Priceless: Contemporary Billionaire Romance Novel (18 page)

Maribel gazed at Miles, unable to
comprehend his words.

“Well said, Brax,” Charles
interjected.  “It almost makes me want to kiss you myself.  You’ve clearly made
an indelible impression on him, my dear.”  Charles turned to Maribel and
snipped off the tag from the diamond ring.

“You know each other?” she whispered,
speechless.

“He’s both my best and worst
customer,” Charles confirmed.  “He’s been calling me twice every hour. He’s
terribly miserable without you, and as a result, he’s resorted to making me
terribly miserable as well.”

 “I asked Charles to put up the
HELP WANTED sign,” Miles explained, “hoping you would eventually stroll by and
see it.”

 “You’re the store owner?” Maribel
said, suddenly remembering the ruby tear-drop earrings Miles had purchased from
him.

Charles nodded.  “And I shall be
happy to grant you a more formal job interview, my dear, after you have a
chance to sort out whether or not you wish this madman to remain a part of your
life.  But for now, my job is done and I shall retreat to the backroom until
one of you decides you’d like to purchase more jewelry.  I’ll put the ring on
your tab, Brax.”

Charles circled around from the
jewelry cases and patted Miles on the shoulder.

“Thank you, Charles.”

Maribel peered at Miles, eyes
swimming.  He held her hand like he had no intention of ever letting her go.

“I’ve been trying to track you down
for a week, but you’ve been impossible to find.  You left your position at the
department store and disconnected your phone.  And you never called.  This was
the only way that I knew how to find you, and possibly persuade you to give me—
us
—another
chance.” 

Maribel’s eyes fell down onto the
diamond ring, unable to deny its significance. “I don’t understand…why this,
why now?” 

“Because you’re the only thing in
my life that matters to me.  You’re the only reason why I’m happy when I wake
up in the morning and relax when I go to bed at night.  You’re the only person
who makes me laugh when I haven’t smiled in days, and the only one who offers
me tenderness and compassion at the end of a long, arduous day.  And you’re the
only person in years who has made me feel like I want to live my life for
someone other than myself.  I feel this way because I’ve fallen in love with
you, Maribel.  And I realize now that I’ve been in love with you for years—ever
since those very first days, watching you overcome one of the most tragic
circumstances of your life.  But it’s only been in the past four days that I’ve
finally found the courage to acknowledge it to myself—and to you.”

Miles pressed her hand deeper against
his chest.  She could feel the weight of the diamond on her finger and the
furious beating of Miles’ heart.

“I’m in love with you, Maribel
Martinez.  Please say that you’ll have me back again.  Please tell me that you
believe, the way I do, that what we’ve shared together is more precious than
anything else in the world.  Please say you’ll give us another chance.”

Maribel gazed at Miles’ wounded
eyes and earnest face.  She no longer had the strength to deny the way that he
made her feel, and everything that they had shared together.  He was right.  It
was more precious than anything else in the world because it was a priceless bond
between them that could not be reproduced or replaced—it could only be
discovered and rediscovered through their own mutual desire to harbor and
treasure it.

“What’s for dinner?” Maribel slowly
relaxed her hand as well as her defenses.

Miles smiled in return. “Seafood.”

Chapter Twenty

Miles kissed Maribel with longing,
holding her naked body between his arms and settling his chest against her
own.  They cuddled inside the triangular berth within the hull of Miles’
sailboat, a thirty-foot schooner that shuttled them far across the black waters
of Lake Michigan to a secluded spot where they could no longer see lights from
any shore.  Miles embraced Maribel in his arms, and they gazed up through the ceiling
hatch at the flawless night—every star in the sky twinkling just for them.  Maribel
relaxed her head inside the crook of Miles’ arm.  The gentle rocking of the
boat settled her mind, and the rhythmic pulse of Miles’ heart made her nestle herself
deeper into his body.

            Miles had whisked her
away on his sailboat, just as he had promised, and made love to her in the serenity
and peace of the silent night.  There were no longer were any barriers between
them; nothing had been left unsaid, and no part of their bodies had been left untouched,
and there were no longer any expectations beyond the simplicity of their emotions
and their mutual desire to remain physically and emotionally vulnerable to each
other.

Suddenly, Miles’
cell phone rang.

Dismayed,
Maribel dropped her head against the cushions.  “You actually get reception out
here?”

 “Satellite,”
Miles confirmed, rolling over to receive the call.  “But don’t worry.  This will
be a short conversation.  And I want you to hear it... Shoot, Gary,” Miles
said, answering the call and setting it on speakerphone.

“The deal is done. 
Zale signed.  The building his all his.  Congratulations, Brax.  You’re a free
man.”

Miles dropped
his head onto the pillows and shifted his gaze onto Maribel with a smile.

“And here I was,
being an asshole extraordinaire, worrying about how you were pissing away the
Olson deal when really you were negotiating behind the scene to sell the whole damn
building to Harvey Zale.  Never saw that coming…”

“Neither did
they,” Miles said, stroking Maribel’s hair and peering deeply into her eyes.

“Yeah, we all
thought you were just stalling on the lease terms.  Never realized you were
using the contract as leverage to get Zale to buy the whole damn property for a
premium.  Now, Gillian will have nowhere else to shop the deal and Zale will
squeeze them for blood.  And here I was, trying to keep you from losing
thirty-five million dollars while you were busy making triple that.”

“We can’t all be
perfect, Gary,” Miles quipped.

“No, just you,
Brax.  Just you.”

Maribel rolled her
eyes.  Miles nibbled at her ear lobe.  She shrugged him off with a laugh.

 “By the way, is
that your little mouse?”

Miles coaxed her
to answer.

“Hello…” she said
softly, settling her head against Miles’ smooth chest.

“Well, hello to
you, too,” Gary purred. “Make sure that Brax buys you some extra special
bling-bling for your part in all of this.  That disappearing act at the party
was Oscar-worthy.”

Maribel’s eyes
fell down upon her diamond ring, but savored Miles’ fingers whispering down her
back even more.

“She’s already
wearing it, Gary,” Miles confirmed.  “And she hopes she never has to hear from you
again.”

“Wouldn’t be the
first time I’ve heard that, Brax.  Wouldn’t be the first time,” Gary sighed.  “Okay,
love birds, I’ll let you two roll around in your bed of hundred dollar bills
without my fuc—,” Gary paused and reconsidered his words, “without me ruining
your night.  Take care, Brax and little Miss Mouse, and call me when you’re
ready to sell your other eight properties.”

“Already in the
works,” Miles said, smiling at Maribel.

“Love that. 
Chow.” 

Miles hung up
the phone and shifted his gaze onto Maribel, searching out his own reflection in
her empathetic eyes. 

“You’re selling
all of your properties?” she said with surprise.

“Downsizing,” he
shrugged and nudged her for a kiss. “I want to make sure that I have time to be
around…”

“Around for
what?” Maribel asked, sensing the playfulness in his voice.

Miles circled
her mid-drift and kissed it softly.  “Babies.”

THE
END

Note
from Author:

Thank
you for reading my work.  If you enjoyed this novel,
please be sure to sign up
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regarding the release of its prequel, which follows
Miles Braxton-Worth in his early years.  Very best, Aria Hawthorne

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