His breath caressed her ear, the low rumble of his voice sending a shiver of excitement tingling along her skin as she remembered just how well and often they’d come together over the past months. They’d stayed away from the subject of marriage though. More than once she’d appreciated his patience in giving her the time she needed to lay her fears to rest by working out some of their problems before saying I do again.
She tipped her head to look up into his face, the angular lines that could be so forbidding in court eased by unmistakable happiness. “I have to commend you for giving feedback on the menu for the first time since I’ve known you.”
“Hmmm…I didn’t realize that providing you with a list of candies from the peanut butter store constituted feedback.”
“I thought it was a sweet and sentimental gesture.”
“Sweet? Shhh…” He turned and tugged her away from the crowd and under the privacy of a rose-covered wooden trellis. “Good God, Marianna, don’t let my brothers hear that. They’ll give me hell on the golf course.”
Something he did more often now—golfing and hanging out with his family. He even vowed the extra downtime made him more effective at work.
She teased her pointer finger along his mouth, the ocean breeze wafting the sweet smell from roses clinging to the arbor overhead. “Your secret is safe with me.”
They’d both made adjustments in their professional lives. Her decision to stop working with Ross had actually unchained her creativity beyond anything she would have ever dreamed. After considering a number of job offers, she’d decided to branch out on her own. She’d spent the past few months building an online business for interior decorating. People sent photos of their homes, and she offered simple improvement plans for a wide range of budgets—including using furniture already in place as well as listing items for purchase in their area and over the Internet.
She’d also been inspired by how Sebastian allowed his financial security to free up time to represent clients who couldn’t otherwise afford even an hour of his billable rate. Her booming new business also took on special interest homes on a sliding scale according to client need. Just last week, she’d finished plans to revamp a house for a family financially stretched from the birth of quadruplets.
She’d found so much fulfillment organizing the space to give those children as much room and privacy as possible, while ensuring the parents had some special retreat spots, too. She’d come to realize how important it was to nurture your love relationship and not take it for granted for even a moment.
Sebastian plucked a rose from the trellis and grazed it along her cheek before tucking it behind her ear. “I’ve been thinking that perhaps we can tap Mom to throw another party for us.”
Without question, the Landises had much to rejoice about lately. Matthew had won his senatorial seat; he and Ashley now married and settled into traveling between their D.C. residence and South Carolina home. His mother was a dynamo in her Secretary of State position. She and the General made the news on a regular basis as one of the U.S.’s most powerful political couples.
“What kind of party?” Marianna smoothed his lapels, thinking of how they almost hadn’t managed to get dressed in time this morning with the mattress tempting them both after six weeks of abstinence.
“An engagement party.” He pulled his hand from his pocket, along with a ring box.
“The timing is perfect.” She reveled in the hard-earned joy of this union, so much different from the first rushed proposal based on circumstance and need.
They’d had chance after chance to walk away from each other, but this marriage would be based on the knowledge that their love was too great to be denied. Too special ever to be taken for granted again.
He hauled her to his chest, his heart picking up speed against her ear, broadcasting how important this was to him in spite of his seeming calm. She breathed in the familiar scent of his aftershave mixed with a hint of Edward’s baby powder freshness.
“Marianna, will you marry me—again?” He creaked open the box to reveal a pear-shaped diamond alongside a diamond-studded band. “It’s a new ring, but with an anniversary band.”
She traced along the line of gems, counting. “This would have been our tenth year.” They’d come a long way from two near strangers marrying as teens. She let tears flow that had nothing to do with postnatal hormones and everything to do with pure, undiluted happiness. “I like the blending of the old and new together. It’s perfect. Yes, I will marry you, Sebastian Landis.”
He thumbed her cheeks dry. Then slid the engagement diamond onto her finger where it settled with a perfect rightness, waiting for the band to be placed beside on their wedding day.
Sebastian closed his hand around hers in a grip as strong and steady as the man. “Just so we’re clear. We’re not getting married because you were pregnant, although I certainly wouldn’t complain if you got pregnant again someday.”
Marianna thought of the new photo on their mantel, a picture of Sophie that her birth mother had sent through their case worker. There wouldn’t be any contact, and at this point Marianna feared confusing her anyway. She would always ache to hold her, would miss her every day, but she’d found a peace in seeing the happiness in Sophie’s eyes—the eyes of a little girl well-loved.
She had to ask, “And if we never have another child?”
He was an amazing father, so patient in walking the floor at midnight with Edward cradled in his strong arms.
Sebastian brushed a windswept lock of her hair behind her ear with the flower. “I’m okay with that, too. I want you in my life.”
“What a wonderful coincidence.” The bloom’s sweet scent mingled with the ocean breeze carrying the voices of the happy guests. “That’s exactly where I want to be.”
He hooked an arm around her shoulders, slipping a teasing finger just under the strap of her dress. “How about we retrieve our son from his grandmother and head home to Buddy and Holly?”
“We do have a lot to celebrate.” She slid her hand under his suit jacket, his hard, lean body tempting her to explore him without the barrier of clothing. A pleasure she knew she would enjoy for the rest of their lives together. “In fact, I was thinking an intimate celebration is definitely in order.”
His eyes glinted with the promise of deep and leisurely kisses to come once they were completely alone. “So who gets to feed whom nak*d this time?”
“That all depends on who gets their clothes off first.”