An Act of Persuasion - By Stephanie Doyle Page 0,107
expression and he knew what her next question would be before she asked it. So he gave her the answer.
“I shut you down after we made love that first time because I wasn’t prepared to deal with any of those emotions, Anna. Hell, I haven’t been dealing with them very well these past nine months or else I would have told you I loved you as soon as I saw you again. I know it’s crazy, but that’s where my head was then. I had lost control over you, and I was losing control over my body and the two things happening at the same time...messed with my reasoning. It’s my only explanation and I know it’s not a very good one.”
“It’s a pretty good one.”
“Do you forgive me? For that and your parents? When I learned what happened to them I told myself it was better that you didn’t know. Then when you asked me to find them I thought learning about them while you were pregnant wasn’t a good idea. I was going to tell you. Eventually. I just wanted to pick a better time. Namely, after you were married to me.”
“I should be furious,” she said.
She didn’t look angry. “You were furious. You kicked me out of your home. Remember?”
Anna smiled, then got up and settled the soundly sleeping baby in the bassinet. Slowly she walked over to where he sat and he made room for her on his lap. Gingerly, she settled into his arms and he was careful not to touch her stomach.
“I made up that fight,” she whispered, her head against his shoulder, probably so she didn’t have to look at him.
“Really?”
“I was scared. I was scared of how I felt about you and I couldn’t deal with it. I wanted what you were offering so much. A real family. But it seemed like too much to want. I was afraid that it would end up breaking me apart if anything bad happened. So I used the whole bit about you not telling me your secret as the perfect out. I mean, who wouldn’t be furious over something like that? But it wasn’t my real reason. Since we’re being honest here, I figure it’s time to confess. Not going to lie. It was sort of mean of me.”
“Although effective,” he drawled.
“You shouldn’t have kept that information from me. That still stands. But it wasn’t the reason I told you to go.”
“Why are you so scared?”
“Because I didn’t think anyone would ever love me. Which is baggage I didn’t even know I had. I loved you so much that it completely freaked me out.”
“I love you.”
She lifted her head and kissed his chin. “Really? Truly?”
“Madly. Deeply.”
“I don’t know,” she said, settling her head back against his shoulder. “If a man really loves a woman who, oh, by the way, happens to be the mother of his only child, you would think he might propose marriage.”
Ben could feel his blood pressure elevate until he felt more than heard her laughing against his body. Nothing she loved better than to ruffle him. She would spend the rest of her life trying to do that, and he would love that, too.
“Anna?”
“Yes, Ben.”
“Will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?”
“Geesh. You just moved in with me and already we’re talking about marriage?”
“Anna?”
“Yes, Ben.”
“You are not funny.”
This time he heard her laugh. “Okay. Because I love you. And because you obviously have plans to never leave my side again, I guess I will marry you.”
“Hmm.”
“Are you falling asleep after we’ve just declared our love?”
He was. It felt so good, too. As though he’d never truly known what it was to sleep as a man completely satisfied with his life. “Anna. I can feel it now. I’m finally cured.”
She brushed his neck with her lips. “Me, too.”
EPILOGUE
THE MEETING HAD been arranged. Ben made the call to Jennifer, explained who he was and asked if she would be interested in meeting with her daughter. Anna had listened to the conversation over the speaker phone and, in the silence between when Ben had finally asked if she would like to meet her daughter and Jennifer’s answer, Anna thought her heart was going to burst.
Then Jennifer, in a shaky voice clearly filled with emotion, had asked if Anna knew what she’d done.
Ben explained that Anna was aware of the circumstances of her incarceration and that she still wanted to meet. In the interest of keeping the visit short and giving Anna