“What?”
“I love you, Annaliese Fischer. We’ve wasted twelve damn years, and I don’t want to wait another minute. Marry me.”
She gasped. “But…don’t you want to wait to be sure?”
“I am sure. I’ve never been so damn sure of anything in my life. You’re still the same person I loved back then. We can wait five minutes, five months, or five years, and it’s not going to change. I want you to be my wife.” Oh, shit. “You want to wait.” A new panic washed through him. Was she going to turn him down like she had twelve years ago? “We can wait. You can turn me down. I won’t be upset this time.”
Anna shook her head. “No. I want to marry you…it’s just all happening so fast.”
“But it feels right, doesn’t it?” he asked.
She nodded, smiling up at him. “Yeah. It feels perfect.”
He kissed her again, still wondering if he was dreaming. “I can’t believe it.” Then a new thought hit him. “I don’t have a ring. Shit, I screwed this up, didn’t I? Tyler proposed to Lanie with a marching band.”
She smiled up at him then brushed her lips against his. “I have the ring. The one you gave me.”
His heart skipped a beat, sure he’d heard her wrong. “You kept my ring?”
“I picked it up off the table. When I came home for Mom’s funeral, I brought it with me. I was going to apologize and, if I’m honest, see if you’d forgive me. I think part of me hoped we could start again. But Ashley said you had a girlfriend, and I was devastated. Between losing my mom and knowing I’d lost you for good, I put it in the bag of her clothes to give to the thrift store. But Dad must have found it and kept it all this time. He put it in a box of photos he gave me last weekend.”
He felt like he was going to be sick. So much fucking wasted time. “Anna, I didn’t have a girlfriend six years ago.”
“What?”
“Ashley was wrong. I didn’t have a girlfriend when you came back for your mother’s funeral.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I did the math in my head already. I wondered how many times our paths almost crossed and missed each other. I was single.”
She started to cry again. “I’m sorry.”
“No. No. No more tears over the past.” He gave her a hard kiss. “Only happiness for us. We’re due.”
“Ask me again,” she said, wiping her face. “Ask me to marry you again.”
Matt got down on one knee and took her hand. “Anna, make me the happiest man alive and marry me.”
“Yes,” she said with tears in her eyes. “Yes. Forever, yes.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Two weeks later, Anna stood on the sidelines of the soccer field, watching Matt practicing with ten five- and six-year-olds. She glanced down at the ring on her hand—not the one Matt had given her before. He’d declared it cursed and bought her a new one, giving it to her with the boys, who were shocked then ecstatic. They could have cared less about the oval one-carat stone surrounded by smaller diamonds; they were just excited that they were going to live together.
They were getting married in five days.
She’d expected some resistance from their family and friends. They were moving fast, but so far no one had put up a protest.
“Who am I to judge?” Holly had said when Anna and Matt called her to see if she’d plan their wedding. “Kevin and I knew each other a month before we got married. You two were together over a year before you broke up. You’re the only ones who can decide whether it’s too soon.”
They decided to have a Sunday wedding because the first soccer game of the season was on Saturday and the boys were so excited Anna said there was no reason they had to miss it. They’d decided on an outdoor wedding in Matt’s backyard, and Matt and Kevin had been building an arched trellis for them to get married under. Holly had a landscape designer come and plant a multitude of flowers the week before and she had found a minister to conduct the ceremony at sunset. They’d be surrounded by candles and Tiki lights. She’d quit her job, so she had plenty of time to help Holly prepare for the wedding…between packing up her father’s house.
The simple reception would be in the backyard with cake and drinks and a playlist to dance to. Because it was a school night, they told the boys they could stay home from school the next day.
The men had ordered their tuxes and Anna had found an off-the-rack wedding dress. Everything was coming together perfectly—almost too perfectly—and Anna had a sinking feeling something would go wrong. Especially since Phillip hadn’t signed the papers letting her stay in the States.
She’d sent him several texts over the last two weeks, asking him if he’d received them, and if there was a problem. Each time he’d texted back, saying not to worry. He’d do the “right thing.”
But did the right thing mean he’d sign them? She was getting more and more nervous. Maybe she shouldn’t have agreed to get married so soon, but they’d wasted so much time. She refused to let herself worry about it tonight.
Their wedding might be in five days, but tonight they were celebrating Toby’s birthday.
The soccer team was having a practice scrimmage, and Toby slipped around one of his teammates and kicked a ball into the goal.
“Did you see that, Mummy?” he shouted over to her.
“I saw it, birthday boy!”
He ran over to Matt, who affectionately rubbed the boy’s head. Matt leaned down and said something that made a wide grin spread across Toby’s face.
A car stopped on the side of the road, and a man looked out onto the field. He didn’t have a child with him, so the fact he was so intently studying the field set Anna’s nerves on edge.
Something about him getting out of the car looked familiar, but there was no way it could be him. Still, it made her nervous enough that she headed toward him.
He wore jeans and a button-down shirt. His loafers weren’t faring so well as he made his way down the grassy hill. He took one look at Anna and broke into a warm smile. “Annaliese!” He held his hands out at his sides. “Surprise!”
She felt light-headed and she blinked, hoping to snap herself out of her stupor. “Phillip? What in the hell are you doing here?”
“I’m here to see my son. It’s his birthday, isn’t it?” His eyes narrowed. “I’m pretty sure it’s today.”
“Yes, it’s today. But what are you doing here?” she repeated. Why hadn’t he called before showing up? Had he shown up to sign the papers in person?
He grinned. “I told you, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about you and me and what went wrong, so I came for Toby’s birthday.” He scanned the kids on the field. “Is he out there?”
He didn’t even know what his son looked like. But how would he? He hadn’t seen him since he was two.
“I don’t know, Phillip. Why don’t you tell me?”
He gave her a confused look. “Why are you so upset? I thought you’d think this was a good thing. You said I could see him over the summer.”
“You should have called first. Summer break’s only a month away.” How would Toby react to this? She needed to prepare him to meet the father who hadn’t given him the time of day. She needed to make sure he was emotionally ready. Leave it to Phillip to think only of himself.
“So, I’m early. Where is he?” He shielded his eyes from the sun and scanned the field. “Uh-oh,” he said, looking amused. “Is this a closed practice? The coach is headed right for me.”
Anna turned, and sure enough, Matt was headed their way.
Given Matt’s animosity toward her ex-husband, this was bound to go badly.
* * *
Matt had kept his eye on Anna most of the practice, but in his defense, he couldn’t help himself. He still struggled to believe that she was here, let alone that they were getting married in less than a week. Part of him wanted to make sure she was really here and not some hallucination. Plus, she was sexy as hell and he couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off her
.
He’d noticed the unfamiliar car with the man he didn’t recognize pull up to the curb before Anna seemed to. But when the man got out of the car and headed straight for Anna, Matt was on full alert and headed straight for him.
“Hey, Coach Matt,” one of the kids protested as Matt strode through the middle of the scrimmage.
“I’ll be right back,” he responded, keeping his gaze on the man who was engaged in a conversation with Anna. A conversation that was not going well from the looks of it.
A ball hit Matt in the back of the head, but he ignored it and kept walking.
By the time Matt reached them, the man had turned his attention to Matt, wearing a smart-ass grin. Matt had the irrational urge to wipe it off his face.
“Anna?” Matt asked, still several feet away. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah,” she said, looking anything but with her pale face and wide eyes.
He reached out a hand toward her, wanting to put himself between the two of them.
“Can I help you?” Matt asked.
The guy’s smart-ass grin spread. “I’m here to see my son. Maybe you’ll tell me which one of those kids is him since Annaliese isn’t so forthcoming.”
Matt’s blood ran cold when he heard the first word uttered in a British accent.
Oh, fuck.
Was he here to cause trouble? The look on his face suggested that he was.
A swarm of emotions filled his head, choking out reasonable thought, but there were ten kids down on the field, one of which was his nephew and the other Anna’s son—a boy this prick couldn’t even recognize. But then again, he hadn’t seen the boy for over three years. How would he recognize him?
Anna said to Matt with pleading eyes, “I can handle this.”
“This doesn’t concern you, Coach. Don’t you have a bunch of kids to teach?” the asshole asked. “Or do you need someone to show them how to play real football?”
Matt took a step forward, but Anna stepped between them.
“Matt. I’ve got this.”
This man had been out of their lives for three years. Three years. Why show up now?
Matt was torn over leaving her to deal with him, but Phillip was her ex, and she’d never been one to want someone else to fight her battles for her. As long as he didn’t appear to be threatening her, Matt would back off…but he’d still be watching. “Let me know if you need me.”
* * *
Anna watched Matt head back to the field, thankful there hadn’t been an ugly confrontation between the two men.
“Really, Annaliese?” Phillip said in a sneer, “The football coach? So original.”
“And screwing models and nineteen-year-olds is?”
“I’m changing.”
“How long has it been since you screwed a woman who wouldn’t be considered cliché.”
His smile fell.
“Why are you here, Phillip?”
His dazzling hazel eyes turned to her. “I want us to try again.”
Her mouth dropped open. “What? Are you kidding me? Try again? That would insinuate you tried in the first place, but just so we’re clear, that ship sailed to the fucking middle of the Pacific Ocean and sank to the deep, murky depths the night you missed your son’s birth because you were too busy screwing a woman you picked up in a pub.”
He groaned. “I’ve apologized for it a hundred times, Annaliese.”
“Actually, Phillip, you never once apologized. You made plenty of excuses, but no apologies.”
“Well…I am sorry.”
“And while I appreciate the sudden and strangely suspicious effort, it’s literally six years too late—”
He gave her a triumphant smile. “I knew today was his birthday.”
“Well, congratulations. You guessed the correct date of your son’s birth.”
“Annaliese,” he groaned. “Come on. Don’t you ever wonder how it could have been if we’d made it work?”
“There is no we. We ended before we were even married. We ended when I found out I was pregnant and you were still busy sleeping around. I was stupid enough to fall for the ‘I’ve changed’ word vomit before and look where that got me—pregnant and alone.”
He frowned and took a step closer, lowering his voice. “I’ve screwed up, I won’t deny it. I should have been there for you, but if we’re honest, that’s not the real reason we didn’t work. It’s because you never could get over that college boyfriend of yours. What was his name? Mike? Mitch?” He gasped and turned his gaze back to the field. “Matt. His name was Matt. And he lived in your home town.”
Shit.
She shot him a glare. “My personal life is none of your business, Phillip. Not anymore.”
“Actually, Annaliese, when you decide to move my son to the other side of the world because you’re screwing your old college boyfriend, it makes it my business.”
“Your son? You never showed one minute of interest in Toby until I called you two weeks ago.”
“Not true,” he said, getting pissed. “I told you I’d been thinking about us and what went wrong.”
“And you decided to place the blame of our failed marriage on me? Seriously? Could you be any more delusional?”
He grimaced. “I suppose I’m partially to blame. But I’m taking an interest in him now.” He pointed out to the field. “And I don’t like my son being around him.”
She wanted to kick Phillip’s ass all the way back to London, but antagonism wasn’t going to help her cause. And her cause was to get her ex-husband to sign the papers allowing her to stay in Blue Springs.
Her legs weakened as she realized what was at risk. What if Phillip decided not to sign?
She was handling this all wrong, but damned if it didn’t burn to have to kiss his ass to protect her son—to finally have the life she’d always wished for.
“Okay,” she said, trying to keep a civil tone. “So you want to be involved in your son’s life…then tell me which one is your son.”
“What?”
“Point out which child is your son.”
His brow lowered as he scanned the field, then he pointed. “That one. The one on the end who just kicked the ball.”
“The one with the bun?” she asked in disbelief. “That’s a girl named Becca.”
“Oh. Well she looks kind of like him and man buns are in.”
“The bun aside, she looks nothing like him.”
“Fine. One down. My odds of picking him out are getting better.”
How would Toby react if he found out that his father showed up and not only didn’t recognize him, but had considered it a game to guess which child was him? “Phillip, you need to go.”
“I want to see my son, Annaliese.”
“No. You want to use him as a tool to get whatever you think you want.” She’d spent the last six years protecting Toby from every imaginable danger—from cars in the street, to poisonous chemicals, to strangers. She never imagined that she’d have to protect him from his own father.
“I want you,” he said. “I want you back.”
She looked at him in horror. “Is this a game to you?”
“No, Annaliese. Is it so hard to imagine that I want you back? That I want us to be a family?”
“Yes. It is hard to imagine. You never loved me. You and I are not getting back together, and if you want to get to know your son, dropping out of nowhere on his birthday is a cruel and heartless way to do it. The fact you can’t see that is alarming.”
“I want to see my son, Annaliese,” he repeated, sounding angrier and more insistent.
“Then call me and we’ll make arrangements, but not today. You have no idea how much it will hurt him for you to show up like this. I won’t let you ruin this for him. You need to go.”
He turned to look out onto the field as though he was still trying to identify his son. “Fine,” he finally said. “I’ll go, but I’m not giving up on him or you.”
That was what she was afraid of.<
br />
Chapter Twenty-Four
Take a deep breath,” Blair said over the phone.
As soon as Phillip left, Anna had called Blair in a state of panic and told her what happened. “I can’t lose Toby.”
“You won’t. We’ll work this out.”
“I think I’ve screwed up everything.” She waved to Matt as he shot her another worried glance.
“No,” Blair said. “You stood your ground and protected your son. You did the right thing. I know you’re upset, but he can’t do anything tonight, so as hard as this is, try to put it to the side and enjoy your son’s birthday.” She paused and her voice softened. “I know. Easier said than done, but the more upset you get, the more power you give him over you.”
“I’m getting married, Blair.”
Lawyer Blair was back. “What? When?”
“Sunday.”
Blair hesitated. “You didn’t mention you were engaged when you were in my office.”
“I wasn’t.” Anna lifted a hand to her temple, feeling her panic start to bubble up again. “Matt proposed after I found out that Phillip agreed to let me move here, and we’ve been apart so long…We just want to be together. I’ve wasted so much time. I don’t want to waste any more.”
“What about your father?”
“He’s still moving into the assisted living apartment. He actually wants to go there, but he’s moving into Matt’s house with us until it’s available.” She took a breath. “He’s all for us getting married. Look, I know it’s fast, but we were together before and—”
“Anna,” Blair said in a soothing voice. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me. I dated my husband in law school and then we broke up. When we met again, it was at his cousin’s wedding and he was a groomsman. Oh, and the groom just happened to be my fiancé. It’s a long, sordid tale, but bottom line is I, of all people, understand.”
“Thank you.”
“But”—her tone became sober—“the fact is that as far as we know, Phillip hasn’t signed the new agreement. And if he doesn’t sign, you will have to return to England…and soon unless he gives you permission to stay longer, which I highly suggest we get in writing.”
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