Divided Interests (Southern Bride 3)

“Not true, I’m working for my father. And besides, they signed off on the final design. I’ll still be paid.”

With an disbelieving laugh, I shook my head. “You do realize the pay cut you just took.”

“We can afford it, don’t worry. We can still have the wedding and fix up the house. I’ve got some money put aside.”

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t care about that. Are you sure you want to walk away from your job? I thought you loved it.”

He pulled me down to him. “I love you more. I love the life we’re starting for ourselves, and honestly, I want to be here for the house remodel and helping you start your store. That’s what I love.”

Resting my chin on the back of my hand, I gazed at him for a few moments. “Talk to me.”

Lucas sighed. “I’m pissed at myself for letting them bully me into sitting with her tonight. I think in a way, Pete actually wanted me to sleep with her. He’s so worried about securing her investment. But Harper probably told you that.”

“No, she didn’t say anything like that. She told me you looked like you wanted to be sick the entire time you were sitting there. She also wanted to tell you she was sorry she didn’t trust you. She’d only ever heard about you after you broke my heart in two.”

Lucas rolled me over so fast I let out a small scream. He was on top of me, his body between my legs, his hard length against my instantly throbbing core.

“Did you tell her I’ve changed? That I do things slow?” he asked, kissing me softly on the neck and along my collarbone.

“Mmm,” I whispered, wrapping my legs around him and lifting my hips to get better contact. He was naked, but I had on a pair of cotton sleeping pants. “I didn’t have to. She figured you’d changed since we were engaged, which she told me you announced to everyone.”

He gazed down at me. “I’d rent a plane and write it across the sky if I could.”

I smiled. “You didn’t have to come home tonight. I wasn’t mad.”

Lucas rubbed his nose against mine. “I know, but the moment I realized what an ass I had been, I needed to be here. Needed to tell you how much you mean to me and how much I love you.”

My heart filled with love as Lucas placed gentle kisses over my face and finally pressed his mouth to mine.

Before I knew what was happening, Lucas had pulled my sleeping pants down, and I was kicking them off my body.

The moment he slipped inside me, I let out a long moan of pleasure. Lucas moved slowly, filling me completely, then withdrawing painstakingly slow before entering me again.

“Lucas, faster,” I whispered, wrapping my legs around him.

“I want to make love to you slowly. Feel every single movement.”

My fingertips moved lazily over his back.

“Do you have your dress?” he asked.

Between the pounding of my heart in my ears, the thrumming of my body, and the way his whispered voice left me dizzy, I managed, “Yes.”

“Then marry me…now.”

I froze, but he kept moving.

“What?” I asked, thinking I hadn’t heard him right, or maybe had misunderstood.

“I want to make you mine, now.”

Pressing my hand to his chest, I pushed him back until his eyes met mine. “I am yours, Lucas. No marriage certificate will ever change that or make it more believable. I’ve always been yours and I will be forever.”

“I know everything is changing for you, and you’re finally making your dreams come true, but I want you to be my wife and I want… I want…”

He sounded so unsure, as if he was worried to tell me. I placed my hand on the side of his face and smiled. “Tell me what you want. This isn’t only about my wishes and dreams. It’s about yours, as well.”

The way his eyes glistened made my heart feel like it dropped in my chest.

“I want a baby. I want to marry you and try for a baby and fill this house with as many little ones as you want. If you only want one, I’m fine with that. If you want ten, I’ll gladly keep you knocked up or die trying.”

A mix between a sob and a laugh slipped between my lips. “Have you lost your mind? Lucas, we’ve only been back together for a few months. Everything in our world is upside down. I’m starting a new business…”

“And you will kick ass at it. You can work. You don’t have to give that up. Once you go back to the flower shop, I’ll take care of the baby. It will be easier for me since I’ll be working for Dad.”

“You’re serious?” I asked, searching his face and feeling my heart nearly explode with love for this man. “You want to try for a baby right away?”