She smiled, reaching up to touch my face before sliding her hand down my arm with a gentle caress. It felt as if her hand was stroking my cock. I closed my eyes and let myself feel every glorious inch of her body squeezing mine.
“I love you,” she said, a tear sliding from the corner of her eye.
I loved that she felt with her whole heart. I dropped my mouth to her face and kissed the tear away. My body moved of its own volition. I rolled my hips, stroking deep inside her. I didn’t need to move fast. I didn’t want things to be rushed. I wanted to savor every moment.
I had to close my eyes. The glorious assault on my senses was too much to take. My entire body was wrapped up in an exquisite bundle of raw nerves. Her heat and love surrounded me. I could feel her body spiraling and knew she was on the verge of another climax. Both of us had been starved for one another’s attention. We needed each other.
I could feel my body climbing higher and higher. It was different than any other orgasm I had ever experienced. It was a total body experience. I gasped, shocked when the full weight of the orgasm slammed into me. Air rushed from my lungs as my body erupted inside hers.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I remembered to keep my weight off her. I jerked hard, nearly snapping my back as the orgasm took over. I was on the verge of blacking out. Just when the lack of air to my brain was reaching critical level, I sucked in a breath.
I dropped beside her, pulling her against me. I couldn’t let go of her. I never wanted to let go of her. “You’re amazing,” I whispered.
She laughed. “I think you’re the one who did the work.”
“Not that. You. You’re an amazing woman. I will never have enough of you. I want to be near you all the time. I’m probably going to smother you. I’ll try not to. Tell me when I’m too much and I’ll give myself a time out.”
She rolled to her side, facing me with our noses almost touching. “I’ll never get tired of you smothering me.”
I laughed. “Be careful what you wish for. I can be a lot to handle.”
“Don’t I know it.” She giggled, waggling her eyebrows.
“I’ve never stopped loving you,” I told her. “I know our moms thought we were just young and in love, and all our friends thought we were crazy, but I knew then I loved you. It wasn’t a young love. It was real love. I know you thought we couldn’t make it work, and maybe you were right, but that didn’t stop me from loving you.”
“Evan, I loved you then. I love you now. You were always in my heart.”
“I’ll do whatever I have to do to make your life good. I want you to be happy. I will keep the media out of our lives. I will pull back from any social engagements.”
She broke eye contact. “Evan, I have a little confession.”
My heart dropped. “What is it? You can tell me anything. We’ll work through it.”
“You don’t make me miserable,” she blurted out.
“Good.” I laughed.
“I need to start at the beginning. That summer when I ended things, it was because I didn’t want you to give up your dream of being in the Air Force. I didn’t want you to give it up to be with me. I was afraid you would end up resenting me. I knew how much you wanted to fly. I ended things because I wanted you to be happy.”
“We could have been happy together.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think you would have been truly happy. I ended things a couple of weeks ago for the same reason. I found out I was pregnant just before Amber told you she was pregnant. I saw your reaction to her news and didn’t think you wanted a family. I didn’t want you to feel obligated. I didn’t want to be a burden in your life.”
It all made sense. I should have seen it. I should have realized what she was doing. “You’re so generous.”
She laughed. “How am I generous?”
“Because you pushed me away to make me happy while hurting yourself.”
She grinned. “Someone has a healthy ego.”
“You know you were miserable without me.”
“I was. I’ll admit it. You’re sure you’re okay with the pregnancy? If you have reservations, I’ll understand. You have a lifestyle you’re used to.”
“Woman, you are what I want. I am beyond okay. I’m over the fucking moon. I want lots of babies. I’m going to keep knocking you up until you tell me to stop. I don’t want to live in this world without you by my side.”
She grinned. “We’ll talk about how often you get to knock me up. Let’s see how this one goes first.”
“Sit tight,” I told her and rolled out of the bed, digging in my pants pocket. I pulled out the box I had brought with me just in case she agreed to forgive me.
I climbed back in bed and held out the box. She looked at it before taking it in her hand and slowly opening it. “What is this?”
“I bought this a couple of weeks ago. I had planned to propose to you that night at my house, before things went terribly wrong. I need you to know I’m asking you to marry me because I love you. It isn’t out of obligation. I’ve wanted to marry you since I was fourteen. That has never changed. It took some time for us to find one another again, but here we are. I love you. I want to be with you forever. I want to raise a family with you. Be my wife. This thing between us is the real deal.”
There were tears in her eyes again. “You want to marry me?”
“I want to marry you,” I stated. “I want to go to bed with you every night and wake up beside you every morning. I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me?”
I was getting worried she was going to say no. She looked shell shocked. I suddenly wished I would have waited until I could have done it right. I should have treated her to a romantic dinner with candlelight and music and gotten down on one knee.
“Evan—”
“Wait. Don’t answer that. I take it back. I’ll do this right. I’ll hire a plane and have him write the question in the sky. I’ll do it right.”
“Evan, stop,” she said, putting her hand on my cheek. “Yes. I will marry you. I would love to marry you. You don’t need to hire a plane. I love all your grand gestures, but know this—I only want you. I know what you can do, and I know you have endless means, but this is me. All you have to do is offer me you and that will be enough.”
“You’ve got me,” I answered. “You will always have me. I’m like a bad rash. I’m going to be on you all the time, annoying the hell out of you.”
She giggled again. “You’re crazy.”
“I know. Promise me you won’t dump me again if you get it in your head I need to be rescued from myself. Tell me what’s up and I promise you I will fix it. I know what’s best for me and that’s you. Got it?”
She nodded. “I got it. I won’t break up with you or serve you with divorce papers if I get it in my head you’re making some great sacrifice for me.”
“Good. We’re going to be faced with some tough times, I’m sure, but we can handle them together.”
She smiled. “I know. You make me stronger.”
“You make me stronger. Our baby is going to make both of us stronger.”
She got a look in her eye. “Do you want to hear something?”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure. What is the something you are talking about?”
“Sit tight,” she said and jumped out of bed. She left the room and returned a few seconds later with her phone in her hand.
She climbed back in bed, holding the phone.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“This is your baby,” she whispered and pushed the play button.
My heart did a flip-flop and roll in my chest as the room was filled with the sound of a thumping and swooshing sound. Tears welled in my eyes as I listened to the sound of my baby’s heartbeat.
“Wow,” I managed to get out around the lump in my throat. “Play it again.”
She smiled and did as I asked. We lay in bed together listening to the sound of our baby. I wasn’t sure I could ever be happier than I was
in that moment.
Epilogue
Cherie
One year later
I pulled up the pink cotton pants that went with the cute outfit Evan had bought our daughter, Danielle. He had turned into a bit of a shopaholic. Our daughter had more clothes than a baby store. It felt wasteful, but I knew his need to buy her frilly dresses came from a place of love. We had both gone a little overboard the first couple of months, dressing her up and taking a million pictures.
Our cloud accounts were filled with pictures of our little girl doing everything from sleeping to crying to nursing. Every single moment of the child’s life was documented. “Okay, little missy, let’s go downstairs and get mommy a drink.”
I lifted her in my arms and walked down the grand staircase of the mansion. We had married almost immediately after he asked me to marry him. We didn’t want the big wedding that would surely draw attention. We quietly married in the backyard of the mansion with our family and a few close friends. It had been a little wild at first with the media trying to get information, but it wasn’t long before we were old news. No one cared about a boring married couple.
I grabbed myself a bottle of juice from the fridge and happened to see the giant red heart taped to the refrigerator. It was a Valentine’s card from Evan to Danielle. It was the sweetest thing ever. I heard the buzzer at the gate and checked the security camera.
“Oh, looks like daddy sent mommy flowers,” I sang out. “Let’s see how many dozen he sent. I cannot wait to tell you about our first Valentine’s Day together.”
I pushed the button to allow the large box truck to come through the gate. I went to the door to sign for the delivery and saw two delivery men. I assumed the truck and tag team delivery system was due to the busy holiday.
I was wrong.
“We’ve got a big delivery for you,” one of them called, pushing open the back door of the truck. “I hope you have lots of room.”
I spent the next five minutes watching the two guys bring in bouquets of roses with balloons and chocolates and huge teddy bears. He had outdone himself. There were twice as many flowers coming through the door than the first time. When they were finally finished and had emptied out the truck, they waved and left. I closed the door and looked in the foyer and sitting room, both filled with flowers. The smell of roses was powerful.
“Your daddy is crazy,” I told Danielle.
“You haven’t seen crazy yet,” I heard Evan’s voice behind me.
I spun around and saw him standing there with a massive teddy bear in one hand and a velvet necklace box in the other.
“When did you get here?”
He shrugged. “I took advantage of the little parade and snuck in. I wanted to surprise you.”
“I thought you had to work a full day,” I asked.
He shook his head. “Not a chance. I only said that so I could do a little shopping.”
“You didn’t have to buy all the roses in Florida,” I told him. “You have probably singlehandedly given every flower shop in the city a very healthy boost to their bottom line. I feel sorry for anyone that wanted to pick up some last-minute roses. You’re probably also going to be responsible for a spike in the divorce rate.”
He shrugged. “They should have planned ahead. I did.”
“You are amazing. I don’t know if I told you that today, but you are an amazing man.”
He grinned, dropping the bear and coming forward to take Danielle in his arms. “I know and thank you. Look at my pretty princess and her new Valentine’s outfit. This is for your beautiful mommy.”
He gave me the box. I opened it up to find a dainty diamond necklace with Danielle’s birthstone surrounding the teardrop diamond. “It’s beautiful. You don’t have to spoil me, you know? I already married you.”
He laughed. “My wife deserves to be spoiled. You are the only woman in Florida worthy of roses, which is why I had to buy them all.”
I shook my head. “You always go overboard.”
He shrugged. “I’m not going to deny it. I love spoiling the two of you.”
“And it shows.”
“In fact, I think I’m going to declare February as Valentine’s Month. A single day isn’t enough. I want to treat you to lavish dinners with expensive wine. I want to spend the month taking you on romantic getaways. And jewelry. We’re going to have to add on a room just for all your jewelry.”
“Evan, I don’t need any of that. I just need you.”
“Well, you have me any which way you want me, and I mean that in every sense of the word. Any which way, baby.”
I laughed. “You’re so bad.”
“Come with me,” he said, carrying Danielle into the living room and gently putting her in the swing she loved to be in. “I have one more surprise.”
I sighed, waiting for him to tell me he bought me a horse. “I’m almost afraid to ask what it is.”
He pulled out a newspaper and handed it to me. I unfolded it, almost afraid of what I would read. The tabloids were never a good source to get news, especially from my husband. “Amber Marks engaged to a Greek shipping magnate,” I read out loud.
I looked up at him to find him grinning big. “She found a new sucker.”
I laughed and quickly read the brief article. “Well, good for her.”
“She got her happy ending after all. She wanted to marry rich and she finally found someone to do it.”
“We should send a gift,” I said.
He rolled his eyes. “Can you send a kick in the ass?”
“Stop,” I said, laughing. “I’m serious. I’m sure there is a registry somewhere. I’ll look and send her a plate or something like that.”
“Why? Why would you want to do that?”
“Because after all, if it hadn’t been for Amber, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
He grimaced, shaking his head. “I don’t know about that.”
“It was her ridiculous, carnival wedding wish that got me in your office.”
He didn’t look pleased but grudgingly agreed. “I suppose that’s partially true. But still, I don’t want to send her a gift. It’ll just serve to remind her we’re here.”
“I’ll send a congratulatory bouquet,” I offered.
“Send her lilies,” he agreed.
“Oh, does she like lilies? I thought she liked tropical flowers. I must have mistaken her flower wish list with someone else.”
He grinned. “She’s allergic to lilies.”
I slapped at his arm. “Evan!”
“She’ll be sneezing for a week. Her eyes will be red and puffy, and she’ll be absolutely miserable.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “That’s mean and dangerous.”
“She’s not going to die. She’s just going to look like hell and need a boatload of Benadryl and tissues.”
“As much as I would like to make Amber suffer a little, if she looks like hell, her man might dump her. If she’s single and looking, I’m worried she might creep back over here. She’s going to think the flowers you sent were an accident but that you cared. She’s going to start sniffing around, thinking of ways to see you.”
He looked terrified. “I’ll start planting lilies all around the house. It will be like our forcefield. We’ll add garlic for good measure. I’ve never been completely convinced she isn’t some kind of vampire species.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re so bad.”
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. “I love you.”
“That is not going to make me forget what you just said.”
He laughed. “I had to try. I won’t send her lilies, but don’t send her anything. I want her out of our lives. She’s someone else’s problem now.”
“Fine, I was just trying to be nice.”
“You’re very nice, but you don’t have to be nice to her. She will turn on you faster than a dog with rabies. She is vicious. Her claws are like razors and she will make you bleed.”
I slapped at his chest. “You certainly don’t have a very high opinion of her.”
“Do you blame me? That woman almost cost me everything that mattered.”
I nodded. “But she didn’t. We’re good. We have a great life. We have a beautiful baby. We have everything.”
“Yes, I guess we do. You’re right. I love you and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my days with you.”
I gave him a quick kiss. “Now, you sit here with your daughter while I go take a real shower and get ready for our date tonight. I might have picked up a little something special for our first real date night in months.”
He reached around and squeezed my ass, pulling me against him. “I hope when you say little, it’s very little. I like little.”
I winked. “You’ll just have to wait and see. You are taking me out to dinner tonight. Tara will be here at four. We get an early start because I know neither of us can handle staying up too late.”
He laughed. “We got old in a hurry.”
“It’s all good. She’ll start sleeping through the night soon enough.”
“We can hire a nanny, part-time,” he quickly amended.
“No,” I stated. “Not yet. I’m working from home. I don’t want her with anyone else just yet. Parents do this all the time. We can too.”
He groaned. “But I like sex.”
I smiled and walked away, heading upstairs to take a long, leisurely shower. Our life had been blessed with Danielle. She was a good baby, healthy and beautiful. I felt so much love in my heart for her and my husband I sometimes had to stop and pinch myself to make sure it was all real. It felt like a dream. No dream I had ever had. I had never imagined I could ever have the kind of happiness I had now.
My business was doing very well. We had taken up residence in a nice new office. We had hired two more people to help manage the influx in business and my time off after Danielle had been born. It was hard to find the energy to go back to work full time. My heart was with my family. It wasn’t like I needed the work. It had become more of a hobby than a career.
Heart Breaker Page 24