Surely this was love.
"Marry me, Kellie."
Underneath me her body stilled for a moment and a sense of dread drew up my spine. I didn't want to look but I had to. I lifted my head and stared down at her.
What I saw was shock and maybe uncertainty. Like maybe she wasn't sure she heard me right.
I brushed her long dark hair away from her face. "Will you marry me?"
Over the last few months, I'd seen her smile many times, and every time it was radiant. But this time it stole my breath. It was filled with every kind of happiness that I wanted to give her.
"Yes. Yes, yes, yes I'll marry you."
I blew out a breath as all the nerves dissipated. I lowered my lips to hers and kissed her this time not as friends with benefits but as the man she'd spend her life with.
28
Kellie
I was wrong. Fairytales did come true. When Ryan brought me to this boat for dinner, I’d been having to work so hard to remind myself that we were just friends with benefits. My heart wanted to believe it was more, but that was dangerous to hope for.
The yacht was gorgeous, and with the sunset and the dinner out in the middle of the ocean, it was also romantic. But I had to remind myself that for Ryan this was just another evening. Like in Europe, he just wanted to give me unique experiences to enjoy, but it didn’t mean he loved me. In fact, at one point, I thought he might be wanting to bring this relationship to an end. Maybe he thought I’d get upset, and the best place for that to happen would be in the ocean away from everyone. Of course, I’d have been upset because I was in love with him, although I don’t think I’d have made a scene. The problem would have been in telling him about the baby.
Several times, I had tried to tell him during our evenings out, but never worked up the courage. And during the day we’d made an agreement to never discuss personal things so I couldn’t bring it up then. Although, he was so immersed in his work during the day I wouldn’t have had time anyway. It was a reminder of what he told me in Europe about how he hadn’t really seen himself getting married and having a family. Right now, his focus was on the business and expanding it outside the United States.
He was a good man who I knew would take care of the baby financially, but I couldn’t bear to see the disappointment and maybe even anger about the unplanned pregnancy. And so, for the last few weeks my heart and my brain were in a tug-of-war, not just in trying to moderate my feelings for him, but also in trying to decide the best course of action in telling him about the baby.
And then all of a sudden, he asked me to marry him. At first, I wondered if I heard him right. And then I wondered if maybe he just wasn’t overwhelmed by emotion from making love. Even now it seemed like a spur of the moment question.
“Did you just ask me that in the heat of the moment?" A part of me didn't want to know the answer in case he took back his question. At the same time, I wanted him to be sure.
"No." He gave me a sheepish smile. "I've been trying to ask all night. I even have a ring." He started to get out of bed. "Let me get it for you and we can make it official."
I wanted to keep him close but I couldn't resist the idea of making our engagement official, so I let him go. He got out of bed, found his pants, and pulled out a small velvet box. He looked at me with a sexy grin and then sauntered back to bed in all his naked splendor. He climbed up on the bed and knelt as he opened the box.
"Will you marry me Kellie Nichols?"
"Yes." I sat up and looked at the gorgeous diamond and platinum ring. It was exactly perfect.
He took the ring from the box and slid it on my finger, kissing the back of my hand, before kissing my lips. Then he lay next to me, pulling me to his side.
I felt like all the pieces of the puzzle of my life had just fallen in place. All except one. Now was the time to tell him about the baby. Now that I knew that he loved me and wanted to marry me, surely he'd be happy about the life we've made, right?
I rested my head on his shoulder, my hand gently stroking the area over his heart. "There's something I need you to know."
"Oh?" He cocked his head so that he could better see my face. I tilted my head up so I could see him. For some reason nerves still caught in my throat.
His brow furrowed. "Is something wrong?"
"No. It's not something that's wrong. But it is big and important."
"Is it going to impact your ability to marry me?"
I smiled and laughed lightly. "No, not at all. In fact, my news and yours are quite compatible."
He still stared at me with a quizzical expression. "So, what's this news?"
I swallowed and gathered my courage. "I'm pregnant."