“It’s not what I think, sweetheart,” he said, taking her into his arms. “It’s what I know.” When she started to push against his chest, the look in his incredible blue eyes stopped her. “I love you and I’m pretty damned sure you love me.”
“You love me,” she repeated. She had wanted to hear those words from Cole since she was sixteen years old, and now that he’d said them, she was having a hard time believing that she’d heard him correctly or that he meant them.
“Paige, I’ve loved you since I first I saw you walking toward me on your way to Mr. Matthews’s geometry class,” Cole said, holding her close. “You were the prettiest girl I’d ever seen. And that hasn’t changed. If anything, you’re more beautiful now than you were then.”
He started to brush his lips over hers, but she turned her head slightly, causing him to kiss her cheek instead. “Cole, I don’t want to be hurt again. I’ve recently discovered that in the past I’ve been too gullible and placed my trust too easily.”
“I understand, sweetheart,” he said, giving her a smile that curled her toes inside her cross-trainers. “But I give you my word that everything I’m telling you is the truth. I love you more than life itself, and if you’ll give me the chance, I swear I’ll make sure no one ever hurts you again.” He paused for a moment before he continued. “If you’ll remember, I was able to tell you what you were wearing the first time I saw you, as well as the day I worked up the nerve to talk to you.”
She nodded. “But what does that have to do with—?”
“To prove just how hard and fast I fell for you that day, I can tell you that your hair was pulled back from your face and clipped with two silver barrettes,” he said, smiling. “And your backpack was purple with pink trim.”
“How do you remember so many details about that day?” she asked, astounded that he recalled everything so accurately.
“Because I fell in love with you and didn’t want to forget anything about you,” he said as if it was as simple as that. “I never want to forget seeing the love of my life for the first time.”
She bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling before she finally managed to get words passed the lump clogging her throat. “I think I’ve loved you just as long.”
“Thank God!” He immediately brought his mouth down to cover hers with a kiss that left her breathless. When he raised his head, he brushed a tear from her cheek with his thumb as he stared into her eyes. “I never want you to doubt how much you mean to me. I’m going to spend every minute of every day for the rest of my life telling you how beautiful you are and how much I love you, Paige.”
“And I love you, Cole,” she said, knowing in her heart that everything he had told her was true.
He gave her a smile that took her breath away. “I wanted to wait until I had a ring and planned something special when I ask you, but I don’t want to waste another minute. Will you marry me, Paige?”
“Yes,” she said, throwing her arms around his wide shoulders. “I’ve never wanted anything more in my life than to be your wife.”
“When? And please don’t tell me you want a long engagement.” He cupped her face with his palms. “We had more than ten years taken away from us, and I don’t want to spend another minute without you.”
“There’s something I need to tell you,” she said, knowing it was time to share her news with him. “I hope you’re as happy about it as I am.”
“What’s that, sweetheart?” he asked, kissing her cheeks, her chin and the tip of her nose.
“You wasted your money the other day,” she said, smiling.
He looked confused. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“At the pharmacy,” she explained. “You bought a box of condoms because you’d read the journal entries and knew that Craig had purposely made me think I had a fertility problem.”
Cole nodded. “I knew there was the chance that...” His voice trailed off, and she knew from the stunned look on his face that he had figured out what she was alluding to. “You’re pregnant?”
“Yes.”
“When did you find out?” he asked, glancing from her flat stomach to her face, then back to her stomach.
“I’ve been feeling kind of queasy the past few mornings and when I checked my calendar, I discovered that I was two weeks late,” she said, loving the look of complete awe on his face. “I made a special trip to the pharmacy to get an in-home test this morning.” She laughed. “I even took it twice with the same results.”