by Nancy Warren
Good.
He finished the water and knew Melissa would have been back for a while. Feeling every one of his muscles, he rose stiffly and made his way upstairs.
He had his room key, but knowing she was already inside, he knocked.
The second she opened the door, all his apprehension vanished. The woman standing in front of him was stunning. Gorgeous and sexy, and he was crazy about her.
“You look fantastic,” he said, “for somebody who spent an afternoon covered in mud and seaweed. How do you feel?”
“Like a new woman. Thank you, Seth,” she whispered, her red lips curving deliciously. “I feel…pampered.”
“You’re beautiful.” She was, too. In a simple black dress he’d never seen before that fit in all the right places. Her hair and makeup were different than he was used to, more obvious and very, very sexy.
“What was the best part?”
“Mmm. The massage. Definitely, the massage. Did you find something to do while I was being pummeled and painted?”
“Yep.”
“Tennis or golf?”
“I did some shopping, then went for a workout.” Now that the time had come, he felt his collar tightening again.
Her professionally made-up eyes widened, then crinkled when she giggled. “Shopping. Right. Every man I know can’t wait to go shopping.”
“Let me shower and change, and I’ll show you.”
“All right.”
“Can you find something to do for a bit?”
“I’m going to do something I rarely do at home. Absolutely nothing,” she said, and sank into the comfy chair in the corner and put her feet on the ottoman.
He’d been torn between presenting the ring in the restaurant, which they’d rebooked for tonight, and doing it privately. But as soon as he was showered and dressed, he knew he had to do it here and now and get the whole thing over with. When he was with her he had no doubts. Why would he? Any man would be lucky to find a woman like Melissa.
He dug the jewelry box out of his toiletry case, opened it and studied the ring for a long moment. He’d never imagined doing this a second time in his life. Closing the lid carefully, he dropped the box into his pocket and emerged into the room to find Melissa exactly as he’d left her, looking perfectly blissful.
Clearing his throat, he felt as foolish as a boy asking out a girl for the first time. He didn’t have a clue how to act or what to say.
She glanced at the clock when he walked into the room. “We’re a little early for our dinner reservation, but maybe we could take a walk first.”
“I want to show you something.”
“All right.”
“I—uh, bought you a present.”
“But Seth, you’ve already given me so much. This weekend, the spa—I saw the prices in there.”
“You’ve given me much more, Melissa.” His collar was so tight it seemed to choke him, making his words come out hoarse. “You gave me hope. And a future.” It was now or never. He slipped the jeweler’s box from his pocket and held it out. “Please marry me.”
For a moment she stared at him. Then slowly she extended those beautiful hands he’d come to love, red-tipped at the ends from a fresh manicure.
They trembled as she took the velvet box. She didn’t open it right away. He could have sworn she was praying, or making a wish. Then she lifted the lid.
“O-o-oh, Seth.” She stared at the ring, and he knew he’d guessed right. “It’s perfect. But…are you sure?”
He took a couple of jerky steps toward her. “Yes. Trust me.” And as he slipped the ring onto her shaking finger, her tears spilled over.
“I’m going to ruin this very expensive professional makeup application,” she cried, sniffing and brushing the tears away with her hands.
“If we don’t get out of this room, I’m going to ruin it even more.” He kissed her lips swiftly. “Come on. Let’s get a bottle of champagne and the best dinner in the house.”
She admired her ring in the light, and he told her how good it looked on her finger. Which it did. She could be a hand model.
They made their way to the restaurant, which was decorated in cedar and glass, with huge windows overlooking the restless ocean.
When they were seated at a quiet window table for two, he ordered champagne and waited until it was bubbling in two glasses to toast her. “To us,” he said simply.
She sipped, watching him over her glass.
“You haven’t answered my question, you know.”
Her eyes dropped to the ring sparkling on her finger.
“Will you?” he asked softly.
“Are you sure this is what you want? Really sure?”
He stifled every qualm. “Absolutely.”
“And you’re positively sure you love me? I won’t ever marry another man who doesn’t.”
It must be love, this feeling he had for her. This combination of raging sexual desire, gratitude for all she was doing for him and the girls, and this indefinable sense of need. “I love you, Melissa.”
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them they were bright with excitement and a tinge of fear. “Yes. I’ll marry you. And I promise to love you forever.”
Forever.
Till death do us part.
The unaccustomed twinkle on her left hand snagged his attention and offered him a safe way to back off from the intensity of this conversation. “We can exchange the ring if you want to pick out something else.”
She beamed at him, totally eclipsing the diamond’s sparkle. “This is exactly what I would have picked myself. Well, I would have chosen a smaller diamond. Are you sure we can afford this?”
He lifted her hand and kissed it. “I hope I have absolutely nothing in common with your ex. One thing we sure as hell don’t have in common is financial recklessness.”
“You have better taste in jewelry, too. I should have realized he was all wrong for me when he gave me the ring. It was so—obvious. Like him, showy on the outside, not worth much when you got deep.” She sighed. “I didn’t get nearly as much as I’d hoped when I sold it.”
He’d guessed right. Oh, he had the unlamented Stephen’s measure.
“Well, one problem we are never going to have is ex-spouses interfering with our marriage or causing trouble with the kids.”
A tiny frown marred her smooth forehead. “I hope not.” He didn’t know whether she was referring to Stephen or Claire. He didn’t press for details.
“Another good thing is how nicely we mesh. My daughters will have the mother they need, Matthew will have somebody around the house who likes guy stuff, and you won’t have to worry about money the way you have been.”
“Hey, don’t knock my hard times. I’ve learned a lot about making do with less. It’s got to be such a habit, I kind of like the challenge and I’m proud of my new frugal skills. This dress, for instance, that you admired earlier?” She smiled mischievously. “Four bucks at the thrift store.”
He threw back his head and laughed. He had to. There she sat, the most elegant and beautiful woman in the room, looking easily like a million bucks. In a thrift store dress.
“It’s not funny. I figured out the difference between buying this dress and a brand-new one, and decided investing in my children’s college education would be a better use of my money.”
“Sweetheart, you were meant to be a banker’s wife.”
“I’ve learned a lot in the past couple of years. I’m through pretending to be something I’m not.”
While she ate her fresh halibut surrounded by crisp vegetables and he plowed into his rack of lamb done with an amazing sauce made from local berries, they talked, for once not about their kids, but about themselves.
“Will you still keep looking after other kids?” he asked her.
Obviously, she hadn’t thought very far into the future—well, they’d only been engaged for an hour. She put her head to one side and regarded him. “I think I�
�ll have to for a while. I made a commitment to the kids and their parents. I can’t close up shop too soon. I can wind the child care up by the end of the school year. I think that’s fair.”
“More than fair,” he agreed, wondering how he was going to like having a day care in the house he called home.
“What about your landscape design business?”
Those gorgeous, lake-blue eyes that had been regarding him widened and he saw a flash of panic. “I love what I do. I’m not giving that up.”
“No. Of course not. I don’t want you to. I was thinking that if you want to start expanding, adding some of those other services, well, you’d be in a better position to do it. That’s all.”
Her expression showed her relief. “Oh. For a second there I thought you were going to tell me you wanted a stay-at-home wife.”
“Melissa, I want you to be happy. And whatever makes you happy is fine by me.”
She leaned closer. “I think I just fell a little deeper in love with you.”
He snorted. “I haven’t started getting on your nerves yet. It’ll happen.”
“I know. I’m kind of looking forward to it. There’s so much intimacy in somebody’s annoying little habits.” She laughed softly. “Stephen used to do this thing—” Then she clapped her newly ringed hand over her mouth. “Oh, God. I’m sorry. What a tactless thing to say.”
He finished chewing and swallowed. “Not really. He was part of your life for a long time. What did he do? I’ll make a note never to make the same mistake.”
She leaned forward and spoke softly. “He threw his dirty clothes at the laundry hamper. About sixty percent of the time they went in. The rest of the time they’d be draped over the edge, or socks would lay where they landed around that hamper. I’d end up picking up the stuff. It drove me nuts.”
“I don’t do that.”
She grinned at him. “Good. What about Claire?”
Suddenly, this conversation wasn’t such a great idea anymore, but he was the one who’d wanted her to go on when she’d tried to stop it, he reminded himself. What could he do but share something about Claire the way she’d so easily done about her ex?
“She, uh—” What? He tried to think of Claire as the woman he’d married, the woman he’d lived with day in and out for nine years. The woman she’d been before she got sick.
And there it was. A memory as clear as the food in front of them. He sipped wine and then said, “She wasn’t the neatest person in the world. And she liked to sew.”
Suddenly, he was grinning at the memory of her surrounded by scraps of fabric. Orange and black as she worked feverishly at two identical pumpkin costumes for Halloween. “She made great stuff for the kids. Costumes and clothes. She was really careful about pins and needles and things because of the girls. But she wasn’t too neat about anything else. There would be slivers of fabric and pieces of thread everywhere. For weeks after. And that sewing machine would sit in the middle of the dining table until we had somebody coming for dinner or I couldn’t stand it anymore and put it away.”
Melissa touched his hand, jarring him back to the present. “I’m so glad you told me that. I was getting scared that she was perfect.”
He shook his head. “No. She wasn’t perfect. But she was a good woman. The best.”
“And you’ll always love her.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean—”
“I know. I know. I don’t want to take that away from you. Not ever. What we have is our own.”
The moment was so intense he felt that he needed to escape from all that emotion for a bit. “Anyhow, what I was saying earlier is that if you want to branch out and expand your business, I’m behind you all the way.”
“Thank you for believing in me. But, no. I’m not ready yet, and when I am, I think I’ll go to the bank and get a loan. This is something I need to do myself.”
“Good for you. Dessert?”
She shook her head. “Uh-uh. I’m stuffed.”
“Coffee?”
“I couldn’t.”
“Sex?”
She giggled. “Oh, yeah.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
MELISSA OPENED HER EYES, conscious of a feeling of well-being. Today, she knew exactly where she was. Already the warmth of Seth’s naked body wrapped around hers was familiar.
With a pang of regret, she decided they’d have to wait until they were married to spend any more nights together. Today was the last day they could simply devote to each other for a while.
Married. A wedding. In her mind she’d skipped over that part and simply pictured her life going on pretty much as always, only without the money worries, and with Seth in her bed every night when she went to sleep. And every morning when she woke up. She sighed. She’d have to get that lock on the bedroom door fixed. And turn the guest room into a bedroom for the twins. She’d get them to help her decorate. That would be fun.
“Penny for them,” Seth mumbled in her ear, his voice sleep-groggy.
“I was wondering how quickly we could get married.”
“I thought you liked being a mistress.” He nibbled her ear lobe. “You’re certainly good at it.”
He traced a finger lazily round one nipple and her body started turning to liquid, just like that. She felt him hardening behind her and wiggled her hips against him. “I do like it, but I won’t get any more practice until we’re married.”
The nibble turned into a bite that made her cry out and the hand on her breast went rigid. “What?” he demanded in a tone so peevish she smiled into the pillow.
Shifting so she could see his outraged face, she said, “How do you suggest we conduct an affair with four kids?”
“We’re engaged. I—but—they’ll know we’re getting married.”
“I can’t do it, Seth.”
He flopped onto his back with a grunt, crossed his arms under his head and stared moodily at the ceiling. “Tell you what,” he said at last. “I’ll meet you at city hall tomorrow at lunch. No, wait a second, I’ve got a meeting at one. Tuesday, then. We’ll get married Tuesday.”
“What about the kids?”
“They’ll be at school.”
“No. I mean, they’ll want to be there. I want them there.”
“Well. We could go after school, get married, and take them out for pizza afterward.”
She chuckled helplessly. “That is, without a doubt, the most pathetic idea I’ve ever heard.”
“Who cares about the marriage part? I want to get to the wedding night.”
“I care. The kids’ll care. This is forever, Seth. I want it to feel like forever.”
He groaned again, sending her a pleading look. “This isn’t working up to one of those magazine-type weddings with three hundred guests, is it?”
“Oh. No. I had that kind of wedding once. I don’t want it again.” She hesitated a moment. “What kind of wedding did you have? The first time?”
“Same. Crowds of relatives I didn’t know from Adam. Speeches. Bridesmaids. God knows, I love you, Melissa, but I’m begging you. Don’t put me through that again.”
She laughed.
“There were plastic bells on every table. Swear to God. Plastic bells.”
“Paper roses. My mother sat at home night after night and made one hundred and seventy-five paper roses.” She sighed. “No. I don’t want to go through that again, either. But I wouldn’t want to hurt people’s feelings. Janice would want to come. So would my neighbor, Pam.” Her heart sank. “And my Dad.”
“My parents will fly in from Florida.”
“It’s already getting complicated.”
“I’ve got a great idea. Let’s take the kids away somewhere—Hawaii maybe—and get married. They can be part of it, and we don’t have to invite anybody else to the wedding. Then, when we get back, sometime we’ll have a party to celebrate.”
“Can we really go to Hawaii? I’ve always wanted to.”
“Nothing easier. I’ll call my travel agent
tomorrow. Let’s say, two weeks from now?”
This was feeling so much like a fairy tale it was scary. But it was good scary. She could picture them, the six of them, posed against a tropical sunset like a postcard.
“I love this idea. We’d be legally married, so that would take care of the sleeping arrangements, and then we could have a garden party to celebrate when we got home. It’s perfect, don’t you think? Gardens are my thing.” She glanced at him from under her lashes. “I might even get some business out of it from all your stuffy friends.”
“How do you know my friends are stuffy? You’ve never met any of them.”
“That’s right. I haven’t.” They’d probably all known Claire, though. They’d compare her, of course, to her predecessor. How would she stack up?
“You’ll meet them soon enough.”
“What have you told people about me?” she asked, feeling deliciously girlish.
“I haven’t told them anything.”
“Oh.” It was crazy to feel disappointed. She hadn’t told anyone about Seth, either. Well, apart from Pam. And she and Pam had discussed it endlessly. Sure, she had her business and kids and the usual things, but falling in love with a new man was the most significant and exciting part of her life at the moment. He was definitely top of mind.
Oh, well, she reminded herself. Men are different. They don’t love to communicate the way women do.
“Two weeks to wait,” he complained. Before she knew what was happening, he’d flipped her on her back and rolled his full length on top of her, a very wicked expression in his eyes. “Better get our fill in now.”
Then he kissed her, and she thought what a long time fourteen days was. And then she couldn’t think at all.
“HAWAII!” the three older kids all screamed at once. Little Alice’s voice echoed right behind them, “Hawaii!” Then she whispered to Jessie, “What’s Hawaii?”
The kids had seemed pretty enthusiastic that their parents were getting married. But their reaction to the trip to Hawaii almost had the San Andreas fault quivering in response.
“Shh.” He glanced out the living room window. “You’ll have the neighbors calling 9-1-1.”