Ben wore a mysterious smile, as did all of them with the exception of Maisie. She looked as nervous and hopeful as I felt.
He laid a hand on the folder in front of him. “We’ve received an offer from Bower that you should see.”
I frowned, taking the folder as he pushed it toward me. “A settlement? I thought the lawsuit was over.”
“It is,” Maisie said, her voice like a bell in the night. “This is another offer altogether. A partnership, if it pleases you.”
“A partnership,” I mused, flipping open the folder to view the document inside.
“This is a preliminary offer, just a jumping-off point,” Ben explained as I skimmed frantically, looking for answers. “But I think you’ll get the idea,” he said on a laugh.
Words jumped off the page at me. Merge. Joining. Shares. Longbourne and Bower. Trademarking and a staggering dollar amount. I looked up from the pages to meet her gaze.
“What is this?” I asked her.
“A merger of sorts,” she answered, suddenly shy. “My … my mother turned over her shares to me. Bower is mine.”
“I heard.” I smiled. We could have been alone in that room.
“We’re faced with quite a problem. I have inherited a company in shambles and ruin, and to save it, I have to burn it all down. Our brand is in tatters, and our finances are in a desolate state, especially once I pay back what my mother took so she can leave us without me worrying for her welfare. But I have a plan to save it, one that will wipe the slate clean, and the board agrees. And I’d like your help to do it.”
“How? How could we possibly help you? We can’t invest, can’t afford to buy in.”
“Oh, but you can.” Hope radiated from her like sunshine. “Bower Bouquets would like to acquire your business and your brand to adopt as our own, and in exchange, you will receive twenty-five-point-five percent of my shares. We’ll acquire branding rights to Longbourne, and you’ll acquire an equal share of the company. And you and I would own it together.”
My lips parted, my brain lagging, unsure I’d heard what I thought. I glanced at my expectant family, landing on my mother last, who wore the most optimistic look of them all.
“You knew about this.” I didn’t ask.
Mom nodded emphatically. “Oh, Marcus. She came here after you rushed off a few days ago, asked for our blessing. How could we say no?”
Luke laughed. “You should have seen her trying to keep that one from you. If you hadn’t locked yourself in your house to lick your wounds, I don’t know if we could have kept her quiet.”
Mom swatted at him, and he flinched dramatically.
Laney beamed. “You said yourself we could be allies. If this isn’t a golden opportunity, I don’t know what is.”
My siblings and father nodded as if to say, Go on, dummy. Do it!
“Bower was founded on family,” Maisie started, “but it was a foundation only in name. Longbourne is—”
“Failing,” I noted. “Broke.”
“Family,” she corrected. “Do you remember our dream?”
My heart ached at the remembrance of the dream we’d had, a dream I’d thought we’d lost. “I do.”
“We could do this together. We could make the dream come true with you and me at the helm. Even if … even if you and I aren’t to be, we can save our family businesses together. The board agrees, especially after the strides you’ve made with Longbourne in the short time that you’ve been in charge. Longbourne is everywhere—magazines, celebrity weddings, newspapers. And in order for Bower to survive, we have to strip it down to the bolts. We have to restructure, gather the troops. We have to start over. And if I’m going to rebuild, I want to rebuild with you. Because despite what I’ve said, what I’ve done, I trust you more than anyone. With the business. With my heart.” Her eyes fell to her hands. “I hope one day I can earn your trust again. But in the meantime, I’d like to ask if you’d be my partner. All I’ve wanted—all I’ve ever wanted—is to be enough. To be equal. To hold a place of my own next to someone I love. Will you help me save Bower? Will you be my equal?”
Wordlessly, I rose, never breaking our gaze as I walked around the table. My family faded away, the room a shade with Maisie crisp and clear in the center, brows clicking together in curiosity. She turned in her seat as I approached and dropped to one knee.
Her hand flew to her mouth, and gasps sounded from behind me.
“Be your equal,” I mused, taking her hand. “How could I be equal when I fall so short? I should have told you then what I knew in my heart, what I’ve always known. That I love you. That I betrayed that love by not forgiving you the moment you spoke. That there is nothing you could do or say that is unforgivable. You don’t have to earn my trust again because you’ve always had it. I was just too shocked, too scared, too hurt to fight for us. I should have. Forgive me. I swear I will always fight for us, if you’ll give me the chance.”
“Of course, Marcus,” she whispered and smiled and cried all at once. “I’ll always forgive you.”
“Then I’d like to make a proposal of my own. A proposal of partnership and equality. One of love and forgiveness. A proposal of forever.”
Releasing her hand, I reached into my pocket and retrieved the box, opening it in display. “Longbourne has always been run by a Bennet woman, and I’d hate to break tradition now. Marry me, Maisie.”
She stared at the ring, wide eyes full of tears, hands pressed to her lips. When they fell, she said, “I … this is not what I expected.”
Fear struck me like lightning, but a smile brushed my lips to cover it. “Well, I tried to call.”
A laugh caught in her throat, dissolving into a hitch of her breath. “I’m so sorry, Marcus.” She reached for my face, hers etched with regret.
“So am I. I was wrong, Maisie. Forgive me.”
“I’ll always forgive you. Will you promise the same?”
“I do promise.” I glanced down at the proffered ring. “I’d hate to put this back in my pocket, it’s been there so long.”
She laughed. “You’ll make me a Bennet?”
“There’s not a single thing in the world that would make me happier.”
“Only forever with you,” she said with a smile that split me open. “Yes, Marcus.”
“Oh, thank God,” I breathed in relief, rising swiftly to punctuate the words with a kiss that washed every worry and fear away, replacing them with this. With us.
It took a moment to become aware of the clapping and laughing and whooping around us. We seemed to notice it together, breaking the kiss to laugh and smile while I slid the ring on her finger, both of our hands trembling. And then she threw her arms around my neck and kissed me again, deep enough that it had me wishing desperately that we were alone.
When we finally parted, it was to stand and greet the reception line of my family. It was a flurry of laughter and tears and slaps on the back. Of hugging and oohs and aahs over Maisie’s ring. It was a chorus of happy welcome, of love and approval, so perfectly chaotic that I didn’t see Jett leave or return, but champagne popped in his hand and flowed into glasses, then another bottle to accommodate us all.