Twenty
Meghan opened her mouth, but no sound came out. It was happening. What she’d secretly wished for was being delivered in the form of a ring and a proposal, this time for real.
He held the engagement ring between his fingers. His expression was one of hope and questioning uncertainty.
There was no need for him to worry. She was in love with him, had decided to follow wherever he went. They could make a family in Dunn or LA, or on the moon for all she cared.
“You want to marry me?” she managed, her smile shaky with excitement. “What brought this on?”
His smile was soft, slightly nervous. She searched his blue eyes for the truth about how he felt about her, watched his lips for the words “I love you” to emerge.
“I never gave you assurances,” he said, his eyes on the ring in his hand. “You can count on me. I can provide. I can take care of you and our baby.”
He was so sweet to reassure her. Had she done to him what everyone else had done to her? Made him feel incapable? Had she made him believe he’d fall short?
She touched his cheek. “I’ve been trying to prove to myself that I’m responsible by doing everything on my own. I didn’t mean to leave you out. I know you’re going to be an amazing father. I’ve always known that.”
He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “I love hearing that.”
Her heart leapt at the “I love” part. She’d thought for a second that he was about to profess his feelings for her. Although, she hadn’t professed her love for him, either. The words weren’t easy for her to say to anyone other than family members. She understood if he had to work up to it.
“No matter where we live,” he continued, “I will make sure you have the best doctors money can buy. I’m going to be there for you as much as I am able. I can’t and won’t force you to come to LA with me, but I will have to go back at some point.”
“Of course you will.” She shook her head, her eyes welling with unshed tears. He was offering to let her stay here, to come back for her. He was offering to marry her. She wouldn’t go through this pregnancy without him after all.
She threw her arms around his neck, melting into his embrace. “I’m sorry I haven’t let you in.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t been better at this, Meghan. It’s new for me.” He held her close, whispering into her ear, “You’re amazing.”
She pulled away to look into his blue eyes. She’d admired him since she was young, never dreaming of a day when she would meet him in person. Not only had she lived out a fantasy she’d been afraid to hope for, but that fantasy was her reality. After struggling to find her place in life, she’d stumbled into her future. Isaac. Their baby. Their family.
“I was going to ask if I could join you in LA, after all,” she told him, twining his hair between two fingers. “I don’t want to make you choose between your child and your career. And I don’t want to be away from you any longer than I have to be.”
“You’re serious?” He looked the way she felt. Surprised, but overjoyed that she’d come around, the same as he’d just done for her.
She offered her naked left hand. “My answer is yes. How’s that for serious?”
“Yeah?” When she nodded, he slipped the ring on her finger and shouted, “Hell, yeah!”
She was in his arms again, his deep laugh reverberating in her ear. “Squire, you and I are going to be the power couple to end all power couples. Wherever I end up filming next, you’ll travel in luxury. You and our son or daughter are going to live the best lives. You can count on me.”
“I know I can.” How had she ever let herself believe she couldn’t? She kissed him, unable to stop smiling. Her heart was full, her prayers answered. She needed to be closer to him, to embed this moment in her memory forever. “Make love to me, Isaac.”
“My pleasure.” He kissed her as he unzipped the back of her dress. His tongue tangled with hers as he pulled the bodice down, and then he glided his mouth from her neck to her collarbone.
She felt everything at once. The ring’s weight, this one more significant than the last. His second proposal had come paired with his true feelings and a promise for the future.
“I never wanted you to be temporary,” he muttered against her lips as he slipped his hand into her panties. “I wanted you to stay. I didn’t know how to ask.”
She arched her back as his fingers slipped along her slick flesh. “I forgive you.”
He continued stroking her below while his tongue circled one of her nipples. Her belly flooded with longing, and not just the sexual kind. She would have a family of her own. She was no longer alone. No longer wondering if someone would choose her.
Isaac was here. With her. For her.
He nipped her earlobe as he tickled her clit with his thumb. “Come for me, Squire.”
“Yes,” she breathed, as the muscles in her legs tightened. He laid her back on the couch, his mouth on hers, his tongue stroking in and out. Her orgasm crested and rolled, shimmering through her and leaving a wake of warmth that fanned out to her fingertips.
The love she felt for him swelled to occupy every cell in her spent body. In her heart, since before she’d met him, she’d known she’d loved him. She’d known he was perfect, and now he’d gone and proved it.
Lazily she opened her eyes, and blinked him into focus. The boy she’d crushed on, the man she’d made a baby with. The man she would marry. Her life had ended up being the stuff of fiction. She placed her left hand on his cheek. Sexy, scruffy Isaac. She could look into this face for the rest of her life.
“I love you.” The words she’d been afraid to say dripped off her tongue like honey, and she watched them fall, waiting for him to return them.
He blinked thick lashes, his eyes tightening at the corners. She’d surprised him. Had he not been able to feel her love for him just now?
“I love you so much,” she repeated. The light caught the diamond on her finger, casting sparkles onto the ceiling. “I can’t wait to marry you. To have our baby. To spend the rest of our lives together figuring out where to go and what to do next.”
A beat passed, and then two. Isaac did not return her “I love you” with one of his own. Tension bracketed his mouth. He loosened his hold on her and sat upright.
He should be celebrating with her. Sliding deep inside of her. Returning her profession with one of his own while they climaxed together. Instead he looked...well, he looked almost nauseous.
One hand went to his face, where he scrubbed his jaw. His eyes were focused straight ahead rather than on her.
She pushed herself to sitting, naked and feeling more vulnerable than ever. Using her dress, she covered her breasts and waited for him to say something. To say anything.
“Isaac?”