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She blushed. “Are you serious?”
I nodded. “Very.”
I could see the arousal in her eyes as she watched me. She liked the idea of me touching her everywhere. Paying extra attention to areas she loved me to kiss.
“I’ll give those sensitive nipples special attention,” I promised as I slid my hands to the waistline of her skirt.
“Oh?” she asked, leaning into me.
“Mm-hmm. Any other tender place that needs my expertise?” I asked, cupping her ass in my hands.
“Ahhh . . . yes.” She arched into me.
“Then let’s get you undressed and find out just where I need to kiss. This could take hours.”
Reese lifted her hands into the air and gazed up at me. All that trust in her eyes made me want to beat my chest and roar. This was my woman. I’d never let her down.
Reese
When we left Chicago, No
Mase had become overprotective. I kept assuring him that I could walk around and I didn’t have to rest yet—I wasn’t even showing. I really hoped I wouldn’t get morning sickness, because I wasn’t sure he could handle it.
He was also anxious to get me back to the doctor so he could go, too. He had a million questions I didn’t have the answers to. The one thing he never mentioned was marriage. I was torn about that. I hadn’t wanted him to propose because he thought he had to, but then his not even mentioning it worried me, too. I convinced myself that it was my pregnancy hormones and I had nothing to worry about. Even if he never asked me to marry him, he wanted me. He wanted both of us. I didn’t have to wear his ring or have his last name to be his.
Getting home and telling his parents was our first priority. Marya
“Thanks for coming and bringing the pie. It’s been a long day of traveling, and Reese needed to rest,” Mase said. I shot him a frustrated frown. He made me sound like a wimp. The reason they were here was that he insisted I get comfortable and relax.
“We never get invited over. This is a treat,” Marya
“I’m ready for some pie,” Charlie piped up. “Let’s talk and eat. She wouldn’t let me touch it before we got here.”
Marya
Charlie shrugged. “Well, they aren’t gettin’ to the point. When y’all getting married? There. Now, let’s have some pie.”
I froze. I couldn’t breathe, and I felt sick to my stomach. I hadn’t expected them to think we had news. Telling Mase had been too easy. They weren’t going to be happy about me being pregnant if we weren’t married.
Mase slipped his arm around my waist and squeezed me. He was watching my reaction. He could read me well. This was his way of reassuring me, but it wasn’t working. I wasn’t reassured. I was terrified.
“We’re going to have a baby,” Mase said, with pride in his voice. I wanted to crawl under the table and hide. Charlie stared at me, and Marya
“I knew it! I knew it!” she said excitedly. I moved my gaze from Charlie to Marya
“Doing this a little backward, aren’t you, son?” Charlie finally spoke up. Those were the words I’d feared.
Mase’s grip on my waist tightened. “I was unaware that I had to do this in some order. I’m an adult. This is my life.”
“Charlie, this is wonderful news. We knew they’d get married. So what if the baby came before the proposal?”
Oh, God. I was going to throw up. He’d never mentioned a proposal. She was assuming something that wasn’t in the works.
“He moved her in here without proposing. He’s had plenty of time. Haven’t you, Mase? It’s a shame this poor girl has to be treated like this. Thought I raised you better.”
My knees felt weak. If Mase hadn’t been holding me up, I wasn’t sure I’d still be standing. His stepdad was saying everything that had been haunting me and confronting Mase with it. Would this send him ru
“I moved her in with me because I couldn’t live without her. My intentions have always been to spend the rest of my life with her. I was just taking this one step at a time.”
“And you got those steps all screwed up,” Charlie said. “Your momma can be excited, but I’m thinking of the big picture here. That girl deserves to have a ring on her finger if she’s having a baby. She needs that security. You had a single mother for the first few years of your life. You know better than anyone how important it is to be the man your kid deserves. Fix this.” His words sounded like a demand.
Mase was tense beside me, and Marya
“I don’t want that pie. I’m going home,” Charlie said, and he headed out the door.
“I am so sorry. He’s just . . . he has ideas of how things should be done. He doesn’t mean anything by it. He’s excited about this baby. Just give him time,” Marya
“He’s got a fu
Marya
As she stepped back, I wanted to burst into tears. Having her accept this and be happy about it helped. “I’m leaving the pie with the two of you. I have a man to straighten out,” she said, then gave Mase an apologetic smile.
Mase didn’t reply. His mother finally turned and left the house.
I had no idea what to say to him.
“He’s wrong. He’s got old-fashioned ways. Ignore him,” Mase said, still holding on to me.
As much as I didn’t want to talk, I knew I had to say something. I had to clarify that I wasn’t expecting a ring. I certainly didn’t want one under these circumstances. “I don’t want a ring. This baby is not meant to force you into something you weren’t pla
Mase frowned. “I’d never ask you to marry me because I felt pressured to do it,” he said, his voice sounding sincere.
Letting out a sigh of relief, I nodded. “Good.”
Mase
The teardrop-shaped pale pink morganite stone was set within a halo of diamonds embedded in a rose-gold band. It was unique, and it was beautiful. It had stood out to me from the thousands of diamond rings I’d been shown, and the simple setting had struck me as perfect. I could see it on Reese’s hand. I didn’t need to see another ring.
Having it sized had been tricky, because the diamonds ran along the band of the ring, so it had taken a few weeks for it to be done correctly. Holding the finished product in my hand was exciting and terrifying. Timing was important, and I was afraid I’d royally screw this up.