Black Ties and Lullabies, page 31
The answer seemed so clear that she was surprised he even had to ask. Yes, she loved him. Not because of his looks, even though she practically fainted every time she set eyes on him. Not because of his intelligence. The world was full of intelligent men who didn’t make her heart go crazy every time she heard their voices. And certainly not because of his money, because he could be dead, flat broke, and she would still love him.
It was so much more than those things.
It was his rescuing her mother that night at the grocery store. Straightening out her cousin Billy for the first time in his adult life so she could quit worrying about him. Researching sex positions on the Internet so he could please her when he made love to her.
It was his showing up tonight and telling her he’d be there forever.
“Yes,” she said. “God, yes, I love you.”
“I want you to marry me.”
She sat up straight with surprise. He wanted to marry her?
“Don’t worry,” he said. “It’s nothing like earlier. I’m talking about the real thing.”
She was so stunned she couldn’t speak.
“Love, honor, cherish, till death do us part. All of it.”
And still she stared at him.
“And no prenup. Prenups are for people who plan on getting a divorce. I have so much, Bernie. But I’ve never had anyone to share it with. From now on, what’s mine is yours.”
Bernie swallowed hard, trying to say something, but her voice had deserted her completely.
“Miss Hogan?”
Bernie looked over to see Mrs. Spencer at the doorway.
“Your mother is asking for you,” she said.
“I’ll be there in a moment.”
“I know it’s a lot to think about, so don’t say a word now,” Jeremy said. “We’ll talk tomorrow. Come on. I’ll walk you upstairs.”
He helped her off the sofa and guided her up the stairs. When they reached the door of the guest suite, he slid his hand beneath her hair at the back of her neck, leaned in, and kissed her softly on the forehead. She closed her eyes, savoring the warmth of his lips and the gentle strength of his hand against her neck.
“Good night,” he whispered.
As Jeremy disappeared down the hall, Bernie closed her eyes and put her fingertips to her forehead where he’d kissed her, so in love with him she thought she’d faint with the feeling. Then she lowered her fingertips and touched them to her own lips.
He’s even more than what you thought he was. So much more.
When her heart rate finally returned to normal, she opened the door and went into the living room of the guest suite, then into the bedroom, where she found her mother lying in bed in her pajamas, sipping tea.
“Mrs. Spencer is a lovely woman, isn’t she?” Eleanor said.
Bernie smiled. “Yes, she is.”
“She has four grandchildren, you know.”
“Yes. I know.”
“She’s very excited about the twins. She says Jeremy is, too.”
“Yeah. He is.”
“You look so tired, dear. You need some sleep.”
“I know. I’m going to change clothes.”
Bernie went into the closet and grabbed one of the emerald-green gowns. She went into the bathroom, got undressed, and put it on. When she came back to the bedroom, her mother placed her palm against her chest and sighed with delight.
“Oh, Bernadette! That gown is just beautiful on you.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed wearing them. That you’re pregnant doesn’t mean you can’t be pretty, now does it?”
Bernie couldn’t help smiling at that. She walked over and sat down on the bed beside her mother. “It’s been kind of a rough night, hasn’t it?”
“Yes. But Jeremy has been just wonderful. He loves you very much, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah, Mom. He does.” She paused. “He even wants to marry me.”
Eleanor’s mouth dropped open. “Marry you?”
“Yeah. He asked me tonight. What do you think? Should I say yes?”
Bernie could almost see her mother quivering with restraint. “Well, I don’t know. You’ve always had your own mind, Bernadette. I wouldn’t presume to get in the middle of such a big decision.”
“Okay.”
“But maybe you should ask yourself a few questions,” she added quickly.
“Like what?”
“Well, do you love him, too?”
Bernie smiled softly. “Yes. I do.”
“Do you believe he’ll make a good husband?”
“The best.”
“A good father?”
“Absolutely.”
“Well. Those are all very good things, aren’t they? Things I’m sure you’ll want to take into account when you—”
“I’m going to marry him, Mom.”
In that moment, Eleanor’s restraint went right out the window. She threw her arms around Bernie and hugged her, rocking back and forth, joy and excitement pouring out of her like sunshine.
“I knew it would happen,” Eleanor said. “I knew it! I knew eventually you’d all become a family.”
Bernie couldn’t say she’d been equally sure about that, but she was thrilled it was happening just the same.
“Will you live here?” Eleanor asked.
“Yeah. Probably.”
“Oh, my,” Eleanor said on a breath of delight. “It’s like a fairy tale, isn’t it?”
It was. Bernie would have sworn she didn’t believe in those, but she’d had to change more than a few of her paradigms in the past couple of months. And every change had been for the better.
Her mother chattered for the next few minutes about dresses and flowers and music and all those other things that made a wedding a wedding. Bernie listened dutifully, only to let a yawn slip past her lips.
“Oh, my,” Eleanor said. “Here I am talking when you should be sleeping. You look so tired. Come to bed.” She smoothed her hand over the soft linens. “Heaven knows this one is big enough for a family of four.”
“I’m going to stay with Jeremy tonight.”
Her mother froze for a moment, the slightest bit of concern crossing her face. Then she lifted her shoulder in a tiny shrug. “Well, considering the circumstances, I suppose it would be silly to wait to share a bed until after the wedding, wouldn’t it?”
“Yeah, I guess it would.”
“And don’t worry about me, Bernadette. I have no intention of going downstairs to do any cooking anytime soon.”
“I don’t want you to worry about what happened tonight, Mom. Jeremy’s going to take care of everything.”
Her mother nodded. “I know.”
Bernie couldn’t have imagined how wonderful it would feel to say those words, and to know that the man behind them would do anything to love and protect them.
“You go on now,” Eleanor said, with a flick of her fingers. “I need to have a word with God.” She paused. “Actually, two words.”
“And what might those be?”
Eleanor’s eyes shone with tears. “Thank you.”
Bernie smiled. “Good night, Mom.”
“Good night, Bernadette.”
Bernie left the guest suite and made the long walk to Jeremy’s room. When she reached the door, she took a deep breath and knocked.
After a moment, Jeremy opened it. He still had his tux pants on, but he’d taken off his shirt. He looked so sexy it was all she could do not to leap right into the room and rip the rest of his clothes off. He looked her up and down, a sly smile playing across his lips.
“I was right,” he said. “That gown is just your color.”
“It is, isn’t it?”
“My proposal,” he said. “Can I take this as a yes?”
“Yes,” she said. “You can take this as a yes.”
He took her by the wrist, pulled her into his room, and shut the door behind them. Before the night was over, with his whispered words, his gentle hands, and his adoring eyes, he told her he loved her a hundred times more. And when she woke the next morning, cradled in his arms, she knew she was home to stay.
Chapter 31
If you so much as touch me again, I swear to God I’ll eviscerate you!”
Jeremy ignored Bernie and took her hand anyway, wincing when she dug her fingernails into him instead of the bedsheet. But it was all in a day’s work for a labor coach. What Jeremy couldn’t figure out was why they called him a “coach” when absolutely nobody listened to anything he had to say.
“You always did have a way with words,” he said, smiling down at Bernie.
“I’m not kidding, Jeremy. This is your fault. You started this whole thing. If sex so much as crosses your mind again—oh, God!”
“Remember your visualizations,” he said. “Picture yourself in a beautiful country garden, picking a bouquet of roses…”
“Oh, shut up! That birth class instructor was a New Age goofball. How many flowers would she be picking if her uterus was tied in a freakin’ knot?”
He helped her breathe through another contraction, and then the pain subsided. Barely. At this point, one was kind of blending right into the next one.
“Oh, God, Jeremy,” she said, gasping a little, looking worried. “I don’t think I can do this. It hurts so much. Are you sure everything’s all right?”
“Hang on, sweetheart,” he said, brushing her hair away from her temple, then kissing her there. “Everything’s going exactly as it’s supposed to. Our babies will be here soon.”
“I know. We’re having babies. Two of them.”
“That’s right.”
“That’s a hundred percent more babies than most people have.”
“Yes, it is.”
“One for each of us. Like Twinkies.”
He smiled. “But we can share.”
Then her brows drew together. “But they can’t come out yet. I’m not ready to be a mother.”
“Sure you are. You’re going to be the best mother ever.”
“No,” she said, breathing hard. “When they come out, I’m stuffing them back in.”
He smiled. “Sure you want to do that?”
“Yes. But don’t worry. It won’t be forever. Just until I know I can do this. I’ll let them out in a couple of years. Or maybe a decade or two.”
He squeezed her hand. “But I’ll be there to help you, sweetheart. We can do it together.”
She took a deep breath and let it out, actually smiling a little. “Oh, yeah. Together. That’ll work.”
Jeremy couldn’t have imagined being this much in love with anyone.
A month ago, on a cool, crisp Saturday afternoon, they’d gotten married in the sanctuary of Sunnyside Baptist Church. Teresa was Bernie’s maid of honor, and Jeremy asked Phil to be his best man. Eleanor didn’t stop crying all day. Jeremy hired the best photographer in the metroplex and made sure she had all the photos she needed to show her family, her friends, the ladies at the church, the postman, the clerk at the drugstore, and the poor woman who was just out walking her dog and minding her own business.
After her first night’s visit in the guest suite, Eleanor never left. At first she wasn’t sure about taking Jeremy up on his invitation, telling him the suite was entirely too luxurious for somebody as ordinary as she was. But it wasn’t long before she felt right at home on the pillowtop mattress, raved about how helpful the Jacuzzi was for her arthritis, and had tea every morning on the balcony. In her spare time, she chatted endlessly with Mrs. Spencer, planning exactly how they intended to spoil the twins when they made their grand entrance into the world. And when the time came that Eleanor needed more help, Jeremy insisted that she would never have to leave the comfort of her new home to get it.
Bernie continued to oversee the renovations at Creekwood, and they were well on their way to being wrapped up when she went into labor three weeks before her due date. The tenants were thrilled to have such a nice place to live. They thought the owner of their complex was just about the greatest guy on earth, and Jeremy couldn’t have imagined how wonderful it would feel to be that guy.
Life was good. And it was getting ready to be even better.
Another contraction came. Then another. Bernie swore she couldn’t do it, but Jeremy held her hand and got her to breathe with him. Half an hour later, their babies came into the world—a boy and a girl—and just like that, Jeremy had the family he never could have imagined.
And he couldn’t have loved them more.
An hour later, Bernie lay resting in her hospital bed, exhausted and ecstatic all at the same time. Jeremy sat beside her, holding her hand with a look on his face that said there was nowhere he’d rather be. Eleanor stood by the isolettes, admiring her new grandchildren.
“They’re so beautiful,” she said, rubbing her thumb gently over one of the babies’ hands. “I can’t believe I’m actually a grandmother.”
And Bernie couldn’t believe the chain of events that had led to this moment. The night in Jeremy’s safe room. A pregnancy that never should have happened. Jeremy’s insistence that he was staying in her life no matter what. Two highly dissimilar people falling in love, only to find out they weren’t so different after all.
Her mother was right. It was a blessing.
“What about names?” Eleanor asked. “Have you made the final decision?”
“Our son is Jeremy, Junior,” Jeremy said.
Bernie rolled her eyes. “That discussion was closed weeks ago. He loves the idea of having a mini-me.” She sighed. “Two of them in the same house. Can you imagine?”
Eleanor trailed her fingertip over the other baby’s face. “You have a little girl here, too,” she said. “What have you decided to name her?”
Bernie looked at Jeremy. “Unfortunately, that’s still up for discussion.”
“No, it isn’t,” he said.
She closed her eyes. “Jeremy—”
“I’m naming this baby.”
Bernie looked at her mother. “He’s been coming up with some weird names, but don’t worry. He thinks he has the final word, but I still have veto power. If it’s something awful—”
“Her name is Eleanor.”
Bernie froze. Slowly she turned back around to look at Jeremy. Then suddenly he looked all blurry, because tears were filling her eyes.
“You’re naming her after me?” Eleanor said.
“If that’s all right with you,” Jeremy said. “Maybe we’ll call her Ellie for short.”
“That’s what they called me when I was a little girl,” Eleanor said, and then she was crying all over again.
Bernie pulled Jeremy to her, putting her arms around him, hugging him tightly. “I love you,” she whispered in his ear. “I love you so much.”
And he hugged her back, stroking her hair and whispering that he loved her, too. When she finally let him go, he scooped up little Ellie. He stared down at his daughter, then lowered his lips and kissed her gently on the forehead, and Bernie thought she’d die from loving him so much. Eleanor sat down in a nearby chair. Jeremy brought the baby to her, and she held her as if she were the most precious thing on earth. Then he picked up Jeremy, Jr., smiling down at him like the proud father he was, one who Bernie knew would be there for his children every day of their lives.
Then he brought the baby to Bernie. As she cradled him in her arms, he blinked a few times. His eyes got heavy. Then he stuck his fist in his mouth and fell asleep.
“Well, he’s certainly not like his father,” Bernie said. “He’s not demanding anything.”
“Give him time. He’ll be a chip off the old block soon enough.”
Jeremy sat down beside them, leaning in and resting his hand on the baby’s blanket. “My family,” he said softly, then turned to kiss Bernie on the cheek.
She couldn’t believe there had ever been a time when her only goal had been to keep him out of her life, because she couldn’t imagine living life without him now. In the end, he was all she’d ever wanted—a good, kind, dependable man who would love her forever.
One newly minted matchmaker meets his match.
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Heartstrings and Diamond Rings
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Chapter 1
Relationships, Alison Carter thought, are all about modest expectations. As she watched Randy inhale the last of his honey-glazed pork chops and drain his wine glass, then swivel his head to watch their waitress’s ass as she passed by, Alison added, And that soulmate thing is a crock.
The more she repeated those mantras to herself, the better she felt. After all, there was nothing really wrong with Randy. They’d met at a party where he’d gotten too drunk to drive and she’d taken him home, and then they’d started to date. A sales rep with a big paper company, he had a townhome in Plano, not large, but bordering a somewhat prestigious area only a block from a golf course. He wore suits you couldn’t tell from designer originals, and shoes that looked like real leather. He did drive an actual Mercedes, a few years old with a great big payment, but a Mercedes nonetheless.
“You look great tonight,” Randy said, now that the waitress with the perfect ass had disappeared into the kitchen.
“Thank you,” Alison said. “So do you.”
She wasn’t lying. He wore a pair of slacks, a sharply starched dress shirt, and a sport coat, looking as nice as she’d ever seen him, which really wasn’t bad at all. In the candlelit ambience of the restaurant, he actually looked handsome.
As for her looking great, she wasn’t so sure. Yesterday she’d spent ten minutes in front of an evil three-way mirror at Saks as Heather convinced her that the dress she wore really didn’t make her butt look big. Since junior high, Heather had always been one of those rare friends who never told her she looked good in something when she really didn’t. Sometimes the truth was hard to swallow, but in the end it meant there was at least one person on earth she could trust. And if Randy truly loved her for her, did the size of her butt really matter, anyway?
