Page 88 of The Seduction

“You love me too?” The vulnerability on his face made her heart twist hard.

“Of course I do. More and more, every day, the whole time we were in New York. And then when you were in the hospital and you needed me to make decisions for you, I felt this incredible deep tenderness. I can’t describe it, but it made me feel stronger than I ever thought I was.”

“I always knew you were strong,” he interjected.

“And I always knew you were a softy inside.” She touched his chest, spreading her hands over his heart. His arms came around her and pure joy engulfed her. Her heart beat against her rib cage like a bird about to fly free. He buried his face in her hair.

“I love you so much, Granger,” she whispered. “Maybe it started when we were kids. I always felt there was something connecting us.”

“I know I should say that’s impossible, but I think you might be right.” His lips brushed against her ear, making her shiver. “I had no clue what love was until I met you and fell in love with you. Now I can’t imagine a world without you. Will you marry me, Bliss?”

“Not just because it makes sense for the podling?”

“I want you to marry me because I love you and you love me, and it also seems like a practical step to take given the fact that we’re about to have a baby.”

She tilted her head back and laughed and laughed. “God, I love you, Granger.”

“Is that a yes? Please say it’s a yes. I don’t want to have to try proposal number four. The stakes will be so high I’ll be sure to flub it.”

She drew in a shaky breath and stepped into the rest of her life. “The answer is yes, Granger. Let’s get married. Let’s invite all our family and have a lovely wedding here in Lake Bittersweet after the baby is born.”

“Or babies,” he corrected.

“Holy shit.” Her eyes went wide and so did his. They stared at each other for a panic-stricken moment. “We can do this, right? You can come up with some logical plan that will make it all work out?”

“Hm. I was thinking that we’d figure it out by the seat of our pants.” He winked at her, and suddenly she knew that no matter how they handled it, his way, her way, or some magical combination, it would be okay. More than okay.

It would be her and Granger and their little ones and more joy and challenges and laughter and tears and adventure and worry than she’d ever imagined. And she would love it all.

Thirty

They spent some time hugging and kissing and murmuring words of love into each other’s ears. Granger could have stayed like this forever.

“You should tell them you’re taking the job, before they catch one of your glares and change their minds,” Bliss told him when she finally pulled away.

“Roger that, Blond—”

“Can we stick with ‘sugar’?”

“Roger, sugar. By the way, how did that man get in here?”

“It’s my fault. I invited him. I remembered something from that summer, when you came to Lake Bittersweet. I remember hearing my father on the phone, and the name he said. I decided to look into it and see where it went. I had no idea I’d be letting your stabber into the house. I’m sorry. I really should have told you. I…maybe I wanted to surprise you and…win your love.”

He kissed her again, more passionately than ever. “It was already won, a thousand times over. How is it that your wild impulses always seem to work out?”

She smiled sunnily at him, then went back into the house to let Moses out. Granger hadn’t let him out yet because an angry Chihuahua would just add to the chaos. That was no doubt why Adam had gone to the trouble of shutting him in before terrorizing Bliss.

That fucker.

Granger waited until she was safely inside, Moses in her arms.

Then Granger marched over to the chaise lounge and stared down at his half-brother. “Get up.”

Adam got to his feet, putting them nose-to-nose with each other. Granger socked him in the jaw. He reeled backwards. “That’s for scaring Bliss.”

Rubbing his jaw, Adam faced him again. “Fair enough. But she didn’t seem scared. Not exactly a dumb blond, is she? She had me fooled.”

“Shut up.” Granger refused to discuss Bliss with this idiot. “Let’s bottom-line this thing. You don’t want me around. I got that. Is that all?”