Yes, what? His heart was suddenly pounding. He could hardly believe he was saying it. But he slowly said, “You know this company is my life. My family. But you and the baby are part of that now. You should be with me.”
“You—” Licking her lips, she said, “You want to hire me back as your secretary?”
“Not my secretary.” He took a deep breath, then plunged in. “My full partner.”
Her lips parted. “Wh-what?”
Antonio took her hands in his own. “Maybe I can’t offer you love like in the fairy tales. But we could have an incredible marriage. We’ll work together, create a worldwide empire—a legacy that someday our child will inherit.”
Her warm brown eyes met his. They looked equal parts terrified and dazzled. “We’ll spend our days together, as a team? Working together like before?”
“Better than before. This time, we’ll be partners. Our family. Our company.” Running his hands through her long dark hair, he whispered, “I can imagine nothing better than spending our days together running our empire, and our nights setting the world on fire.”
He heard her gasp. Her cheeks were pale as she looked up at him in shock. “You’d give me half your company—just like that?”
Antonio could hardly believe it himself. His heart was pounding. He felt almost sick if he let himself think about it that way. His company meant everything to him. Even now, part of his heart was screaming that he couldn’t risk this, couldn’t, not even with someone he trusted as much as Hana. His company was everything he had.
But what risk? He needed her in his company. He needed her at his side, slaying dragons. Almost as much as he needed her in his bed.
He wanted to marry her. If she refused this, he did not know what more he could offer her.
Standing by the elevator on the top floor of the Tokyo office, he looked at her. “What do you say, Hana?” he asked in a low voice. “Will you have me?”
“If you would offer me half of your company, then some part of you must—”
She stopped.
He prompted, “Must?”
“Must...really want to marry me.”
He had the strange feeling that she’d been about to say something else. “How much clearer can I be?”
Hana looked up at him, her eyes shining. “I thought I knew you,” she whispered. “But maybe I don’t. Because the man I knew could never do what you’ve just done.”
Antonio felt a drop of cold sweat go down his back. Half his company. How could he have offered her that? How?
But he had to win. He could not lose Hana. She was the heart of CrossWorld Airways. She was the mother of his unborn child.
“Does that mean yes?” he asked quietly.
Her eyes were suddenly full of tears. “What if you regret it?”
“I won’t,” he said harshly, praying he wouldn’t.
The elevator dinged as the door slid open. Behind them, more lawyers were coming out of the boardroom with their assistants and briefcases. Grabbing Hana’s hand, Antonio pulled her inside the elevator, away from prying eyes.
Taking her into his arms, he whispered, “Say you’ll be mine.”
He could feel her trembling, tottering on the brink of surrender.
“Just...just let me think,” she breathed.
Antonio’s mind whirled. They were both exhilarated after signing the deal. Perhaps tomorrow she’d have a clearer head. Perhaps tomorrow, Ren Tanaka would be back from Osaka and convince her she could do better than Antonio. He looked down at her.
Which she could.
Cupping her face in both his hands, he vowed, “I’ll make you happy, Hana. We’ll have a marriage. A home. I’ll be a good husband and father. Everything you ever wanted. I swear it. Marry me. Marry me now. Today.”