Loud laughter gave me a good excuse to look away from his intense gaze.
“I want you to come back with me and we work this out,” Kristoff’s voice was like a caress, making my resolve weaker. ”Work with me at W&W”
“I’m not coming back to work for you, Kristoff.”
“Why not?”
“Kristoff, working for you is not for me.” I looked him in the eyes, my voice gentle. “I never wanted to do it... I never should have taken that job, regardless of how desperate I was.”
“Are you saying you regret it?” His voice was quiet, but there were so many emotions underneath it.
Do I regret it?I wondered to myself. Nobody had ever made me feel like him. I felt like I came alive around him. He brought out the sensual side of me. He was the only one that brought up my wild side in the bedroom. Heck, I would have died thinking I was a frigid woman if not for him.
“No, I don’t regret it,” I answered him without a doubt. Kristoff exhaled a breath. “I’m pretty excited about starting up a company with Samuel.”
“What kind of company?” I was surprised his question sounded curious, no anger or upset, just a mild curiosity.
With a wide smile, I started telling him all about it. “And I get to own fifty percent of it,” I finished all excited.
“I’ll give you fifty percent of my company if you’ll be so excited and smile for me,” he commented with a smile.
“You can’t do that and it’s not the same,” I told him. “It’s so much more when you build it yourself, from ground up.” He nodded and I quickly added, “But duh, you’d know that.”
“I need you,” his voice was a soft caress and with a summer breeze, it was on tip of my tongue to tell him I needed him too.
“We’d still have all the same disagreements,” I sighed. God, I wanted to say yes. “I’m not signing the contract and you seem to need that to trust me.”
I waited a few seconds, hoping he’d tell me otherwise but instead he laid a feather light kiss on my cheek.
“Marry me,” he asked for the second time today.
I wanted to hear him tell me he loved me. “Why do you want to marry me? Because I’m pregnant?”
“No,” he replied, his voice firm. “Because you are everything I want and need. You ground me, you complete me, I love everything about you. You, the girls and the twins are my family. From the first moment our eyes met, I was yours whether you wanted me or not.”
I stopped dead in my tracks. His words hit home.
The song ended, and I heard Sierra’s whiny cry causing me to glance at my girls, and could see Sierra yawning and rubbing her eyes. The loud music came back on.
I was ready to go home. Looking at Kristoff, I wanted to tell him he was everything I wanted and loved along with my kids but words wouldn’t leave my lips. I wanted him to tell me he trusted me.
“I’m going to take the kids back home. It is way past their bedtime,” I told him, my voice slightly nervous. God, I wanted him, I wanted him so much it hurt. “I can leave my Jeep with you. I’ll call a taxi.”
“No, I’m going with you. I’ll drive.”
“Kristoff,” I started, but he cut me off.
“I’m going with you.” His voice sounded confident and firm.
I shrugged my shoulders, too tired and emotionally exhausted to argue with him. I walked over to the kids. The sea, beach time, and fresh air made them all early bed-timers.
Kristoff knelt down along with me, as I asked them all, “Who is ready to go home?”
They all jumped at the opportunity, including Jack and Sienna.
“Alright then,” I mumbled. “Guess we are all going home.”
Sierra came to me and reached her hands up. I lifted her up carefully, sitting her on my hip so she didn’t push against my baby bump.