She glanced around Matty’s nursery, noticing he was fast asleep. He was oblivious to the changes taking place between his parents. “Is this the right moment?”
Richard laughed. “I was going to ask you beside the Christmas tree in the hall, at the stroke of midnight. But somehow this seems to be the perfect time and place; just us and our boy.”
“It does,” she agreed. A flash of lightning exploded inside her body. To know he wanted her—not only as the mother of his child, but as his wife—made her want to fling open the windows and shout it out for everybody to hear. In their years of separation she had never thought it could be as good as this. Everything she’d dreamed of was finally within her grasp. It was almost too much to take in.
“So will you?” His voice was more urgent now, causing her to look at him in confusion.
“What?”
He was getting agitated, and she reached out a hand to calm him. Before she could touch his face, he dropped onto one knee, grasping her left hand between his fingers.
“Hanna Vincent, you are the love of my life. You’ve given me the most beautiful child who is the center of my universe. I’d be the luckiest guy in the world if you’d give me yourself.”
Hanna dropped to her knees, too, grasping his face between her hands, kissing him over and again until they were both laughing. “Yes, yes, of course I will. I thought you knew that already.”
His face turned serious again as he took her hand and kissed it, his lips lingering on her palm. “I wanted to make sure. But thank you for saying yes.”
“Thank you for asking,” her eyes twinkled as she leaned forward until their foreheads touched. “I thought you never would.”
TOM AND RUBY arrived at 8 p.m., their faces bright and happy as Hanna and Richard shared their news. An hour later, the party was in full swing, and Hanna was chatting to virtual strangers, accepting their congratulations and discussing everything from the state of the economy to how wonderful the London Olympics had been. Though she’d watched it from two thousand miles away, over a flat screen, she’d still felt proud to be British.
She was getting another glass of champagne when Ruby ran over, her dark hair flying as she called Hanna’s name.
“I feel like we haven’t had a chance to talk all night. Let’s go hide away and talk about boys.”
Hanna laughed, grabbing a second glass for Ruby. “It feels weird when those boys are Richard and Tom. I’m pretty sure you don’t want to hear any gory details about your brother, and I sure as hell don’t want to hear them about Tom.”
Ruby grinned. “Not even the way he uses his—” Hanna clamped a hand across Ruby’s mouth, shouting at her to be quiet. Ruby giggled before nipping at her palm. “Seriously, Hanna, I want you to know how excited I am about your engagement.”
“Me too.” Hanna couldn’t resist glancing at her ring. It was a large, pear-cut solitaire, set on a platinum band. Richard had chosen an elegantly simple design. It proved how well he knew her. “I can’t wait to be your sister.”
“It’s going to be so great. Especially now I have my own place in New York and won’t have to be around you newlyweds. You were gross enough when you were dating.”
Hanna blushed as she remembered how often Ruby would walk into the apartment to find her and Richard kissing, their hands hastily snatched back from whatever part of each other’s bodies they were exploring. It only took Ruby a month of living with them to decide she needed to get her own apartment while studying at Columbia. Steven had helped fund the investment.
“You and Tom aren’t much better.” Hanna pointed out.
Since the two of them had gotten together in April, Ruby and Tom had been inseparable. He had moved to New York, staying in Ruby’s apartment while he decided what to do with the band. Richard hadn’t liked the new development one bit.
“When are you two going to do the deed, anyway?”
Hanna wrinkled her nose. “I don’t want a big wedding. I’m hoping he’ll whisk me off to Vegas and we can get married in front of a really bad Elvis impersonator.”
Ruby laughed. “I don’t think that’s really Richard’s style, do you?”
“Regretfully not.” Hanna tried to think what his style would be. She wanted to commit herself to him in front of their closest family. Anything else would be superfluous.
“Whatever happens, I know you two are perfect for each other,” Ruby said, her champagne glass clinking against Hanna’s. “I’ve known it for years. It’s a shame it took you both so long to work it out.”
“Tell me about it.” Hanna smiled wryly. A moment later her heart leapt as she felt two strong arms encircle her waist.
“Am I interrupting anything?” Richard asked, brushing Hanna’s cheek with his lips. “I want to dance with the future Mrs. Larsen.”
Hanna blushed at his words. There was something about the way he claimed her which made her melt inside. He held her close as he moved her around the room, his hand cupping the swell of her bottom as it dipped beneath her dress. His other hand held hers, his strong palm encompassing her own. She felt delicate beneath his dominant form.
“You look beautiful tonight,” he said. “In fact, you look damn sexy in this dress.”
“Thank you.” Her smile was coy. She wanted to flirt with this man, show him exactly what he was letting himself in for. “You look rather gorgeous yourself, Mr. Larsen.”