He crossed the room to stand in front of her. “Had I told you the truth, sweetheart, you would not have been ready to hear it, nor would you have believed it. You would have given me more grief than either of us needed,” he said softly.
A smile then crossed his lips. “I had threatened to kidnap you, but Ramsey thought that was going a little too far.”
Her eyes widened. “Ramsey knew?”
“Of course. Your brother is a smart man. There’s no way I could have hung around here for three years sniffing around his sister and he not know about it.”
“Sniffing around me? I want you to know that I—”
He thought she’d talked enough and decided to shut her up by pulling her into his arms and taking her mouth. The moment his tongue slid between her lips he figured she would either bite it or accept it. She accepted it and it began tangling with hers.
Callum deepened the kiss and tightened his hold on Gemma and she responded by wrapping her arms around his neck, standing on tiptoes and participating in their kiss the way he’d shown her how to do. He knew they still had a lot to talk about, and he would have to go over it again to satisfy her, but he didn’t care. He would always give her what she wanted.
Callum forced his mouth from hers, but not before taking a quick lick around her lips. He then rested his forehead against hers and pulled in a deep breath. “I love you, Gemma,” he whispered against her temple. “I loved you from the moment I first saw you. I knew you were the one, my true soul mate.”
Gemma dropped her head to Callum’s chest and wrapped her arms around his waist, breathing in his scent and glowing in his love. She was still reeling from his profession of love for her. Her heart was bursting with happiness.
“Gemma, will you marry me?”
She snatched her head up to look into his eyes. And there she saw in their green depths what she hadn’t seen before. Now she did.
“Yes, I’ll marry you, but…”
Callum chuckled. “There’s a but?”
“Yes. I want to be told every day that you love me.”
He rolled his eyes. “You’ve hung around my mom, sister and sisters-in-law too much.”
“Whatever.”
“I don’t have a problem doing that. No problem at all.” He sat down on the bed and pulled her down into his lap. “You never answered my question. What are you doing here and not at your place?”
She lowered her head, began toying with the buttons on his shirt and then glanced up and met his gaze. “I know it sounds crazy, but I came home to get over you, but once I got here I had to come here to feel close to you. I was going to sleep in this bed tonight because I knew this is where you slept.”
Callum tightened his arms around her. “I got news for you, Gemma. You’re still sleeping in this bed tonight. With me.”
He eased back on the bed and took her with him, covering her mouth with his, kissing her in a way that let her know how much love he had for her. He adjusted their bodies so he could remove every stitch of her clothing and then proceeded to undress himself.
He returned to the bed and pulled her into his arms, but not before taking a small box from the pocket of his jacket. He placed his knee on the bed and pulled her into his arms to slide a ring on her finger. “For the woman who took my breath away the moment I saw her. To the woman I love.”
Tears clouded Gemma’s eyes when she gazed down at the beautiful ring Callum had placed on her finger. Her breath nearly stopped. She remembered the ring. She had seen it that day when she’d gone shopping with the Austell women and they had stopped by that jewelry store. Gemma had mentioned to Le’Claire how much she’d liked this particular one.
“Oh, Callum. Even your mom knows?” She had to fight back tears as she continued to admire her ring.