That Night With the Rich Rancher (15 page)

“Lindsay, I need to see you. Let me pick you up for dinner tonight.”

She frowned at the phone. “You called at 4:00 a.m. to ask me to dinner?”

“You called at three to tell me a dog was howling. Will you have dinner with me? We need to talk.”

She couldn’t imagine what the urgency was, but her heartbeat quickened because she missed him and she wanted to be with him.

“Yes, I’ll go to dinner with you. But you do know I’m pregnant and need my sleep, right?”

“I figured four is close enough to when you’ll get up anyway. And can’t you go back to sleep?”

“Yes,” she said, but she wondered whether she would or not.

“Me, too, darling’,” he said, and a warm fuzziness filled her. She hadn’t heard that endearment in too long and it made it worth the wake-up call. “How about I pick you up at six?” he asked.

“That’s fine,” she said, curious what was on his mind.

“See you then,” he said, and was gone.

She settled in bed, turning toward the windows so she could look at the bright moonlight outside. White cumulus clouds drifted rapidly across the black sky. She missed Tony more than she would have believed possible. She missed him every day and thought about him constantly and got lost in memories too often each day.

When had Tony become so important to her? At first she’d thought she would forget him as the days passed. Instead, each day she missed him and thought of him more.

She hadn’t faced the question that hovered in her mind. Was she in love with him? Had she fallen in love with a man who would always want to run her life, their child rearing and her ranch? All indications said she had. She didn’t know his feelings for sure, but she knew he hadn’t been in love with her when she last saw him.

Tony had been so many good things—energetic, sexy, positive and upbeat, full of fun and life. She knew he was a good rancher. And she knew he was a take-charge person. Could she cope with having him back in her life? And on a larger scale? She couldn’t answer her own question. The only solid answer she could give was that she had been miserable without him. She didn’t want to tell him goodbye and watch him marry another woman while she raised his child.

This time without Tony had been the unhappiest stretch in her life. Excitement coursed through her at the thought of seeing him again. What was so urgent that he had to see her tonight? She hoped it was to get back together. She didn’t know how they could, but she was ready to try.

She climbed out of bed, moving restlessly to a chair to think about Tony. She was guessing he wanted to see her because he missed her, too. But what if he had another reason—like a permanent parting of the ways?

That possibility filled her with concern. It couldn’t happen now, she told herself, not when she finally realized she wanted him back in her life with all her being.

He still might propose to her again, even if he didn’t love her. If he did, was she willing to accept that and hope she could win his love over time?

She ran her hand across her flat stomach. Their baby needed them. Could they set aside their monumental differences and give love a chance?

There was love on her part. She was ready to admit it now. She was in love with Tony, alpha male or not. She had gotten herself into this situation by bidding on him at the auction, and now she was in deep, over her head.

Would she tell him that she was in love? Or keep it from him until he declared feelings of love for her? She didn’t see how she could keep from revealing her love to him. At the thought of seeing him tonight, what she most wanted was to throw herself into his arms when she opened her door. Now that she knew she would see him and had finally admitted that she was deeply in love, she ached to be with him and hoped with all her heart he might have missed her or, better yet, be as in love as she was.

She glanced at her clock and saw it was almost five. In just over twelve hours she would be with him and get an answer to the question that plagued her. What did Tony feel for her?

Only time would tell.

* * *

By six that night she had even more questions. As she left her room, she turned for one more look in the mirror. She wore a deep blue sleeveless dress with a low-cut back, a hem that ended above her knees and high heels. She had left her hair falling freely because Tony liked that best.

Downstairs, promptly at six she watched him step out of his black sports car and come up her front drive, and her breath rushed from her lungs. He looked handsome, filled with vitality. He also looked like a Texas rancher in his white Stetson, his black boots, black Western-cut trousers and a pale blue, long-sleeved cotton shirt that was open at the throat. She longed to throw herself into his embrace, but she restrained herself, opening the front door and smiling.

His blue-green eyes filled with desire that revved up her heartbeat. “Darlin’, you look gorgeous,” he said, his gaze moving over her slowly, a tantalizing perusal that set her pulse pounding. “You look more fantastic than ever. I’d say that pregnancy becomes you.”

“Thank you. I’d say prospective fatherhood becomes you, because you’re a sexy hunk, Tony Milan.” As she spoke she was unable to keep from letting her gaze skim over him, wanting more than ever to be in his arms and kiss him.

“Lindsay,” he said.

She looked up to meet his hungry gaze and her heart thudded at the heat and desire she saw there. He stepped inside and closed the door. She didn’t have to throw herself into Tony’s arms. He drew her into them and kissed her.

Her heart slammed against her ribs and she clung to him to kiss him in return. “Tony, I’ve missed you,” she whispered breathlessly between kisses.

“I’m not doing any of this the way I planned,” he said, between showering her with kisses.

Looking into his eyes, she felt a physical impact that heated her insides. It seemed months instead of weeks since she last saw him.

He kissed her and she closed her eyes again, holding him tightly while her heart pounded.

“I might not let you go this time,” he whispered. He showered kisses on her and finally picked her up, carrying her as he kissed her. “We were going to my house, but I think that’s temporarily on hold. This is far too urgent,” he said. “Lindsay, I’ve really missed you.”

Clutching his shoulders, she kissed him slowly and thoroughly. “I’ve missed you.”

He took the stairs two at a time, hurrying to the big bed in her room.

It was covered with dresses, lacy underwear, bits and pieces of clothing that she had tried on earlier.

He yanked back the cover and all of the clothing flew off. He turned to kiss her, his fingers trembling as he drew the zipper of her dress down while she twisted free the buttons of his shirt. She couldn’t wait to show him how much she loved him.

* * *

Over an hour later, she lay wrapped in his arms beside him in bed while he lightly combed her hair away from her face with his fingers and showered feathery kisses on her temple and cheeks.

“I think we were going to my place for dinner,” he whispered, nuzzling her neck and kissing her throat so lightly.

“We still can if you want or I can find something here to feed you.”

“I had plans and I wanted to show you the dog.”

She sat up so fast he rolled away slightly. “The dog? You didn’t tell me. Is he okay?”

“He’s more than okay,” Tony said, smiling as he pulled her back against his shoulder and held her close. “Lindsay, I’ve missed you, darlin’, more than I thought possible and I’ve thought about my feelings for you.”

She focused on him, her heart beginning to drum, and she could barely catch her breath upon hearing his words. He gazed into her eyes and looked at her intently. “Lindsay, I love you.”

“Oh, Tony,” she gasped, wrapping her arms around his neck to kiss him and hold him tightly. “I’m in love with you. I didn’t want to be in love with a rancher, absolutely not the controlling type, which you are. I tried not to be. We’re misfits, you and I—two ranchers. I know you think I’m too stubborn and maybe I am. Am I babbling?” she asked. Without pausing for breath or for his answer, she continued. “I’ve been miserable without you in my life. You’re too take-charge. We’ll clash and it won’t be any more peaceful in the future than it was in the past—”

“Damn, Lindsay,” he said, and kissed her, stopping her chatter. She clung to him, kissing him, pouring out the love that she felt along with joy and relief over his declaration.

Suddenly, she leaned away to look at him, framing his face with her hands. “You really, really love me?”

“I really, really love you. Lindsay, will you marry me?” he asked, holding her close against him with one arm wrapped around her waist.

Her heart thudded. “Yes,” she gasped. “Oh, yes, Tony. We’ll fight, but we’ll be in love.”

“We might not fight,” he whispered. “We may learn to negotiate.” She heard the laughter in his voice. He wrapped his fingers in her hair and tugged lightly so she had to look at him. Startled, her eyes flew wide as she looked up at him.

“Will you marry me?” he repeated.

“Yes, I will,” she answered.

“Then I’m the happiest man in the world tonight,” he said. “I don’t care about the differences and I can cope with you and you can cope with me. You’ll get used to this rancher, darlin’. You may not get used to my take-charge ways, but we’ll work things out because I promise to try to keep you happy. I promise to shower you with love so you won’t ever regret marrying an alpha male cowboy.”

“Shh, Tony. Stop making wild promises you can’t keep,” she said, laughing, trailing light kisses over his face. “I love you, cowboy. I love you with all my heart.”

He kissed her, a kiss of joy and promise, a kiss that melted her heart and ignited desire again, and soon she was lost in passion.

* * *

It was almost ten when she sat with him in her tub while hot water swirled around them and he held her close between his legs as she leaned back against him.

“Hungry? I was going to cook steaks.”

“I hadn’t thought about it,” she said. “I don’t know about hunger, but I’m shriveling up from being in this hot water so long.”

He chuckled, cupping her full breasts in his hands to caress her. “Not too shriveled,” he said. “We’ll get out, dry and go eat something. I know you have something in this house and if you don’t, we’ll head to my place.” With big splashes, he stood, pulling her up with him and helping her step out of the tub. He picked up a towel and began slow, light strokes to dry her.

She caught the towel, wrapping it around herself and picking up another folded one to hand to him. “If you keep doing that, we’ll end up in bed again. I’ll dry myself and you do the same, then get dressed and I’ll meet you downstairs. I’m getting hungry and for some reason, I can’t skip meals like I used to be able to.”

Nodding, he grinned. “Not as much fun, but I’ll cooperate.”

* * *

When he met her downstairs in her kitchen, she already had a casserole heating and in minutes it was on the table. His fingers closed on her wrist and she looked up at him, startled.

“Darlin’, I had this evening planned and it hasn’t gone the way I expected from the moment you opened the door. But I came prepared for whatever happened.” He reached into a pocket, pulled out a small folded bit of tissue paper tied with a tiny strip of blue ribbon. “This is for you, Lindsay.”

Surprised, she looked up at him, giving him a searching look, and then she took it to tug free the bow and open the paper carefully, her heart drumming as she did. She looked at a dazzling ring. “Oh, Tony,” she gasped, thrilled to look at the ring he had for her. It was a huge, emerald-cut diamond, surrounded by sapphires and diamonds with more diamonds scattered on the gold band.

He took it from her and held her hand. “One more time, the way I should have done it the first time. Lindsay Calhoun, will you marry me?”

“Oh, yes,” she replied, laughing. “Yes.” She threw her arms around him after he slipped the ring on her finger. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him and he held her tightly, kissing her in return.

When they finally stopped, he took her hand to walk to the table. “Lindsay, you need to eat. Let’s sit and eat and talk about when we’ll have a wedding. I hope we can agree on a date soon. Very, very soon.”

He held her chair and then sat facing her. She could barely think about eating because of the excitement and joy churning in her.

“Tony, I’ve missed you so and I realized I’ve been in love with you for a long time. I don’t know how marriage will work with the two of us, but I can’t wait to try.”

“You’ll be you and I’ll still be me. We’re in love, so we’ll work it out.” He grinned and picked up her hand to brush kisses over her knuckles. “I love you, darlin’. Back to the date. Lindsay, let’s get married soon. Really soon.

She stared at him and then nodded. “In that, we’re in agreement. The sooner the better for so many reasons, not the least of which is I love you with all my heart.”

His eyes took on the greenish hue that she recognized from moments of intense emotion or passion. He held her hand and, without taking his gaze from hers, lifted it to his lips to brush more kisses lightly over it.

“Lindsay, I love you and I always will.”

“Even if we fight?”

“Even if we fight. But I don’t think we really will.” He wagged his brows and grinned. “Well, maybe sometimes.”

“Now, do you want a surprise?” she asked.

“I think my entire life will be filled with surprises. What’s this one, darlin’?”

“It’s early, and I’ll have an ultrasound later this month, but my doctor thinks I may be having twins.”

Stunned, he stared at her. “Twins?” He got up and walked around the table to reach down and draw her to her feet to kiss her hard. When he released her, he grinned. “Lindsay, why do I think my whole life will be like this night? One shock and one change after another.”

“You know it won’t be that way all the time.”

“Get a calendar and let’s have this wedding this month.”

“Savannah’s baby is due this month, but I’d like to have the wedding soon, too. I’ve waited as long as I want to wait without you in my life. I don’t ever want to go without you again,” she said, holding him tightly.