"You mean chewing me out for my insensitivity? Women love it when their men play knight in shining armor. You want me to tell her about it so you'd get brownie points?"
"Ash."
"What?" Ash snorted. "Proposing to her? You're kidding. Every little girl dreams of marrying her tall, rich and handsome when she's grown up. And here you are. What's she got to complain about?"
God give him patience. "Ash."
"I'm serious." His twin frowned. "It's not a mark against Lynne that she's going for tall, rich and handsome you. Shows good taste. After all, we look alike."
Ash could always make him smile. Even now, when it seemed as if his life hung in the balance, Mark could feel his mouth lifting at the corners as he muttered, "And here I thought we share the same womb."
"Spit it out, man, or I'll leave you to it and go work on my report."
"You make her laugh," Mark burst out.
"And?"
He raised his hands helplessly. "There are things you do to her that I can't. What if she won't take me as I am? What if she demands you as a package deal?" Or worse, what if she chooses you?
Ash stared at him.
Mark was surprised and insulted when his brother's response was to laugh at him. "It's not a joke."
"But it is funny," was Ash's gasped-out response before he went off into another long and hearty roar of a laugh that Mark was sure the entire floor could hear.
Mark stifled a sigh and summoned the patience to wait him out, fingers drumming on the table.
Ash's mouth couldn't quite stop lifting into a smile when he finally said, "For a smart-ass businessman, you can be quite the idiot."
Mark waited.
"Lynne won't ask for me."
Mark's heartbeat quickened. "How do you know?"
Ash shifted in his seat. "I usually wake up in the middle of the night, and every time, she's plastered right next to you. When I'd wake her for a quickie, right after, she'd roll until she was snuggled with you. What do you make of that?"
"Uh, she likes the warmth of my body over your cold one?" Mark thought he knew what Ash seemed to be implying, but he daren't believe. Everything in him went still, drawn tight, taut with hope.
"Even after sex?" his twin asked in a dry voice. "No, brother mine. It's very obvious that Lynne prefers you to me, even in her unconscious state, which is usually indicative of some sentiment that goes deep down. It's like some magnet draws you together. I daresay you can make your proposal without fear." He stood and strolled to the door, turning back at the last second. "Oh, and about making her laugh. Don't worry about it. If she really loves you, everything you do will make her laugh with joy."
Chapter Eight
LYNNE AND MARK
Lynne made the last of the corrections on the copy and closed her eyes. Damn, she was tired. Good thing the day's almost over. For the second night in a row, she'd kept Mark up half the night laying out all her wicked plans, then he had returned the favor. They probably got a maximum of four to five hours sleep last night. Not that she was complaining. It was one of the best sex marathons they'd had, and she was hoping for a repeat this weekend. Thank God it's Friday. She wanted nothing but sleep and sex all weekend with Mark. And not necessarily in that order.
She loved the evenings when it was just her and Mark. One month into dating, Mark had asked her to move in with him at his penthouse condominium. Officially. By that time, she was almost always sleeping over at his place that it was more a formality than anything else.
On weekdays, they'd either prepare a simple meal or have something delivered, and over dinner, they'd talk about their days or updates on mutual friends. Or goof around. One time, they talked nonsense about a hypothetical real estate question (Mark was trying to pick her brain on something she knew nothing about), and she loved seeing this new side of him. Mark had his moments of humor, but to spend an entire hour and a half just making her laugh was one of the memories she'd treasure forever.
Her thoughts returned to the night before last. That he would get so angry on her behalf was both sexy and sweet. She'd been hampering Ash's efforts with the buttons on her blouse and had been about to speak out when Mark did. Normally, she was fine with Ash's quickies before dinner, but Mark had just arrived and she'd wanted to go greet and kiss him. Instead, Ash had caught her to him and not only claimed his kiss but wanted a fuck, too. She'd gotten mad and was in the process of stomping her foot down on Ash's when Mark's shout had frozen them.
Then, there was that second kiss with Ash that she had initiated. She hadn't meant to do it, but Mark's comment of not having kids if they're all like Ash threw her. It had struck close to her deepest fear. She hadn't wanted them to continue that line of conversation and so had sought a distraction.
Lynne sighed. Cara was right though. She needed to talk to Mark. When her body started to change because of the baby, he'd know.
The baby. Her hand moved to rest on her stomach, though it was flat as ever. This morning, Cara had gone with her to the doctor, and Lynne couldn't think of someone she'd want beside her more. Other than Mark, that is. Cara had sat with her as the doctor assured her the baby was healthy. Lynne didn't hear anything else after that, as she was in a daze with having her pregnancy confirmed, so it was Cara who repeated the doctor's nutrition advice when they were in the car and gave her the list of supplements she needed to take. Apparently, Cara had also asked if it was safe to continue having sex. Lynne was grateful to hear the affirmative answer. Thank God for best friends who were rocks and wise sages.
She must've dozed off because when she woke, the view outside her office window was filled with the twinkling lights of the cityscape at night. She did a careful stretch to relieve the kinks brought about by sleeping in her desk chair, which no matter how comfortable was never meant to be used as a bed. Glancing at her watch, she saw that Mark, whose office was situated several floors above hers, was supposed to meet her here in a half-hour's time, but maybe he could meet her in the lobby instead. She wanted to check out the bookstore next door and see if they carry any pregnancy books. Maybe it could serve as a conversation opener later on.
Energized, she sent off a text to Mark, gathered up her things and was out the door in ten minutes. She was halted by a voice calling her name when she was passing by the rows of cubicles. She'd thought no one was there, as the area was lit only at the corners, the customary lights left open for the cleaners.
"Elise! You're still here?"
Elise Sinclair was the newest member to join her team. In fact, she'd arrived at the company a mere two days after Lynne, hired primarily due to the formation of Lynne's new team at Pearson & Smithson. In the three months plus, Elise had proven to be a good team player and able to work without supervision, not to mention smart, conscientious and hard-working.
"I was waiting for…your feedback on the copy I submitted." Elise stood beside her cubicle, fingers entwined in front of her body. Her eyes flicked to the elevator lobby before coming back to rest on Lynne. "I…wanted to do the revisions now. If there's any."
How strange. A young, attractive woman not wanting to party on a Friday night?
"You don't have a date?" Just as Elise started to shake her head, Lynne was hit by a good idea. "Why don’t you join Mark and me for dinner?" They were going to buy takeout and eat at home, but it would be easy enough to change plans. They could go to a fast-food joint as it would be too late to make reservations at a decent restaurant by now. It would be a good chance to socialize with and learn more about Elise, especially with her probationary period evaluation coming up.
"Oh. I can't!"
"Why not? You did say you don’t have a date, right?"
"No, no." Elise's hands started to fidget. "I…I think…we're meeting later. Yes, that's it. That's why I can't have dinner with you. My date and I are meeting later. But thank you."
There was something odd about the way she said it, but it made perfect sense. "That’s why you're working late. You're passing
the time."
Elise beamed. "Yes."
"I'll leave you to it then. Have a great--"
"Wait, you can't go!" Elise actually lunged forward and caught hold of her sleeve.
Lynne frowned, confused by the entire encounter. "Why? Are you afraid to stay here by yourself? Why don't you come to the bookstore with me? I was going to see if they have books on--" She broke off. Mark should be the first to hear of this, not one of her team.
"I wanted to--" Elise stopped, and an expression of acute relief came over her face. "Oh, Mark's here."
Mark had been by often--to fetch her for lunch or home--and sometimes, he'd even gone with them for happy hour after work. Curiously enough, he'd gotten along well with her staff.
Lynne whirled around, letting her delight suffuse her face. "Hey."
"Hey, babe." Mark leaned down for a kiss, then grinned at Elise. "You still working?"
"Yeah. Uh, gotta finish these before I go," Elise said, gesturing vaguely toward her work desk. "You two go ahead."
Much as Lynne wanted to go home and spend time with Mark, she remembered Elise's desperate hold on her earlier. "Why don't you come down with us? You can pass the time in the bookstore next door. At least, there'll be other people--"
Elise shook her head and backed away. She was in such a hurry to get to her chair she almost stumbled. "I'm fine, I'm fine," she said, bending her head toward the papers on her desk. "The sooner you go, the faster I can finish this. 'Bye."
"We better do as she says," Mark said, amused.
"She's weird tonight." Lynne shook her head, casting a concerned look over her shoulder as she allowed Mark to usher her to the elevator lobby. "Do you think we should leave her alone?"
"I'll have a word with the guard at the ground floor so he can watch out for her."
"That's a great idea." She let out a relieved sigh.
Mark chuckled. He stopped before the bank of elevators and pressed the down button. "Such a mother hen. Practicing for your future children?"
She froze.
This is it, Lynne. Say it, say it!
"Mark, I--"
Ding!
The doors whooshed open.
"Come."
Mark held out a hand toward her, and her senses were so heightened by her near confession that she saw him trembling. Puzzled, she placed her hand in his. "Scared?"
"Terrified." They walked inside, hand in hand. "About four months ago, this beautiful, sexy siren was waiting for me in this same car, and I swear I've never been the same since."
"Hmmm." A smile flitted about her lips at what he said as she took in the decorations inside the elevator. Gold and red foil cutouts in the shape of stars and flowers hung from the ceiling, and the floor looked like someone had dropped an avalanche of red, pink, yellow and white petals, their combined fragrance wafting in the air. Tiny light bulbs--currently unlit--adorned the left wall in squiggly formation. "Oooh, I feel like I'm walking in an orchard. The cleaners must've missed this car; we should tell the guard. But whoever's celebrating, they sure went all out. What's the occasion, do you know?"
He shrugged as the elevator started to descend. "What do you think?"
"I'm not sure. Christmas is still far away. Someone's anniversary? I'm not sure building management would agree to--" Her sentence ended in a shriek as the elevator jerked to a halt and the lights went out.
"Oh my God, not again." Now that her heart had dislodged from her throat, she realized her hand had gone instinctively to cover her stomach.
"You okay?" Mark, on the other hand, had clutched her to him when the elevator had stopped and was now rubbing her back.
"Yes." And she realized she was. With Mark beside her, she could do anything, conquer everything. That included a little confession she still had to make. "Mark, I--"
"And so we come full circle, back to this, here, now."
The myriad little sounds of the whirring fans and machinery were gone, and in the hushed darkness, there was only Mark's voice, her light, her guiding beacon.
"Lynne," he squeezed her hand, "you're a strong, independent woman, and I'm honored to have met you and become a part of your life."
An incredulous thought shot through her head. Is he breaking up with me? Now? In the dark?
"But I find…"
Here it comes. Don't cry! Whatever you do, don't cry. She bit down on her lip to prevent anything--a whimper, a sob, any sound!--from escaping. Still, a part of her brain continued to process the scene and wondered why the hell Mark was trembling and his voice breaking.
He cleared his throat. "I find it's not enough. I want to continue walking with you down life's road and face whatever comes on the journey together with you--"
What!? She could sense Mark going down on his knee before her, and for a moment, she couldn't comprehend why. When she realized the reason, she gasped and her heart stuttered then resumed beating with a faster pace. She would've brought a hand to her mouth, but he was holding fast to both of them.
"There's nothing I want more than to spend the rest of my life making you laugh, arguing with you, loving you. Lynne, my love, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
Joy exploded like a starburst within her. "Yes, yes!" She went down just as he was coming up; they met halfway in a kiss that was passionate and a promise of things to come. They kissed and murmured endearments, kissed and declared their love, and kissed again.
Lynne dashed away her tears and saw, for the first time, that the tiny bulbs had lit up and were spelling the words, "Marry me?" She laughed and cried and saw all the decorations in a new light. Let other women have their romantic candlelit dinners or proposals high up in the mountains. Hers was just perfect.
She hugged Mark and buried her face in his neck. "I love you."
"I love you more." He squeezed her tight. "There's one other thing…"
She looked up. "What is it?"
He took a deep breath before speaking, and in the dim light, she could see that what he was about to say was very important to him. "Ash doesn't come with the package. He won't be sharing our bed any longer. Will that bother you?"
A wide smile graced her lips. "No, but Ash joining our bed was your idea in the first place. Are you okay with booting him out forever?"
"He was never meant to be a part of my marriage in that capacity, and it's time he get off his lazy butt and find his own woman."
She giggled. "Finally owning up to your responsibility as big brother, huh?"
"I better or his future wife and children will blame me." He pressed their bodies closer so she couldn't mistake the hard bulge pressing into her abdomen. "Now where were we?"
However, Lynne couldn't throw herself into the kiss, because his mention of children made her remember the tiny life inside of her. If he was throwing Ash out of their relationship, what would he do to the kid who could be fifty percent Ash? Or would that be twenty-five percent probability of Ash?
Whatever, she couldn't tell him now. She needed time to formulate a new argument in light of recent developments. She had to hold in an inane giggle. She never thought the day would come that she'd think of her engagement as "recent developments".
Mark raised his head, his eyes searching hers. He frowned. "Lynne, is something wrong?"
Think fast!
"As romantic as this is, I'd rather we go home now. I have plans for this." She palmed his cock and squeezed.
"I have…reservations," he gasped out, "at your favorite Japanese restaurant."
There was no contest.
"What's sushi compared to this?" Another squeeze.
Mark hit the alarm. "That's it. We're going home."
"Hurry." She reached up to suck his earlobe into her mouth. If anything, his cock grew larger and harder under her palm. "I want to show you how much I love you."
When they got to the car, he floored the accelerator all the way home.
Chapter Nine
LYNNE AND MARK
Mark insisted on an
engagement party. "I want to show you off to family and friends."
"Can't they wait for the wedding?"
"I know a wedding is every woman's big day, and you'll want it with all the bells and whistles. I can't wait that long." He held up two fingers. "Two weeks. We're having our party in two weeks. Make it happen."
That was when Lynne narrowed her eyes at him. "You want to stamp your claim on me."
He didn't deny it.
On the one hand, Lynne wanted to punch him because she was a person, not an object that one claimed ownership to. On the other hand, she didn't know what it said about her that she found it thrilling that Mark wanted to put his brand on her, make it known that she belonged to him. The vulnerability on his face decided her.
She placed a kiss on his naked shoulder. "All right. Two weeks."
In the following days, Lynne discovered that when money was no object, practically anything could be done in the time frame of your choice. PrimeFoods, only the city's most sought-after caterer and usually booked months in advance, was ecstatic to sign them up and assured her only freshest seafood would be used, even if they had to be flown in. Velvet Cakes, a bakeshop renowned for supplying the wedding cakes of celebrities, promised Lynne the cake of her dreams, right down to the smallest detail. It was the same story with the florists and the dressmaker.
Wanting a hands-on approach to her engagement party, Lynne roped in only Cara to help make follow-ups and reminders with the suppliers providing the food and the cake. The rest she could handle.
The venue was the only thing they didn't have to shell out money for--not counting the decorations--because the party's going to be held at Mark's family home. The mansion boasted a ballroom big enough to accommodate the number of friends and family who were invited to the event. Lynne had seen the grand estate whenever she'd accompanied Mark to have Sunday brunch with his parents, and she'd always felt the big house a good place to play hide and seek in. A person could comfortably hide in it for a year before being found.
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