A Moment in Time Read Free

asked.
    "I think you know," he said.
    "I. . . I'm not certain," she sputtered.
    He released her hands and stood up. She saw
that there was a solemn expression on his face as he turned to the
mahogany sideboard behind him and plucked something from the huge
Imari bowl set in its center.
    Valerie gazed at him in silence, her
expression curious. Teddy was often quite formal, sometimes even
stuffy, but tonight his behavior was practically ceremonial. What's going on? She wondered. Because he is definitely
up to something .
    He sat back down, taking one of her hands
very gently and reverently. He looked into her eyes, his expression
still sober. He cleared his voice. "I ... I have something for
you," he said.
    "For me?" she said quietly. She felt that any
show of excitement would somehow interfere with the ceremony—or
whatever it was—that was taking place.
    He nodded and held out his hand.
    Valerie looked down at it and saw a small,
black, cloth-covered box. Even in the flickering candlelight she
could see that impressed into the cloth top was one word: Bvlgari . The jeweler who used the Roman u . Her breath
caught in her throat, and she held it, not daring to breathe. Her
mind began to race, whirling around in crazy circles. She couldn't
sort out her thoughts and feelings, so overcome was she by his
gesture.
    "Teddy . . . Teddy . . . ," she finally
stammered breathlessly. "I. . . I . . ."
    "Shhh," he hushed, squeezing the hand he
held. "Just take it, Val," he said. He let go of her long, slender
hand and placed the box in it.
    Valerie held it cupped there, still at a loss
for words.
    She took a deep breath and looked briefly at
Teddy's serious face. Then, hands quivering, she lifted the lid off
the box. She was prepared for the gleam of an expensive bauble of
some sort, but inside, fitted perfectly, was another box, this one
covered in black leather. Bvlgari was pressed into the
leather as on the cloth box.
    She quickly opened the leather box, unable to
bear the tension any longer. She gasped when she saw the ring
resting in the soft beige suede that lined the interior of the box.
It twinkled back at her as if alive, its stunning canary yellow
color animated by the candlelight that reflected off it.
    "Oh, my . . . God," she stammered. "Oh . . .
Teddy, ... I don't know what..." Unbidden, tears sprang into her
eyes and, like the ring, they glimmered in the light.
    He was watching her intently, his eyes never
leaving hers. "You only have to say one word, Val," he said. "One
simple little word."
    She looked at him, wanting to please him, but
she found herself speechless, unable to utter the word that she
knew he wanted to hear.
    He threw his arms around her, tugging her to
him. "Come on, Val," he urged. "Say yes. Just say yes."
    Her mind was still in a whirl, and she was
not sure how to react.
    Teddy pulled back and looked into her eyes.
"You can do it," he said, nodding his head. "You don't have to say,
'Yes, Teddy, I'll marry you.' "He laughed and chucked her under the
chin with a hand."All you have to say is yes!"
    Valerie felt elated and somehow defeated at
the same time. She was thrilled that a man desired her this much,
and she found it difficult to believe that the man was somebody as
sought-after as Teddy de Mornay. For years she had been genuinely
puzzled by his attraction to her. How could she be so lucky? But at
the same time, deep down inside, she realized that if she committed
herself to him, she would be doing them both a disservice. Some
instinct was telling her this was all wrong, despite the fact that
she liked Teddy, perhaps even loved him, or once had.
    Oh, God, help me, she thought . What
do I do?
    Teddy's eyes searched hers pleadingly, and
she saw the earnest, loving expression there, so like a puppy's
that her heart was wrenched in two.
    Oh, my God. What do I say?
    "Say it, Val," he repeated anxiously. "Or
just nod. Yeah. That's all you have to do. Just nod!"
    And she did.
    She felt her head, as if with a