Page 136 of Winning Bid

But the second I take a step to run, he swoops me up into his arms. “No racing.”

“What are you doing?”

“I didn’t get to carry my wife over the threshold, so this will have to do.” He carts me through the bedroom doorway and lays me on the bed. Then he winces, “Should not have done that after what we did to my back yesterday.”

“Oh, honey, are you okay?”

He laughs at himself. “I’ll be fine, but I’m adding in-room massages to the list of things we’re ordering in here.”

“Yes!” I groan at the thought.

He makes some calls for the food and massage, and then one to a delivery service I didn’t know existed so we have more clothes to wear since we didn’t go home and pack. He gives them our sizes and some preferences, and that’s it. By the time he’s off the phone with everyone, the food arrives.

I hadn’t paid attention, so I’m a little surprised when three carts of food roll in. “This is excessive.”

He grins. “I know.”

We dive into the food, everything from abalone to a baked ziti so good I want to cry. I’m stretched out on the bed by the time we finish, and I’m convinced I’m going to give birth to a ziti baby. “This is why you ordered the massages for later, isn’t it? Give us time to digest?”

He’s equally beached next to me. “Yep.”

Our clothing delivery comes, and I’m shocked by how well they did. But I cringe at the thought of putting on anything with a waist. Going through the pile, I sigh. “I’ll stick with the robe for now, thanks.”

“Yeah, I didn’t think about that part of it,” he says. Then he motions for me to come sit on his lap, and I’m only too happy to do so. “There are too many things on my mind right now.”

“We really dodged a bullet for the time being?—"

“Not that. Or rather, not only that.” He brushes my curls back from my face, pinning one behind my ear. “Everything we’ve been through has shown me it’s foolish to postpone happiness.”

“I completely agree. Maybe we can look at honeymoons and book one?”

He smiles. “We can do that. But that’s not what I meant.”

“What did you mean?”

Anderson takes a breath, like he needs it for courage. After today, I cannot imagine what he needs courage for, so I’m a little nervous. He licks his bottom lip and looks into my eyes. “I want to have a baby with you.”

“Well, yeah, I mean, we’ve talked about having kids?—"

“Not in the future. Right now.”

A nervous laugh escapes me. “I’m not pregnant, so we can’t have one right now.”

“Funny,” he says wryly. He holds me tighter. “I want to start trying. Now.”

All the blood rushes through me, unsure where to settle. “Now, now?”

“Yes.”

“Um, maybe the most important decision of our lives shouldn’t be made today?—"

“On the contrary, I think it’s the perfect day.

There’s a nice symmetry to it, don’t you think?”

My heart tugs in my chest. I’ve wanted this for so long. But I need to know he’s not making an emotional choice that will haunt him in the future. I take his face in my hands. “You’re actually sure about this? No hesitation, no questions on the inside, no?—"

He kisses me, rolling me onto my back on the bed. Hovering over me, he says, “Mrs. West, I want to have your babies.”

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