Tears slid down her cheeks as she smiled down at me, so I figured I was doing thisright.
“Eleanor Marietta Snyder, will youmarryme?”
Elle dropped to her knees in front of me.“Only if you promise that you’ll never say my full name ever again,” she said with a laugh.She flung her arms around my neck, and I wrapped mine around her, squeezingtight.
“I can promise that.”After all, once we said our vows, she’d be Eleanor Marietta Robichaux, and I’d say it whenever Iwanted.
She lifted her teary face to mine.“Yes.My answer ishellyes.”
A champagne cork popped outside the room, but I didn’t need alcohol because Elle’s answer already had mebuzzing.
I wondered what she’d say when I told her we were getting married next week.I wasn’t waiting any longer to make herofficiallymine.
Lucas
Thenextday
“You sure you want to do this?”I asked as Yve and I walked into Voodoo Ink.She had a sketch pad from the baby shower under her arm, and she’d refused to show me what she’d worked onwithCon.
The man who’d once been my rival was now one of my best friends.Two years ago, if someone had told me I would be walking into his tattoo shop with my wife to get matching tattoos, I would have laughed them out of the room for beinginsane.
Apparently, life had different plans, and there was nothing I would change because it all led me here, to this moment with thiswoman.
Yve raised an eyebrow at me.“Of course I’m sure.Although I’m not sure how I’m going to be able to keep myself from attacking you once you’ve beeninked.”
This time my eyebrows rose.“Is that right?What exactly am I getting tattooed on meanyway?”
She flipped open the cover of the sketch pad and turned it so Icouldsee.
The meaning hit me like an avalanche, which was appropriate considering I was staring at a mountain range.She knew what this meant to me.How it had haunted me until I’d finally granted myself absolution.When I met her eyes, she rushed toexplain.
“We’ve both conquered our demons, even when they seemed insurmountable.I think we need to celebrate that instead of pretending they didn’t exist.Mine brought me to you.Yours made you into the man I love.There’s nothingtohide.”
She was right.But then again, my wife was always right.I had the superior taste it took to choose such an amazing woman—and she’d knock that arrogance back down my throat every time she felt it wasnecessary.
I nodded.“So, where is thisgoing?”
“I was thinking your forearm, so when you roll up your sleeves in your meetings ...delicious.”She punctuated her statement withanmmm.
“It sounds like we’ll be having more meetings athomethen.”
“I think that’s anexcellentidea.”
“Where are you putting it?”I asked, and I read the hesitation in her expression as her lips pressedtogether.“What?”
She bit her lip before finally speaking.“I’m going to have to take a rain check for a littlewhile.”
My gaze sharpened on her.“Why?What’swrong?”
“I’mpregnant.”
The words hit me harder than the meaning of the tattoo, nearly taking me out at the knees.I stumbled backward into a chair in the empty waiting room, glad that asshole Leahy wasn’t out heretosee.
I looked at Yve, her face the picture of anxiety.“You’repregnant.”
She nodded, even though it wasn’t aquestion.
“When?”I meant when had she found out, but coherent questions werebeyondme.