“Yes.”
Tears ran down her cheeks and dripped onto the page. Dan eased her against him until her head was lying against his chest. The puppy was crying, too, and she watched Dan stroke him gently, trying to soothe him as well.
The gentleness always surprised her and pleased her.
“When did you do all this?” she asked.
“While you were sleeping. I had Josh come over and stand guard, to make sure you didn’t get away, and I went and picked up a few things. The puppy’s been crying for hours. He finally wore himself out and fell asleep right before Tanner called and woke you up. And once Tanner left, I got sidetracked when you dragged me off to bed.” He pulled a small cardboard box from the back of the basket—a home pregnancy test. “This is my backup plan. In case things don’t go the way I planned, you can take this in the morning. Maybe the results will persuade you to give me what I want.”
Jamie tried to sort through the jumble of thoughts running through her head to find the most important things to ask. “You want me to be pregnant? I thought...that first morning...”
“It threw me a little.” He hugged her gently. “Just for a little bit. I shouldn’t have taken the choice out of your hands that way. It was unfair of me. I was still hung up on walking around with the cane. But...the more I thought about it, about you carrying my baby, the more I hoped it was true.”
He shifted away from her just a little, looked down into her eyes and said, “I had a lousy father, Jamie. He was never there. Never. You’re going to have to help me a little.”
“I will,” she whispered.
“I love you,” he said harshly. “I just couldn’t help myself when it came to loving you.”
Her tears flowed freely. She could barely breathe. Oh, God, she’d waited so long.
“And I need you,” he confessed. “I need you desperately.”
“I need you, too.”
“I’ll make you happy, Jamie. I swear it. I’ll cherish you, worship you. Probably spoil you rotten, too.”
She smiled, imagining his particular brand of spoiling.
“And I don’t see how I could live in this world without you beside me. Say it,” he coaxed. “Say you love me, too.”
Jamie felt sheer happiness bursting inside of her, spreading and filling her. “I do. I love you. I always have.”
“I know I promised you some time. I know it hasn’t been that long, but I don’t have any doubts. Not where you’re concerned. Not about the way I feel.” His palm pressed flat against her belly. “I want it all. Everything we talked about that morning. I want to give you everything.”
She smiled, hoping his baby was tucked safely inside of her.
“There’s just one little detail we haven’t discussed,” he said.
“What’s that?”
He went fishing for something in the rose petals in the corner of the basket, then tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. When he pulled his hand away, there was a big emerald-cut diamond, stunningly clear, winking at her from the end of his index finger. It sparkled and shimmered and absolutely took her breath away.
“I’m an old-fashioned kind of guy,” he said. “If you’re going to live with me in some big old house in the country and have my babies, you’re going to have to marry me.”
“I’ll have to?” she managed. “You’re telling me? Ordering me?”
“Babe, you’ve got me on my knees. You know I’d do anything in this world for you. You’re going to have to do this for me.”
She lay beneath him, the world turned blurry from all her tears. She took his face in her hands, kissed him softly, urgently.
“Say it,” he demanded. “Say you’ll marry me.”
“I will.”
He slipped the glittering diamond on her finger. She held her hand up in front of her to admire the sight of his ring, and cried some more.
“I’m going to make you so happy,” he promised.
“You have,” she said, wrapping her arms around him. “You already have.”
ISBN : 978-1-4592-5861-7
DANGEROUS TO LOVE
Copyright © 1999 by Teresa Hill
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