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Brent swept her up in his arms and kissed her, his tongue tangling devilishly with her own. To his relief, she returned the caress, tasted him as eagerly as he tasted her. Eventually, they broke the embrace – went back to gasping for air.
When he could speak again, he said, “No, you don’t understand. I just… After so long with LeeAnne gone… We’d planned a huge family, and I never thought I could have one again. I thought I’d die alone.” He frowned, finally noticing her words. “Wait… ‘they?’”
Jessica nodded and started picking at the threads of the blanket pulled up to her waist. “I’m four months and some along. The doctor says it’s twins. I don’t know the sex yet, but if you want to be, you’re a dad. Three times now with Cara.”
The smile erupted over his face without him even trying. It spread so wide that he felt like it might split his face in half if he let it. “Twins? Together?”
She nodded. “I ran because your father was so cruel. I know you’re not, but Donald Sanderson is in your life. I don’t want him to teach my children how to be ruthless like he is. You shouldn’t want him to set a bad example for Cara either, but I know he’s her grandfather and LeeAnne might have felt differently about him.”
“My father is an asshole. LeeAnne hated him, too, but he let that slide because he liked her family name. God, no. I’m done with him” Brent grabbed one of her hands tightly in his. “After what he said? How he dug into you like that? I’d never let him near you or near Cara.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I told my father to go to hell. Cara and I moved back to my penthouse, and neither of us will ever have anything to do with him again. You’re right; he’s a monster, and I don’t want that kind of influence over Cara. I just… For so long he was her only other family, and I wanted her to have someone besides me after LeeAnne, but he’s dangerous and cruel. I never want Cara to think that’s okay.”
Jessica swallowed hard. “That’s great, but your dad… What if he gets mad? What if he goes after my dad? I’m so scared because I’m not ‘good enough for you’ that he’ll do something to ruin Dad or blackmail him. I know the kind of pressure he must have put on that senator, and that was just over bullying Cara. Okay, not that I didn’t kind of agree, but still!”
“I’ve had a long, persuasive talk with Father. He’s going to leave us alone. I promise. I just… If you choose to come back with me, it’ll just be us and Cara. I’d never let Dad play his mind games with the children the way he has with me.”
Tears flowed freely down Jessica’s cheeks, and Brent hated himself then. Hated himself for making the woman he loved so miserable, for making her cry. He hated himself for making her run so far. If she felt bad about not telling him about the babies, well she shouldn’t. He clearly hadn’t given her a good reason to trust him.
Brent knew what he had to do.
Getting to his knees, he pulled the velvet box from his pants. It was the only reason he hadn’t gotten to San Francisco faster. He’d gone to Cartier’s and picked out the ring he wanted for her. Opening up the box, he hoped that the large, princess cut diamond said everything about the commitment he intended to make to her that his fumbling hadn’t been able to.
“Jessica Billings, I love you. Even before I knew about our twins, I wanted you to marry me. I know we still have so much to get through: trust issues, your father’s feelings, and the pregnancy. We have so many things we have to weather to get our happy ending, but I know we can. Because, honestly, I can’t live without you, and I don’t want to. Please, say you’ll marry me?”
Jessica eyed the ring, her mouth hanging open. Her eyes seemed to be as wide as saucers and grow even larger with her shock. Brent’s heart pounded hard against his breastbone as he waited for her to answer. It seemed the wait took eons.
“I… Of course, I’ll marry you!” she said, finally seeming to find her voice. “Please, I love it.”
He stood and slipped the ring on her finger. It fitted perfectly, and the large, glittering diamond matched her eyes, made her even more gorgeous than she already was, and that should have been impossible.
“I missed you,” he said.
“Missed you, too. Mom said she and Harold were going out to this play today. We should have the house to ourselves by now.”
He chuckled, thinking of Fran – whatever her reasons – playing matchmaker for them. “Are they now?”
