The Tycoon's Unexpected Baby (The Abbot Sisters #3) - Elizabeth Lennox Page 0,37
needed to tell him that she didn’t want his money. But he interrupted her.
“This is just as much about what I need, as what you want, Pepper. I need to know that you and our child will be taken care of.”
She twisted her hands together, her thoughts going down paths that she hadn’t anticipated. “You don’t think that I tricked you into this?”
He laughed softly, shaking his head. “Pepper, you warned me about this freakish fertility of yours and I didn’t listen. You told me to wait until after you were on a second form of birth control, but I’m the one who pushed our relationship to a more intimate level. So no, you didn’t trick me into this. And in fact, I don’t know of any other woman with whom I’d want to share my life.”
Pepper’s heart warmed. It wasn’t a declaration of love, but it was pretty darn close! “Thank you,” she murmured, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall over her lashes. How humiliating to weep at a time like this. “Okay, so marriage. Something fast that we can…”
“I’ll have my assistant contact a judge. We’ll get this done over the weekend.”
She stammered slightly, her heart thudding against her ribs. “But…my sisters…they won’t be able to make it in time,” she gasped.
He looked at her carefully. “I promise, we will fly to your sisters, both of them, and tell them the news afterward. They’ll understand the urgency.”
Pepper didn’t say anything, but she still felt a bit overwhelmed. Marriage? Wow! But perhaps there was some way to slow this whole thing down a bit. She’d only discovered that she was pregnant this morning, and now she was engaged and they would be married in…two days?
No, she’d have to slow this down. Pepper definitely needed a bit of time to process everything! And maybe, once he stepped back and thought about everything, Dimitri would want to slow down too.
Chapter 8
Pepper was still in shock at how quickly everything had happened. But as she turned and looked up into Dimitri’s eyes, she knew that she loved him. She was also sure that he didn’t love her. Not yet. But he would. Or at least, after they’d lived with each other for a while, he would feel something, maybe just affection, for her. She had to believe that, or she’d have to walk away and Pepper didn’t want to walk away.
“I promise to love, honor, and cherish,” she replied, correcting the judge and ignoring his surprise. Pepper felt Dimitri’s fingers tighten slightly on hers and wanted to laugh with relief. He wasn’t angry that she’d eliminated “obey” from the wedding vows. Thank goodness! Pepper hadn’t ever been good at obeying.
She listened as Dimitri repeated the vows back to her. Pepper hadn’t realized that she’d been holding her breath until she heard the words, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
Dimitri pulled her into his arms and kissed her. Thoroughly! And Pepper reveled in the heat of his kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck, wanting to remember every sensation and feeling for the rest of her life!
When he finally lowered her back to the ground, Pepper felt…happy! Ecstatically happy! She was Dimitri’s wife! He was her husband! Good grief, they were married! Truly and completely married!
Dimitri handed her a pen, pointing to several lines, telling her to sign her name. She didn’t read any of the forms, which was absolutely stupid, she knew. But Pepper was too stunned to really pay much attention to what she was putting her signature on. She might have just signed over her business! Hopefully, it was simply the wedding license.
“I’ve made reservations,” Dimitri announced as they stepped out of the judge’s chambers. “Let’s celebrate.”
She grinned, feeling giddy. “Let’s do it!”
They dined on rich and artfully presented food at one of the most exclusive restaurants in the city. No champagne, and Dimitri ordered ginger ale for them, ignoring the horrified look on the waiter’s face. Pepper was still so overwhelmed she could barely eat. All she knew was that she was married! Her hand kept fluttering to her stomach.
“I can’t really eat anything else,” she told him, even though she wasn’t sure if she’d eaten anything at all. Everything felt like a blur. A happy blur, but she just…Pepper wasn’t sure about anything right now.
Dimitri looked at her plate. “You’ve barely touched your food,” he replied, but when he lifted his gaze, he saw the heat and desire in her eyes. “Right!”