When she thought about trying to explain to someone why she’d turned Luke down, she realized that those reasons no longer mattered. Yes, he’d made mistakes in the past and probably would again. He’d also worked hard to give her the space she needed, always taking her feelings into consideration and trying to do the right thing. And they were having a baby together, and her baby deserved a father, one as fantastic as she knew Luke would be.
He was right, getting pregnant was a reason to get married. It wasn’t the only one, but it didn’t need to be. She had dozens more reasons why she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Luke.
“I’m sure you can find your own way back.” Without waiting for a reply, she hurried out, determined to get back to the man she loved as fast as she could.
BY THE TIME they got back to the penthouse, Claire was exhausted and her feet were killing her. She wanted a long soak in the big tub and to fall asleep wrapped in Luke’s arms. There was something important she had to do first.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Luke asked as they rode the elevator. “You barely said a word the whole way home. It’s not anything Gretchen said, is it? She can be a colossal bitch sometimes. You need to ignore her.”
“It’s not her.” At least it wasn’t directly. Talking to Gretchen may have helped her understand what she wanted to do, but it wasn’t because of anything the other woman had done. “I’m tired, and I’m not sure my feet are ever going to speak to me again.”
The words barely left her mouth before Luke bent, catching her behind the knees and lifting her into his arms.
“Your feet talk to you?” he asked, cradling her against his chest.
“You know what I mean,” she said, laughing. “Put me down. I’m too heavy. You’ll hurt yourself.”
“Don’t be silly. Haven’t you read any of those books? This is my job. You carry the baby and I carry you.”
“I’m pretty sure they didn’t mean that literally,” she said with a laugh.
“Have you ever been pregnant before?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.
She shook her head.
“Then you don’t know. You’re going to have to make your peace with the fact that I know as much about this as you do. More maybe, because I read the books.” The elevator doors slid open and he carried her to the small entryway in front of their door. “Inside my jacket pocket,” he said.
She slid her hand into his jacket feeling the warmth of his skin through the polished cotton tuxedo shirt. Breathing in the spicy citrus scent of his aftershave, she dug in his pocket for the key fob, handing it to him when her fingers closed around it. The symbolism wasn’t lost on her as he carried her over the threshold, and from the look in his eyes, he hadn’t missed it easier.
“Could you wait here for a minute?” she asked putting her hand on his chest to stop him before he carried her down the hall to their bedroom.
Now that she’d knew what she wanted, her nerves had sprung to life full force.
“Okay,” he said setting her down gently. He looked puzzled but didn’t say anything else. He simply watched, offering her a hand to steady herself while she slid the torturous sandals from her aching feet.
“Oh so good,” she groaned in pleasure as her bare feet sank into the carpet.
“Sweetheart, if you keep making noises like that, I’m picking you back up and carrying you to bed.”
“Just give me one minute,” she said, moving as fast as her poor feet could take her. They were gorgeous shoes, but there was nothing sexy about being lame afterwards.
She dug through her drawer, pulling out the ring box and opening it. The circle of diamonds winked back at her, sparkling as if lit from inside. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the ring from the box with shaking fingers and slid it onto the ring finger of her left hand. She held up her hand to look at it, charmed by the band and what it meant. She was going to marry Luke. She wanted to marry Luke. She trusted him.
Keeping her hand down, not deliberately hidden but out of sight, she walked back to the living room and into Luke’s waiting arms. Feeling small without her heels, she wrapped her arms around him and stretched up on her toes to brush a kiss over his lips. She saw him watching her when she broke the kiss, like he was trying to puzzle something out.
“Are you sure you’re not upset about Gretchen?” he asked and she smiled.
“Positive. I stopped thinking about her hours ago. I don’t want to imagine what she’s doing to Ed Samson to make up for being so obvious about wanting you.” She shuddered, shoving the thought aside before it could take root.
“She doesn’t stand a chance,” he said. “She never did.”
“I know.” Claire turned in his arms, pressing her back to his front. Without her heels, his arms wrapped around her breasts instead of her stomach. She reached up to hold his forearms where he held her and felt his body go still behind her.
“Claire,” he said, his voice sounding strained. “Are you sure, sweetheart? Please tell me it isn’t because of something someone said to you tonight. Or don’t. I want this so badly. I don’t want anything to fuck it up for us.”
“It won’t,” she said, turning back to face him. She cupped his face in her hands, loving the way his ring sparkled on her finger. “It’s just that when I thought about why I’d said no to you, I realized the reasons weren’t true anymore. I want this, us, you, our baby, our family more than anything.”
Lifting her into his arms, he kissed her long and hard, teasing her lips apart until they breathed together.
“Wait,” he said when he broke the kiss, his voice sounding ragged. “We have to make it official. You have to let me ask you again.”
For the second time that night, the strong, fierce, protective man she loved dropped to his knees in front of her. Holding her left hand in both of his, he ran his thumb over the diamond ring, looking as hypnotized as she’d been.
“Claire English, you are my life and I will love you until the day I die. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Every fiber of her being, every cell in her body, moved to him as if joined by some invisible force. He didn’t have to ask her to be his. She already was.
“Yes, Luke Masters. I will marry you and spend every day of the rest of my life loving you.”
Dropping to her knees with him, she blinked back happy tears as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her senseless.
