Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 21278 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 106(@200wpm)___ 85(@250wpm)___ 71(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21278 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 106(@200wpm)___ 85(@250wpm)___ 71(@300wpm)
“What are you doing?” Lincoln asks as if I’ve conjured him up. I didn’t even hear him come into our house. See, it’s not our house. It’s his house. I’m just the stupid nanny that fell in love with him. Why did I have to do that?
“I’m making cookies,” I insist and swipe at my face. Stupid hormones. I’ve felt like crying all week and now I know I wasn’t imagining it. I really am an emotional wreck.
He leans over and takes the knife from my hands. That’s when I realize I’ve been chopping broccoli and adding it to a mixing bowl filled with gluten-free flour, peanut butter, peas, and frozen chicken tenders.
He tosses the knife into the sink then wraps his arms around me. “It’s OK.”
“You know?” I murmur, the sound muffled against his shirt. Now that I’m in his arms, I’m soothed. Just his touch is enough to calm all my fears of the future. He’s my steady rock, the one I can lean on.
He chuckles and the sound rumbles against my ear. “The twins are the worst secret keepers in the world.”
I force myself to step back and fight all the things I want to say to this man. I want to tell him I love him. I want to tell him that he means everything to me and that his twins light up my life. But first, I have to be clear about this. “I don’t want you to feel obligated to—”
He stops what I was about to say with a kiss. Just seams his lips against mine and cradles my head in his hands. When he finally lets me go, he smirks. “Does that feel like I think of you as an obligation?”
“Lincoln.” There’s defeat in my voice. We can both hear it. I’m giving up. I’m letting go. It doesn’t matter how bright the chemistry between us burns. Everything changed this morning when Cash confirmed the pregnancy. My life isn’t about me anymore and now I understand what Lincoln was saying when he talked about his kids. Everything changes the moment you realize you’re a parent.
“The kids accidentally spilled the beans at lunch,” he says. “But do you know what I was doing before breakfast?”
He got a text message this morning after our steamy shower together and said he had to run another errand. It took him about an hour but when he came back he looked so pleased with himself. He said something again about taking me on a date tonight, but I was already late, so I didn’t listen to him.
“I was picking up this.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a little velvet box.
For a moment, I’m light-headed and it’s hard to breathe. This can’t be what I think it is. He’s not really proposing, is he?
He drops to one knee and opens the box to reveal a beautiful ruby surrounded by diamonds. It’s a vintage white gold ring that must have cost him thousands. “I want you to be my wife, Lucy.”
I swallow hard. I want that too. I want it more than anything, but it has to be for the right reasons. He can’t just propose because he wants a wife and a mother for his children. He can’t propose just because I’m pregnant. I need more than that. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”
Determination flickers across his face. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past few weeks, it’s that my firefighter doesn’t give up easily. But that’s the thing. He’s not my firefighter. He doesn’t belong to me. “Sweetheart, I know you’re scared, and this is a big step. It’s OK to be afraid but you and me? We’re meant to be for life. We’re the forever kind of love, the stuff they write country songs about.”
I sniff and blink back tears. He said we’re the forever kind of love. “You love me?”
“Shit, I should have led with that. I was just so damn excited to get on my knees and beg you to be mine. Yeah, darlin’, I love you. My world is a happier place just because you exist. If you’ll give me a chance, I’ll spend the rest of my life loving you and our new little one. This pregnancy only confirms what I already knew. I’m the luckiest man on earth.”
Tears spill down my cheeks at his words. This man loves me. He wants a family together. Everything is sliding into place. “What about the twins?”
“They were thrilled when I told them we’re keeping you forever. Apparently, I’m not the only one in love.”
“Good because I love you and our twins,” I whisper barely able to say the words through the tears. There’s never been a more perfect moment in my life than this one. Lincoln is everything I want and the fact that he comes with a built-in family only makes our love that much sweeter.