ashtons that couldn't be denied. It made him a little envious.
More than that, it made him want to be part of it.
"She says hi." Paige announced as she snapped the phone closed.
He grinned. "Here, give me your phone." Taking it, he opened it up and started stabbing buttons.
"What are you doing?"
"Programming my ring. When I call you, you'll know it's me." After a minute, he held it back to her with a triumphant look. "Listen."
The opening notes of "I've Got You Under My Skin" beeped a digital melody.
"You'll know it's me whenever you hear it."
She looked pleasantly surprised. "Are you planning to call me a lot?"
"Is three times a day a lot?"
That made her laugh, but he could tell she didn't believe him. That was fine. It might be four times a day, anyway.
"Okay, we have a very important errand to do here," he announced as they got out of the car.
"We do?" She smoothed the jeans she'd changed into and slid her arm around his waist. He liked her there, tucked under his arm.
That's where she had to be. Always.
His gut constricted just a little. Not from fear. Not from misgivings or trepidation. He knew what he wanted. He just hoped she wanted it, too.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"We need to visit an old friend."
She glanced up at him questioningly but didn't ask for specifics.
They had another gorgeous day. The sky was that heartbreak blue that God saved for California, and the air was crisp and clean. The scent of chocolate mixed with the salty smell of the Bay as they walked arm in arm amidst swarms of tourists and visitors.
In a few minutes they arrived at the fountain.
"Ah," she said knowingly, "Andrea."
He nodded. "She worked so well last time, I thought we ought to give her another shot."
She poked him playfully in the ribs. "All I wanted was one kiss, and look what I got. You were right—be careful what you wish for."
Taking her hand, he guided her over to the stone steps that surrounded the fountain, the light spray of water cooling them as it got caught in the wind.
"You never told me what you wished for that day, Matt."
He peered at the splashing water and considered his answer. He'd wished to win his bet. For his brain to be smarter than his body.
And, son of a gun, the brain had trounced the body. And everybody won. "I got my wish," he said simply.
From his pocket, he pulled out some change and opened his hand. As she reached for a penny, he snapped his hand shut, making her giggle.
"Wait," he said. "I'm first."
She gave him a surprised look, then shrugged. "Okay."
"I only have a penny," he said, holding it up between his two fingers.
"So don't go for anything too serious like a lifetime of contentment and happiness," she warned him.
He tossed the coin, watching it flip end over end until it landed with a soft splash. "Funny, a lifetime of contentment and happiness is exactly what I wished for."
Then he reached into his other pocket, but she was looking into his eyes. When he opened his hand, she looked down.
And said nothing.
His heart thumped and somewhere in the distance a seagull squawked, but all he heard was the blood rushing in his ears as he waited for that gorgeous, wide-eyed, blue-green gaze to meet his.
Finally it did. Moist with tears and glinting with happiness. "That's no penny, Matt."
He grinned. "It's lucky, though. I promise."
With his other hand, he took the diamond ring and held it, like the penny, between his two fingers. "I have one wish, Paige Ashton. And that's to spend the rest of my life making wishes with you."
She tried to swallow a lump that must have felt just as big as the stupid one in his throat.
She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Then she blinked and a tear slid down her cheek. "That is some serious string for a sex-without-stings kind of guy."
He choked out a laugh. "I think I forgot something important here."
He dropped to one knee and took her hand, his eyes never leaving hers. "I love you, Paige. I've never met anyone as precious and perfect and sweet and smart and wonderful as you are. I love you because you've changed me and made me want to be tied up in so many strings that I can't breathe." He slid the ring onto her shaking finger. "Paige, will you marry me and make me the luckiest guy in the world?"
She tried to laugh, but it came out a sob, her lips shuddering as she fought the emotion. "I love you, too, Matt. I don't know what to say."
"You don't?" He gave her an incredulous look as he slowly stood back up. "Say yes."
"Yes!" She threw her arms around him, and he twirled her in a circle so wildly that they sent a flock the pigeons squealing into the sky. And when he kissed her, all the tourists in Ghirardelli Square
burst into applause.
It was the most beautiful music Matt had ever heard.
* * * * *
Roxanne St. Claire, The Highest Bidder
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