“Darlin’, I had this evening planned and it hasn’t gone the way I expected from the moment you opened the door. But I came prepared for whatever happened.” He reached into a pocket, pulled out a small folded bit of tissue paper tied with a tiny strip of blue ribbon. “This is for you, Lindsay.”
Surprised, she looked up at him, giving him a searching look, and then she took it to tug free the bow and open the paper carefully, her heart drumming as she did. She looked at a dazzling ring. “Oh, Tony,” she gasped, thrilled to look at the ring he had for her. It was a huge, emerald-cut diamond, surrounded by sapphires and diamonds with more diamonds scattered on the gold band.
He took it from her and held her hand. “One more time, the way I should have done it the first time. Lindsay Calhoun, will you marry me?”
“Oh, yes,” she replied, laughing. “Yes.” She threw her arms around him after he slipped the ring on her finger. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him and he held her tightly, kissing her in return.
When they finally stopped, he took her hand to walk to the table. “Lindsay, you need to eat. Let’s sit and eat and talk about when we’ll have a wedding. I hope we can agree on a date soon. Very, very soon.”
He held her chair and then sat facing her. She could barely think about eating because of the excitement and joy churning in her.
“Tony, I’ve missed you so and I realized I’ve been in love with you for a long time. I don’t know how marriage will work with the two of us, but I can’t wait to try.”
“You’ll be you and I’ll still be me. We’re in love, so we’ll work it out.” He grinned and picked up her hand to brush kisses over her knuckles. “I love you, darlin’. Back to the date. Lindsay, let’s get married soon. Really soon.
She stared at him and then nodded. “In that, we’re in agreement. The sooner the better for so many reasons, not the least of which is I love you with all my heart.”
His eyes took on the greenish hue that she recognized from moments of intense emotion or passion. He held her hand and, without taking his gaze from hers, lifted it to his lips to brush more kisses lightly over it.
“Lindsay, I love you and I always will.”
“Even if we fight?”
“Even if we fight. But I don’t think we really will.” He wagged his brows and grinned. “Well, maybe sometimes.”
“Now, do you want a surprise?” she asked.
“I think my entire life will be filled with surprises. What’s this one, darlin’?”
“It’s early, and I’ll have an ultrasound later this month, but my doctor thinks I may be having twins.”
Stunned, he stared at her. “Twins?” He got up and walked around the table to reach down and draw her to her feet to kiss her hard. When he released her, he grinned. “Lindsay, why do I think my whole life will be like this night? One shock and one change after another.”
“You know it won’t be that way all the time.”
“Get a calendar and let’s have this wedding this month.”
“Savannah’s baby is due this month, but I’d like to have the wedding soon, too. I’ve waited as long as I want to wait withoutyou in my life. I don’t ever want to go without you again,” she said, holding him tightly.
He slipped his hand behind her head and leaned close to kiss her, a long kiss that made her want to be in his arms again and forget wedding plans.
“Tony,” she whispered.
“Go get a calendar or I’ll get my phone and we’ll look at my calendar.”
“I have one here.” She turned to open a cabinet and came back with a calendar.
With it on the table between them, they discussed dates while they ate.
“After dinner we can call our parents and then start calling our siblings.”
“Tony, I love you and I’m so happy.”
“I’ll show you how I feel in a little while,” he said, smiling at her.
Her phone played a tune and she got up to answer it. “Sorry. Anyone calling at this hour has to have a good reason.”
“Or a wrong number,” he remarked, pulling the calendar close.