Page 70 of Vegas Baby

He stiffened beside her, his thumb stilling.

Meeting his hardened stare, she pressed on, needing to get the words out. “But that was before I got to know the real man behind the player façade. Miller is selfish and self-centered, a greedy narcissist who wouldn’t know my favorite color if his life depended on it. You’re everything he’s not. You know how I like my coffee, what color of post-it notes I prefer, little things that make me feel special. That’s why I love you and why I wanted to say I’m sorry. It wasn’t fair of me to judge you based on my past experiences.”

“I accept your apology. After tonight, I want to start fresh. No more lies, no more secrets, and no more denying how fucking much I love you,” he said, his expression softening.

“I’m glad you feel that way because there’s more. Before I went to Vegas, I hadn’t dated in over a year and I wasn’t sure if I’d ever find someone to spend my life with. I went out with some nice men over the years but I’d never had a one-night stand.”

“Until me.”

“Until you. But our one-night stand turned into another dream of mine. Two actually.” She sipped at the tea, and watched his expression change as the meaning of her statement sank in.

“A husband and a baby.” His words were flat and unemotional.

A tense silence rested between them after his declaration, a silence she found hard to ignore. Dread continued to dog her while she waited for him to come to the same conclusion that she had.

“Did you forget to take the pill on purpose?”

“I wish I could say with one-hundred percent certainty that wasn’t the case, but I can’t,” she admitted, setting her cup on the coffee table. “The fantasy was always to fall in love, get married, and wait a year before I started a family. But I wasn’t in my right mind that night, hence the wedding and all the other shit I put you through because of some stupid fantasy of living happily-ever-after.” How was it possible to be ecstatically happy and miserable at the same time? She’d tricked him into marrying her and now she’d lost one of her babies. Tears threatened to fall and she pressed her lips together. She had to plow through this mess and get to the other side before she broke down. “I am so sorry. Do you hate me?”

Howler lifted her chin with a fingertip and gazed deep into her eyes. “I love you, Raina, and I want to spend my life with you. No matter how we got here, we’re here. Let’s put the past in the past and move on. We have enough to deal with right now.”

“I love you too. And I promise I will never get pregnant on purpose. Unless we decide to have more children. Then I’ll get pregnant on purpose but I—” Tears blurred her vision and she arched her neck, asking without words for his kiss. Knowing that he loved her would be a tremendous help in getting through this difficult time. “—I’m rambling, aren’t I?”

“Just a little bit,” he said before his mouth found hers.

She closed her eyes and leaned into his tender kiss, full of love and hope. The tears began to run down her cheeks in earnest and she could taste the salty tang on their combined lips.

Howler pulled back and brought her onto his lap before he wiped at the moisture, compassion lighting his dark eyes along with his own pain. “Will you marry me, Raina? For real this time?”

The tears fell faster and she slid her arms around his neck. This was the man she’d spend the rest of her life with, through the good and the bad. “Yes, I’ll marry you, anytime any place.”

“Then let’s go back to where it all began.”

“In Vegas?” Running her hand up the back of his neck, she buried her fingers in the soft hair at his nape. “You want to get married in Vegas again?”

Strong hands ran up and down her back, the loving gesture soothing and cathartic. With Howler by her side, she could withstand anything. She loved him with all of her heart and always would.

“Yes, but this time there will be no drinking, no pills, just you and me and a select few family and friends. What do you say?” he asked.

“I say yes.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

“I know you’re still at lunch, but the lobby called. Sorcha Templeton is on her way up,” Leo said over the intercom. “Did you have an appointment with her that I didn’t know about?”

Howler lifted his head and met Raina’s questioning eyes before he hit the intercom button to respond. “No, I didn’t. Are they sure she’s here to see me?”

“That’s what she said to them,” Leo said.

“Sorcha Templeton? Isn’t she that tennis star, the one with an attitude?” Raina asked. She sat on his desk, her arms draped around his shoulders, legs under a tight skirt spread wide to accommodate his hips.

“Yes, she used to be number one and has fallen in the ranks, but rumor is she’s looking for new representation.” Eagerness coursed through him at the prospect of landing a big-league potential client but another woman excited him more, his wife.

“Then you should take the meeting,” Raina said, making to withdraw from his embrace. He halted her momentum by clasping her elbows to keep her in place. Every second spent with Raina was precious. Work could wait, he couldn’t.

His mind made up, he hit the intercom button once more. “I still have another fifteen minutes of lunch and since she doesn’t have an appointment, let’s keep her waiting.”

“You’re going to take a risk and make her wait?” Raina asked, a frown marring her brow.

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