Chapter 39
“What changed your mind about me being a doctor?”
Matti took a sip of her wine while thinking how to answer. They were sitting on the couch, their bodies aligned and pressed together. The TV was turned to a soft-music channel, and one of her legs was over his. She loved touching him.
“It was something my mother said that made me think.”
“What was that?”
“We talked about her marriage to my father, and she told me that she would marry him all over again, even knowing what she knew now. She said she’d always love him and said some other stuff that I hadn’t considered.
But what truly got me to thinking was something she said.
That you’re my person and everyone could see that but me. ”
Ryan was quiet for a beat, and when Matti dared to glance at him, his eyes were on her, soft, searching, like he couldn’t quite believe what he’d just heard.
“She said that?”
Matti nodded, her fingers tracing a slow circle on his thigh. “I’ve been so afraid of making the wrong choice. Of getting it wrong like they did. But then I thought…maybe the mistake isn’t in the choosing. Maybe it’s in not choosing at all.”
Ryan’s hand slid around the back of her neck, his thumb brushing her jaw. “So, you’re choosing me?”
“I already did,” she whispered. “It just took me a while to admit it to myself.”
He kissed her then, not rushed or desperate, but like a promise. Like he understood what it meant for her to say those words. When he finally pulled back, he rested his forehead against hers. “I think I owe your mother flowers or a box of chocolate or something.”
She laughed, leaned in, and kissed him again. “My bed missed you.”
“Yeah?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Then I suggest I go reacquaint myself with your bed.”
“Ours now.” And oh, that sweet smile when she said that.
“I like that. Very much.” He stood and held out his hand.
She slipped her hand into his, letting him pull her to her feet. His hand didn’t leave hers as they walked toward the bedroom, and her heart thudded, each beat a mix of anticipation and quiet certainty.
Inside the room, moonlight filtered through the blinds, casting pale silver ribbons across the floor and the edge of the bed where he paused.
She reached for the hem of her shirt, but he caught her wrists.
“Let me,” he said softly. As he undressed her piece by piece, his gaze never wavered, never rushed, every movement deliberate, every touch an unspoken vow.
When it was his turn, she returned the favor.
Her eyes traced every inch of his bare chest, down to the arrow of hair disappearing into his jeans.
So sexy. He wasn’t heavily muscled. He was all smooth lines and lean strength, a runner’s grace wrapped in pure male confidence. He was beautiful. And he was hers.
“You keep staring at me like that and I’m going to start thinking you want something,” he said, his voice low and rough, teasing.
She did. God, she did.
Him. That was what she wanted.
“I love you,” she whispered, because she hadn’t told him that yet and couldn’t hold it in any longer. “I think I’ve loved you for a while now. I just needed to catch up to it.”
His eyes darkened, not with surprise, but with the kind of emotion that made her breath hitch.
His hand slid to her waist, pulling her flush against him.
Skin to skin. Heat to heat. That steady, smoldering gaze had her heart tripping and her thighs clenching.
There was intent in his eyes, wicked and knowing.
“Good,” he murmured against her mouth. “Because I’m not going anywhere.”
Then he kissed her, slow, sensual, and devastating.
She melted into him, hands sliding up to the nape of his neck, fingers tangling in his hair.
His skin was hot against hers, his body solid and strong.
He cupped her waist, then the swell of her hips, pulling her tight against him, their bare chests pressed together.
The friction sparked something deep in her belly.
There was reverence in every touch, but also possession. He touched her like a man who knew exactly how to make her tremble, how to unravel her with a single drag of his fingers down her spine.
When he laid her back on the bed, his body followed, covering hers with slow, aching precision.
His hands splayed along her ribs, her stomach, her thighs as he touched her, learned her, worshipped her.
He kissed her shoulder, then the curve of her breast, her stomach, her hip, trailing heat with every press of his mouth.
Her breath came in shallow gasps, her back arching. “Ryan…”
“Let go for me,” he said, his lips brushing her skin. “Just feel me.”
She ran her hands through his hair, threading her fingers tight because she didn’t want to let go. Not now, not ever.
“Ryan,” she breathed, the word almost a prayer.
“I’ve got you, pretty girl. I’ve always got you.”
They moved together in a rhythm that felt like theirs.
Like music only they could hear. His hands never stopped touching her, setting her on fire and soothing her all at once.
Every look, every word, every caress was an unspoken vow.
I have you. I love you. You are mine and I am yours. Words his touches said.
Their bodies were pressed so tightly together, she couldn’t tell where she ended and he began. They’d made love before, but everything about this felt different. Not rushed. Not desperate. Just…right.
“Matti,” he whispered, then kissed her as if he couldn’t get enough.
The tension built between them until it snapped, and she gave herself to him, completely.
They shattered together, gasping each other’s names.
And as they lay tangled in each other’s arms, hearts still racing, skin still warm, she knew something inside her had shifted.
She felt it. Utter peace. She felt…whole.
* * *
Something was up. Ryan was having secret phone conversations, and every time Sam had looked at her today, he’d giggled. She’d tried to get him to spill, but he’d run to his room and closed the door. Those two were up to something, and she wanted to know what.
Her mother walked in, there to pick up Sam for the night, something Ryan had arranged without telling her. “Where’s my boy?” Emily said.
“Hello, Mom. How are you? I’m fine, thank you.” Jeez, did she not count anymore?
“I’m great.” Emily hugged her. “And I already know how you are. You’ve got a wonderful man and an amazing boy in your life now, so you’re great, too.”
That was true, but still. “Sam’s in his room, trying to stuff every toy he owns into his suitcase.”
“No need. We’re going shopping this afternoon for toys to keep at my house.”
“You’re spoiling him.”
“If anyone needs to be spoiled, it’s that boy.”
Also true.
“Need I remind you that’s what grandmothers do? Spoil their grandchildren?”
It was a losing battle. “Fine. Go tell him he can leave his toys here.”
“Before I do that, what are you wearing tonight?”
“Haven’t thought of that yet.”
Emily sighed. “One of the sexiest men on the planet is taking you out for a nice dinner. You want his jaw to drop to the floor when he sees you.”
No man’s jaw had ever dropped to the floor for her, but suddenly she wanted that to happen. After her mother left with an excited-because-he-was-going-toy-shopping Sam, Matti went to her closet.
Ryan had said he was leaving the hospital promptly at five thirty and would pick her up at six. That gave her time to shower and shave everything that needed shaving, blow-dry her hair, put on a little makeup, and get dressed.
At exactly six, her doorbell rang. Why didn’t he just come in? She went to the door and put her eye to the peephole. Yes, it was him. Weird. She opened the door, and it was her jaw that dropped to the floor.
She’d never seen him in a suit, and whoa! The man standing in front of her in a dark gray suit, lavender shirt, and a swirly patterned gray-and-purple tie belonged on the cover of a billionaire romance novel.
He whistled. “You’re beautiful, Matti.”
“So are you.” She mentally thanked her mom for telling her to dress up. Otherwise she probably would have put on something casual instead of the dress she’d only worn once for a friend’s wedding.
Ryan stepped inside, then made a circle with his finger, and she turned around for him.
The blue-gray dress went perfectly with his suit.
Simple and sleek, the knee-length dress had a cowl neckline and spaghetti straps, and fit snug to her body.
Her favorite part was the slit that came halfway up her leg.
She wore heeled silver sandals that strapped around her ankles.
“I’m going to have to fight off all the men tonight who look at you and want you.”
“There’s only one man I have eyes for.”
“And who would that be?”
She laughed. “If you have to ask, I haven’t—”
He kissed her.
By the time he let her up for air, she was ready to drag him to the bedroom and have her wicked way with him. Who needed dinner, anyway?
“Come with me,” he said, taking her hand.
He led her to the back door, and although confused, she walked out to her back patio with him.
As soon as they stepped outside, she stopped and blinked.
Candles were scattered around, some on the small tables and some on the patio floor.
On one table was a bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice, on a plate were two Danishes, and next to them was one to-go cup of coffee.
Very weird. “What’s going on?”
He took both her hands and faced her. “Do you remember what you said the morning I brought you coffee and Danishes?”
“No.”
“Matti, Matti, Matti.” He gave her a drawn-out sigh. “It was probably the most important conversation we’ve had. I remember every word.”
If there wasn’t an amused gleam in his eyes, she would worry that she’d disappointed him somehow. “Maybe remind me?”
“Happy to. You said when I brought you coffee and Danishes that you might decide to marry me.”
“Okay, I remember something about that.”