Hold On to Me (41 page)

‘Another business idea?' Stella joked.

‘A proposal.'

Time stood still. A car rumbled by on the street and pedestrians manoeuvred their way past Stella and Luca on the footpath. A Lycra-clad cyclist rode past.

Stella looked into his hand.

Luca was holding a ring. A big sparkling mother of a ring. With a diamond.

‘What's that for?' she gasped and stumbled backwards.

‘It's for you, if you'll have it. If you'll have me.'

‘Oh my god, Luca.' She didn't touch it, afraid she might jinx this, afraid she might ruin this moment.

‘I've been carrying it around as long as I've had that business card stashed in my wallet. I was going to ask you to go all in with me. Partners in life and in business. I don't want you to ever have to worry about what will happen to you if something goes wrong here, with Style by Stella. I want you to know that I'll always have your back. I want you, Stella Ryan. Or Smith. Whatever your name is. I want to show you what love is and what family can be.'

‘Oh my.' She peered at the diamond. It caught the afternoon light and shimmered in its gold setting.

Luca lifted a hand to her cheek. ‘Marry me, Stella. Let's make a wonderful life together.'

She bit down the words that would have come naturally and habitually to her a few months before.

No. I can't. I don't deserve this. I'll screw it up. I don't deserve to be loved.

Finally, Stella understood that she could go with her heart.

And then, swimming around in her head, were new words. Unfamiliar words.

I will work at this. I will fight for this. I deserve to be loved.

‘I love you, Morelli Constructions,' Stella said, softly at first. She took a step closer to him and this time, looked into his eyes as she said the words. ‘I love you, Morelli Constructions!' And her voice was loud and happy and its echo bounced back at her from across the quiet street and she threw her arms around the man she loved.

‘So that's a yes?' His lips were a breath away from hers.

‘Yes. I'll marry you. On one condition.'

‘Anything, bella.' Luca kissed her, soft and slow.

‘I want eight courses,' she mumbled through the kiss.

Luca pulled back. ‘What?'

‘At the wedding. I want eight courses for dinner and bomboniere and a huge fluff-ball of a wedding dress and five bridesmaids: Summer, Courtney, Anna, Julia and Lizzie.'

Luca grinned. ‘You'd better make that six. Grace will kill me if she's not in the wedding.'

‘Of course. Six. And I think it's about time I officially met your parents.'

Luca laughed, deep and warm, and it was the best thing she'd ever heard. ‘And here I was thinking I'd have to take it slow so I didn't scare you away.'

Stella felt the truth of her words catch in her throat. ‘I've waited a long time for a family of my own, Luca. I'm ready.'

‘They're going to love you.'

‘I hope so.'

‘But not as much as me.' They looked into each other's eyes for a long moment.

‘I want you, Luca, and I think I'm ready for everything. But it'll be complicated, you know. You and me,' Stella said. ‘All my baggage.'

‘We can work it out,' he said.

‘And
I'm
complicated.'

Luca smiled down at her, his eyes shining. ‘All the best women are.'

My Boys of Summer books were supposed to be a trilogy. And a trilogy, by definition, means three books, right?
Nobody But Him
,
Someone Like You
and
Our Kind of Love
. But, something happened. When
Our Kind of Love
was published in November 2014, readers started telling me how sad they were to see the series come to an end and that they'd fallen in love with my fictional beachside town of Middle Point and the wonderful characters who live there.

And you know what? I wasn't ready to leave them either. That's why I returned to one of my favourite parts of the world, South Australia's south coast, and wrote Stella and Luca's story.

There are so many people to thank: my husband Stephen and especially our three kids, who look on at my writing career with the kind of bemusement only ever seen on the faces of teenage boys.

This one is dedicated to our youngest son, C, who is our little miracle.

To my wonderful friends who surround me with their friendship and wine at exactly the right times.

To the amazing community I've found at Romance Writers of Australia. I feel so lucky to have found and to be a part of this tribe.

Once again, thanks to my editor Kate O'Donnell. So glad I made you cry.

To the brilliant Michelle Laforest, Cristina Lee, Sue Brockhoff, Annabel Blay, Laurie Ormond and the rest of the Harlequin Australia team. Thanks for your continued faith in me and my stories.

To all those readers who've sent me messages telling me how much they've loved my books and all the reviewers who've taken the time to write reviews: they mean so much. When you've been stuck in the author cave for months on end, those few little words can make your day.

Thanks once again for reading and I'll finish with a small disclaimer: Port Elliot is a real town but Style by Stella is a figment of my imagination. Oh, how I wish it were real.

Connect with us for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!

Subscribe to our newsletter

Share your reading experience on:

Harlequin Books

Facebook

Twitter

Watch our reviews, author interviews and more on
Harlequin TV

ISBN: 9781760374167

Title: Hold On To Me

First Australian Publication 2016

Copyright © 2016 by Victoria Purman

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilisation of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the permission of the publisher:

Harlequin Enterprises
Level 13
201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

MIRA and the Star Colophon are trademarks used under license and registered in Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, United States Patent and Trademark Office in other countries.

For questions and comments about the quality of this book please contact us at
[email protected]
.

www.harlequinbooks.com.au