She burped.
“Good girl.” I laid her back again so she could finish the bottle and kept babbling. “And how about his running into my sister at the grocery store the night we got back together? What if he’d gone to a different store? What if Stella hadn’t decided to pick up pork chops for dinner? What if her last patient hadn’t canceled and she’d gotten out of work an hour later? All that is luck, isn’t it? So maybe the universe really is on our side. Maybe Maren is right and everything happens the way it’s supposed to and I just need to wait and trust.” I sighed. “I really love him. So that’s what I’ll do.”
Nate came in about thirty minutes later. “Let me put the food in the oven to keep it warm, then I’ll get her to bed and make us some celebratory cocktails.”
“Okay.” I stood up with Paisley in my arms. “Want me to unpack something? A kitchen box?”
“Nope. Just relax.” He came from the kitchen into the family room and took his daughter from me, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be right down.”
My stomach flipped over the way it always did when I saw him display affection for his daughter. Earlier, I’d watched him give her a bath in a real bathtub all on his own—I hadn’t even lifted a finger. All I could think of was the night she first arrived and he fainted.
Someday, I was going to get him to admit that.
“Night, peanut,” I called to the chubby little dumpling he held against his chest.
While he was upstairs with her, I opened my laptop and returned some emails. I also called Coco and left her a message—I’d decided to turn down the job offer up north, but she was actually considering it. Apparently, Nick was interested in some restaurant properties in that area, so the move made sense for them. She and I were going to have lunch tomorrow and discuss my buying her out. It made me nervous, thinking about running a business all on my own, but excited, too.
When Nate came downstairs, I put my laptop and phone away. He switched on the monitor on his way to the kitchen. “Up for a martini?”
“Absolutely,” I said. “Want help in there?”
“Since when do I need help making cocktails?” he called. Next, I heard ice clinking into the metal shaker.
The family room and kitchen were open to each other, part of a new addition off the back of the old house. I loved Nate’s house. From the moment I saw it, I knew it was the right one for him. Beautiful old street, great neighborhood, kids riding bikes up and down the block, plenty of room in the house for him and Paisley, and even room to grow if he decided he wanted a bigger family.
I really hoped he did.
“Are you hungry?” he asked, shaking up the vodka and the ice.
“Yes.” I took off my heels and wiggled my toes. “I skipped lunch today.”
“Good, because I have a little treat for you before dinner.” A moment later, he brought me a drink and a little plate with two fortune cookies on it. He set both on the table.
I rolled my eyes. “Are you going to tease me about taking these things seriously again?”
“Not at all. I think you should take it very seriously.”
“No, you don’t. You just want to laugh at me.” I looked at them—one was half dipped in dark chocolate, the other was half-dipped in white. “Are these from The Peterboro?”
“Nope. I got them made especially for you. Did you know it’s our anniversary today?”
A funny little shiver moved through me. I looked at him, but his expression gave nothing away. “It is?”
He nodded and sat down beside me. “Exactly three months since the night at the winery.”
“Awww.” I gave him a quick kiss. He still wore his dress pants and shirt, although he’d cuffed up his sleeves before Paisley’s bath. He’d also ditched his tie and loosened his collar. Sexy as hell, even half undone. “And I’m supposed to eat them before dinner?”
“Yes. Or at least open them.” He handed me the dark chocolate dipped. “Here. This one first. I’ll go get your drink.”
With my belly fluttering, I cracked it open. Setting the pieces back on the plate, I pulled out the little paper. It said, Only you.
“Awwww.” I smiled at him as he set my drink on the table and sat next to me. “So sweet.” I set the little piece of paper down and picked up the next cookie, although I knew what it was going to say, because it was the second half of something I asked him to tell me all the time. I cracked it open over the plate, and pulled out the paper.
Then I gasped. Because it didn’t say what I thought it was going to say. It said, Will you marry me?
And Nate was getting on one knee at my feet.
My jaw hung open. My heart clamored in my chest.
He pulled a ring box from his pocket and opened it up. “Always you,” he said. His voice cracked. His eyes were shining. But he smiled at me and everything, everything fell into place.
I shrieked and threw my arms around his neck before bursting into tears, clinging to him like he’d just rescued me from drowning.
He laughed. “Is that a yes?”
But all I could do was sob.
“Want to at least try the ring on?”
The ring! I hadn’t even looked at it.
Sniffling, I let go of him and he held it out for me again. “I asked your sisters’ opinions, but if it’s not what you want—”
But I was already blubbering again. I see a lot of rings in my business, but this one took my breath away—a two-carat elongated cushion-cut solitaire with a narrow pave band in white gold. “It’s p-perfect,” I managed. “Ab-abso-lutely p-perfect.”
“I’d like to take more credit, but your sisters said you’ve described your dream ring to them so many times they had it memorized.” He took it from the box and slid it onto my finger.
I laughed through my tears. “It’s true.” It took me a few more minutes, but eventually I calmed down enough to speak. “Oh my God, Nate. It’s real. It was a dream, but you made it real.”
“It’s real.”
I looked at my hands in disbelief—one held a tiny slip of paper with Nate’s proposal on it, the other wore a ring he’d just slipped on my finger. I dropped to my knees and threw my arms around him again, pressing my body against his from knee to chest, burying my face in his neck. I closed my eyes, breathed him in, and saw it all unfold. This man would be my husband. This house would be our home. This life would be ours to share.
“You really want me to be your wife?” I asked, tipping my head back to look up at him.
“Of course I do.” He kissed my lips. “But that’s not all I want. I want you to help me raise Paisley. And I want to have children with you. And I want to spend every day dedicated to our family and our home and our dreams.”
“I want that, too.”
He grinned. “Then can I please get a yes? Because I don’t think you’ve actually said it yet. What do you say, Calamity, will you marry me?”
I smiled up at him, my wish come true. “Yes.”
THE END
Bonus Epilogue
Emme
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been this nervous.
My hands were shaking. My pulse raced. My stomach was fluttering so crazily, it felt like I had a flock of geese inside it, not a baby.
A baby.
I lowered myself onto the edge of the bathtub in our master bath and stared again at the pink plus sign on the pregnancy test—the eighth one I’d taken so far. It was positive, like all the rest of them had been.
We were having a baby. It was real.
A smile crept onto my lips as I rose to my feet. This pregnancy had been totally unplanned—we weren’t even married yet! And Paisley wasn’t even a year old! Life was about to get seriously overwhelming. But I couldn’t help the joy rushing through me at the prospect of sharing it all with Nate. He’d be happy too, wouldn’t he?
Of course he would. He’d come a long way since hearing the news about Paisley. He was used to being a father now. In fact, he loved it.
Our weekends with his little girl were the highlight of his months, and I knew how badly he missed her when she was with her mother. He talked about her constantly and was always showing off her picture. Now he’d have two babies to show off!
“Emme? Are you up here?”
Gulp. He was home from work! And coming up the stairs!
I wasn’t ready!
“In here!” I called, turning around and hiding the stick behind my back just as he walked into the bedroom. The bathroom door was open and I watched him enter the bedroom.
He saw me and gave me a funny look. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing.” I plastered a smile on my face while my heart beat overtime in my chest.
Nate slipped his suit coat off and tossed it onto the bed. “That is not a ‘nothing’ face.”
“It’s not?” I tried a more innocent expression.
He laughed as he loosened his tie. “That one’s even worse. What’s going on with you?”
“Um … How was work?”
“Work was fine. The usual.” He came into the bathroom, and my stomach whooshed for a different reason—nobody wore a suit better than Nate, but I loved watching him take it off too. He looked so sexy with his jacket off and his collar loose and his five o’clock shadow just starting to come in. He put his arms around me and my nether regions tingled as I caught the scent of his skin.
“Mmm. You smell good.”
“You too.” He kissed my cheek and then lifted my chin, forcing me to look him in the eye. “Now tell me about whatever it is you’re hiding.”
I giggled nervously. “What makes you think I’m hiding something?”
“I know you, Calamity.” He gave me a look and then returned to the bedroom, where he unbuttoned his cuffs and started rolling them up. “Did you drive over the in-ground sprinklers again?”
“I was avoiding a squirrel in the driveway!”
“Set fire to the living room sofa?”
“That candle was clearly defective.”
“Shrink my favorite sweater?”
I sniffed. “You shouldn’t leave your clothes where they might inadvertently get thrown in the wash.”
He grinned. “I didn’t. You borrowed that sweater.”
“Well, it smelled like you,” I said helplessly. “And you were away on business. I missed you.”
His grin widened as he finished the second cuff. “Good.”
“But I do have something to tell you.” Gingerly, I walked into the bedroom, keeping the test hidden behind my back.
“What?”
“It’s .. uh, it’s a little surprising.”
He cocked a brow. “Oh?”
“Yeah.” I forced a laugh. “And funny too. It’s really funny.”
He faced me and stuck his hands on his hips. “Why am I getting the feeling I’m not going to like this funny surprise?”
“I don’t know,” I said, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. “Because it’s just so great. And so, um, unexpected. But—but great!”
“Emme. Spit it out.”
“Okay.” I took a breath and held up the test.
He squinted at it. “What the hell is that?”
“It’s a pregnancy test.”
He tilted his head and squinted harder, like there was something written on it in a foreign language he didn’t understand. “A pregnancy test?”
“Yes. I’m pregnant.”
His head straightened and his eyes went wide. “You can’t be.”
“Actually, I can.”
“You don’t look pregnant.”
“Well, it’s early, silly. I’m only a few weeks along.”
“But … but how?” He started to sway.
“How?” I blinked at him. “You need the anatomical particulars on this?”
“The Pill,” he croaked, his eyes going a little glassy. “You’re on the Pill.”
“Yes, but I sometimes miss one.”
“You’re—you’re sure you didn’t just shrink another sweater?”
“I’m sure,” I told him, growing a bit concerned, not to mention annoyed. “Nate, are you okay? You don’t look right.”
“I’m fine, Mom. I just need to sit down for a second.”
And then his knees buckled.
“Nate!” I squealed as he hit the floor. Dropping down beside him on the rug, I pulled his head onto my lap and shook him a bit. “Nate, honey, are you okay?”
His eyes opened.
“Hey.” I patted his cheek. “Can you hear me?”
He groaned.
“Oh good, you’re alive.”
Another groan, and then he tried to sit up.
“No, no. Stay right there. I don’t want you to get dizzy.”
He frowned, but he stayed put. “I’m sorry,” he said, closing his eyes again.
“It’s okay.” I brushed his hair back from his forehead. “It was a big surprise. I know.”
“So you’re … you’re sure? About the pregnancy?”
I sighed. “Yes. I’m afraid I am.”
“No. Don’t be afraid.” He opened his eyes and sat up, taking a second to get his bearings, and then reaching for me. “Come here.”
I let him pull me across his lap and wrap me up in his arms, snuggling into his embrace.
He kissed my head. “God, I’m an asshole. I’m sorry, Emme.”
“It’s okay. I wasn’t expecting this either.”
He looked down at me, and for the first time, he smiled. “A baby, huh?”
I nodded and smiled back. “A baby.”
His hand drifted to my stomach. “I can’t believe it.”
“I gathered that when you fell over.”
He laughed, but when he met my eyes again, his were teary. “You know how happy this makes me, don’t you?”
My eyes filled too. “Are you happy? Really?”
“Of course I am. I love being a father. And I love you.” he kissed me. “Nothing could make me happier than growing our family.”
“You mean it?” A tear fell from one eye. “I know the timing isn’t great. Paisley is still so young, and we’re not even—”
He cut me off with another kiss. “I don’t care about any of that. The timing is exactly right. Paisley is going to be the best big sister ever. And we can run out and get married this weekend if you want to. Shotgun wedding at the courthouse.”
My jaw dropped. “Nate Pearson, bite your tongue. I have been dreaming of my wedding day for twenty years and there’s no way I’m settling for any shotgun courthouse nonsense!”
He laughed. “I’m only saying it doesn’t bother me that we’re not married yet. As much as I want you to be my wife, it’s a piece of paper. What really matters is that you and I are in this together, and this is only the beginning.”
I smiled. “I love you.”
He pulled me tighter to his chest. “I love you, too.”
Only Him
He was my first crush, my first kiss, my first everything.
So when he shows up out of the blue asking me to have dinner with him "for old time's sake," I say I will. After all, it's been twelve years since he broke my heart, and I'm totally over him.
Or so I thought.
Because he still does something to me. He's got those eyes that make me weak, those hands that drive me wild, and a body I can't resist. It doesn't take long for our trip down memory lane to go from sweet to sizzling.
We're just as good together as we were back then--better, even—but something has him convinced it's too late for us. He says I should forget him and find someone else, someone better.
How can I convince him that sometimes your first love deserves a second chance?
I must be a mermaid … I have no fear of depths and a great fear of shallow living.
Anaïs Nin
One
Maren
Soft female voices drifted through the haze.
“Is she breathing?”
“Yes.”
“
Are you sure? Because she looks dead.”
“Aren’t you supposed to look dead doing Corpse Pose?”
“Not that dead.”
“Mildred Peacock kicked the bucket during yoga at the center last year, remember?”
“That’s right. She was wearing those awful purple leggings.”
“And that rubbish pink lipstick.”
“I don’t think the teacher’s dead. I think she just fell asleep.”
I opened my eyes and saw the nine students from my Friday morning Yoga for Seniors class standing above me. I was lying flat on my back, legs extended, arms at my sides, palms up.
“Oh my God.” I sat up. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry, ladies. I must have dozed off. This has never happened to me before.”
“We thought you were dead,” said one white-haired woman wearing a T-shirt that said “My Grandma is a Hooker” above a picture of a crochet hook and a ball of yarn.
“You looked good dead.” Another old lady nodded enthusiastically. “Much better than Mildred Peacock.”
Embarrassed, I scrambled to my feet. “Forgive me, please. I haven’t been sleeping well, and it’s catching up with me.” For weeks now, I’d been having this recurring nightmare about being locked in a room with a big snake. I’d tried everything I could think of to ease my subconscious mind—meditated, detoxed, cleared my chakras—but nothing had worked.
“That’s all right.” The Hooker patted my shoulder. “Happens to everyone. Try some warm milk.”
“Put some whiskey in it,” suggested a salt-and-pepper-haired woman with a smoker’s voice.
“Thanks, I’ll try that.” I glanced at the clock and saw that I’d been out for the entire last ten minutes of class. “The bus is probably here to take you back to the senior center, ladies. I’ll see you next week. Thanks for coming.”
Several of them told me to get some rest before shuffling out of the studio, toting their rolled-up mats and water bottles. Over in the corner of the room, I turned off the music and looked at my reflection in the mirror. Bags under my bloodshot eyes. Paler-than-usual skin, especially for July. Worry lines creasing my forehead. I tried to relax my face, but the lines didn’t disappear.
One and Only Boxed Set Page 26
