Page 77 of Hearts Aweigh
Daisy chuckled. “Someone’s tired.”
Spencer awkwardly patted his daughter’s back. “Are you ready for bed?”
Madeleine yawned again.
Would she make it to the bedroom? He squinted at the long staircase. What if she tripped and hurt herself?
Spencer rubbed his neck. “I know we don’t usually do this.” Embarrassment rushed him. “But … I can carry you.”
Daisy twisted her head to the side to gauge Madeleine’s reaction.
Five humiliating seconds ticked.
“Okay.” His daughter smiled.
The same sense of relief he’d experienced after asking his first crush on a date and being accepted overwhelmed him. He gathered her in his arms and stood. Her head settled on his shoulder, and her body relaxed. She was asleep in less than a minute.
Spencer had held Madeleine a few times as a baby, but there was always a nurse or nanny nearby to care for her as she grew. And then Priscilla had taken her to New York.
He noted his daughter’s small frame. She didn’t weigh much. Was she getting enough to eat? Was this normal? Perhaps he should ask Abby.
Daisy stood beside him. “Don’t worry, Spencer. I’ll stay in the room with her in case she wakes up. You don’t have to hurry.”She hesitated, then laid a hand on his forearm. “Please don’t take what I’m about to say the wrong way.”
Spencer tensed.
“Abby is a sweet young woman, and I’d hate to see her hurt. I hope you’ll regard her with the utmost consideration.”
It appeared he wasn’t the only one who feared he was too much like his father. And why wouldn’t his mother respond that way? After she’d watched her husband treat every woman no better than an hors d’oeuvre to be sampled, her trepidation was understandable. “I assure you, Daisy. I have the greatest respect for Ms. O’Brien and will treat her accordingly.”
Spencer held Madeleine closer and headed for the stairs. There was one day left on the boat, and he’d concluded that the future happiness of both himself and his daughter rested with Abby.
He didn’t intend to leave her behind.
CHAPTER 39
THE SILVERY MOON TOOK CENTERstage in the tropical sky, and grains of sand sifted between Abby’s toes. She carried her sandals, but Spencer left his shoes on. He kept his head down, hands clasped behind his back, oblivious to the soothing swoosh of the waves.
After their kiss at Cascada Sorpresa and his subsequent apology, she’d been determined to put all romantic thoughts of Spencer out of her head. But then he’d invited her on a moonlight stroll. The butterflies of anticipation had been attacking her stomach en masse ever since. She stole a glance at him from the corner of her eye. He staggered in the shifting sand, and his arm flailed. She grabbed hold.
“Thank you,” he murmured, his eyes swinging in a self-conscious arc.
Was he as nervous as she was? Lights from a nearby hotel helped her make out his expression. Definitely nervous. But why?
They meandered along the beach until they reached a copse of trees. As they passed the wooded area, a new scene met Abby’s eyes. In the distance, a path of tiki torches highlighted a carpet of red rose petals on the sand. It led to a heart-shaped pattern of candles.
Her own heart pitter-pattered. The setup screamed proposal. Was this why Spencer had brought her here?
Giddy elation bubbled, but common sense smacked it down. This wasn’t some holiday romance chick flick. It was too soon. They’d known each other two weeks.
Still …
There must be a reason the phraselove at first sightexisted. Did he fall for her the day he noticed her in her purple ball gown?
His kiss at the waterfall had rocked her like a seesaw. The thought of repeating that experience for the rest of her life made her toes curl in the Mexican sand.
Could she really marry him? Besides his knock-you-dead physical attributes, his beautiful heart beckoned her. The bumbling attempts he made with Madeleine proved his sincerity.
And Maddie!
