Six Months Later
I’ve been patient. Trying to give her a normal relationship. Trying not to rush us, like our relationship was rushed in the past, but it has been the hardest goddamn thing I have ever done. Waiting. I hate waiting.
But it has been six months since she said she was willing to give us a second chance. Five months since she moved into my shack. Four months since we thought she was pregnant. Three months since I won my latest competition and actually started earning money again. Two months since we sold her condo. And one month since we found out we are expecting twins. Twins.
She doesn’t want me to propose or for us to get married until after the babies are born, but I am not going to let that happen. I want the world to know that she is mine. That these babies are mine before they are born.
If it were up to me, we would have been married months ago. But I know she wanted to do things right this time. I’m not waiting nine months though until the babies are born. I’m proposing tonight, and then whether she likes it or not, we are getting married within the next couple of months.
“You’re wearing that to go to dinner?” I ask, looking at Sloane sitting on the couch, wearing shorts and a tank top with her bikini straps sticking out of the top of her tank.
“Yes. You were the one who taught me to always be ready to go into the ocean. I’m not going to swim in my sundress, like what happened last time.”
I frown, but she doesn’t look up from her magazine that she is flipping through. I don’t know how I’m going to get her into a dress. I don’t think the restaurant I’m taking her to would approve of shorts.
“But I love you in that pink dress you wear. You could wear your bikini under it, and that way, I could do dirty stuff to you while we are seated at the table.”
Sloane sighs. “Fine, you win. I’ll change.” She gets up from the couch and walks over to the small closet she made in the corner. She pulls out the dress, starts to undress, and then puts it on.
“Thank you,” I say, kissing her on the cheek. Sloane picks up her magazine again.
“Look at these cribs. They are made for twins, but they’re smaller. It would be perfect over in this corner,” she says.
My eyes pop open. “We are not living here once the babies are born. We don’t have enough space! They need their own rooms. Babies come with stuff. Lots and lots of stuff. We need to start looking for a new place. I would have said your condo would work, but of course, we sold that. But maybe this is the perfect opportunity. We could get a four- or five-bedroom house with a nice yard.”
Sloane laughs. “Five bedrooms? We don’t have any family that visits us. Why do we need five bedrooms?”
“When we have more kids.”
She laughs again. “I think the two on the way are more than enough for now. And we don’t need to move. We have plenty of space for them here.”
I rub the back of my neck and take a deep breath. I will argue with her about getting a new place later. For now, I just want this night to go perfectly.
I glance at my watch. “You ready?”
She nods and smiles. I hold out my arm, and she takes it with a raised eyebrow, not used to me being so gentlemanly. She glances at my attire for the first time. I’m not wearing a suit. I figured that would be a little too obvious, but I am wearing khakis and a button-down shirt.
“You look nice,” she says.
“And you look beautiful, as always.” I chastely kiss her on the lips. I don’t want us to get too carried away, like we have in the past, and not make it out of here.
I lead her out of the shack, and she stops in shock when she sees the limo I arranged for.
“Why are we going somewhere in a limo?”
I grin. “Because we have been dating for six months, and I want to celebrate without worrying about getting arrested for driving a nice car. Plus, we can do dirty things on the way back.”
“Not on the way there?”
“No. I want to make sure my girls are well fed.”
I lead her to the limo, and we climb in.
“What makes you think the twins are girls?” she asks.
“Because the universe knows better than to make another of anything remotely like me. If they are girls, then they will take after you, not me.”
She laughs. “Well, I think, whatever they are, if they take a little after you, it won’t be that bad.”
I hold her hand as we drive to the restaurant I picked out. My hands are so sweaty though that I’m sure she has already figured out what is going on. I’m surprised she hasn’t said anything about me not proposing tonight. So, at least, I’m happy with that.
We get to the restaurant, and I help Sloane out of the car. I hold her hand while we walk into the restaurant.
“Do you have a reservation, sir?”
“Yes, under Asher Calder.”
“Just one moment, and I’ll take you to your table.”
“Hey, guys. What are you doing here?” Luca asks as he walks out of the bar area of the restaurant.
“Hey, Luca,” Sloane says, giving him a hug. “Having dinner. Want to join us?”
I eye Luca, trying to let him know that he is not to have dinner with us.
“I’d love to. This place has great food. It’s on me. I’ve heard that congratulations are in order,” Luca says.
I grimace at Luca. He does not take a hint.
“You told him,” Sloane says to me with a frown on her face, thinking that I told him about the twins.
I haven’t.
“No. Luca likes to lie and joke a lot. Like I’ve told you before, you can never trust a word out of Luca’s mouth.”
Sloane ignores me though. “I can’t believe you told him we are pregnant with twins.”
“You’re pregnant with twins! That’s amazing! Good job, buddy,” Luca says, slapping me on the back.
I glare at him, trying to make him stop, but there is no use.
“Wait…what were you congratulating us on if you didn’t know about the twins?” Sloane asks.
“Your engagement, of course. All I’ve heard for the last month is, should he or shouldn’t he use the same ring that he bought for you when he was going to propose last time? So, which did you go with?” Luca says.
Sloane turns to me. “Last time?”
I can see her wheels turning, and there is no use in making sure everything is proper and right. Not anymore.
I take Sloane’s hand. I get down on one knee, and I pull the box out of my pocket.
“Sloane, I wanted tonight to go perfectly. I wanted to show you how much I love you with all the romance you deserve. But, as usual, that is not how things go with us. But I can’t go one more day, minute, second without telling you that I love you more than anything. And I’m beyond excited to spend the rest of our lives together. Will you please, please marry me? I know I don’t deserve it. But I promise to spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”
She grins. “Yes.”
I put the ring that I chose the first time on her finger and then stand up and kiss her, no longer caring if we have dinner or not. I can’t contain my excitement.
“Good choice. I told you she would want the original ring that you were going to propose with until you found out that she was cheating on you,” Luca says, staring down at the ring that is in the shape of a wave on her finger.
“Get out of here,” I say to him between kisses.
“What? You don’t want your best friend here to celebrate with you?” he asks.
“No, Luca,” Sloane and I say at the same time.
“Fine, fine. I wouldn’t want to hang out with thieves like you anyway,” Luca says as he walks back to the bar.
I grin. “I wouldn’t want to hang out with a liar like you either.”
He smiles and waves. Then, he leaves Sloane and me to celebrate.
“So, what are you hungry for, future Mrs. Calder?”
“You. And, just so you know, I’m keeping my name.”
I sigh. “As long as I get to call you my wife, I don’t care.” I stare at Sloane as she looks down at her ring and then back up at me. Her whole body is glowing with excitement. But even through the excitement I know that she is hiding something from me. And I know exactly what that secret is. I cornered Chance, the bastard lawyer that was in her bed. It was easy to persuade him to tell me the truth. I can seem pretty intimidating when I’m angry and threaten to cause him pain.
She never slept with him. She just paid him to pretend that they were cheating. And the look in her eyes now confirms his story.
I won’t tell her that I know her secret. It’s a lie I bet she plans on taking to her grave. It may not be as bad as ruining someone’s life like I did, but it is still a lie. I stole her heart, she lied to claim mine. All that matters is that we love each other.