She forced herself to look up at him. His eyes were pleading with her. But she had to tell the truth about how she felt.
“No,” she said.
* * *
Oliver did his best not to react. He knew there was a risk in coming here—that she couldn’t forgive him for how he’d treated her. He’d told himself that no matter what her answer, he would accept it, even supporting his child without being in its mother’s life if that’s the way Lucy wanted it. And sadly, it appeared that was how she wanted it.
“Okay,” he said, dropping her hand even though it was the last thing he wanted to do.
“I can’t love you someday, Oliver. That would mean I didn’t love you now. And I do.” She placed a gentle hand against his cheek and smiled warmly. “Even when I was angry and hurt, I still loved you. Of course I do.”
Relief washed over him all at once and he scooped her up into his arms for a huge hug. “Oh, thank goodness!” he breathed into her ear. “I haven’t blown it.” Pushing back to put some distance between them again, he looked her in the eyes. “So you’re telling me I haven’t ruined everything for us? For our new family?”
A sheen of tears appeared in Lucy’s dark brown eyes. “We’re going to be a family?” she asked.
“If you’ll have me.” Oliver scooped her hands into his and dropped down onto his knee. He’d practiced this speech twenty times since his father had given him that ring, and in the moment, with adrenaline pumping through his veins, he couldn’t remember a word of it. All he could do was speak from his heart and hope that it was romantic and wonderful enough for her to accept him.
“Lucy, I have spent the last few years of my life living under a cloud of pessimism. I never believed that a woman would love me just for who I am. I saw what happened to my father and let it color my outlook of the world. A part of me had given up on the kind of love others seemed to find. And then I met you. And you challenged me at every step. You made me question everything and I’m so thankful that you did. It forced me to realize that I was hiding from my life. And it forced me to realize that I am very much in love with you.
“Unfortunately,” he continued with a sheepish grin, “I didn’t know how much I loved you until I’d nearly ruined everything for us. It was there, alone and miserable in my apartment, that I decided that I was willing to do anything to make it up to you, if I even could. First, I had my lawyer withdraw the protest because I wanted you to know that I believed you. Aunt Alice wanted you to have that money, and I want you to have it, too, whether or not you wanted me in your life again. There’s no strings attached.”
“You really, truly believe me? You have no reservations at all about the will or the baby?”
He’d failed to answer this question properly the first time because he was plagued with doubts even as she lay in his arms. Now, he was confident in his decision. “You don’t have a malicious bone in your body, Lucy. I can’t believe I ever thought otherwise. And if I did, I wouldn’t have taken this to the jeweler to be cleaned and sized just for you.”
Oliver reached into his pocket and pulled out the jewelry box his father had brought him a few days before. He opened the lid to show her the ring inside. “This ring belonged to my mother,” he said as she gasped audibly. “My father gave it to me in the hopes that I would stop moping around my place and start living my life with you in it. And not just you, but with our child, too.”
Lucy looked at the ring expectantly, but she didn’t say anything. At first, he thought that maybe she was just dazzled by the sight of it, but Oliver quickly realized that he was so nervous, he forgot to ask the critical question.
“Lucille Campbell, will you please do me the honor of being my wife, accepting all the love I have to give and standing by my side for the rest of our lives?”
At that, Lucy smiled through her tears. “Yes,” she said. “There’s nothing more I want than to be your lover and partner in life.”
Oliver’s hands were shaking as he pulled the ring from its velvet bed and slipped it onto her finger. “It’s a little large on you right now, but the jeweler suggested sizing up so you could wear it well into your second and third trimesters.”
“It’s perfect,” she said as she admired it on her hand. “I’m honored to wear the ring your mother once wore. I know she was important to you.”
He clutched her hands in his as he stood up. With his eyes pinned on hers, he leaned in and planted a kiss on the ridge of her knuckles—one hand, then the other—before seeking out her lips. When his mouth pressed to hers, it was like a promise was made between them. The engagement was official—sealed with a kiss.