Julian closed his eyes a moment and nodded. “I did say that to Ross. You’re not the kind of woman international action star Julian Cooper should be with. But if you’d stayed one moment longer, you would’ve heard me say that you’re the perfect woman for Julian Curtis. And that Julian Curtis wasn’t interested in his manager’s opinion of his personal life.”
Gretchen gasped. She didn’t even know what to say to that. Could he really mean it?
“Gretchen,” Julian said, moving close to her and placing his reassuring palms on her upper arms. “This isn’t a rehearsed script. This isn’t Julian Cooper standing in front of you right now reciting lines. This is Julian Curtis, a guy from Kentucky,” he said with his accent suddenly coming through, “telling you how he truly feels and asking you to marry him. Do you believe me?”
Her head was spinning. With Julian so close, the warm scent of him was filling her lungs and his touch was heating her skin through her sweater. She could resist him from a distance, but when he stood there, saying all the right words the way he was now, she had no defenses. All she could do was nod.
Julian smiled and slipped back onto one knee. “Now, I’m going to try this again and I want you to let me finish before you answer, okay?”
Gretchen nodded again as Julian pulled out the ring box and opened it a second time. He took her hand in his and looked up at her with his soulful blue eyes.
“I love you, Gretchen, with all my heart. I know there are going to be people out there that think you’re so lucky—a regular woman from Tennessee landing a big movie star—but they’re wrong. If you accept my proposal and agree to marry me, I can assure you that I’m the lucky one. Every morning I wake up with you beside me is a day I count my lucky stars that you’re in my life and have chosen me as the man you love. Gretchen McAlister, would you do me the great honor of being Mrs. Julian Curtis?”
Gretchen waited half a heartbeat to answer. Not because she didn’t want to say yes, but because she wanted to make sure she didn’t interrupt him this time. When she was certain he was finished, she said “Yes!” with a broad smile spreading across her face.
Julian slipped the ring onto her finger, the tears in her eyes blurring her view of the sparkly jewelry. It didn’t matter. She had a lifetime to look at it. Once he stood up, Gretchen launched herself into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. There, with her nose buried in the hollow of his throat, she finally got to return to a place she thought she might never visit again.
Julian hugged her fiercely and then tipped her head up so that he could press his lips to hers. The kiss was gentler, sweeter, more wonderful than she could’ve expected.
What an emotional roller coaster the past week had been. She’d gone from the top of the world to the pits of despair and back in only a few days’ time. Gretchen was no expert on this love business, but she hoped that it would level out. Her heart couldn’t take the drama. But she could take fifty or sixty more years in his strong arms.
“We need to go to Italy,” Julian proclaimed, drawing Gretchen from her spinning thoughts.
“Right now?”
Julian smiled and shook his head. “No, not right now. Unless you want to hop on a plane and elope... It might be the only way we can manage to get married without the press finding out.”
Elope? She wasn’t so sure about that. Amelia had not recommended her quickie Vegas wedding to others. “I’d rather not elope,” she said, “but if you want to get married in Italy, that sounds amazing.”
“That’s what we’ll do, then. You gave away your chance to go to Italy when you donated all that money, so it only seems right that we go there to get married, or at the very least, for the honeymoon.”
Gretchen could just envision it in her mind. “A tiny rustic chapel in Tuscany. Or maybe a winery on a hill overlooking the poppies and sunflowers.”
Julian tightened his grip on her waist. “Anything you want. You’re marrying a movie star, after all. There’s no cutting corners for an event like this. I can even call George to see if we can have it at his place on Lake Como if you want.”
George? She blinked and shook her head. She would be perfectly comfortable as Mrs. Julian Curtis, but it would take a while for her to get used to the idea of their public lives as Mr. and Mrs. Julian Cooper, friends of movie stars, musicians and other famous people.
“That’s probably a little more over-the-top than I was thinking,” she admitted. Marrying Julian was enough of a fantasy come true. Having the wedding in Italy was more than she could ever ask for. She wanted to keep it simple, though. She didn’t want to burn through a fortune on the first day of their marriage. They had a long life together ahead of them, and she wanted to celebrate every day, not just the first. “I just want something small with all our family, some amazing food and wine and scenery that can’t be beat by any decoration you could buy.”