“I’ll probably make a terrible husband. I’m mean. Rotten. Crude.”
“Wonderful. Talented. Brave.”
During another hard kiss, he lifted her up to straddle his lap. She wrapped her legs around his hips and locked her ankles behind his back. He ate at her chin and neck while he fiercely whispered endearments.
When he pulled back, his eyes speared into hers. “I don’t have much to offer in the way of worldly goods. I don’t have a pot to—”
She pressed her fingers over his lips. “You should have kept that fifty thousand dollars. You’d be that much richer.”
“Very cute.” He kissed her fingers aside. “I’m serious, Kerry. I’ve got money. I’ve been stashing it away for years, but I don’t even have a suitable roof to put over our heads.”
“I do. I have a lovely house in Charlotte, North Carolina.”
“You never told me that.”
“You never asked. It’s beautiful. I know you and Lisa will like it.”
“You’ve also got a college degree.”
“But I don’t have a single Pulitzer Prize and you have two.”
“You know how I make a living. I’ll be away a lot of the time.”
“No way, Lincoln,” she said, shaking her head. “If you think I’m going to turn you loose on a world full of beautiful women once you’re my husband, forget it.”
“You can’t be suggesting that you come along.”
“I certainly am.”
“You and Lisa?” he asked incredulously.
“Think what an asset we’ll be.”
“Name one.”
“How many languages do you speak?”
“I’ve almost mastered English.”
“Well, I speak four and have a working knowledge of three more. With us teaching her English, Lisa will soon be bilingual. Think of all the help we’ll be to you.”
“Yeah, but in a few years, it’ll be time for Lisa to go to school and—”
“I’m a teacher, remember? I’ll tutor her.”
“But that’s not quite the same. She’ll need—”
“Linc, are you trying to weasel out of this already?”
“No. I just want you to know what you’re letting yourself in for.”
“I do.” When he still looked skeptical, she said, “Look, we went through hell and came out loving each other. It can only get better from here.”
He smiled and then gave a shout of genuine laughter. “You’ve got a point.”
“Everything will work out. We?
??ll make it work. One day at a time, okay?”