“I was in Alaska this morning, at the homestead. I had everything I ever wanted. And I suddenly realized something.”
“What?” she whispered.
He looked at her. “I realized there’s no point in having everything,” he said softly, “if you can’t share it with people you love.”
Josie looked at him, her eyes wide. Swallowing, she looked away. “I’m happy you and your brother are friends again.”
“Not friends.” Kasimir grinned, remembering. “Brothers.”
Josie looked at him, her eyes luminous and deep. “I’m glad,” she said softly. Then she looked down. “But that doesn’t have anything to do with me. Not anymore.”
Kasimir knew his whole life depended on his next words. “He’s not the reason I came back to Honolulu, Josie.”
She looked up. “He’s not?”
He shook his head, then looked down wryly at his dark wrinkled suit, white shirt and blue tie. “Do you know I haven’t changed clothes for twenty-four hours?” He loosened his tie, then pulled it off. “When my lawyer said the land in Alaska was finally mine, I left St. Petersburg straight from the office. All I could think was I wanted to go home.” His lips twisted. “But all I saw in Alaska was a rickety old cabin, piles of snow and a silent forest. It wasn’t home.” Looking straight into her eyes, he whispered, “Because it wasn’t you.”
Josie looked up at him, not even trying to hide the tears spilling over her lashes.
With a trembling hand, he reached out and brushed a tear from her cheek. “You’re the home I’ve been trying to find for my whole life, Josie. You’re my home.”
“Then why did you let me go so easily?” she whispered.
Kasimir took a deep breath, closing his eyes, allowing the warm air to expand his lungs. “After you left,” he said in a low voice, “I tried to convince myself I’d won. Then I tried to convince myself that you deserved a better man than me. Which you do. But this morning, in Alaska, I realized something that changed everything.”
“What?” she faltered.
He looked straight into her eyes. “I can be that man.” He took her hand in his own, and when she didn’t pull it away he tightened his grasp, overwhelmed with need. “I can be the man who will mow the lawn by your white picket fence,” he vowed. “The man who will be by your side forever. Worshipping you. For the rest of your life.”
“But how can I believe you?” Josie wiped her eyes. “Our whole marriage was based on a lie. How can I ever give you my whole heart again?”
Kasimir stared at her, his heart pounding. He finally shook his head. “I don’t know.” He gave a low laugh, running his hand through his dark, tousled hair. “I wouldn’t blame you for telling me to go to hell. In fact, I sort of figured you would.”
“Then why come all this way?”
“Because you had to know what was in my heart,” he whispered. “I had to tell you how you changed me. Forever. You made me want to be the idealistic, loyal person I once was. The man I was born to be.”
Covering her face with her hands, she wept.
Falling on his knees before her, Kasimir wrapped his arms around her. “I’m so sorry I tried to separate you and your sister, Josie. I was selfish and I was a coward. Losing you was the one thing I thought I couldn’t face.”
He felt her stiffen, then slowly, her hand rose to stroke his hair. It was the single sweetest touch of his life.
Kasimir looked up, his eyes hot with unshed tears. “But I should have thought of you first. Put you first. Now, all I want is for you to be happy. Whether you choose to be with me. Or—” he swallowed “—without—”
“Shut up.” She put her finger to his lips, and his voice choked off. She said slowly, “I’ve learned I can live without you.”
Kasimir’s heart cracked inside his chest. He’d lost her. She was going to send him away, back into the bleak winter.
“But I’ve also learned,” Josie whispered, “that I don’t want to.” Her brown eyes were suddenly warm, like the sky after a sudden spring storm. “I tried to stop loving you. But once I love someone, I love for life.” Her lips lifted
in a trembling smile. “I’m stubborn that way.”
“Josie,” he breathed, rising to his feet. He cupped her face, searching her gaze. “Does this mean you’ll be my wife? This time for real?”
Reaching up, she said through her tears, “Yes. Oh, yes.”
“You better make her happy!” Bree yelled. They turned in surprise to see Vladimir and his bride standing amid the flowers beyond the gazebo. Bree’s eyes were shining with tears as she sniffed. “You’d better…”