The Bachelor's Little Bonus (Proposals & Promises 3)

“And your brother?”

“Slept through the whole storm.”

“I’m sure you were frightened. That must have been traumatic for you.”

Her hands fluttered again. “I grew up. Got over it to an extent. I still keep a flashlight on the nightstand, but I’m pretty confident now that there are no monsters under the bed or in the closet.”

“Thank you for sharing that with me. I know it must be a painful memory but it means a lot that you trust me with it.”

She reached over to pat his thigh, her soft laugh more natural this time. “It was just an anecdote, Cole, not a confession to my priest.”

Reaction to that familiar touch surged through him, but he pushed it away. She had a way of gently poking at him when he got too formal and serious. He covered her hand with his and squeezed before gripping the steering wheel again, silently acknowledging he’d gotten the message. Still, he’d meant every word. If he and Stevie were going to make this work, they had to be honest and open with each other.

Stevie drew her hand away and laced her fingers in her lap. Her voice sounded a bit higher-pitched when she said, “Anyway, Mom stopped working nights after that incident. She bought Tom’s braces on a payment plan. Fortunately my teeth were straight.”

He laughed, then asked, “How do you think your mom will feel about becoming a grandmother?”

“She most definitely won’t be a traditional grandma. She’ll wonder why we’re bothering with what she calls ‘the obsolete and unnecessary institution of marriage.’ I’m sure she’ll come see the baby as soon as she can make arrangements. We gathered in Tennessee at my brother’s house for Christmas, but I didn’t know about the pregnancy then—or hadn’t accepted the possibility yet.”

“I’ll bring her here for your due date, if she’d like to be here. You should have your mother with you.”

“That’s sweet of you, but I’ll buy her ticket. I do okay financially, you know. Well enough to live comfortably, if not extravagantly. As I told you, I’m budgeting for my leave time, so...”

Her voice drifted off with another vague gesture of her hands. A very self-sufficient woman, his wife-to-be. That was only one of the many things he admired about her, though he still hoped she’d let him help her out.

He slanted a sideways glance at her. She looked very pretty today. That blue dress was especially flattering with her blond hair and big blue eyes. The soft knit fabric hugged her curves—and for such a petite woman, she had very nice curves. He cleared his throat, shifted in his seat, and tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

“I want to buy the kid a stuffed tiger,” he said to distract himself. “Maybe we’ll find one this weekend.”

“A tiger?” Stevie twisted in her seat to look at him.

He nodded. “You had a night-light, I had Stripy. My uncle Bob—my dad’s younger brother—gave him to me when I was four, maybe five. My parents were fighting then, splitting up and getting back together, shuttling me between them and my paternal grandparents. I never knew where I’d be spending the next night or whether my parents would be too quiet or yelling at each other. I started having nightmares, waking up screaming nearly every night. Uncle Bob bought me the tiger to chase away the monsters at night. He was a big Calvin and Hobbes fan. He’d read the comic strips to me from the newspaper.”

“The tiger stopped your nightmares?”

He shrugged. “Didn’t stop them. But when I woke up, Stripy was always there, and it made me feel better. The nightmares stopped after my parents split up for good and we all settled into new, more peaceful routines. I spent most of my childhood on my grandparents’ cattle farm in El Paso, Arkansas, while Mom went back to college. Dad poured his energy into building his car repair business. With the exception of a couple of rocky years, I had a pretty good childhood. But I still have fond memories of Stripy. I think our kid should have one, though I can promise you we’ll never put him—or her—through what my folks did to me. They got married too young, had a baby before they knew what they wanted for themselves. You and I are old enough and realistic enough to avoid all that foolishness.”

“Absolutely,” she said with almost grim determination. “We’ll give him—or her—a stable, safe and secure childhood so he—or she—never has to depend on a night-light or a stuffed toy to chase away the monsters under the bed.”

He frowned for a moment at the road ahead, processing her words as he drove in silence. He knew, of course, that she’d accepted his unexpected proposal for the benefit of her baby, just as the child’s best interests had been a strong consideration for him when he’d offered. But he hoped she didn’t see their marriage as a sacrifice on her part. “I want you to be happy, too, Stevie. We’ll have a good life together. I’ll always be there for you when you need support or encouragement.”

She patted his thigh again, a vaguely unsatisfying gesture this time as it seemed entirely too indulgent. “And when you come back from those dull business trips, Dusty and Li’l Peanut and I will be there to welcome you with hugs and a home-cooked meal.”

“Sounds great,” he said, and meant it. It sounded ideal. He should stop trying to second-guess her thoughts and feelings—he wasn’t good at it, anyway—and just accept his good fortune.

He pushed thoughts of the past away and focused instead on the future. After all, this was the beginning of their life together. He would be spending the weekend with this fascinating, desirable woman...and he planned to make this honeymoon a memory Stevie would always cherish.

Chapter Four

Cole really was an organizational genius, Stevie concluded an hour later. He’d taken care of logistical details for their elopement that hadn’t even yet occurred to her, including the marriage license they dealt with immediately upon their arrival at their wedding destination.

She saw him caught off guard only once during those preparations.

“Stephanie?” he asked in surprise when they’d filled out their license application. “Your full name is Stephanie Joan McLane?”

She wrinkled her nose as she nodded. “Mom named me after Stevie Nicks—whose birth name was Stephanie—and Joan Jett, her two favorite women singers. My brother is Thomas Neil, after Tom Petty and Neil Young. He’s always said it was a good thing Mom wasn’t a country music fan or we might have ended up answering to Dolly and Porter.”

That had made Cole laugh. He had such a rich, deep laugh. She hoped to hear it often during their upcoming years together, she thought wistfully.