Will shifts on his knee but doesn’t get up. “Stella, I’ve thought about nothing but you since the day you left me in Grantstown. I drove across the country and spent a week hanging out with the damned Underground Crows hoping you’d come back, hoping you’d send word to Cleo about where you are. I’ve bothered her every week since you left, and when she told me the name of the facility you called her from, I came straight to you.
“I love you Stella, I want to be with you. I want to take you back to Wild Heart Mountain with me to show you what family looks like.
“I bought this ring the week I drove to the coast tofind you. I’ve been wanting to marry you since the morning we made love in the hotel, and I finally realized this was more than a fling. It’s love. It’s a big love. I’m empty without you, Stella. I’m lost.
“We’re two orphans, and we can start our own family. Sure, this baby is a little ahead of schedule, but that doesn’t matter. I love you, Stella.”
Tears sting my eyes at his words. It’s more than I ever dreamed of. The love of a good man and the chance to be a family.
“So I’m going to ask you again. Will you marry me?”
I look into his eyes and see nothing but love. There’s still so much Will doesn’t know about me.
He may not want to marry me when he learns the truth. I should tell him right now. But months of loneliness and longing makes my heart ache.
I want him. I’ve denied it for so long. I’ll tell him tomorrow, and I have to believe that he’ll understand. But right now, I just want to follow my heart and believe everything will be all right.
“Yes. Yes, I will.”
He slides the ring on my finger, and it glints in the afternoon sun.
Will gets off his knees and pulls me into a hug. He’s laughing, and I’m crying tears of happiness. He kisses me hard, and it feels so good to have his arms around me again.
But there’s a niggle in my gut about what will happen when he learns the truth.
16
WILL
We ride straight to my hotel room. Tomorrow I’ll arrange to pack up Stella’s belongings and get them sent here. She told me she has a week left on her contract, and I call Maxine to tell her I’ll be working remotely for a week. My clients will have to wait.
I’m not leaving Stella’s side until I have her safely back at Wild Heart Mountain. I’ll arrange to get the bikes shipped back, and I’ll hire a car to drive us and her stuff back. I don’t want her riding all those miles in her condition.
We park the bikes outside the motel, and I take her hand to lead her to my room. I can’t believe I’ve finally got Stella beside me, and I grasp her hand firmly. The ring presses into my flesh, and the warmth of her skin sends heat skittering through my body.
Even before we get to my room, I’m hard for her.
I’ve spent six months fantasizing about Stella, andnow that she’s in my room I can’t wait any longer. As soon as we shut the door behind us, I pull her close.
Her baby mound bumps against me and I run my hands over it, enjoying the new shape of her body.
“I missed you.” I breathe in her scent as I nuzzle my face into her neck.
“I missed you too.” It comes out as a sigh, and she sags against me. I hold her cheeks in my palms and notice the dark circles under her eyes and the creases that weren’t there before.
She’s been carrying this load all by herself, and now I’m here to unburden her.
I kiss her cheeks and her lips and trail my mouth down her neck. Stella gives a little sigh of pleasure that I feel all the way in my dick.
“Come here.” I lead her over to the bed and she sits on the edge, her legs parted to accommodate her baby bump.
I kneel before her and nestle between her thighs. I’m not sure what the protocol is when you’re pregnant. I want her like crazy but don’t want to cause her discomfort.
“Are you okay to make love?”
She smiles shyly up at me. “I don’t know. I haven’t tried it.”
Relief floods me at those words. I haven’t been with anyone either and I hoped she hadn’t, but it’s good to hear the confirmation.
