Free Chosen for Power (Women of Power, #1) by Kathleen Brooks

Instead he found out where she was and brought her a present. So it really was everything she had thought. And more.
    He took a seat on the couch next to her and brushed a kiss to her cheek. “Merry Christmas. Go on, open it.”
    Elle pushed off the bow. She lifted the lid to the box and looked inside. Sitting propped up among the red tissue paper was a beautiful ivory-white mask. It was simple in its style, but on the side was a cluster of small ribbon roses and a few feathers. In front of the mask sat an open velvet box with a necklace shining up at her.
    Elle started to tremble as she sat quietly looking at the golden harp necklace with a diamond set at the top of the harp. Drake moved quietly and took the necklace out of the box. Taking her hands in his, he sat in front of her.
    “We may have only met the other night, but that was enough to know that I have fallen in love with you. In such a short time you've already found a place in my heart. I hope the Christmas gift is okay,” he said a little unsurely after confessing his feelings.
    Elle wanted to speak, but she couldn’t. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she looked at the man in front of her. He was everything she had wished for and he loved her. She nodded her head and swallowed hard, finally managing to say, “Oh, Drake. This is the most wonderful Christmas gift I’ve ever received.” Elle looked up at him; they were beginning something special.
    Drake slipped the necklace around her neck and fastened it.  He wrapped his arms around her tightly. “I love you, Elle,” he whispered reverently to her.
    “Oh, Drake. I love you, too.”
    Drake kissed her cheek and then the tip of her nose before placing his lips on hers. She ran her fingers through his hair and he pulled her tight against him. He had never been happier than when he knew with a certainty he would find the owner of the phone.
    It had been almost eleven last night when he’d finally hacked Elle’s phone and had found her mother’s number, confirming it was Elle he had been with. He’d called and told Mrs. Simpson what had happened. It had been her mother who’d suggested surprising her the next morning.
    He’d hung up the phone and had found his mother standing behind him with a huge smile on her face. “You’ve found love after all these years, haven’t you?” No matter the size of the house, a mother always knows when something is up. Drake had just smiled and his mother pulled him down for a hug. “If you’ve finally found love, don’t let her get away.” That was when the plan had been hatched.
    Drake had called the father of one of the children at the hospital and had asked for a favor. Drake had met him at his downtown jewelry shop just after midnight and stared in amazement at the harp. Her nickname fit her and he had been drawn to her father’s story as if it were his own. He had known that night that he'd go through hell to find her again, just as the myth of Lyra had told. Drake had also brought a few presents for the man's kids in appreciation for his cooperation so early on Christmas morning. In just under an hour, Drake had been armed with a necklace, waiting until morning.
    As he’d hurried to his car that morning, his parents had raced after him. “We’ll stay in the car until you come get us. But we have to meet the woman who stole my Huggy Bear’s heart,” his mother had shouted.  So Drake had let them come and ended up telling them all about Elle as he’d driven to Mrs. Simpson’s house.
     
    The kiss he had begun moments ago quickly heated up before he was hit in the head with a pair of fuzzy dice. Looking up, he saw her brother smiling and her mother and sisters hugging each other with tears in their eyes. Drake laughed but didn’t move from where he held her close. “My parents . . . I forgot. They’re waiting out in the car.”
    “You left your parents in the car?” Elle tried to scramble up, but he wouldn’t let her.
    “Sorry, sweetheart,