Chapter 13
"April," she murmured drowsily, stirring in his arms. He had made love to her again and was reluctantly allowing her to sleep.
"Pardon?"
"For the wedding. I want a spring wedding."
Tilting his head down, he stared at her curled up against him. "You're supposed to be asleep."
She smiled dreamily, fingers splayed over his impressive chest. "I'm about to, but I'm so excited. What will your mother say?"
With a resigned sigh, he shifted so he could see her face.
"She'd be delighted. We could tell her tomorrow."
"We could invite her for supper instead of going to her place. I could cook-"
"No."
"Brant," she protested. "I can cook, and I want to do something for you, my husband. I'm not allowed to do much around the house."
"Which is precisely the point. You work a full-time job managing a very busy store. Why on earth would you want to come home to housework?"
"Because I'm not accustomed to being waited on." Propping her hand on his chest, she rested her chin on her folded arms.
"I happen to be a very wealthy man, darling, which means you're going to have to get used to being waited on." He tucked a coil of hair behind her ear. "Are you complaining?"
"No," she told him honestly. "It's just that I went from being broke and almost homeless to this. Not to mention the fact that you love me." Her eyes misted. "I never expected anything like this. I never dreamed this could ever happen to me."
"Hey. No tears."
"I'm sorry. It's just that I keep thinking that I'll wake up and this will be a dream. That you'll be gone, and I will find myself all alone and in the same position I was in."
Lifting her chin, he kissed her with bruising intensity. "Does this assure you in any way?"
Wrapping her hands around his neck, she snuggled.
"Absolutely."
"Now go to sleep before I end up tiring us both even more."
Giving him a dreamy smile, she dropped her head to his chest. "I love you."
His heart slammed against his ribs, and he felt the warmth invading his body.
"I love you too. Go to sleep."
Within minutes, the sound of her even breathing told him she had finally fallen asleep.
He closed his eyes and tried to follow suit, but his brain was too active and refused to shut off.
He had declared his love for her. It was a first for him.
He had never told a woman that he was in love with her before.
He had liked some of the ones he had slept with immensely but had been too cautious and smart to confuse lust with love. He had known the difference.
With Indigo, he had sensed that it was different from the get-go. And wasn't it incredibly strange that he hadn't planned any of it, that she would have been the last person he would have thought he would end up spending his life with! And he wanted that. To spend the rest of his life with her.
With that in mind, he had an idea. His bedroom suite had been done to his very precise specifications. She had not complained or asked for changes, but he wanted it to be hers as well. He knew her tastes and was going to surprise her with a complete makeover.
Kissing her forehead, he wrapped his arms around her and drifted off.
*****
She stirred slowly, stretching languidly, and felt the soreness in the intimate areas of her body.
Her eyes flew open as the memories of last night surfaced.
He loved her! And he wasn't in bed. The realization had her sitting up quickly.
He had woken her up sometime during the night with his mouth on her body, apologizing while he did things to her that had her coming fully alert and needy.
It hadn't taken long for her to come fully awake.
And afterward they had made their stumbling way up the stairs and into the bedroom.
A glance at the clock showed that it was almost ten.
And it was still snowing, lazy drops pinging on the windows and sliding down.
A fire was burning in the hearth, and it felt completely cozy.
It would have felt better if he was in bed with her.
Deciding to go and find him, she made her way into the bathroom to discover the evidence that he had already taken a shower.
Stepping into the large enclosure, she quickly attended to her own.
Dragging on a pair of thick navy blue leggings, she paired them with a matching sweater.
Scooping her hair into a ponytail, she gave a cursory glance in the mirror and put on a pair of fleece-lined ankle boots.
She was going to suggest they go outside for a little bit.
She was also starving. It was no wonder after all the sexual activities they had indulged in most of last night and early this morning.
Shaking her head, she marveled at the way her life was turning out.
She had a man, no, a husband who happened to be an excellent lover, the best lover a woman could ever hope for, and it turned out he was in love with her.
Pressing a hand to her stomach, she made her way downstairs, and the scent of coffee greeted her.
He was also the type of man who would rouse himself to make breakfast.
He was standing by the window, with a cup of steaming and aromatic coffee in one hand. Sensing her presence, he turned with a smile, his wonderful tawny gaze sweeping over her.
"I was about to come and get you up."
"Oh?" Crossing over to him, she wrapped her hands around his waist and inhaled his scent before lifting her head to claim his lips. The kiss was soft and potent. His free hand wrapped around her waist as he deepened the kiss.
"I made a run to the diner a few blocks from here and got us some croissants." He kept his hand around her waist.
"And here I thought you cooked breakfast."
"You sound disappointed," he said teasingly.
"I am, a little." Snagging his cup, she took a sip of coffee before handing it back.
"You're forgetting that I don't usually eat breakfast, and my culinary skills are limited."
She glanced out at the snow heaped up on the ground. "I can't believe you went out in that."
"I wanted to get you something to eat. And get some fresh air. They are busy clearing the streets. I have a company that comes out to deal with the grounds." He kissed her again before putting her aside.
"Sit. Let me pour you some coffee. The croissants are the best I ever tasted outside of Europe." He guided her over to the counter and went to refresh his coffee and pour some for her.
"I don't think we will be able to make dinner at my mother's. I called her." He handed her the cup and nudged the pastry box over to her. "I also told her about the wedding."
Reaching for the milk, she poured a generous amount in her coffee and caused him to wince.
"My heart hurts when you do that. Desecrate a perfectly good cup of Joe."
She merely grinned, her dimples peeking. "What did your mother say?"
"Huh?" He shook his head, amazed that she could so dazzle him.
"Your mother." She selected a croissant and bit into the flaky pastry, her eyes widening.
"I told you." He came and sat next to her. "My mother sounded very excited and would like you to call her as soon as possible. I told her that would be a little later on today." He leaned over and kissed her cheek, using his thumb to wipe at a crumb on the side of her lip.
"I'll call." She leaned against him. "I was thinking we could build a snowman."
His chuckle warmed her clear to her bones. "It's freezing cold."
"That's okay. That's what jackets are for."
"A snowman, huh?"
"Yep. My dad and I used to build them. We would make a big deal out of it."
"And your brother?"
Her smile faded a little. Moving a few inches from him, she reached for another croissant.
"He was always sickly. I think Mama made a big deal out of a little head cold or a fever so that she could lavish him with attention.
My dad would try to convince her to let him come out, but she wouldn't budge. She coddled him."
Hearing the pain in her voice, he turned her to face him.
"You resented her for loving him more than she loved you." His quiet tone had her insides trembling. She had never been able to talk about it with anyone, not even her dad and certainly not her best friend.
"I shouldn't have. Dad favored me, and Caleb didn't mind in the least."
He rubbed his hands up and down her arms in a soothing gesture.
"You wanted her affection. She was your mother, and girls usually have that yearning to belong." He cupped her cheek. "It didn't matter how much your father favored you. It wasn't enough."
"No." She shook her head, amazed at how much he understood. It made her love him even more, if that was at all possible.
"I spent some of last night wondering about this, about us.
Several members of my club have fallen in love with women outside our circle, and I used to be amused at how besotted they were.
" A derisive smile touched his sensuous lips.
"And now it's happened to me." Bending his head, he brushed his lips on hers.
"Finish your breakfast, darling, and let's go make a snowman. "
*****
Her laughter pealed out in the mid-morning air, sounding like bells to his enchanted ears.
It had stopped snowing, and after meticulously gathering the necessary things to decorate the snowman, she had turned it into an adventure.
He had to admit that he had never had so much fun being out in the snow.
And he discovered to his amazement that his wife was very competitive.
She insisted on rolling the biggest pile of snow to make the torso.
When they were finished, it was more like a snow giant.
After that was done, he was standing admiring their work when she sneaked in a wallop to his head with a snowball she had rolled up to clobber him.
"Oh, so this is what's happening?" he growled, shaking his head to remove the ice from his watch cap. "I hope you know that I was a pitcher in high school, and my aim is dead on."
He grinned when she squealed and started running in the opposite direction.