LITMIR.BIZ

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her wildest dreams, and yet what she longed for, what was a lot more important than diamonds or a ring was his love.

      Their waiter came and placed crystal plates with tossed greens in front of them.

      As soon as they were alone again, Ryan took her hand once more. “Even if we break it off later, this will give the baby my name and a heritage. It will give me more rights to my child,” he said quietly, and she heard a note of steel in his voice that chilled her.

      “Are you going to try to take this baby from me?” she asked, wondering about his intentions. Now that she’d discovered he had a ruthless streak, she found him an enigma.

      “Never. I couldn’t ever hurt a child by taking it from its mother. This is my baby, and I’ll love it. You should know that much about me by now.”

      “I know very little about you!” she exclaimed, and realized she needed to keep her voice down. Yet in spite of the remark she had flung at him, his statement relieved her beyond measure. “We didn’t spend that weekend in chitchat.”

      “You know plenty about me,” he reminded her, his tone changing immediately. His voice dropped and his words were slower, and she knew he was recalling their weekend together. “You’ve learned what excites me. You know how I look naked. You know—”

      “Don’t remind me!” she interrupted, wanting to stop words that conveyed their own magic and shifted the way she viewed him. “I don’t have any idea what you truly care about. I don’t like what you do when you’re out of the bedroom. I don’t know about your life or your family. That’s more important.”

      “The prospect of learning about each other, and living together, I find fabulous. We’ve already started this and we’ll build our relationship. That’s a lifetime project.”

      “Ryan, does everything in your life go the way you want it to?” she asked. He reeked of success, and she wondered if failure was ever a concern for him.

      “Of course not. Life doesn’t unfold that way for anyone. But I get a reasonable return on my expectations. Now, let’s set a date and make it soon. Before the wedding, you’ll want to meet my father and brothers, and I need to meet your family.”

      She stared at him while her anger returned. She wanted to refuse and tell him to stop meddling. Instead, she looked down at the ring on her finger, which seemed like a shackle that bound her, heart and soul, to Ryan.

      “I leave town tomorrow, but I’ll be back late Friday night. That will give us the weekend to meet each other’s family. When would you prefer to go see yours? Or would you rather have them come to Dallas?”

      “We’ll go there. I want you to see the farm. I’ll call them first, of course. Saturday with my family would be a good time. It’s a long drive, and I know them, they’ll want us to stay the night,” she said, realizing Ryan was going to charge right into marriage.

      “We can stay, or I can drive back. I don’t mind night driving. Do what you want.”

      “I can’t believe you’re even letting me decide,” she said.

      “I can yield on things.”

      Ashley shook her head. “Not on anything that really matters. But I’ll probably want to return to Dallas. Let’s try to arrive in late afternoon, because they eat supper and go to bed early.”

      As she talked, she watched couples circling on the dance floor, and others quietly eating. She felt caught in a dream that she couldn’t wake from, yet it wasn’t a dream. She glanced at Ryan, and when her attention shifted to his mouth, she realized she wanted to kiss him and feel his lips and tongue on her. She looked up again to see his knowing gaze.

      “So what do you prefer to do?” he asked with a thicker voice, and she suspected that he had making love on his mind, too.

      She tried to get back to his question and make a decision before Ryan did. “Let’s go see your family on Sunday.”

      “Excellent,” he replied, as he finished his salad and set his fork on his plate.

      She had little appetite. His dark eyebrows arched in question. “You don’t like your salad?”

      “I’m not too hungry,” she replied.

      “Want to eat somewhere else?”

      “Heavens no! This is a wonderful place. I just don’t feel like eating.”

      “Okay,” he said, withdrawing a slim cell phone. “Let’s call and make arrangements. You can use my phone,” he said, flipping it open.

      Shaking her head, she got out her own phone. “I’ll use mine. When I tell them I’m bringing a friend home, they’ll know it must be someone special. But I’m not announcing this marriage over the telephone.”

      He smiled. “Whatever you want to do.”

      She glared at him, but then heard her father’s voice and spoke softly, making arrangements to visit. Returning her phone to her purse, she waited while Ryan made his calls, watching his hand holding the tiny phone and remembering his hands on her.

      “Grandma wants us there for supper Saturday night. I told her we’d try to get to the farm by five o’clock.”

      “Fine with me,” he replied. “I’m looking forward to meeting them. My family will be at Dad’s place Sunday evening about seven. We’re set and this is good. At our wedding, I want my dad to be best man, and my brothers and Jake and Nick to be groomsmen. Is that too many for you?”

      She shook her head. “No. I have Katie, Jenna and my cousin, and also a lifelong friend who still lives in my hometown.”

      “Now, let’s pick a date. We might as well have this wedding soon,” Ryan added.

      She rubbed her forehead. “Will you slow down?”

      “Why wait? You’re pregnant, and the sooner we’re wed, the better. What is there to wait for?”

      “There are a million things,” she snapped, clutching the tablecloth until her knuckles were white. “Like getting to know each other, for one.”

      He shrugged and waved his hand, dismissing her remark. “That’ll happen. It’s already starting. What weddings do you have scheduled next weekend?”

      Her head reeled and she sat back, closing her eyes. “Next weekend!” she whispered. Why hadn’t she guessed that Ryan would charge ahead full steam, like a barreling freight train?

      “Ryan, I’m not getting married next weekend!”

      “How about the weekend after that?”

      “I have a night wedding.”

      “Can’t your assistant manage, since you’ll have advance notice? We’ll be through with ours in time for her to go to the night wedding.”

      Ashley put her head in her hands and thought about her schedule and her meetings and the weddings, and what she would have to do. “September won’t work?” she asked.

      “There’s no good reason to wait until September. How about the weekend after this?”

      “Of course, why not?” she exclaimed. “You’re getting everything else you want!”

      He smiled and stood, taking her hand. “Let’s go dance and cool down. Our dinners should be here when we return.”

      She went with him, again shocked by the speed with which Ryan was changing her life. “You’re right on one thing,” she said as they danced. “It’s better to get out here and move around.”

      “Far better to hold you in my arms,” he said softly, leaning down so his breath brushed her ear. “You look gorgeous tonight, Ashley.”

      “Thank you,” she said, admiring the way the huge diamond on her finger caught and reflected the light.

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