“I…I…how?” she gasped.

“How can I not? You make me want to be a better person. You’re kind to strangers, loving and giving. You make me laugh and burn even at the same time. I love you because you make me the person I’ve always wanted to be, but didn’t know how to become. You are special and talented, and it would be my pleasure if you’d stand by my side even when I’m a fool, even when I don’t always make the wisest of choices. I want to build a life with you, take you to any and all of the surviving Wonders of the World, make love to you in the ancient pyramids. You make me want to fly and to take you with me.”

Crew let her go so he could drop to his knees. Drawing from his pocket the ring he’d been holding onto, he opened the box and held it out to her, his heart hers for the taking.

Haley’s body froze as she looked at the box, and gasped. When she finally raised her head to return his gaze, her eyes were overflowing with emotion. Crew had gotten through to her.

The weight on his chest lifted as he looked upon her raw beauty. He’d have the rest of his life to worship her, show her how special she truly was.

“Marry me, Haley. Please say that you will be my wife. Please don’t run from me. I can’t ever say it enough, but you are my world now.”

Haley dropped to her knees to be at eye level with him, and too overcome with emotion to speak, she simply nodded her head, sobbing as he clasped her hand in his and slipped an exquisite diamond in place.

“Is this what you really want?” she finally asked.

“This is the Final Lesson, Haley. Just be yourself, always, and your man will fall to his knees to honor and cherish you.”

“I do love you, Crew. I thought I was doing the right thing in walking away, letting you live your life because you’ve given me more than any other person ever has. But it was ripping me apart to think of never seeing you again.” She wound her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder.

It was over — the pain, sorrow and fear was over. Relief and unadulterated love consumed him as he realized he’d never have to be apart from her.

Crew lifted his hand and stroked her hair, holding her as she cried quietly against him. “You will never be alone again, Haley Sutherland. Not only do you have me to love you forever, but you now have the family you always should have had. We will always be there for you.”

Raising her head, she gave him a watery smile and thanked him with a gentle kiss before he stood and lifted her into his arms. They would forge that path in the pure snow together, and he’d keep his promises of cherishing her always.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“That is absolutely the best engagement sex I’ve ever had,” Crew said with a satisfied grin.

“What?” Haley gasped. The thought that he’d been engaged before pierced her heart.

“I’m just kidding, Haley…well, not about the sex. That was incredible. I’m kidding about engagement sex. You are the one and only woman I’ve ever wanted to spend the rest of my life with,” he appeased her.

Haley relaxed against his chest, grateful he hadn’t let her walk away. What a fool she’d been to succumb to her fears. She gazed adoringly at the ring on her left hand, and she couldn’t help but think of how far she’d come in the last several months.

At the beginning of the year she’d been taking a psychology course, and thank goodness her professor had suggested the assignment to do something outside their comfort zone. If she’d never gone to that auction, she wouldn’t have met the nice man who’d given her a ticket for two weeks at the Catalina Couture…

“Oh, my gosh, I knew I’d seen your father before!” Haley exclaimed as she sat straight up.

“What are you talking about?” Crew looked at her as if she were going mad.

“Your dad. I met him right before coming down here. I was at a charity function…”

“Wait. Slow down. You need to start from the beginning,” Crew said, his brows drawn together. So Haley leaned back and began telling him the story…

Nine months earlier

“For your final project, each of you will step out of your comfort zone, and approach a stranger, strike up a conversation, and ask that person three questions. Here are the places you may choose from. You must pick the three questions, but they may not be simple and impersonal, like ‘What is your favorite color?’; they have to be complex or personal, such as ‘Where did you spend your honeymoon?’”

Haley sat frozen in the chair. How was she supposed to ask a complete stranger intimate questions?

As if the professor could read her mind, he spoke again. “Don’t let this overwhelm you. Each of you signed up for my class because something was missing in your lives. You wanted to delve a bit deeper. After this term, each of you will move on to new and exciting adventures. This person you approach will be a stranger whom you will most likely never see again. This is a good test for future job interviews, for your confidence, and for your overall education. If you have any questions, see me after class.”

“What exactly are we looking for as a response?” someone asked.

“That is a good question. You are going to take note of their reaction. What is the expression in their eyes? Do they look away as you ask them? Are they open or closed off? Does their jaw tense as if they are uncomfortable, or do they laugh and relax? How you read people is important to how you will later conduct interviews and act in places of business.”

“What do you expect on the paper?”

“I want a diagnosis of the emotional state of the stranger. Think of yourselves as psychologists, and the people you question as your patients. Write a five- to seven-page paper on how they respond, not just their answers, but their demeanor. Look beyond the box.”

The handout came down Haley’s row and she glanced at the short list of events placed before her. She hadn’t come so far only to fail, so it looked as if she was going to be putting her newly learned skills to the test.

She chose a charity auction, and felt the first stirrings of unease settle in her stomach. No. She pushed the anxiety away. She could do this.

Leaving the class, she drove to a local mall and wandered around for a while, looking for the most nondescript black dress she could find. It was a strange feeling not to worry about money, but still she was frugal. Years of not knowing what the next day would bring had taught her to be careful. She couldn’t change that in the course of a few years. She didn’t want to change it.

Never would she be as selfish and bitter as her grandparents.

Finding a dress she could live with, she paid the cashier, then drove home. The event was that night and she figured she’d better get it over with, or else lose her nerve. If that happened, she’d have to try another event, and on and on until no events were left. She could do this.

Taking a little time to apply a spot of blush and some mascara, she threw her hair into a bun and slipped into the dress and low heels, then grabbed a purse and headed back out the door of her apartment.

Arriving at the fundraiser, she found herself in a line of cars waiting for valet parking. It didn’t take long for her to reach the front of the line, and she offered a genuine yet nervous smile to the young boy who opened her car door.

“Good evening, ma’am. Have a pleasant night,” he said as she handed him a tip and stepped from the car.

Walking through the open double doors on trembling legs, she found herself in a glamorous ballroom, and the butterflies in her stomach nearly flew out of her mouth. To be more exact, she felt as if something were going to come out of her mouth...and it probably wasn’t butterflies. There was so much to take in around her.

Men were dressed in impeccably tailored tuxedoes — no rentals here — and women displayed gowns in all styles and colors, though none came close to her sixty-dollar off-the-rack pièce de résistance. The amount of sparkle from the diamonds dripping from the women was enough to blind her, but she kept her head high as she scanned the items up for bid.

Though she had enough money to pay for any of the items for sale, she would never spend ten thousand dollars on a one-of-a-kind diamond bracelet or twenty thousand for a night on the town with a Hollywood megastar. She had so picked the wrong place to come for her psychology paper.

Just as she was thinking it was time for her to abandon this mission, her eye caught on a poster showcasing an exclusive island resort with blue skies and shining beaches. Intrigued, she moved toward it and found an older gentleman standing nearby.

His expression was friendly; she wondered whether he might be willing to answer a few questions, but her shyness took over and she turned to stare at the advertisement.

It wasn’t an auction item, but a vacation won by raffle only. At the end of the night, a name would be drawn, and the winner would spend two weeks at the new resort in Catalina Island when it opened in May. She was tempted to invest a few dollars on the off chance of winning.

“It looks like paradise, doesn’t it?”

Haley was startled when the older gentleman spoke. She tentatively glanced up and realized he was speaking to her.

“Yes, it does. After my finals are done, I could use a vacation,” she shyly responded.

“Finals? What are you studying?”

This was the perfect opportunity to ask him some questions.

Taking a deep breath, she thought, Here goes. “Among other things, I’m taking a psychology class right now.”

“I love psychology courses. I remember learning more about myself than anything else while there,” he replied, and she relaxed.

A soft beard covered his cheeks and chin, and he wore tinted glasses. She wondered why, and thought that would be a good question, but more than a bit rude.

“Yes, I think I’ve grown over the past four months, though our professor likes to give us assignments that many would consider outside of the box,” she said with a slight laugh.

“Ah, I had a few professors like that. What is this man or woman doing to torment you at the moment?”

His easy laughter made Haley feel a bit more comfortable. “I’m supposed to ask questions of strangers,” she said nervously.

“Mmm, that sounds interesting.”

She couldn’t tell whether he would be willing or not, but she had nothing to lose by asking. “Would you mind answering a few for me? Though asking the questions is the entire reason that I’m here tonight, I’d rather die, honestly, than approach people.” Her heart pounded as she waited for his response.

“It’s never a hardship to speak to a woman as beautiful as you,” he suavely replied.

Blushing furiously, Haley pulled out her notepad and a pen. If he thought it strange, he didn’t say anything.

She really should have planned better because she didn’t have anything written down. She honestly hadn’t thought she’d get this far. She’d start off easy, and just ask a few more than the three she was supposed to, then pick and choose what she wrote about in her paper.

“Did you grow up in Seattle?”

“No, I didn’t. I was born here, but then my parents moved to the East Coast when I was a young boy. I just recently moved back,” he said before asking his own question. “Now it’s my turn. Why did it take a college class to get you out here, and why are you all alone?”