by Heidi Rice
She braced her arms against his chest, her temper kicking in. ‘This isn’t a joke, Cal. I’m serious.’
‘I know you are,’ he said, the grin widening. ‘So am I.’
‘Buts…?’ Her mouth dropped open. ‘You are?’
That couldn’t be right. She’d been agonising over asking him for weeks now, months even. He never made a decision without judging every piece of advice, weighing each iota of relevant information carefully. It had taken him a week to choose a new TV. It was one of the things she loved about him. He couldn’t possibly have made up his mind in three seconds flat.
‘But aren’t you going to think about it first?’ she murmured, still reeling.
He shrugged, his palms warm on her back. ‘What’s there to think about? You’d make an amazing mother. And I’m sure I can manage to make a halfway decent Dad if I set my mind to it. We’ll probably make mistakes, all parents do. But that’s all part of the adventure.’
‘But, I…’ She couldn’t speak. Excitement and love and total shock combining to make her tongue numb.
‘Ruby, I love you. I adore just being around you. The last seven months have been the best of my life. Even though you still can’t follow instructions worth a damn,’ he teased. ‘When I come home at night and you’re there, I have to kick myself, because I can’t believe how lucky I am to have you. We make a great pair. I’d never have considered having children with anyone else. But with you, it makes sense.’
Tears welled in her eyes. They made sense. That was it. And here she’d been tying herself in knots about the question, when the answer had always been there, right in front of her.
He brushed the tear away with his thumb. ‘I’m hoping those are happy tears.’
She gave his arm a little punch, laughed. ‘You know they are.’
‘Good, because there is one small hitch in your plan.’
‘What’s that?’
‘As you know I’m a logical, boringly conventional guy. I like to do things in their proper order. And what we have here is definitely a cart-before-horse situation.’
Ruby blinked and sniffed. ‘What?’ He’d totally lost her again, but she was willing to give him the chance to explain, because the wave of euphoria inside her was kind of hard to contain.
‘Before we have a baby, or babies. I want my ring on your finger. And your signature on a marriage certificate.’
‘You do?’ She hadn’t actually thought she could be any happier, but now she was.
‘I definitely do,’ he said, gathering her close.
He slanted a kiss across her lips.
As always the passion ignited between them instantly. But before she could get completely carried away, Ruby struggled back and held him at arm’s length.
‘Not so fast, Westmore. If that’s your idea of a proposal, it’s pathetic.’
He chuckled, hauling her up to seat her on the countertop and step between her thighs. ‘I guess I’m going to have to work on it,’ he murmured, a wicked glint in his eyes. ‘But the good news is,’ he said, sliding his palms under her dress and making her thighs quiver. ‘Even if we hit the jackpot tonight, I still have a few months to practice.’
‘I’ve got a better idea,’ she said, sending him a saucy grin as she leaned close, tasting her own chocolate cupcakes and desire on his breath. ‘Why don’t I save you the trouble?’ Running her palms over broad shoulders, she gazed deep into his emerald eyes. ‘Callum Westmore, will you marry me and give me your babies?’
Lifting her in his arms, his hands caressing her bottom as she wrapped her legs round his waist, he swung her round in a circle, kissed her full on the lips, and then laughed.
‘Damn it, woman. I thought you’d never ask.’
As it turned out, it took them three months to hit the jackpot, by which time Cal had already got Ruby’s signature on their marriage certificate. So the following Spring, when the proud parents celebrated the birth of Max Ryan Westmore with a cupcake and champagne picnic on Hampstead Heath, everyone was happy. Except Ruby, who—despite the addition of another six pounds that she would also have to lose at a later date—was ecstatic.
All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention.
All Rights Reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises II BV/S.à.r.l. The text of this publication or any part thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the prior consent of the publisher in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
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First published in Great Britain 2011
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of Harlequin (UK) Limited, Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR
© Heidi Rice 2011
ISBN: 978-1-408-90050-5
Table of Contents
Cover
Praise for Heidi Rice
About the Author
Also by Heidi Rice
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Epilogue
Copyright