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Snapping open the buckle of her seat belt, he pulled her to him, sitting back in his seat and lifting her to his lap, to hold her close while he kissed her hard. Ashley’s heart pounded and her breathing became erratic. Forgetting their disputes, she wound her arms around his neck and kissed him in return, wanting so much more.
As they kissed, she knew time was passing and desire was growing more intense by the second. To slow things down, she pulled away reluctantly.
“You’re irresistible, Ashley,” he said gruffly, touching her throat.
“You know how I react to you,” she replied, moving off his lap and straightening her clothes, sitting down to smooth her skirt and buckle up again. His steady look made her heart thud. Struggling for composure, she stared out the window at the black night, the pinpricks of lights occasionally showing in the distance.
“I don’t know how you’ll react,” he replied solemnly after a few minutes’ silence. He reached over to caress her cheek. “But I intend to learn how you respond to each touch and kiss.”
“You’re coming on strong, Ryan,” she whispered, finding his words as effective as a touch. “Let’s get back to some other topic. The wedding, if you want.”
With a long, intense look, he shrugged. “We didn’t discuss where we’ll live after we marry. How about my condo? Then we can build a house, so we’ll have more room when the baby comes, or soon afterward.”
Astounded, she stared at him. “I hadn’t thought about where we’d live,” she said, thinking about his sprawling, plush condo in an exclusive, gated area. She also thought about her own place, which was smaller, far more simple. “That’s fine, Ryan. None of this seems real to me.”
“It’s real,” he said. “Come back over here in my lap and I’ll convince you it’s real.”
She shook her head. “My mind boggles over all the abrupt changes. Things I never expected to have happen are occurring one right after the other.”
“Also, in the next week, find a decorator. Do my bedroom over—colors, new furniture—so the place is both of ours. We should start married life with a new bed. Spend whatever you want.”
She stared at him in consternation and amazement. “You can be so strong willed and then so generous.”
“Maybe you’ll discover that I’m really a nice guy.”
“I know you’re a nice guy,” she said. “Until you want something.”
He smiled. “You can do any other rooms over in my condo, too—or all of them if you want to.”
She laughed. “You plunge full steam into everything you do! Okay, I’ll look at your bedroom. A new bed for us would be great,” she said, and the thought made her breathless.
“And I can’t wait to try it out with you.”
“You’ll make me blush.”
“Just makes you look even more gorgeous.”
He fished in his billfold and handed her a card. “Charge everything you want to this.”
“Ryan, you’re being generous.”
“You’ll be my wife, Ashley. It’s like doing it for myself,” he answered casually. “Another thing we haven’t discussed is your job.”
“See?” she said. “This is what I was talking about. I knew you would step in and take charge of everything.”
“I believe we’re agreeing on most all of this. You know we have to make each one of these decisions. And I’m leaving a lot of the wedding plans solely up to you.”
In fairness, she knew he was right. “So what have you decided about my job?”
He gave her a fierce look that made her draw another sharp breath. “If you want to quit immediately, that’s fine with me.”
“No, I don’t want to stop working yet.”
“You have to before you have the baby. How about three months before, at the latest?”
“How about two?”
He nodded. “If that’s what you’d like. As long as you’re in good health, that’s fine with me. And don’t do any heavy lifting. I can send a man to help with any moving or carrying, since it’s just you and two other females.”
“I don’t think we need a man,” she said, smiling.
“Who carries those tall candlesticks and things like that for weddings? Who loads them into a truck and then into the church?”
She shrugged. “All right, I do or my assistant does. But I can’t afford to pay some guy to hang around and carry stuff.”
“I’ll pay him. Give him some odd jobs around the place. I’ll get someone who’s young and strong and going to college, so he’ll be part-time for you. How’s that?”
“Fine, Ryan,” she said, knowing it was useless to argue, and that it would be a big help to her. “Actually, I’ve thought about trying to get someone part-time for that very reason. It’ll be good. I just didn’t see how I could justify his pay.”
“Now you don’t have to.”
“Thanks, Ryan,” she said quietly. “You’re being incredibly generous.”
He shrugged. “I can afford to be, and we’re going to be family soon.”
She drew a deep breath and wondered how long it would take her to adjust to her new status. They rode in silence for a time, until he asked her about growing up on the farm.
“What happened to your mother?” Ryan asked.
“She died in a fire in the barn when I was sixteen. She did a lot of farming, just like Dad. She loved it and so does my brother. What happened to your mother?”
Ryan smoothed his trouser leg over one knee. “We couldn’t afford health insurance and she kept saying nothing was wrong. She had a stroke and died.”
“How old were you?”
“Eighteen. Damn, I hated it.”
“When that happened, you had your close friends, Nick and Jake, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, and their friendship saved me. Emotionally and financially. We swore we’d help each other—I think I told you all about that.”
“You did and it was amazing. All of you have success.”
“Yeah, it’s gratifying. Life has been generous to all of us. I don’t ever want to be poor or hungry again. When I was growing up, we had some bad moments. But we were a tight family and all got along, and that’s more than a lot of families have.”
“Yes, it is. So did we, and I’m thankful for my family. Jeff, my brother, is twenty-one, four years younger than I am,” she said. Ashley recalled that the weekend she’d met Ryan, she’d learned he was thirty-two.
They talked as they flew back to Dallas, and when they finally returned to her apartment, she faced him at the door. “It was quite a day and night, Ryan,” she said solemnly, looking at her hand. “The ring is beautiful.”
He brushed long strands of her hair from her face. “This marriage will work, Ashley. You’ll see.”
“You are the most supremely confident person I’ve ever known.”
He shrugged. “I have strong feelings about our marriage.”
“Our marriage, our baby … I can’t get accustomed to everything that’s happened. Thank you for dinner. The ring is spectacular, Ryan, but this is just crazy. You’ve given me this gorgeous ring, taken me dancing in Houston, and we’re standing here politely saying good-night.”
“You have other options,” he said.
She shook her head. “I’m not ready for them.” She slipped her arm around his neck, stood on tiptoe and brushed his cheek with a light kiss.
Instantly, he wrapped both arms around her and covered her mouth with his. His tongue stroked hers and she clung to him, all arguments and differences dissolving. In their place was a white-hot yearning—for more of his kisses, all of his passion, those hands and lips that could give her ecstasy. For a few minutes she gave free rein to her feelings, yielding to her hunger for him. When she finally pushed against his chest, he released her.
“That’s all tonight, Ryan,” she whispered. “Thank you, and I’ll see you Saturday when you get back in town.”
He nodded and took her key from her fingers to open her door for her. She stepped inside, switched off her alarm and faced him.
“Good night, Ashley,” he said. In long strides he headed to his car. She watched until the motor started, and then she closed and locked the door. Leaning against it, she held up her hand, looking at the huge ring. Sadness, anger, amazement all filled her. With a ring on her finger and a wedding to orchestrate, she should be ecstatically happy, but she wasn’t. She couldn’t brush aside the concern she felt about Ryan for his high-handed ways.
Ashley wasn’t tired yet, so she sat at her desk, writing memos, making notes, jotting numbers to call to make arrangements about flowers, food and music for the wedding. When she crawled into bed later, she lay in the dark, thinking about her future.
At least she could tell her family about the baby. She guessed all of them would be overjoyed.
Six
Saturday morning, sunshine streamed into Ashley’s bedroom and she rolled over. She had one serene moment and then remembered all she had to do. She tossed aside the covers and got up to shower.
Shopping for a dress took only two hours. As she stood in front of the mirror, looking at the strapless white silk gown with a long straight skirt and removable train, she knew it was the one she wanted. While she stared at her reflection, she ran her hand over her tummy, which was still amazingly flat. She credited that fact to her height of five feet nine.
All during the morning as she shopped, made calls and planned, a gamut of emotions plagued her. One minute she would be apprehensive about a loveless union, and the next excited over the prospect of marrying Ryan.
At noon, while she dressed to go to the farm, another huge bouquet of mixed flowers arrived. She stared at the card and shook her head. The blossoms were beautiful, but they really held no meaning and couldn’t calm her jitters about her future with Ryan. Far more meaningful had been his phone calls while he was in Chicago. They had talked long hours into the night, and each minute spent that way was a plus.
At two o’clock, when she swung open her door and Ryan stepped inside, her pulse gave its usual lurch. Dressed in a black knit shirt and black slacks, he radiated vitality. His gaze reflected his approval of her jeans and pink knit shirt. She wore her hair in one long braid. He placed his hands on her hips and studied her, turning her first one way and then another.
“Look at you in those tight jeans. Are you sure you’re pregnant?”
“Very sure,” she answered dryly.
He shook his head. “You don’t look it in the least.”
“I’ve decided it’s because I’m tall,” she said, while he continued to inspect her.
“You’re beautiful, Ashley, and I’d rather stay here.”
“Thank you. However, we’re going to meet my family, who are waiting,” she reminded him.
“I know, but you’re too enticing in those jeans.”
“Want me to find something baggy?”
“And spoil my day? Never! Let’s go meet the family.”
As they drove out of the city, Ryan glanced at her. “One topic we didn’t settle. When do we announce that you’re expecting a baby?”
“I’ve been thinking about it, and I’d just as soon tell the family now. I see no reason to announce it to others yet, but our families might as well know. And know why you’re marrying me.”
“Right there is a reason to wait to tell them.”
She shook her head. “Now’s the time, Ryan. When they find out why, your family will try to talk you out of this marriage, and that’s okay.”
“No, they won’t. They’ll know I’m doing what I want, and they know me well enough to realize that I wouldn’t marry you simply because of the pregnancy.”
She gave him an annoyed look of disbelief.
“You’ll see, Ashley. I still say we’ll have a good marriage.”
“Without love, I don’t see how.”
“Every time you declare this union hopeless, I have to insist that I think love will come.”
She bit her lip and looked out the window, knowing the futility of their continual dispute over the future. If only he would give love a chance to come, and then ask her to marry him!—then it would be a joyous event.
“I made arrangements with the church, and it’s reserved when we wanted it,” Ryan said. “I booked the country club and the band for the reception.”
“We’re moving right along, because I’ve arranged for the musicians for the wedding. I have the florist and have told him what I want. My dress is selected, along with what I’d like for the bridesmaids, and I’ve started my guest list. I need yours as soon as possible.”
“I’ll get it to you Monday afternoon. I can have my secretary pull one together, and I’ll add to it.”
“I’ve ordered cakes. Being a wedding planner cut days off making the arrangements, because I know what I want without having to pour through pictures and listen to descriptions. I could get a caterer for the reception, but I imagine the club will handle the food.”
“They will. I told them you’d call to make arrangements,” he said.
“And you don’t care what I choose?”
“Not at all, and expense is no problem.”
“Then it should be simple to arrange,” she said. “As soon as we get the attendants confirmed, and the invitations in the mail, we’ll be ready.”
“I’ve reserved a private room at the club for the rehearsal dinner the night before and you can call them about the menu for that, too.”
“Fine. Someday we’ll have to think about baby names, but not this soon.”
“I’ll make a list of names I like and you do the same.”
“And my guess is there won’t be one name on your list that’s on mine.”
He smiled, glancing at her. “You think we’re that different?”
