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I nod. "I was still pretending I could walk away from you and feel nothing about it."
"It's all in the past." She folds her arms over her belly. "Do you remember what happened after I threw my boots at you?"
I flash her a grin. "I made love to you, and after, you were very relaxed."
"Uh-huh." She falls silent for a moment, her gaze trained on me.
And I still have no bloody clue where this conversation is going.
She clears her throat. "We forgot something."
"I don't follow you, sweet. You'll need to be a wee bit more specific in what you're trying to say."
Her gaze darts away from me again, then back to my face. "No condom."
I arch one brow at her, still unsure of what she's getting at. But I let my mind travel back in time to that moment in the bed-and-breakfast. Several moments, actually. I'd made love to Erica, worshiping her body because I couldn't bring myself to admit I'd developed deeper feelings for her. The memory doesn't shed any light on Erica's strange obsession with that experience. Is she worried I'll be angry that she forgot to remind me to use a condom?
Brushing my lips over her cheek, I pat her naked thigh. "Hardly matters now."
"You don't understand." She winces, wringing her hands on her lap. "I'm pregnant."
I'm fair certain my eyes bulge. The best smile I can manage is a fragile one that tugs at my lips, faltering in repeated attempts to take hold, until at last a grin overpowers me. "We're having a bairn?"
She grunts and nods, but I imagine she's as stunned by the news as I am. "It's my fault."
"Your fault? Is this what you were afraid to tell me? Did you think I'd be angry?"
Erica hunches her shoulders and hugs herself. "Should've reminded you. About, you know, the condom."
"I seduced you that night." I sigh, nuzzling her neck. "It was my responsibility to remember a condom. I got so caught up in needing to wipe that frown off your face, I forgot everything else. It's my fault."
"Are you sorry it happened?"
"I'm sorry I was so careless with you." I let my hand drift higher, so close to her mound that I can feel how wet she is, even through her knickers. Aye, we still crave each other anytime we're close, even when we're in the midst of a serious conversation. I drag my lips down her throat, then angle my face up to hers. "But I could never regret making a bairn with you."
She slumps into the sofa, her expression full of love. "Neither could I."
Erica nods while tears fill her eyes, as if she can't summon words but hopes her nodding conveys what she can't say. Somehow, it does. Neither of us could ever regret what happened that night.
I splay a hand over her cheek.
She startles, glancing down at the ring I still have hooked over one finger.
Forgot about that. She hasn't answered the question I asked earlier.
Grasping my hand, Erica draws it to her chest and holds it over her heart. She plucks the ring off my fingertip. "Yes."
"What?"
"Are you deaf? The answer is yes. I would love to marry you, Lachlan."
Laughter rushes out of me, and a reckless grin stretches my lips wide. "Thank you,gràidh. Thank God for creating a treasure like you and, heaven almighty, thank you for giving me another chance." I pepper kisses over her cheeks, her jaw, her chin. "You will never regret it, I swear on my life."
Half crying, half giggling, Erica glances at the ring. "Are you going to put this thing on my finger or what?"
"Och, yes."
I haul her onto my lap and shimmy down the sofa to its end. Rising, I deposit her on the sofa with her feet hanging off it. Her dress has ridden up even higher to crumple around her waist, and black lace knickers peek out from under the fabric.
