“Then the answer is yes.”
It wasn’t the hearts-and-flowers-and-violins marriage proposal she’d vaguely imagined for herself in youthful, Hollywood-tinted fantasies, but look where those silly daydreams had led her, how many times they’d let her down. She was going to be a mother now, and it was time to put unrealistic expectations behind her.
If she made a list of all the attributes she’d want for her child’s father, Cole would match nearly every item on the page. Maybe he wasn’t the type to write love songs for her or shower her with grand, romantic gestures, but the men who had done those things in the past hadn’t stayed around to deal with the everyday realities of life. He wasn’t claiming a grand passion for her—perhaps his late wife would always hold that position in his heart—but she knew he was quite fond of her, and she didn’t doubt that he respected her intelligence and admired her success in her business. That meant a great deal to her.
Other men had claimed to love her, but hadn’t stayed around to make a life with her. Cole would be there, stable, dependable, practical. She needed to work on being more like him—starting now.
“Yes,” she repeated, more firmly this time.
A smile spread across his face and she had to admit he looked pleased. If he had any doubts about this plan, it wasn’t visible in his expression. As for herself, she was still nervous—oh, hell, she was scared to her toenails—but she’d made her decision. She gave her tummy a little pat, sending a silent message in that direction. You’re welcome, kid.
“Great,” he said with obvious satisfaction. “We’ll make this work, Stevie, I promise.”
“I believe you.” She would certainly do her part, she vowed.
Her legs seemed to have weakened, so she moved to sit on the couch. Cole sat beside her, drawing his phone from his pocket. She frowned a little. Was he already calling someone with the news? Was he really this excited about—
But he’d merely opened his calendar. “So when do you want to do this? The baby is due in—six months, right?”
She nodded, trying to focus on practical details. “Yes.”
“So that doesn’t give us a lot of time to take care of things. We’ll have to decide where to live, set up a nursery, work out our schedules, that sort of thing. You, um—do you want a big wedding? Because if you do—”
“No,” she assured him quickly. “I’d prefer something small and simple.”
She could see relief cross his face, though knowing Cole, she suspected he’d have agreed to a huge affair if she’d said she wanted one.
“I don’t need my parents there,” he said. “Considering they don’t even like being in the same state at the same time, they’d hardly want to attend the same wedding. They’ll probably be relieved they don’t have to make the effort. I’m pretty sure my mom will be pleased at the prospect of having a grandchild. I think she’d pretty much given up on the idea.”
She twisted her fingers in her lap. Would his mother really welcome this child, even though her son wasn’t the biological father? “Are you, um, going to tell your parents that I was already pregnant when you and I decided to get married?”
Cole shrugged. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s unnecessary. I won’t lie, but there’s no need to tell everyone our business. You can make the decision with your mother and brother. We’ll tell the child when he or she is old enough to understand, of course, and I guess your closest friends will know the truth, but I’d be fine with letting the rest make their own assumptions.”
“That works for me, too,” she murmured.
He nodded, putting that item behind them before returning to the previous one. “What about you? Do you want to wait until your mother and brother can get here to have the ceremony?”
She barely had to think about it before shaking her head. “Mom isn’t really interested in ceremonies—and she’s never been a big fan of marriage,” she added with a wry laugh. “She’ll be satisfied with hearing the details afterward and then flying in for a visit after the baby arrives. Same goes for my brother.”
“And what about your friends?”
“Jenny and Tess are going to be...surprised.” Which was the understatement of the year, of course.
Cole studied her expression. “How do you think they’ll feel about our plans?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted.
She was sure her friends would be concerned she was acting on impulse and would urge her to take more time to think about all of this, despite the pregnancy deadline. Bonded with their soul mates, they would obviously want the same for her. Jenny had turned down a socially advantageous proposal from a wealthy and connected attorney to wed the cop she’d loved since their college years. Tess’s engagement to her employer might have started out as an arrangement meant to assuage their matchmaking relatives during the holidays, but it hadn’t taken them long to realize they’d been deeply in love for some time.
Both Jenny and Tess would certainly remind Stevie that she had alway
s been the one to defend the fairy tale version of romance, to insist marriage should be based on passion, not practicality. But their circumstances were very different from her own, she reminded herself. They’d had only their own best interests to consider during their courtships. Jenny understood the pain of growing up without a father, her own having died before she was even born, but would she approve of Stevie’s decision to provide for her baby’s needs over her own silly fantasies?
“I don’t know,” she repeated.
“Would you change your mind if they do disapprove?”
She shook her head firmly. “Of course not. It’s just that I’m not quite sure how to explain it to them. As I’ve said, I haven’t even told them yet that I’m pregnant. I just don’t want them to worry about me.”