Ian's Ultimate Gamble - Brenda Jackson [58]
Ian.
Just thinking his name brought a deep pain to her heart. During the course of the night, she had felt his eyes on her, and each time when she imagined what he thought of her, her heart would break that much more. As she'd tried explaining to Tara, who'd tried to talk her out of leaving the Rolling Cascade, there was no way she could stay there any longer with Ian thinking the worst of her.
She glanced up when she heard a knock on her hotel room door. She crossed the room wondering who it could be at this hour. It was past three in the morning. "Yes?"
"It's Ian. Brooke."
Her heart began pounding hard in her chest. Ian? What was he doing here? Had he followed her all the way to Reno just to let her know, again, how little he trusted her? Well, she had news for him. Whether he wanted to believe it or not, she hadn't done anything wrong and she refused to put up with his attitude any longer.
After removing the security lock she angrily snatched open the door. "What are you doing— " Before she could finish getting the words out. a single white rose was placed in her face, followed by a red one. When he lowered the roses she saw him standing there. She had to take a full minute to catch her breath.
"I'm here to ask your forgiveness, Brooke, for a lot of things. May I come in?"
She didn't answer. Instead, after a couple of moments she stepped aside. When he walked passed her, her body began humming the moment she caught his masculine scent. Once he stood in the middle of her room, she closed the door and turned to face him. He looked as tired as she felt, but even with exhaustion lining his features, he looked extremely good to her.
"Is the media still at the casino?" she decided to ask when it appeared he was trying to get his thoughts together.
"Yes, they're still there. I left them in Vance's capable hands." She nodded. "I would offer you something to drink but..."
"That's fine. There's a lot I have to say, but I don't know where to start. I guess the first thing I should say is that I'm sorry for being so quick to jump to conclusions. I'm sorry for not trusting you. Not believing in you. My only excuse, and it's really not one, is that I love you so much, Brooke, and I was scared to place that degree of love into your hands again. I hurt so badly the last time."
"Don't you think I was hurting as well, Ian?" she asked quietly. "It wasn't all about you. It was about us. I loved you enough to do anything to protect you. And over the years, nothing changed. If I hadn't still loved you as much as I did, I would not have cared if the Bureau sent someone to prove what I already know. You're an honest man who wouldn't do anything illegal."
She breathed in deeply before she continued, "This week has been real. My feelings and my emotions were genuine. I wasn't using you to find out information. The very idea that you thought I had..."
Ian crossed the room and cupped her face in his hands. "I admit I was wrong, sweetheart. Call me stupid. Call me a fool. Call me overly cautious. But I'm here asking, begging for you to give me, us, another chance. My life is nothing without you in it. I’ve seen that for four years. I love you, Brooke. I believe in you. I made a huge mistake, one I plan to make up for during the rest of my life. Please say you forgive me and that you still love me."
She looked deeply into his eyes. Placing the roses on the table she reached up and covered his hands with hers. "I love you, Ian, and I forgive you."
A rush of relief flooded from him just seconds before he lowered his face to hers and captured her lips. He kissed her long, hard,