Page 38 of The Heiress Masquerade (Dollar Princess #2)
The lift to the top of the Eiffel Tower took just over eight minutes to make its climb, an ascent of nearly one thousand feet in an iron box nestled inside the pillars of the tower itself. She’d never been in a lift that went so high, and when it reached the summit, the doors opened and Aimee stepped out onto the landing of the wrought-iron lattice tower.
She gasped at the sight of Paris spread before her. It was a concrete jungle that stretched as far as the eye could see in all directions. It was a breathtaking sight, and she finally understood why it had attracted close to two million visitors in the year since it had opened.
“Isn’t it marvelous?” Henri Valois, the Count of Rousseau, enthused in perfect English beside her, his green eyes shining with excitement as he eagerly glanced around the monument.
Aimee could only nod as she slowly spun around, trying to see everything. “It’s amazing, my cousin Evie said there’s even a post office here in the tower. Is that true?”
“It is, it’s down on the first level. I shall take you there on our way down and you can send your cousin a postcard direct from the Eiffel Tower!”
“That would be wonderful, thank you.”
“My pleasure,” he said with a grin. “It’s a shame, though, that the spiral staircases leading up and down from the first floor are closed for cleaning today. Otherwise, they’re great fun to walk up and down. A little scary given the incline of the stairs and their narrowness, but you have such a good uninterrupted view of everything that it’s well worth it.”
Aimee glanced over at one of the narrow spiral staircases that had a locked gate at the top of it, with a sign in French warning visitors that they were temporarily closed. She’d read in a brochure that morning that there were three hundred and eighty steps from the first floor to the second, and the stairs spiraled around a pillar of the tower, leaving only enough width for one person at a time, with what looked to be a narrow iron banister to hold onto. She was glad they were closed. “Yes, what a shame.”
Henri grinned, obviously picking up on her sarcasm. “I suppose they’re not for everyone, though when the tower first opened, everyone had to walk up and down them from the ground, as the lifts still weren’t open. Anyhow, come on then.” He gestured toward one of the viewing platforms overlooking the Champs-élysées. “Let’s take a closer look at Paris. That you’ll want to see, and there are some observation telescopes we can use, too!”
“That sounds like much more fun.” She laughed, eager to see all she could from the world’s tallest structure from the safety of the landing.
Henri ran ahead of her and Aimee delighted in his excitement. It was so contagious and such a nice change from the disheartened mood she’d found herself in more often than not of late. A mood that not even working for her father could lift, though spending time with Henri had certainly helped. His enthusiasm for life and his playfulness were catching, and just what she needed to try to forget Harrison.
Even his name brought with it a sharp fission of pain, but she pushed it away, determined not to let her day with Henri be marred by thoughts of her past. Shaking off the gloom, she rushed after him, coming to a halt at the edge of the viewing platform. “Oh my, it’s breathtaking…”
“It’s the most marvelous spot in the whole world,” he replied, his eyes shining brightly with pride as he gazed over the vista of Paris in the distance.
“It certainly is,” Aimee agreed, marveling at how high up they were. “Your mother says you’ve already been up here over twenty times, though. Aren’t you bored of it yet?”
“I could never be bored up here. The design and the engineering fascinate me every time I visit. So much so that I know I want to be an engineer and build such structures all around the world, too.”
“What about your family’s company? Don’t you eventually want to run that?”
“Now that’s what I would find boring. Besides, I’ve heard you and my mother talking about a merger, and if that happens, there won’t be a company for me to take over.”
“That doesn’t bother you?”
“Not at all. If she sells it then I won’t have to learn how to run it.” He grinned again at her, before his eyes swiveled over to a kiosk selling candied chestnuts. “Oh sweets, that’s just what I feel like! Shall I fetch us each a bag?”
“All right,” she said with a smile, and before she could say another word, he raced over to the kiosk and lined up in the queue. Aimee smiled; his enthusiasm was a breath of fresh air and had the ability to divert her attention from things she’d rather not dwell on. Things like a certain six-foot three-inch man, the memory of whose touch was still able to send a shiver through her body and caused such longing that it felt like a physical ache.
When would she forget him and stop thinking about how much she missed him? Forget how angry she still was at him for not having the courage to take a risk on love… Probably never was when.
She sighed and strolled over to one of the large observation telescopes. Perhaps Paris itself could distract her from her thoughts. Pulling out a franc, she inserted it into the machine and peered through the lens, bringing the streets of Paris into sharp relief. It was amazing; she could see the carriages and the people walking on the sidewalks along the Champs-élysées from all the way up here.
A niggling at the nape of her neck sent a sharp pang of awareness through her body, and she abruptly pulled away from the telescope and spun around, only to be confronted by the very person she hadn’t been able to get out of her thoughts, no matter how hard she tried. Was she daydreaming and he was an illusion before her? But he looked real enough, though slightly ill at ease, but still solid and real. “Harrison? What are you doing here?”
“Your father said you’d be here,” he said, his voice a rough whisper.
She straightened her spine, determined not to let him see how much she’d missed him. “And here I am. You still haven’t answered why you’re here, and come to think of it, how did you get up to this level? The stairs are closed.”
“I…um…used the lift.”
“But you never use the lifts.”
“I know, but I had to speak to you, and, well, it was the only way to get up to you in time.”
“In time for what?” She wondered if the lift ride had seriously addled his senses, given she had no idea what he was after. “If it’s to do with the Rousseau deal, you shouldn’t have bothered, because I have everything well in hand, and I don’t need your assistance.”
“Your father mentioned the count was bringing you here, but I don’t see anyone with you,” he said, his eyes swiveling around in search of Henri.
“He’s buying some sweets for us at the kiosk. But what does Henri have to do with anything?”
His gaze swung sharply back to her, a frown now marring his forehead. “You’re on a first-name basis with him?”
“Yes, of course I am. But surely you didn’t come here to talk about the count. What was so urgent that you braved the lifts to speak with me?”
“Has the count proposed to you yet?”
“Are you out of your mind?” Aimee’s jaw dropped open. “No, he hasn’t proposed to me.”
“Would you accept him if he did?”
There was such an intensity in his eyes that Aimee didn’t know whether to play along with what was surely a joke or knock some sense into the man. Perhaps some sense was needed. “No, I would not accept him, because I have no wish to become engaged to a ten-year-old boy.”
“Ten?” Now it was Harrison’s jaw that had dropped. “He’s only ten?”
Aimee nodded. “Yes, and as much as I have fun spending time with him, I certainly have no intention of marrying a child. The fact you could even suggest so is ludicrous.”
“But your father implied he was going to propose…”
“I highly doubt that,” Aimee said, now certain the lift ride had affected Harrison’s senses, and not in a good way.
“He did…or at least he mentioned this being a place where people propose…” He shook his head and muttered under his breath. “I think your father was trying to play matchmaker.”
“Matchmaker?” Aimee exclaimed. “For me to marry Henri?”
“No, not you and Henri. Matchmaker for you and me.”
Her heart skipped a beat, but she carefully schooled her features into a neutral position as her mother had taught her when dealing with a situation she wasn’t certain of. “I thought I made myself perfectly clear that I wouldn’t marry you unless you were prepared to give me your heart, and you were adamant you’d never do that.”
His eyes were locked upon hers, his stare intense. “I was a fool.”
The four simple words rendered her speechless. “On that we can agree.” She paused for a moment, gathering up her courage, not wanting to read too much into the situation. “If that’s all you came to say, I can see Henri’s nearly done, so I’ll bid you good day.”
She went to sweep past him in what she hoped would be a dignified exit, but her heel caught on a cross section of the iron floor and she went tumbling toward the ground.
Harrison reached out and caught her before she fell, pulling her up against him and steadying her in his arms. Her fingers clutched at his shirt and she gulped at his nearness. For a brief moment she closed her eyes and inhaled his scent, the sandalwood and soap so familiar that all she wanted to do was sink into his embrace and never let go. Instead, she hastily straightened up and pulled her hands away from his chest.
“Thank you,” she mumbled, trying to smooth out her skirts, her eyes unwilling to meet his as she took a step back from him. “Now, if you’ll excuse me—”
“Aimee, wait,” he murmured, closing the distance between them, then reaching his fingers out under her chin and tilting up her face until her eyes met his. “I’m so sorry for being a fool, and for not having the courage to stop you from leaving in the first place. But I won’t make that mistake again.” He paused and took a deep breath. “The truth is, I love you, and I’m hoping you’ll forgive me.”
Her heart desperately wanted to, but her head was far too stubborn to risk such pain again. “I’m sorry, Harrison, I can’t. You broke my heart and I’m not sure you won’t do the same again in the future.” Quickly, she pushed past him, rushing to the lifts, not wanting him to see the tears about to spill down her cheeks.
“Aimee Elizabeth Thornton-Jones,” he said from behind her, his voice booming across the entire level and causing everyone to stop in their tracks, herself included. “Who’s being the coward now?”
Her whole body straightened in fury as she turned around to face him. “Excuse me?” she yelled back at him. “You dare throw my words back at me?”
“Damn right I do! Especially because you were right. I was being a coward.”
He looked thunderous as he stalked over to her, but there was also such vulnerability in his eyes that she didn’t know quite what to say to his blunt honestly.
“And I’m not done telling you what I came to,” he continued, stopping in front of her, “and given I had to brave getting into a lift for you, and not just any lift, but a lift for the highest bloody structure in the world that took eight minutes to get up here in, you damn well will listen to me. Then if you don’t want another thing to do with me after, I’ll never bother you again.”
“Fine then!” she fired back at him, staring defiantly up at him and trying her best to stop herself from throwing herself into his arms. “Say what you need to, but your words won’t change my mind.” Even if his I love you was still swirling around in her head on repeat.
“You’re so damn stubborn!” He dragged a hand through his hair, in a gesture she’d missed so much.
“Really? That’s what you came to tell me?” She crossed her hands over her chest.
He exhaled harshly. “You’re not going to make this easy for me, are you?”
“Not in the slightest.”
His lips twitched at the corners. “I suppose I deserve it given I was an idiot to let you go in the first place.”
“Another thing we can agree on.” Aimee crossed her hands over her chest and raised a brow. “So is that all then?”
“No.” He shook his head. “The truth is, I want to marry you, Aimee Elizabeth Thornton-Jones. And not because of my honor, or your father, or your dowry. I want to marry you because of you. I love you so damn much that the thought of never seeing you again, or hearing your voice, or seeing that cranky frown on your face, doesn’t just break my heart but shatters it. To the point where I’ll be lost without you, my life a half life without you in it.”
“You broke my heart, Harrison.” She had to fight against the tears still threatening to spill over. “How do I know you won’t do the same in the future? That you won’t suddenly get terrified again of losing me, and that you’d rather leave me than go through the pain of that again?”
“I’m already terrified I’ve lost you,” he replied, the pulse at his neck thrumming heavily as he gulped. “And of course part of me will be terrified of loving you and losing you every single day, but I’m even more terrified of not loving you every single day. Of not waking up with you next to me each morning and working alongside you through the day…of not making the memories with you that I long to. I’m terrified that you’re my only chance for happiness, and through my fear and cowardice, I’ve let you slip away…”
He took a deep breath and exhaled it loudly. “Aimee, I’ve not only fallen in love with you, but I love you with my whole heart and soul, and I promise I will never leave you or push you away ever again. I will give my life for you, and I will do all in my power to make you happy for the rest of our lives together, no matter how long or how short that may be, if you’ll agree to marry me and be my wife.”
There was such naked vulnerability in his eyes that Aimee wanted to hold him and reassure him it would all be all right. But would it? Could she risk believing him and giving him her heart completely?
“I want to share my life with you, Aimee, and start a family with you,” he continued. “And if you don’t love me anymore, as hard as it will be, I’ll accept that, and you won’t hear from me again. But I need you to know I was wrong to ever push you away and not embrace your love when I had the chance, and that I’m willing to be courageous for you. If you still love me and will have me as your husband?”
“Love you?” Her voice cracked slightly. “I’ve never stopped loving you.” And it was the truth. There wasn’t a moment she hadn’t loved him, since first meeting him if she were being honest. The man challenged her, thrilled her, frustrated her, but most of all he loved her, and she loved him, more than she’d known was possible. And if he was willing to risk loving her, despite having lost his whole family and vowing to never love another again, then she was willing to embrace that and love him back with her whole heart.
“You do?” he whispered.
Slowly she nodded. “I do. I love you, Harrison. That hasn’t changed and it never will, even when you act like an idiot.”
“So you will marry me?” he asked, almost in disbelief.
Aimee grinned. “Yes, I will. Just don’t go breaking my heart ever again, or I will shoot you like I’ve threatened to in the past.”
He laughed, and then with a holler he scooped her up into his arms and swirled her around, caring little for the audience that had gathered around them and were now cheering and clapping.
She clung onto Harrison’s neck and laughed, too, her heart filled with so much joy, she didn’t think she’d ever felt happier or more excited than right then.
Placing her gently back onto her feet, he grinned down at her. “I love you so damn much, Aimee. You have my heart and my soul, and I will love you with every fiber of my being and cherish you, for the rest of my life. I promise you that, my love. Always.”
“I love you, too, Harrison, more than words could ever say,” she whispered an instant before his lips came down tenderly on hers. It was a kiss filled with the promise of a love to last a lifetime, and Aimee knew in that moment her heart would be forever safe in his hands.