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"It's not an excuse." She sniffed. " I’m pregnant and my activities have to be somewhat limited."
"If I’d said anything like that, my ass would have been on fire.”
“You’re learning." Her eyes twinkled merrily. "Anyway, back then we were both going through our issues."
"What was yours?"
Her eyes narrowed at him. "Are you implying that I had none?"
His eyebrows lifted as he reached for his glass and took a sip of the wine. "I plead the fifth."
"Taking the coward's way out."
"Oh, absolutely. “He told her with a grin.
"I loved my Daddy a lot. I’m not ashamed to say that I was a Daddy's girl. He coddled me and was someone I could always talk to.
Mom had to travel a lot and we were basically on our own, along with the household staff anyway. There was always this air of sadness around him and, when I asked him about it, he’d laugh it off and say I’m imagining things.
Don't get me wrong. Mom loved him in her own way, but he knew he wasn’t the great love of her life and it had to be painful to realize that the woman you love was completely in love with another man." She shook her head. "To her credit, when she was home, she showered both of us with attention and that made him happy."
"And you wanted him to be happy."
"Yes. Like I said, he was the best father in the world. I wanted him not to have that sadness that I could sense, even though he denied it."
"You’re a writer and even back then, you could pick up on things like that." He finished the wine and put down the glass so he could continue to massage her thighs. "It was the complete opposite for me." He mused.
"I always knew my parents weren’t on the same page. Apart from a few sporadic topics, they would eat in silence. I often wondered if that happened at all dinner tables, but I soon found out it wasn’t.
People talked around the table. It wasn’t a cold and unfriendly place where the only sounds you hear were that of the cutlery knocking against the plates. Even that wasn’t allowed. Elbows weren’t allowed at all and proper eating etiquette was enforced. It felt like I was in boot camp."
Sliding forward, she ended up on his lap, her arms wrapping around his neck. She ached for him, for the little boy who’d endured all of that and still managed to fall in love with her. It made her humble and made her want to fill him up with love, the very emotion he’d been denied of when he was a little boy.
"I love you." She told him softly, fingers toying with the fringes of his untidy hair. "I never saw you before because I was too caught up in my crap. It was all about me at that age and frankly I wasn’t interested in boys that way. I wasted all that time." She whispered against his mouth. "When we could have been together-"
"Shh. No regrets." His lips brushed hers slowly, inhaling her sweetness that enveloped him completely. It was always her, would always be her for the rest of his life. "We’re here now. You’re with me."
His hand drifted to her stomach which was just beginning to show. "We’re a unit, and very soon, we’re going to be a family. The only thing left is to put a ring on your finger to make it legal."
"I’ve decided we should get married before our baby is born." She felt when he jerked at that and smiled against his mouth. "I managed to shock you."
"Yes, You did." he admitted. "When did you decide?"
"A week or two ago. I want to marry you Brady, want to belong to you completely."
"Darling." He drew in a shattered breath. "Just say when."
"As soon as possible."
Chapter 14
He made sure to purchase the ring as quickly as he could in case she changed her mind. She’d agreed to marry him and that was having such a effect on him, he was having a hard time trying not to rush things.
“We’ll hire a wedding planner.”
“I don’t want a circus. Just your Dad, my Mom and I have to invite Todd. I‘m sure you’re going to want to invite friends.”
“Your mother is going to have something to say about that.” He reminded her. “You’re her only child and she loves a party. This is going to mean a hell of a lot to her.”
