The Suspicious Proposal

by Kay, Cherry

  She leaned forward and looked at Darren seriously. "I love him. I want to spend my life with him, and now I can make sure that he wants to spend his life with me for all of the right reasons. I really appreciate your care and concern about it, Darren. Thank you."

  He nodded and shrugged. "Just looking out for you. You might not be mine anymore, but that doesn't mean that I don't care about you and want the best for you. I'm always going to want the best for you, and I am always going to care about you."

  He stood up to go and Brittany hugged him tightly and patted his shoulder. "Just a word of advice..." she offered covertly.

  Darren gave her a side-glance. "Yeah? What's that?" he asked curiously.

  "Try to look for women outside of a bar,” she said lightly, but with a subtle hint of her experience with him.

  He laughed out loud. "I've already done that. I know exactly what you are talking about. Don't worry, I'm way ahead of you on that one. I'm steering clear of the bars."

  She walked him to her front door, hugged him once more and before he turned to go, he looked at her with a genuine smile and said, "Congratulations, Brittany, I am glad to see you this happy. You deserve it."

  She could easily see that he meant it, and it felt like everything that had gone wrong between them had been fixed and they would be able to go forward as friends together for a long, long time.

  "Thank you, Darren, you take care,” she said as he walked down her steps and she closed the door.

  The Final Chapter

  It was a beautiful afternoon and the garden of the hotel on the beach was decorated elegantly with flowers and ribbons, candles and fountains. A chamber orchestra played softly and a woman with an arresting voice sang to the guests as they were seated.

  The days leading up to the wedding had not been too stressful on Brittany, but she was glad that her wedding day had finally arrived. Lena was helping her with the final touches of her dress, which only just fit her as it had. Her body had begun to swell slightly, but not so much that Logan had noticed or realized what was happening with her.

  She thought about when she had talked to Darren just a couple of days after she had called Lena, and she had felt bad about telling him what was happening. She was relieved that he had accepted it and though he warned her to be careful, he had wished her the best, although just as he had said, he did not come to the wedding. She was alright with that, and she was fairly sure that Logan was as well.

  Lena fastened Brittany's necklace around her neck and Brittany turned to look at her with tears in her eyes. Lena had been one of her best friends for a long time, and she would continue to be for the rest of her life. They were sisters of the heart in every way.

  "You are such an incredible friend. Thank you so much, Lena, for everything. I am so grateful to have you here with me." She reached her arms around Lena and hugged her tightly.

  Lena hugged her back. "I'm glad to be here. I still haven't forgiven him, but I am glad to be here for you. It's such a special day, it's so wonderful, and I wouldn't miss it for anything."

  They smiled at each other and walked out of the dressing room.

  When Lena appeared at the head of the aisle, the music began to play. The guests turned to watch as she made her way down the aisle, and then Brittany followed, her long white dress trailing behind her, her veil frosting her dark skin and hair, and the gown clinging to her lovely curves.

  She reached Logan and smiled at him as he lifted her veil. He looked stunning in his tuxedo, with blue accents that brought out his eyes and made her swoon, feeling like she was awake in a living daydream.

  They spoke their vows to one another, promising to love each other always, to remain true and to cherish each other until their lives were done.

  The pastor pronounced them man and wife and then Logan took her in his arms and kissed her softly and sweetly.

  She knew as he kissed her that even though they had faced trials and challenges, and even though there had been a bad breakup between them and a subsequent renewal of their relationship, he was exactly what she needed and wanted for the rest of her life.

  She knew without a doubt that she had made the best decisions and the right ones for them both. She knew that their love was true and real, and would last all of their lives.

  The sweetest surprise of their wedding came when he took her aside and showed her a large, delicately wrapped box. He held his hand out in reference to it.

  "This is something special for you," he told her, kissing her softly before he stood back to let her open it.

  "What is it?" she asked curiously, as she began to take the paper off it. As she pulled the paper away, the gift beneath it made her gasp as she caught sight of it.

  "It's the painting I love! From the art show at the gallery the night we met! Oh my gosh! Logan! How did you get it! I thought it was sold that night!" She grinned at him, standing up and wrapping her arms around his neck.

  He laughed lightly at her.

  "I bought it that night. I had a feeling that if things went well with you, I would want to give it to you at some point, but I never did think that it would be at our wedding. I am so glad to give you something you loved so much on our wedding day. This painting was the first thing we talked about, do you remember that?”

  Then he corrected himself and smiled. "Well, you were talking about it. I was talking about you. I just couldn't take my eyes off you, and now I never have to." He breathed happily and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her and kissing her.

  "Thank you so much," she told him blissfully, loving the painting and his thoughtfulness, loving his kindness and his generous nature. "You are the best."

  "Sometimes..." he nodded, "I can do alright," he winked at her and kissed her again, "Mrs. Grayson."

  They spent their honeymoon at a resort on an island, and she was careful to hide her growing belly from him. She had hidden the fact that she didn't drink at the wedding by making sure that her champagne was white grape juice, and at the resort, she drank juice and virgin daiquiris. She enjoyed discovering that Logan had meant every word of what he said, and every time they had intercourse, he had used protection, just as she had asked him to.

  He had been certain that there would be no way that he could get her pregnant, all the while believing that he was going to lose his birthright and his inheritance. All the while choosing her above and beyond it for love.

  She was wondering how and when to tell him that she was going to have his child, and she began to think that their honeymoon was just the right time and place. The moments came and went, and none seemed right to her until he was dancing with her beneath the moonlight on their balcony, just off their room, and she looked up at him with a sweet sexy smile, and he gazed back down at her, holding her close to him.

  "What is this look?" he asked her, raising one eyebrow.

  She shook her head. "This is so luxurious here... and I know it's your lifestyle, but it just amazes me that you're willing to give it up for me."

  He looked away from her for a moment and then looked back at her. "We've been through this. I love you, I love you more than anything, so we might be able to enjoy this kind of a lifestyle until my birthday, but after that I am not going to care that it's gone, because I will be with you, and there is nothing more important in this world to me than you. I think I've proven that to you by letting it go."

  She kissed him softly and smiled at him. "You have. Now, there is something that I want to tell you; maybe you can think of it as a little gift. When you have your birthday this year, you will have a lot of gifts, I think, but the sweetest of them will be a baby."

  Her heart was pounding in her chest as she waited to see what he said. He looked at her and blinked in surprise.

  "How can that be? We have been using protection the entire time we've been together,” he said in confusion.

  She shook her head. "No, we were not using protection before the break up. I didn't tell you, but I found out that I was pregnant
while we were broken up and when we got back together, I wanted to be sure that you really wanted me for me, that you truly loved me and that you wouldn't try to get me pregnant just to save the money. I'm due a month before your birthday. You will get to keep your inheritance, your home, and your businesses."

  He stopped dancing and stared at her, his mouth falling open slightly. Tears formed in his eyes and he grinned at her. "You're serious? You... you are pregnant? You're going to have a baby?"

  A smile flashed over his face and took over all of it, making him almost glow. He picked her up in his arms, spun her around as he yelled out, then set her down, and kissed her hard before looking at her and laughing.

  “You lied to me!" he said with a gasp and mock horror.

  "It was my turn," she told him with a sly look.

  He shook his head. "No more lies from either of us." Then he laughed again and touched her face. "We're going to have a baby. I can't believe it. I don't think you could possibly have surprised me more, or made me any more happy. This is the best gift ever. Thank you,” he said happily, kissing her gently and then looking down at her stomach in wonder and touching it gently.

  "It's really in there... growing right now..." he whispered.

  "That's right. Growing fast. I wasn't going to be able to keep it from you for much longer." She laughed.

  He raised an eyebrow at her. "And all this time you've been having me make love to you with protection on, thinking that you couldn't get pregnant. Well, tonight, my love, you are going to make love with me and I am not wearing anything with you, but my smile!"

  Logan winked at her and teased her all night long, but when he took her to their bed that night, he took his time loving her, running his hands and mouth all over her body and making her tingle with anticipation and shiver with bliss as he loved her deeply and passionately.

  Their honeymoon took on a different feel after that, as they shared in the secret joy of the baby she was carrying, knowing that they were going to have a family together. She would have thought that he could not be happier than he was when they were married, but he seemed even happier after the news of the baby.

  When their honeymoon was over and they returned to the house, he helped her get moved in and she began to grow accustomed to a very different lifestyle. The servants in the household also grew accustomed to their new mistress, and over time the changes smoothed over and everyone became more comfortable.

  Logan and Brittany designed a nursery very close to their own room, doing all of the work on it themselves and preparing for their baby. They let Sherman know that there would be a child in time, and he went to work on the documentation to hand over the estate and inheritance to Logan. He also prepared final wills for both Logan and Brittany.

  About three weeks before Logan's birthday, Brittany was coming out of the shower when her water broke and gushed all over the bathroom. She gasped and then yelled, calling out for Logan.

  He came running for her, his eyes wide and panic in his voice.

  "Are you alright?" he asked her worriedly, but one look at her face and he knew that things were not alright. He rushed to her and clasped his arms around her shoulders. "What is it?"

  She planted her hands on her massive belly. "It's time!" she said as she looked from her belly up to him.

  It took a few moments for the words to sink in, but he gasped as well and then rushed to get her some clothes to wear and her suitcase for the hospital. Within minutes, he had her dressed and in the car, on their way, and within half an hour, they were checked into the hospital and she was being wheeled to labor and delivery.

  The nursing staff gave them both hospital clothing to wear and the delivery nurse checked her dilation and told them that the wait would be a little while, offering to have the anesthesiologist come in and give Brittany an epidural. She accepted the offer gladly, as the contractions were twisting her with pain and with each one it seemed to feel worse, and she would cling desperately to Logan's hand.

  He only looked at her helplessly, offering her encouragement and support, until the drugs were inserted into her spine and she was able to relax and breathe a lot easier.

  After several hours of waiting and breathing, she was dilated enough that the nurses and doctor came into the room and told the couple that it was time to deliver their baby.

  Logan could not have looked more proud or happy, and Lena, who had come to the hospital, got ready to go out to the waiting room to wait for the news. As she leaned over Brittany to kiss her and hug her, she said softly, "Remember that day in your bathroom when you found out and I told you that you would look back at that day as a blessing?" she asked.

  Brittany nodded. "It was a blessing. You were right, and this day is a blessing as well; the biggest one of all. Thank you for everything," she said, hugging her friend one more time before she left.

  The nurses and doctors got to work, and after nearly half an hour of pushing, Logan and Brittany's daughter, Erica, was born. She had her mother's dark hair in a halo of soft curls around her head, milk chocolate skin, and big blue eyes that were identical to her father's.

  When Logan, Brittany and little Erica were taken to their room to rest and relax, Logan pulled an envelope out of the baby bag that they had brought with them to the hospital.

  He sighed, smiled, and handed it to her. "This is from Sherman and me for you."

  He held his daughter, smiling and talking to her, kissing her soft face as Brittany looked at him in confusion and opened the heavy envelope. Inside was the thick stack of papers that she had once signed that made the prenuptial agreement. They were legally voided out. Attached to the form was a letter telling her that the agreement had been fully voided and destroyed, and that there was no longer any hold of any kind on Grayson property, business, or money, which excluded her from it under any circumstance.

  She felt tears sting her eyes and she looked at Logan in surprise.

  "What on earth is this for?" she asked him, amazed that he had done it.

  "It's a gift for you, on the celebration of the day our daughter was born. It's from me to you, to show you how real and true my love is. There is no more prenuptial agreement. Sherman was able to take that part out of the requirements in the will that my father left.

  “When we get the inheritance in three weeks, we will both get it, and some of it will go to our daughter right away. It's the right thing to do, and it's the fair thing to do. I'm not ever going to hold anything back from either of you. I love you both too much." He leaned over to her, kissing her face and her lips.

  She took his hand in hers and knew that he was speaking the truth to her. They had a true and real love, and no contract or money could ever change it or alter it. She had found it with him, and together they had created a family that love would forever rule.

  THE END

  Message From The Author:

  Hiii

  I really hope you enjoyed “A Suspicious Proposal”.

  As you bought the special edition of this book you now have a FREE bonus book to enjoy starting on the next page entitled “Baby By Contract”.

  I hope you enjoy that one too!

  Cherry x x

  FREE BONUS BOOK

  BABY BY CONTRACT

  CHERRY KAY

  Blurb:

  David is a wealthy and successful businessman who seeks a woman to bear his child and he is willing to pay what it takes to make it happen.

  Andrea is a struggling business woman who is finding it hard to make ends meet and David's offer makes sense to her financially.

  Now the two of them are legally bound to have a baby by contract. Is it possible they might also find love in the most unlikely of circumstances too?

  Chapter One

  “Do what it takes,” David told his high paid team of professional businessmen. “I don’t care what it costs, just find a woman who agrees and pay her what she wants.”

  He stood up from the table in the conference room and massaged his te
mples. The team of men around him was highly intelligent, Ivy League educated, fierce businessmen. Surely, they could handle the simple task of finding him a wife. He had plenty to offer her and the marriage would be strictly business and short-term. The marriage would, of course, have to produce a baby within three years, but the right women would be single, smart and would want a child of her own, too. Plenty of women existed like this. It was difficult for David to understand why, then, it took his team so long to find this kind of woman.