AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He frowned, confusion clouding his handsome face. “But I thought that’s what you wanted?”
“I did. At least, I thought I did. I was so caught up in returning the favor you did me that I lost sight of one salient fact.” She smiled. “Your dream is my dream too.”
Hope flickered in his eyes. “So what are you saying? You want this marriage to work and you want to try and have a baby?”
Her mouth twitched. “Actually, it’s too late for that.
She couldn’t keep the grin off her face as she waited for him to say something to break the long, drawn-out, tension-filled silence. Instead, the slight hum of the cake fridge and the sharp crack of ice from the freezer filled her ears. She may have blurted the most important part of her speech but now it was out there she needed reassurance.
Heck, she needed him to bundle her back into his arms and say it was the best news he’d ever had and that they’d spend the rest of their lives together.
Confusion clouded his eyes. “Are you saying—”
“I’m pregnant.”
His grey eyes widened with shock as he ran a hand over his jaw. “Pregnant? But…what…”
“Pretty amazing, huh? I’m about four months along.”
He didn’t move. Not a muscle, not a twinge, and fear rocketed through her that she’d pushed him away so damn far there was no coming back.
“I don’t believe it.” He opened and closed his mouth several times, doing a fair goldfish impersonation before the corners of his mouth curved upward into a slow smile. “We’re going to have a baby?”
“We sure are.”
She shuffled from one foot to another, impatient for him to sweep her into his arms and tell her this was the start of the happily ever after he’d always wanted.
Instead, he sat there, his goofy grin fading, replaced by a wary glint in his eyes. “This is why you came back. Not because you want me or this marriage, but out of obligation.”
“No.” She bunched his T-shirt in her fists and shook him, willing him to believe her when she hadn’t done much to inspire it lately. “I came back for you, only you. It’s always been you. The baby is a bonus, an amazing, precious miracle, but I’d already made up my mind to come back before I discovered I was pregnant.”
She relaxed her hands and splayed her palms against his chest, feeling the rock-steady beat of his heart, never surer that she wanted to feel it for the rest of her life.
“I love you, Blane. No more trips, unless you’re with me. No more putting your dreams ahead of mine. This time, it’s going to beourdreams all the way. That’s what I want. What about you?”
After an eternity, his expression softened and he covered her hands with his, gently prying them loose so he could hold one of them.
“Come on. I’ll show you what I want.”
Taut with tension, her nerves strung tighter than Cupid’s bow, she fell into step beside him, somewhat reassured by the fact he was holding her hand while terrified he hadn’t actually spelled out what he wanted yet.
“Where are you taking…”
The rest of her question died on her lips as he led her around the corner into the private lounge area of the café and she caught sight of her favorite part of theNichedecked out in countless tea lights casting dancing shadows against the mauve walls.
“How did you do this?”
“Anna.”
He led her forward and she gasped as she caught sight of the pink champagne truffles she loved, imported from an exquisite chocolatier in the UK, laid out on a silver platter, next to a matching silver bucket with a bottle of chilled champagne waiting to be opened.
Brushing a kiss against her lips, he slid his cell out of his pocket and tapped at the play button on a playlist. The crooning melody of ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ filled the air, her starry-eyed gaze locking with his, her heart expanding with love.
“Why did you do this?”
Drawing her down onto a sofa, he reached behind a bolster cushion and handed her a small, square box.
Her heart stuttered, her pulse pounded, and her brain refused to compute the implications of what could be inside.
