‘Nonna, please…’ Leo cleared his throat and put a hand over his mouth to hide his grin, pretending to scratch his upper lip.

Judging by Maeve’s expression, she wasn’t fooled.

‘You’re up.’ Bernadette handed Leo a fresh glass of champagne and nodded him towards the podium. ‘Good luck.’

Liselle tapped her glass with a pen to get everyone’s attention. Quickly, the noisy hubbub of chatter died away as Leo strolled towards the podium.

‘Thank you all for being here tonight, my friends, and for being among the first in the world to view these paintings of my new exhibition.’ Leo looked across at Maeve, who was nervously gulping down the champagne she’d been handed instead of waiting for the toast, and smiled. ‘Before I go on to talk about the inspiration behind this exhibition, and to thank all those who helped it happen, I would like first to introduce you to the woman who sat for these paintings. The woman you’ve been admiring as you’ve walked around the room. The woman who has graciously agreed to become my wife.’

A ripple of excitement ran through the room at this announcement, but he ignored it.

Leo raised his glass of champagne in a toast, his heart flooding, love trembling through his voice as he finished triumphantly, ‘I give you… Maeve Eden, the love of my life.’

‘Maeve,’ most people responded, drinking her health, while others used their phones to snap pictures of the two of them.

The photographers set up a barrage of flashes, calling to Maeve to look their way and even to get up on the podium next to him.

‘Come on… We want to see the happy couple together!’

Maeve’s blush deepened at the shouts and whistles, but when he beckoned her forward, she didn’t refuse, despite her obvious reluctance to be the centre of attention. As he put an arm about her waist, she raised her glass to Leo, even though there was only half an inch of champagne left at the bottom of the glass, and shyly murmured, ‘I love you, Leo.’

I love you.

He had intended to keep his cool up to that point. To remain theelusive and enigmatic Leo Rémy he had always been in the past at exhibition openings.

But Maeve had never actually said those three little words to him before, even though she had agreed to be his wife. He’d hoped maybe those feelings would come in time, so hadn’t mentioned it, fearing to have that conversation and be wounded by a cool, offhand answer. But Leo had wondered if she felt the same as him, especially once they’d made love. He’d thought perhaps she was still too ‘sensible’ to believe in love.

So, when he saw her mouth those special words, his heart swelled, his breath tangled in his throat, and it was all he could do not to abandon the podium and seize her in his arms in front of all these people. Because nothing could be more perfect than his life at this precise moment.

Except perhaps the pitter-patter of tiny feet – or, more likely, ear-piercing wails emanating from tiny but powerful lungs – in the corridors of Château Rémy, assuming they were ever blessed with children.

Nonna would be pleased, he thought with an inner chuckle.

But that was a thought for the future.

‘I love you too, Maeve,’ he whispered back to her, raising his glass again, and the paparazzi went wild.

THE END

Source: www.seynovel.com