“If I’m going to be a father, you’re going to have to make an honest man out of me,” he said with a wink.
“Oh, Lucas.”
He gently clasped the back of her neck and eased her forward until their lips touched. He slid his mouth over hers ever so lightly and whispered, “Will you marry me?”
A salty tear slipped between them, and he leaned back, capturing it with his tongue.
“Yes,” she said, wrapping her arms around him in a grip so tight he might never extricate himself. Which was a good thing, because he didn’t want to.
“Thank God,” he muttered. They’d finally gotten it right. Finally found their time.
“Excuse me.” The same nurse who’d led him in here poked her head in.
Lucas pulled back. “Yes?” he asked, trying not to sound annoyed.
“I have people here who are demanding to see Ms. Sullivan. I really can’t have more than one or two at a time in here,” she said.
He turned to Maxie. “Kade, Derek, and Lexie are here,” he said.
“That’s so sweet. Go get them,” she said, poking Lucas in the shoulder. “We have our whole lives to be alone. And not in a hospital cubicle.”
He growled his objection but he understood. His friends had been waiting for word, putting up with his worry and mood.
“Fine.”
Besides, she was right. They had their whole lives.
* * *
A week after the incident with Bernardi, Maxie dressed for a dinner out with Lucas. She hadn’t had a concussion, but to appease him and the doctors, she’d taken the rest of the week off from work to rest. After a few days in the house, she was dying to get out of the apartment. Lucas promised a special night, and he’d made a reservation at an exclusive restaurant that usually booked out months in advance.
She chose a fitted black dress she probably wouldn’t be able to wear much longer and a pair of heels. She finished her makeup and had just completed curling the bottom of her hair when Lucas came up behind her in the bathroom.
He clasped his hands around her waist and pressed a soft kiss to her neck before sliding his palms across her stomach. “You know I’m going to be here for everything. Every doctor’s appointment, every kick.”
“Every midnight craving?” she asked with a laugh. She was trying to focus on being positive and not thinking about the past or scary possibilities.
“Every last one,” he promised.
From the second he’d found out she was having their baby, Lucas had done a pretty darn good job helping her, always making her laugh, showing her how excited he was, how much he loved her. She’d done the same, determined to never hurt him or push him away again.
She stepped back and took him in. He looked incredibly sexy in a pair of black pants and a white dress shirt, unbuttoned enough to reveal his tanned skin and light sprinkling of chest hair she enjoyed running her fingers over at night.
“Stop looking at me like that or we’ll miss our reservation,” he said on a low rumble.
“You can pick up right here when we get home.” Her stomach chose that moment to let out a very unattractive hungry rumble. “I’m not only eating for two, I’m hungry for two,” she said, feeling her cheeks flame.
“Let’s go. I need to feed you both.”
She swiped a hint of gloss on her lips and let him lead the way.
To her surprise, he’d hired a car service for the night. “I want everything about tonight to be special,” he said, his breath warm and sexy in her ear.
It was so wonderful not to have to focus on anything but being happy, the past and Keith permanently in their rearview mirror. Happiness was something she was getting used to, but Lucas made it easy.
The car pulled up to the restaurant, and Lucas helped her out, leading her inside with a hand at her lower back.
He gave their name to the maître d’. “Right this way, Mr. Monroe. I have a private table for you in the back, just like you requested.”