He led her into his study, over to his couch, gently drawing her next to him. “Lillian was right,” he said quietly, looking at her directly in the eye, still holding her hand in his. “The only reason why I entered into the agreement with Lillian was because I liked her. I figured out that we could survive for a few years without killing each other. She’d get the money and I’d get the voting options and we’d done and probably be fairly good friends by the end of it. If she had said no, I would have found another way to get it. But she said yes and it made life simply easier.
“But that doesn’t make sense,” Mel said, shaking her head. “Why the contract?”
“Two reason, One, I would give her a lot of money and I wanted the reason to be on paper so if she backed out of the deal, I’d get it back with no question asked. Two I wanted her to think twice before signing the agreement.”
“But she did.”
“Yes she did.”
“So why...”
“Why didn’t I just asked for the money back and let it go?”
“Yes.”
“You showed up at my door.”
Mel just nodded her head, waiting for him to explain more. But Harry knew she didn’t understand. “Rose, YOU showed up at my door.” She looked puzzled and just shook her head slowly, her eyes still on his face. “Harry, I don’t know what you mean.”
“I took one look at you and I knew I needed to have you. The contract was a perfect excuse.”
Mel’s eyes narrowed and she pulled her hand back from his touch. Turning the couch to face him, she curled her feet up and wrapped her arms around her leg.“You didn’t think of just asking me out?”
“NO.”
She looked up at him, her eyes steadily holding his. “Why not, Harry?”
“Because I don’t have a great track record with women, Rose.”
“Claire and your sister would say that you date the wrong women.”
“I didn’t want to take a chance that you’d say no. Or that I’d scare you away within the first month.”
“Why did you think you would do that?”
“Because you said it yourself I don’t show emotion.”
“Well you’re right about that. But...”
“Rose, I needed time to show you who I am. And the only way I knew to do that was to bring you into my home.” She watched him silently digesting his words, but she still didn’t know what they meant for her future. But she knew that opening up about his feelings was hard for him and she would do whatever she could to help. She loved him and she could do no less telling herself to be careful.
“Ok I almost get that,” she said at last.
The corner of his mouth curved up slightly in a rueful half smile. “Yeah I figured you might.” Knowing that she would regret asking but she needed the truth. “What I don’t get is why slept with me. Once and regretted it so completely.” She watched as his eyes darkened and his hand reached out to thread his fingers into her hair with his thumb lightly stroking her cheek.
“I didn’t regret making love to you. I’ve thought of nothing else for months. I’ve wanted nothing else for months.”
“Then why?” she asked her eyes filling.
He moved his hand to gently brush the tears from her eyes. “Because I’m a moron, Rose.I left because I felt something I’d never felt before with anyone. I’ve had sex with women before, Rose but this was different. I made love to you that night and it was more intense and amazing than anything I’d ever felt before with anyone. I felt a connection, Rose and it scared the crap out of me.”
“So why didn’t you talk to me about it in the morning?”
“Like I said, I’m a major Moron. And I had no idea what to say to you. If I told you what I was feeling, I was afraid that you’d run the other way.”
Mel sighed. “How about, ‘sorry for leaving, I’m a Moron’?” she asked. He chuckled his thumb gently tracing her cheekbone. She smiled slightly.
“Rose, I still want you. I want you every day, every time I’m with you. I see you with Aria, or Max, or Danny and Belle, or with our families. God help me and I see this amazing woman. A woman who deals with life as it comes and enjoys it. A woman who helps me be someone I want to be. And a woman that I promise that I wouldn’t touch again unless I meant it, Rose. I mean it.”
She closed her eyes then feeling her tears trickle out and run down her cheek. Harry reached over then pulled her onto his lap, his hand tenderly wiping the wetness away. “Why are you crying?” he asked softly.
“Because you’re divorcing me,” she reminded him.
“No, I’m offering to give you a divorce. There’s a difference.”
He eyes flew open and locked on his. His looked was intense as she cupped her cheek in his hands and spoke quietly but firmly. “Listen to me, sweetheart. I do not want a divorce. If it were up to me, I’d tear up the damn contract and start from scratch. I want to stay married to you, Melrose Miranda Styles. I want to have you in my bed every night. I have to have other children with you. I want to walk the dog with you and Aria at every night. I want to fight over who gets to have Aria on our lap. I want to make sure that Aria has the best dad that she wants. I want to eat your cooking, roll my eyes at the mess you make in the kitchen and laugh when my friends eats more of what you make than I do.”
He spun around then and deposited Rose back on the couch, kneeling down in front of her and grasping her hands in his. “Rose, I love you. I fought it for what seems like forever, because I didn’t want to be the kind of husband to you that my father was to my mother. But I love you. Marry me again this time for real. Be my wife stay with me, Rose. Please.”
She was still crying, he had blown it. She was going to say no, in a nice way of course. But she was going to walk out on him. Oh God, he thought. He didn’t think his heart could take it. He felt Rose join him on the floor, her bare feet against his knees as she squatted down in front of him holding her hands tightly wrapped around his.
“Harry, you idiot,” she said softly, tears flowing down her face, “I love you. I loved you since you accepted Aria into our lives as our daughter. I don’t want a divorce from you.”
Harry’s heart filled and relief overflowed into every bone in his body but he was still unsure. “Then why were you so upset when I refused to give you one?”
“Because I didn’t want us to stay together based on business reasons and if you didn’t love me and couldn’t love me, then I wanted out,” she admitted. “I was getting in too deep and I didn’t think I’d survive if we stayed together for two more years and then divorced.”
Standing up Harry reached down and gently lifted Rose up into his arms. Encircling her in his embrace, he stood his head resting on hers. His hands stroking her back as he caught his breath. After a moment, he pulled back his hand reaching around to carefully wipe the remaining tears from her face. “Then you’ll marry me?” he asked.
“I’m already married to you,” she hiccupped.
“Then stay married to me?” he grinned.
“Yes, Yes, Harry,” she said holding him tightly and sobbing out her relief.
“Do you want a real wedding, Rose?” Harry asked tenderly. “I know I deprived you of that and I’m sorry.”
Mel just shook her head. “i had a real wedding, Harry. Complete with ring that I love. I love I don’t need more than that. A wedding now would seem strange to me.”
“Then how about a honeymoon?” he asked with a smile.
“Now you’re talking!” she smiled through her tears. “Can we take Aria and Max with us?”
Harry laughed. “No, we cannot take them. They would feel neglected since I plan on focusing all my attention, every day on you.”
As if they knew that they were being talked about, Aria and Max strolled into the room.Aria walked over toward them and hugged then while Max was wagging his tail. Harry laughed as he reached down and scratched the dog behind his ears and Rose carrying Aria on her hip.
“Rose, you have changed me,” he said softly as he looked her in the eyes from his kind of awkward position. “I never would have allowed a dog or a child in my house.”
“Or a wife?” she added.
He grinned. “That I asked for when I coerced you into marrying me. But I never expected anything other than someone to sleep with. I never expected to fall in love.” His expression turned serious. “Are you sure, Rose? I’m not an easy man.”
“I’m sure. if you can bend enough to accept this motley crew, you can bend enough to deal with whatever life throws at us.”
“I love you, Rose.”
“And I love you. With all my heart. Wait do I have one?”
“Hahahahah.”

Notes

This is the last Chapter.
So let my know if I should make a sequel to this story.
Thanks everyone for reading, voting, rating, subscribing and for all the amazing comments.