“And in all that time, your mother never told anyone who your father was?”
His intense gaze met hers. “No. She felt that she was ensuring a better future for me than she could ever give me on her own.”
Alyssa couldn’t help but be a bit envious. Her mother had loved and doted on her when she’d been alive, but after her death, Alyssa hadn’t felt that she’d been loved by anyone.
They remained silent for several long moments before he took a deep breath. “When we all arrived in Wichita and Emerald explained about our father and that she was going to give each of us one of her companies to run, I fully intended to turn her down because I didn’t feel qualified to run a place like Skerritt and Crowe.”
“What changed your mind?”
“I thought about my mom’s dream of giving me a better life and I knew I had to give it a try.” He shrugged. “So I started reading books on management and went on the Internet to search for everything I could about creating a better work atmosphere and unity among the workers. Then I remembered seeing a report on one of the news shows a year or so back about companies using innovative ways to keep employees motivated. I bought a couple of books, did a little more research on the computer and the changes I’ve made at Skerritt and Crowe are the result.”
“It worked.” Her conscience wouldn’t allow her to say otherwise. “Everyone at the firm is a lot happier than they were under the old management.”
He shrugged. “I also figured if I made it a nice place to work, left everyone alone to do their jobs and let you make the business decisions, I’d be okay until I could take some administrative courses and get an idea of what I was really supposed to be doing.”
His admission caused her chest to tighten and she wasn’t sure she’d be able to draw her next breath. Thinking he’d been using her was one thing, but hearing him put it into words hurt more than she could have ever imagined.
“I—I really need…to go.” She quickly stood up and shoved the file containing her resignation into his hands. If she didn’t get out of there soon the floodgates were going to open. “G-good luck with…the firm.”
Rising to his feet, he tossed the folder to the floor and pulled her into his arms. “I haven’t told you the most important detail of all, Alyssa.”
He cradled her close and the feel of his strong arms folded around her, the wide expanse of his chest pillowing her head, and the tender way he stroked her hair caused her heart to break even more. Just knowing that once she walked out the door she’d never again be held by him or know the softness of his kiss was almost more than she could bear.
“C-Caleb, p-please—”
“Don’t cry, sweetheart. It tears me apart to see you cry.” His chest rose and fell beneath her ear as he took a deep shuddering breath. “Do you want to know what happened when I arrived at Skerritt and Crowe?”
“N-no.”
“I fell in love with a beautiful, intelligent woman who tried to hide how wonderful she is behind baggy suits and oversize glasses.” Leaning back, he cupped her face with his large hands and the sincerity she saw in his incredible hazel gaze caused her heart to skip several beats. “Yes, I let you call the shots at the firm. But I never used you. I never took credit for anything.”
As she stared up at him, she realized that what he’d said was true. The main reason everyone at Skerritt and Crowe was so happy was the fact that Caleb left them alone to do their jobs and didn’t try to micromanage their every move.
“I—I’m sorry that I jumped to conclusions.” She took a deep, steadying breath. It was suddenly important that he understand why she’d refused to listen to him that morning, how she’d let fear blind her to the facts. “Before I came to work at the firm, I made a huge mistake by getting involved with a coworker who used our relationship to gain information about a client I had been hoping to sign. He took all the credit for the research and winning the account, then got a promotion for all of his hard work.”
“The jerk should be shot for doing that to you.” Caleb shook his head. “No wonder you thought I’d been using you to make myself look good.”
“I suppose in a way, I was looking for it to happen.” Her voice caught. “I guess I expected for you to hurt me the same way he had.”
His intense gaze held hers. “Do you still feel that way, Alyssa?”
“No.” Caleb may have omitted a couple of important facts, but he had told her as much as he could about himself without revealing who his grandmother was and that he didn’t have the credentials to run Skerritt and Crowe.
Caleb kissed her temple. “I love you, Alyssa Jane Merrick. Never doubt that. And I’d never do anything to hurt you, sweetheart.”
“I know that now.” Her eyes filled with moisture, but this time they were tears of joy. “I…love you, too, Caleb. So very much.”
He crushed her to him, kissing her until they both gasped for breath. “I want to spend the rest of my life proving to you just how much you mean to me, sweetheart.” Stepping back, he pulled a small velvet box from his jeans pocket and removed a diamond-and-sapphire ring from inside. Then, dropping to one knee, he took her left hand in his. “Alyssa, will you marry me?”
Her heart filled with so much love it felt as if it would burst. “Yes.”
Slipping the ring on her finger, he rose to take her into his arms. “I intend to spend the rest of my life making sure you never regret becoming my wife, sweetheart.”
She wrapped her arms around his waist. “I could never regret marrying the only man I’ll ever love.”
“God, I missed you,” he said, kissing her eyes, her cheeks and the tip of her nose. “And I wasn’t the only one.”
“I missed you, too.” She leaned back to look at him. “What do you mean you weren’t the only one?”
Caleb laughed. “Sidney missed you, too.”
Grinning, she asked, “Why didn’t you return him?”
His sexy grin caused her stomach to flutter. “I had every intention of holding him hostage for as long as it took to get you to say yes.”
“There was no way I would have said otherwise.” She glanced at the ring on the third finger of her left hand. “How did you know what size of ring I wear?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know how Emerald does it, but after I picked out the ring I wanted to give you, she told me she’d take care of having it sized.”