"Marry me, Ku`u Lei, as soon as we can arrange it." Charlie's gaze remained steady on hers, never wavering and holding such earnestness she could never doubt his sincerity.
Had she ever been speechless in her entire life? The silence stretched out as she tried to think of what to say. Finally, she whispered, "What does it mean? The word you said?"
"It means 'my beloved'. And you are, Ku'uipo, Ku'u 'I'ini." He kissed her hand. "My mother left her engagement and wedding rings for me to give the woman I choose to join my life with. My grandmother wore it before my mother and her mother before her. I want you in my family history. I need you, my Gem."
"You deserve a sapphire, not a diamond." Christine murmured, recalling his words right after she awoke in the hospital. "Your mother's ring...her mother's...your history. You want me to marry you?"
"It's too soon. I should have waited." Charlie jerked to his feet and shoved a hand through his hair then into his pockets so his jeans stretched taut across his lower body. "I'm making a mess of this when it should be special." His gaze narrowed. "Is it because you think Monica wore the ring? She didn't. It never felt right to give it to her. But you, my Christine, it feels right."
"You pushed me away." Christine swallowed, wanting to believe, yet not daring to take a chance.
"I wanted so much to feel you wrap around me and come hard with those little moans you make, but I thought you'd blame me for not protecting you." Charlie's hands moved, pulling the denim tighter.
Her mouth watered. She wanted, oh how she wanted and needed him. "I don't blame you. How could I when it wasn't your fault?"
"Then it is me. What do I know about marriage anyway?" Charlie paced. "I screwed up mine. And yours didn't go so great, either, so no wonder you don't want to take a chance on me, on marriage again. I rushed it. I should have waited. But when you left and I had no idea when or if you were coming back, I knew I couldn't let you go. I couldn't just walk away."
She watched in fascination as he paced. Nerves from Charlie were as rare as snow at the beach. She couldn't remember a time she'd seen him anxious or even agitated. So this mattered. It mattered. His mother, his grandmother, his great grandmother's ring. Oh yes, this mattered.
"You're still young. You could even have more children if you wanted. Not saying you do, I'm just saying if you wanted, you could. I mean, the kids you have are wonderful, a true credit to you, and you love them. I love them because they're yours and part of you so of course I'm not asking for us to have more kids. I just meant you still could if you wanted. With someone else, I mean, someone better than me, if you wanted."
Christine marveled, Charlie rambled like she did when nervous. She fell a bit more in love with him. He said he loved her children. He called her 'my beloved'. Oh God.
"I let Monica down, and I let you down. I didn't protect either of you, and I'm sorry." Charlie spun, his back ram rod straight. "I failed you. No wonder you don't want to marry me. I wouldn't either."
"Charlie."
"No, it's all right. I understand." He paced over to slam the lid of the laptop. "So, um, Marsha and Ben said they would go talk to Jim?"
Christine held out her hand as she stumbled to her feet. "I need to tell you something."
"Yeah, Peg said the board would meet later today, so Jim actually didn't lie. I'll call Marsha, add credit to what you've already said, and see if they can speed up Jim's interrogation a bit. I'll call Peg and tell her too." Charlie raced away.
"Charlie!" Christine shouted, but he didn't stop. "Damn, damn, damn." It was her own fault really, for waiting so long, for taking a second to savor seeing him so out of his element, showing how much her answer—how much she—mattered to him. He wouldn't hear her now, needing a bit of time and space.
She retrieved the sheets Tom gave her. She'd clear them both, add weight to the evidence against Jim, and then tell Charlie yes. Yes, yes, yes. She began the tedious process of checking each transaction against her date book and calendar.
Charlie walked back into the dining room a while later, cell phone in hand, his face blank. He didn't speak, simply raised a brow at all the sheets spread across the table.
"This is a printout of all the orders in question. None were done from any other IP address than the ones at my office computer." Christine gestured. "So they were changed at my office, from my computer, which completely clears you and is the reason Mrs. Bensen and the corporation realized you couldn't be at fault. I guess it's also why I got suspended and you didn't."
Surprise entered his face as he looked at the sheets. "Where did you get these?"
Christine shifted, not wanting to reveal Tom's involvement, but Charlie well understood obtaining these documents would be beyond her technological capabilities. "A contact in the office gave them to me."
"Show me what you've found."