“Someone will come by later to take your measurements,” he announced without preamble.
“Measurements for what?”
“Clothes to start. Your wedding gown for the other.”
My belly sank. “Already?” I gasped.
Hearing the rising fear in my tone, Ocean reached for me, but I shrank away and felt my heart shrivel a little at the deniedcontact. Ocean clenched his jaw at the rejection but said nothing. “Yes, Coby. The wedding will happen quickly, so there’s no time to waste. We need to get you fitted for a gown and a wardrobe, among other things. These will have to do for now.”
As if on cue, the same ladies entered again, this time carrying shopping bags. They set them by my feet before making a quiet but speedy exit once more. “We can shop for the rest of your wardrobe later.”
“I don’t want to go shopping,” I told him as I set my tea cup down. It had gone cold a long while ago, but I kept sipping at it to keep from saying all the things I wanted. I was especially sour this morning since Hunter and I always made and ate breakfast together. Always. “I have clothes at home.”
“Mention that apartment again, and I’ll burn it to the ground, wife.”
“I’m not your wife,” I snapped back.
“Not yet, no,” he said with a smirk that made me want to slap his ass. “But you will be, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Want to bet?
I conveyed the challenge with my eyes since I knew better than to open my mouth. Of course, he paid me no mind as he resumed handling business on his phone.
Was it business or bitches?
Ugh!I forgot I wasn’t supposed to care.
But Ocean showed no signs of remembering that I was even here as he switched to a burner phone to make and answer calls before going back to his main phone.
“I’m ready to hear your proposal now,” I announced when I couldn’t stand his eyes and focus elsewhere a second longer.
Ocean set his phone down immediately and gave me his full attention, as if he had been waiting for me to demand it. My eyes narrowed suspiciously as I wondered if he’d been ignoring me onpurpose or because he was secretly and quietly struggling with this sudden and gaping hole between us as much as I was.
“Is that so?”
“Yes.” Clearing my throat, I tried not to fidget under the intensity of his gaze.
But it wasn’t just that.
Ocean—as I’d learned—wasn’t easy to rattle, which left me feeling paradoxically safe and anxious. He was always so poised and cultured. He spoke like someone who had received an expensive education and moved like someone used to being in charge. He’d seen more, done more, and I was beginning to question if I could really outsmart him. “I already know you want me to marry you and…g-give you a-a s-son.”
“Preferably more than one,” he corrected with an easy and charming smile.
The back of my neck grew hot.
More than one?
This fool hadn’t said anything about getting pregnant more than once!
“I have no control over that. You get what you get.”
Ocean shrugged, and with a languid, scorching, possessive sweep of his brown eyes, he casually yanked the metaphorical rug out from under me when he cooed, “More reason for us to keep trying,mo aingeal.”Oh lord.The heat was spreading, rushing down my body and slipping between my legs. “And if you’re hellbent on our marriage not being permanent, the sooner we get started, the sooner you can be free.”
“What do you mean?”
Ocean bit into his bottom lip, and I almost came right then. “I’ll tell you on one condition.”
“Don’t play with me,” I warned as if I could actually do shit about it.
