Mitch made it easy to trust in the dream. And he meant well. Tess was convinced that he truly believed everything he said. But they weren’t going to get the pretty fantasy. They didn’t have the foundation, and she didn’t come from the same kind of family he did. He would put his all in, just as her father had, and it wouldn’t be enough. She wouldn’t be enough. It was time for her to accept reality. He’d be a father to their child, but he’d never be truly hers.
“Aren’t we going to be way early for family dinner?” Tess asked.
“We didn’t have time for me to show you the park when we came out for Cam and Norah’s cookout. Since it’s still daylight, I thought we’d take the time to do it today.” Mitch kept his tone easy, though he had an urge to wipe damp palms on his pants.
Things had been good between them. Better than good. They’d had a couple of weeks to come to terms with their impending parenthood, and the general mood was one of excitement rather than dread. Mitch had to believe that counted for something and that enough time had passed since the initial shock that Tess would really hear what he wanted to tell her. God-willing, there would be announcements at dinner tonight and they could start dealing with the fallout instead of continuing to sneak around. The secrecy was wearing on them both.
He wheeled his truck into a parking spa
ce, relieved to see that nobody was out here this late Sunday afternoon. Didn’t mean it would stay that way, but as a venue for a proposal, this was a lot less public than the fountain on the green. He hoped he’d get some kind of positive karma for popping the question on the banks of Hope Springs.
Tess straightened in her seat, peering out toward the water. “Oh, it’s beautiful.”
“Wait ’til you see it up close.” Mitch slid out of the driver’s side, hustling around to open her door. But, of course, Tess being Tess, she’d already slipped out. He took her hand. “Let’s take a little walk.”
He gave her a tour of the park proper, relieved to have the privacy to keep her hand tucked in his as he told her about Cam’s design.
Tess stroked gentle fingers over the bright blooms of an azalea bush at the edge of the trail. “He’s a talented landscape architect. The gardens he put in at The Babylon are a wonder.”
“He put in Aunt Sandy’s garden when her cancer got bad. He’d read somewhere about the benefits of some nature therapies—that patients had better outcomes if they had ready access to nature. She couldn’t leave the house much then, and he wanted her to have something beautiful to look at, somewhere not far to go where she could get out of the house. She’s had a helluva good time maintaining it since she went into remission.”
“He’s a good guy, your cousin. Do you two do much work together?”
“Not as much as I’d like. Other than residential stuff, the majority of my work is on sites elsewhere. I’m fortunate that I can do my job from most anywhere.” Mitch knew that might come into play with their future. She played an active role in Peyton Consolidated. He wasn’t deluded enough to believe she could necessarily keep doing that from here forever, or that she’d want to.
“Is that how you were able to get away for nearly a month for Europe?”
“Yeah. I took the absolutely necessary stuff with me and fit it in between playing tourist.”
“I paid dearly for the week I took in Scotland. Too many irons in the fire. I worked like the devil to catch up when I got back to London.”
“Regrets?” He held his breath, waiting for her answer.
She slanted those dark eyes up at him and smiled. “No.”
Some of the tension abated. “C’mon. There’s something I want to show you.” Mitch led her down the trail and into the trees that flanked the bank along this stretch. There was a two-mile loop that doubled back to the parking lot, with benches and overlooks nestled at various intervals. They stopped at one about half a mile in, leaving the trail to stare out over the water.
“This is lovely. It reminds me a little of Loch Faskally, except without the mountains.”
“I thought it might. If I’d had my way, I’d have taken you back there for this.” It was where he’d first known he wanted to ask her.
“For what?”
Ignoring the suspicion suddenly clouding her eyes, Mitch took her hands and turned to face her, bending to brush a soft kiss across her mouth. After a brief hesitation, she lifted to him. His heart beat like a jackhammer in his chest. What was he afraid of? This was only his everything.
“Tess,” he murmured. “My sweet, perfect, Tess. I’m so happy you came into my life.”
“Mitch—”
“Just let me get this out, okay?” If he lost his momentum, he was going to botch this again. “I know nothing about us has gone according to plan. We didn’t expect to find each other. We didn’t expect to get pregnant. We didn’t expect to be related in a weird, messy, second marriage sort of way. But even though we didn’t have a conventional start, we’re going to have an amazing future. I love what that future looks like. I love the family we’re making. And I love you. So—” He released one of her hands and dropped to one knee, pulling out the ring that had been burning a hole in his pocket. “—I’m asking you, Teresa Anne Peyton, to be my wife and the mother of my children. Marry me.”
As he got through the speech, he finally zeroed in on her face and felt his stomach plummet.
“No.” The single syllable was soft. There was no trace of anger or fear, she just seemed decided. Regretful.
Mitch could only stare at her. “I know I flubbed this the first time. It wasn’t fair of me to put dictates on you—”
“It’s not that. And I’m sorry. I know that’s not what you want to hear. I know you believe this is the right thing for this baby. I just…don’t.”