“Oh, my gosh!” She gasped. “Yes! I mean, no, of course it doesn’t bother me.”
He dug into his jacket pocket and pulled out the velvet ring box containing the one and a half-carat engagement ring he’d chosen with Tyler’s help. It was about the same size as the ring Ben had given her, however, on this one, a row of small diamonds surrounded the sparkling princess-cut stone set in a platinum band with glittering, channel-set baguettes.
He opened the box, and her breath hitched, “Oh, Luke, it’s the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen.”
“For the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” He pulled her into his arms in a long, tender kiss. When he drew back, he whispered, “I love you, Princess.”
She smiled, and her watery gaze narrowed. “Exactly what did Dante say to you?”
“He told me I was being an arrogant ass to assume I knew better than you what will make you happy.”
“He’s right. I’ve spent the last fifteen years trying to convince you you’re the only man I’ll ever be truly happy with.” She carefully rubbed the moisture from her eyelashes. “Just as a matter of curiosity, why did you believe him, but not me?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he said it at just the right moment.” He slid the ring on her finger. “Afterward, I realized that, for all I know, you may have chosen to become a pediatric nurse because you have a fetish for changing diapers.”
“Well, I wouldn’t exactly call it a fetish, but I wouldn’t mind looking at your naked tush for the rest of my life.”
“What about wiping it?”
“As long as that includes spanking it.” She wiggled her eyebrows as she gazed down at her ring. “Speaking of diapers—”
“Right. We need to talk about that, Brina. I don’t want to take a chance on passing Huntington’s to our kids, but I am willing to have a family—with a sperm donor. Tony never developed any symptoms until he was fifty-two. So, if I’m equally lucky, our kids could be grown before I—”
“Would you shut up, already!” she snapped, making him flinch. “Since we came in here, I’ve been trying to tell you I’m already pregnant.”
He stared at her, attempting to make sense of what he’d heard.
No. He closed his eyes and swallowed hard. Apparently Ben had decided to stack the deck in his favor. Luke couldn’t blame him, but damn it, he still wanted to kill the son-of-a-bitch. “Congratulations,” he rasped past the lump in his throat and hoisted himself off the sofa. “I’m sorry I kept cutting you off.”
So why the hell had she accepted his ring and said yes to his proposal if she was planning to have a family with Ben? He spread his arms in defeat. “I assume you’ll want to marry the father, instead.”
“Of course, I want to marry my baby’s father. Are you suggesting I cheated on you?”
“Not at all. You were engaged to BJ. He had every right to make love to his fiancée,” he muttered, more in an attempt to convince himself than her. “I was the one who had no claim on....” He raised one hand as his composure began to slip. “I’m sorry. I need a few moments.”
He turned and strode out to the backyard through one of the solarium’s French doors, trying his damnedest not to completely lose it. The November wind bit his cheeks as his pulse pounded in his ears.
He leaned forward, his hands on his knees as he sucked in several deep breaths. This was exactly why he’d hidden his feelings all those years. If he’d never known what it was like to love Sabrina, it wouldn’t hurt so fucking much now.
“What are you doing out here?” Ben asked, leaning against the house. Evidently, he must have come out one of the other back doors.
Luke straightened and swallowed hard before answering, “Truthfully, I’m gettin’ my shit together, so I can offer my congratulations without strangling you.”
Ben’s gaze widened. “She turned you down?”
“Not exactly.” Luke frowned. “Why are you out here?”
“The same reason you are. What the hell are you congratulating me for?”
“Your baby.”
Ben did a double take. “My baby?”
Oh, shit, maybe she hadn’t told BJ yet.
“What makes you think I slept with Sabrina, you knucklehead?”
“Who else would she sleep with?”
“You, idiot!” Ben shoved his chest. “The guy who never practiced unsafe sex until he slept with her.”
He didn’t dare hope it was true. If he began to believe he could give Sabrina children, he would have a hell of a time reconciling, again, to the idea of using a sperm donor. “I can’t be the baby’s father.”
“No?” Ben’s eyebrows lifted. “Sabrina has half a dozen pregnancy test sticks that say otherwise. Would you like her to show them to you?”
“She took six tests?”
“Well, she had a little trouble believing it, too.”
He opened his mouth to speak several times before he actually managed to spit out the words, “How’s it possible?”
“Did you get a semen analysis a year after you had the vasectomy?” Sabrina asked from behind them, her arms wrapped around herself.
Luke spun and faced her. “Why would I? My specimen was clear at the six-week test.”
“Because the doctor can botch the surgery or the vas deference can spontaneously reconnect. It’s fairly rare, but apparently it happens in about one of two hundred cases, which is why urologists recommend a follow-up analysis a year after the procedure. Didn’t your doctor tell you all of that?”
“Maybe.” He took his sports coat off and wrapped it around her shoulders. “I don’t remember. It was over ten years ago. I was pretty broke in college, so I shopped around for the cheapest doctor I could find. I figured if my semen was clean at my six-week check, I’d be safe.”
“Well, guess what, Einstein?” Ben smacked the back of Luke’s head. “You’re not safe or sterile. The congratulations go to you, asshole.”
He was actually going to be a father? No. He shook his head. Not unless....“Before you get too excited, Princess, we need to have a prenatal test for HD done.”
“She said you’d say that,” Ben told him.
Sabrina shook her head. “My answer is, absolutely not.”
“But if we don’t—”
“No buts about it! There’s no point, since I refuse to abort our child—no matter what birth defects he might have or diseases he could potentially develop. And besides, you just decided you don’t want to know if you’re a carrier. If the baby tests positive, it would be the same as if you went for the screening yourself.”
His emotional barometer bounced back and forth between dread and elation. The decision was out of his hands. He had no choice but to hope for the best. “Then we’re having a baby and getting married.”
“Yes, although, I’d prefer to do those things in the reverse order.”
“Sounds like a great idea.” He pulled her into his arms and merged his mouth with hers.
“Would you two knock it off!” Ben shoved Luke’s shoulder. “It’s hard enough seeing you two happy together.”
He recoiled from Sabrina, knowing exactly how shitty BJ must feel.
“You have the rest of your lives to suck face when I’m not around.”
“I’m sorry.” Luke said. “You’re right.”
Ben rubbed his arms and stamped his feet. “Let’s go inside. Dante mentioned dinner would be served in a few minutes.”
“Thanks.” Luke held Sabrina’s hand and smiled sideways at his buddy as they walked back to the solarium door. “For everything.”
Ben merely shrugged.
“You okay?”
“I’ll live.”
So not okay. “I’m sorry.”
“You keep saying that.” Ben pulled open the door and held it for them. “What exactly are you sorry for? Loving Sabrina your whole life and never saying anything? Letting me be her fiancé just long enough to know what I’m missing? Or are you simply sorry for preventing me from marrying the
woman I’ve loved for over ten years?”
How about all of the above? “Beej, the last thing I ever wanted was for you to get hurt. Mostly, I’m sorry I wasn’t a better friend.”
“And how could you have been a better friend? ”Ben asked as he stepped into the house behind them.
Luke stood back and spread his arms wide. “For one, I could’ve stuck to the guy code. You called first dibs on Sabrina when you proposed, and I should’ve honored that.”
“And I knew damn well she was in love with you, so I never should’ve proposed.”
“If you had each followed the true guy code,” Sabrina interjected, “both of you would’ve walked away, and I’d be marrying no one.”
“Except I’d rather see you happy with Luke than someone else,” BJ said, pain flickering in his gaze.
“Bullshit. You’d prefer she was happy with you.”
“Okay, so you’re right.” Ben released a humorless chuckle, shaking his head. “But that was never gonna happen, pal. She’s always loved you. No matter what I ever did, that would never change. Let’s go eat.”
As the three of them strolled toward the dining room, Luke punch BJ’s arm lightly. “We just don’t want to lose you as our friend, okay?”
“That, also, will never happen.” Ben said softly, wearing a sad smile. “Whether you like it or not, you’re both stuck with me.”
Sabrina smiled. “That’s a relief, because our baby needs a godfather.”
Ben glanced around the ornate hallway and smirked. “Don’t you think Tony or Dante are more qualified for the role of The Godfather?”
“Nah. They’re mostly legit.” Luke laughed. “Besides you have more money, so our kids will get better birthday gifts from you.”
“What a pragmatist.” Ben snorted.
“Hey, you’ve been bitchin’ at me for years that I won’t let you buy me expensive toys. You have permission to spoil our kids rotten.”
Ben glanced at Sabrina and then back at him. “What about your wife?”
“You’re already paying for most of her dream wedding, which, if I had my way, would be a quick trip to Vegas—tonight. You also insisted our honeymoon would be your wedding gift to us. After that, you’re through.”
“Oh, come on! You have to let me buy her something for her birthday and Christmas each year.”
“Fine.” Luke raised his hands in surrender. “But you can’t show me up. You have a five-hundred-dollar limit for each occasion—not five hundred per gift.” He pointed at Ben’s face. “You ever spend more on her, without my okay, I’ll kick your ass from here to China.”
“And if you ever deny her something she really wants, I’ll kick yours, first.”
Sabrina shook her head and sighed. “Let the ass-kicking resume.”
He had no doubt BJ was putting on a brave front by arguing with him, but if he treated his friend with kid gloves, it would only make Ben self-conscious and increase his pain.
“Relax.” Luke hugged her to his side as the three of them entered the huge dining room filled with his noisy, contentious family. “Kicking each other’s asses is what friends do.”
CHAPTER 17
Christmas Eve
“What idiot planned a five-hour reception?”
Luke chuckled. “Uhhh....I think that was you, Brina.”
“Oh, yeah.” Sabrina smiled as he dipped her on the dance floor. She gazed up at the glittering chandeliers and yards upon yards of frothy chiffon overlaying miles of white twinkle lights draped across the ceiling of the immense, heated white tent erected on Ben’s family estate for the wedding. It had been decorated so elegantly, one would never guess they weren’t dancing in a five-star hotel’s ballroom. “I guess I must’ve been delusional that day.”
“If you recall, I was all for flyin’ to Vegas.”
“And miss this beautiful night?” She swept her hand around the tent, enjoying the aftermath of their sumptuous dinner.
When they’d arrived earlier that evening, the round tables, for their almost three hundred guests, had been set with starched white tablecloths and bright red napkins. Sparkling, gilded stemware and gold-rimmed holiday china had surrounded the elevated floral arrangements. Bright red and white roses, accented by holly and sprigs of evergreens graced every centerpiece, each holding half a dozen flickering tapers to illuminate the tables.
“Redemption must have resembled a ghost town this evening.” Luke chuckled.
Despite that their wedding took place on Christmas Eve and required their guests drive nearly two hours to reach the Pocono Mountains, much of the town and a quarter of the Trenton police force had attended the ceremony. Of course, it hadn’t hurt that Ben had booked every available room at four luxurious lakeside resorts for all of the guests.
Their reservations included accommodations and meals for two days and nights following the wedding, thereby giving them all a three-day winter vacation. Luke’s Explorers were already badgering their chaperones, Cal and his wife, Darlene, about when they were going ice-skating, skiing, snow tubing, and snowboarding.
“Did you know Doc Foster and his wife Abby arranged for a tour bus to transport a group of Redemption residents here and back?”
“That’s not surprising. Jake told me they’ve always been involved in the community. Abby’s been running the children’s story-hour at the library for over forty years.”
According to Samantha Rivera, her husband Nick, their daughter, Dani, and Dani’s boyfriend, Ryan, had brought their guitars on the bus and led everyone in singing carols for much of the trip, turning it into a rolling holiday party.
Casey and Maggie had provided thermoses of warm cocoa and Christmas cookies, which added to the party atmosphere.
“Sabrina, thank you so much for inviting us,” Harriet Klausen called as she waltzed by with Dante. “Richard is really enjoying the music.”
“You’re welcome.” She smiled. “The night wouldn’t have been complete without having you here.”
Apparently, Tony had graciously offered to keep Mr. Klausen company while Harriet enjoyed herself on the dance floor.
Luke spun Sabrina under his arm. “Did you see my Explorers’ and the rest of the kids’ eyes when they walked in here tonight? I’m not sure what they were most impressed by—the decorations, the food, or the mountains of presents under the trees.”
“Undoubtedly, the presents. Although I think Noah and Mandy are more excited about Dusty and Mopsy staying with them while we’re away.”
Ben had insisted, since it was Christmas Eve, every guest should receive a personalized gift from Santa, played by a jolly, well-padded Thomas, who’d actually grown a beard for the occasion. As usual, Ben had been way too generous with everyone. Each of Luke’s Explorers was going home with a computer tablet complete with a keyboard attachment and prepaid data package.
BJ had also instructed his staff to deck out the heated tent with more holiday decorations than the local mall displayed. Huge twinkling Christmas trees in a rainbow of color graced every corner, surrounded by hundreds of red and white poinsettias. Along the sides of the tent, twelve-foot tall wooden soldiers and gingerbread men stood sentry, while on the two ends of the structure hung enormous lit wreaths.
Luke pulled her close again and chuckled. “I’d hate to see Ben’s electric bill for tonight, let alone the rest of this reception.”
When the guests had moved en masse from the mansion’s huge ballroom, where they’d held the candlelit civil ceremony, to the tent for the reception, the entire property had suddenly lit up like a Christmas wonderland. Half the trees on the landscaped portion of the property twinkled in colored lights. The moonlight on a fresh blanket of snow had completed the romantic scene.
“As much as I’m loving this evening,” she admitted, “I also can’t wait to be alone with you. You look so handsome, I want to rip that tuxedo off your gorgeous body and ravage you right in the middle of the dance floor.”
“Wow. I’ll have to wear a tux more
often,” he whispered, nibbling her ear.
“Make sure you include that red rose boutonniere. It’s very dashing.”
“We have our whole lives together, and you only get one wedding, so enjoy yourself. It’s not every day you get to wear a dress fit for royalty. Did you know you’re the most beautiful woman here tonight, Princess?”
“Thank you.” She glanced down at her beaded, white satin gown. Annie had convinced her to wear her hair loose with a crystal tiara. “I do look rather regal, don’t I?”
After posing for a zillion pictures in the house, she’d removed her floor-length veil and snuggled into the thick, white velvet cape lined in satin that Luke had surprised her with to cover her shoulders during the walk from the house to the tent. It was the softest garment she’d ever worn.
“And sizzling hot,” he murmured. “I love the back of your dress. I just want to know how to get you out of it.”
“That’s my secret.” She grinned up at him.
As Tyler twirled Annie by them and winked at Sabrina, Luke jerked his head toward them. “Your brother’s right foot is still dragging. Do you think it’s permanent?”
“Probably not.” Sabrina nestled into Luke’s chest. “It’s been less than three months since his surgery. After an injury, the brain continues to recuperate for quite a while. And even if Tyler’s gait remains a little off, Annie says everything else is functioning better than ever.”
Ben tapped Luke on the shoulder. “It’s my turn to dance with the bride. Do me a favor and drag Tyler and Annie into the house. Sabrina and I will meet the three of you in my study as soon as this song is over.”
“Does this mean you’re finally gonna tell us where we’re going on our honeymoon?” Luke asked.
“Maybe.” Ben smirked. “Or maybe not.”
Sabrina certainly hoped so, considering they were supposed to leave the following day after spending their wedding night in one of the mansion’s guest suites. Ben had refused to say a word about their honeymoon destination other than to tell them they needed to pack several bathing suits and lots of sunscreen.
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