She had been truly blessed.
"There you are."
Lucas joined her at the window. "I"m afraid we stole the show in there." He draped his arm around her. "They"re all happy for us, my dear."
Victoria leaned her forehead against his cheek. "It"s the beginning of a new adventure."
Lucas hugged her closer. "That I can promise."
Victoria spotted a familiar figure crossing the street below. She leaned closer to the window and studied the man. "Isn"t that Slade?" Had he left the celebration early? She hoped he was as happy with his new life as they were to have him in theirs.
"It is." Lucas pointed to the coffee shop across the street. "See where he"s headed."
Victoria smiled. Happiness bloomed in her chest. "He"s going to talk to Maggie." Slade had only returned to Chicago yesterday.
Lucas tugged her attention to him. "Looks like we aren"t the only ones about to start a new adventure."
Knowing that Slade and Maggie might work things out was the perfect ending to this day.
Lucas leaned down and kissed her. He was warm and familiar and absolutely wonderful. He tasted of sweet wine. Victoria couldn"t wait to fill her days with gardening and cooking cla.s.ses and middle-of-the-day lovemaking sessions with her hero.
Lucas drew back. "Wait right here."
Before Victoria could figure out what he had in mind, he had crossed the room and locked the door. Her jaw dropped when he strode back over to her and swept her into his arms.
"Lucas! What"re you doing?" Her heart started that delicious pitter-patter.
He settled her on her private conference table, cleared the files aside with one sweep of his arm and proceeded to seduce her. She tried to keep her giggles quiet, but that was impossible with Lucas freeing her stockings from the lacy garters she bought just for him. He rolled off her stockings, slipped off her shoes and hiked the hem of her skirt up her thighs. The giggles quickly gave way to earthy moans and frantic touches.
She so loved this man.
Their adventures together were only beginning.
Chapter Twenty.
Maggie"s Coffee Shop, 6:30 p.m.
Where the heck was all her help tonight? Two people had called in sick.
Maggie rushed around behind the counter like a madwoman. Things hadn"t been this busy this early on a Friday night in she didn"t know when. She leaned against the counter a moment and swiped her brow with the back of her hand. In spite of the exhaustion, she smiled. Her hand flattened on her belly. The doctor had given her a clean bill of health. She was now on prenatal vitamins, and next month she would have her first ultrasound.
Her sisters were so happy for her. She felt amazing. Every day was a test of her self-discipline not to start shopping for the baby already. Her sisters advised her to wait at least until she knew if she was having a boy or a girl.
If only...
The bell over the door jingled. It was a miracle she heard it over the hum of conversation and TGIF laughter. Her gaze drifted to the door.
He walked in. As he had hundreds of times before. But this time everything was different. There were no more secrets between them. Her heart leaped. Twelve whole days had pa.s.sed since she"d seen or talked to him. He had explained about the work he had to do with the CIA in Mexico. And about burying his sister. And, truth was, they had both needed time and s.p.a.ce to get their lives together.
With a quick glance at the crowd, he walked over to his seat. For the life of her she hadn"t been able to let the servers start seating people in his spot. It was silly, she knew. But it just was.
The black trousers he wore fit his powerful body perfectly. The black sweater showcased that amazing torso. Heat rushed through her. G.o.d, she loved looking at him. She had missed him.
Maggie swiped her hands on her ap.r.o.n and walked around the bar. Her heart had already started its acrobatics. She strolled up to his table with as much nonchalance as she could muster and smiled. "Colombian dark roast?"
He smiled. A real, I"m-happy smile. She melted and he hadn"t even spoken a word. "Actually, I need to speak to the owner."
Maggie tucked a handful of hair behind her ear and took a breath for courage. "I"m the owner." She thrust out her hand. "Maggie James."
He took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. "Slade Keaton."
The crazy mixture of emotions that simple touch evoked had her trembling inside. "What can I do for you?"
He flared his hands. "I just got a new job." He hitched a thumb toward the street. "Over at the Colby Agency."
Maggie bit her lip and resisted the urge to jump up in the air and give a hoot. "You don"t say."
"Thing is, I need a place to stay. I checked out a couple of places, but I need a woman"s opinion."
Maggie was afraid to breathe. "Really? I suppose I can help you with that."
"Great." He stood and offered his hand. "You mind taking a ride with a guy you just met?"
"Technically we met two years ago," she countered.
"That was the old me. You"ve never met this me."
She put her hand in his and nodded. She couldn"t speak. Not without breaking down.
THE DRIVE SEEMED TO TAKE forever. Slade wanted to push the accelerator through the floor, but he had to drive safely. He was carrying precious cargo. He hoped Maggie understood what he meant back at the coffee shop. He was a new man and he was giving it all he had. Slade wanted this to work more than he had ever wanted anything in his life.
He pulled into the driveway and shut off the engine.
Maggie leaned forward. "This is a house."
He shrugged. "Wait till you see the yard in the daylight."
She was out of the car before he"d finished the statement. He grinned. She liked it and they weren"t even inside yet.
He watched her climb the two steps up to the broad front porch. The house was a Craftsman style. With a big backyard and an amazing front porch. Slade had had no idea what kind of house Maggie would like, so he"d done his research. He"d called her sisters. Two days of exchanging images and emails, another two days of waiting for a Realtor to find just the right house and he"d bought this one this morning.
Maggie peered through one of the front windows. "I wish it weren"t so dark in there. I can"t see a thing."
Slade walked straight up to the door and pulled out a key. He unlocked the door while she watched in amazement, and then he reached inside and flipped on a light.
Maggie stared from him to the open door and back. "How did you...?"
Slade scooped her into his arms and crossed the threshold. Her sister had told him to do that even though they weren"t married yet. But that was next on his agenda. He and Maggie had done everything else backward, why not this?
When he settled her onto her feet, she wandered from room to room. The place was just what her sisters said she had always wanted. Lots of original detail. Shiny wooden floors that were original, too. And a kitchen that looked accurate to the period, but was actually filled with the latest technology.
By the time she"d seen the three bedrooms upstairs, she collapsed on the steps at the bottom of the staircase.
Slade sat down beside her. "You think this might work?"
Maggie swiped her cheeks.
"Are you crying?" But that was good, he thought.
She shook her head. "I"m fine."
He tilted her face up to his. "You are crying."
"It"s just so beautiful." The tears fell in earnest now. "When I was a little girl I used to cut pictures from magazines and paste them into my dream book." She swiped her eyes again. "How could you possibly know?"
"Your sisters told me." In his whole life he had never had anything give him more joy than this moment. Seeing her so happy made him happy.
"Okay." She took another of those deep breaths, then she turned those emerald eyes up to his. "Why did you rent the house of my dreams?" Her voice trembled.
Slade took her hand in his and tried to find a place to begin. "First, I didn"t rent the house, I bought it." Her eyes grew rounder still. "I want our child to have a real home."
The tears started again. He wiped them away with the pads of his thumbs. "I don"t know if I"ll be any good at the father gig, but I want to try. I"ve already made an appointment with a psychologist that helped Jim out a few years ago. I want to fix me."
MAGGIE THREW HER ARMS around him and hugged him so tight. She didn"t ever want to let go. She kissed him hard on the lips and then sat back. A couple of seconds were necessary to pull herself back together. There were things she had wanted to say to him for days. But he"d had a lot to take care of and she"d thrown herself into work to keep her mind occupied.
"First," she began as he had, "I am so proud of you. The amount of courage it takes to do what you"re doing..." She shook her head when she couldn"t find the words. Words felt inadequate right now. "Well, it just amazes me. I love you, Slade Keaton, for who you are, who you"ve been and who I know you"ll be in the future. A wonderful father." She wanted to add husband, but they hadn"t talked about that step yet. And that was okay with her. He needed time and she understood that.
"I appreciate the vote of confidence." He hesitated a moment before saying more, but she knew he had more to say. "You told me that you didn"t want me back for the baby. You wanted me back if I wanted this relationship."
How selfish of her to have thrown those words at him. She hadn"t known all that he"d suffered. "I didn"t understand. I-"
He pressed his fingers to her lips. "You were right. This relationship has to be about all three of us. Not just one or two."
Maggie didn"t know whether to cry or to shout for joy.
"It"ll take time." He shrugged. "Maybe years. But I do know this." He took her hands in his and then he moved in front of her and got down on one knee. "If missing someone so badly that you can"t eat or sleep is love... If feeling like that person is a part of you that you can"t live without is love If that person is the first thing on your mind in the morning and the last thing at night is love...then this has to be love."
Maggie couldn"t keep the tears back. "Are you sure about this?"
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring. "Sure enough." He smiled as Maggie cried. "Maggie James, if I prove I can learn to be a good husband and father, will you be my wife?"
"Yes."
He kissed her. G.o.d, she had missed him. The way he looked, the way he talked and the way he kissed. Everything about him. She melted into the kiss, wanting it to go on forever. But he pulled back long enough to slide the ring onto her finger.
Maggie adored the ring. A beautiful princess-cut diamond. "When did you figure all this out?"
"I thought about Victoria and Lucas. Jim and Tasha. And half a dozen other couples from the Colby Agency. The idea has been in my head for a while. I knew what I wanted to do. It was only a matter of logistics. Mostly mine."
Maggie scrubbed the tears from her cheeks and looked around. "We have to go shopping." He looked confused. "We need furniture and stuff." The sudden change of subject was wacky, she knew, but she just couldn"t absorb all this.
His expression brightened as if he"d just thought of something. "We have stuff."
Maggie frowned, confused. "Where?"
"Come on." He grabbed her hand and tugged her up the stairs.
"But we"ve already been up here." There was nothing up there.
He led her to the master bedroom before releasing her hand.
"Slade, what are you doing?" She shook her head as he ducked into the closet. What was he up to? Curious as she was, she couldn"t wait to call her sisters. This was like a fairy tale come true. Her fairy tale.
Slade spread a blanket on the floor. Maggie started to tease him about what he obviously had on his mind, but he held up a finger for her to wait.
He went back to the closet and brought out a bottle of champagne, a tray and two delicate stemmed gla.s.ses. "Nonalcoholic," he said before placing the tray on the floor and arranging the bottle and gla.s.ses. He made another trip to the closet for a bowl of fruit and a small plate of cheese and crackers.
Maggie was exhausted just watching him. "This is too much, Slade. You didn"t have to do all this."
Slade took her into his arms and lifted her against him. "Get used to it." He laid her on the blanket and stretched out next to her. "You saved me, Maggie."
She stroked his jaw. "You saved yourself. I just cheered you on."
"No," he insisted. "No one ever believed in me the way you do. You made me want to be the kind of man you deserve. You made me want to feel all the things I was trained not to feel."
Maggie pushed him onto his back and straddled his waist. "Good. Then feel this." She scooted down his legs and removed his shoes. Then she slithered back up to his waist and stripped off his trousers.
Slowly but surely she removed each item of clothing. When he was naked, she crawled up his body on all fours. She nipped at his rock-hard belly. "Feel that?"
"Oh, yeah."
She traced a path down his belly with her tongue. When her cheek brushed his arousal, she asked, "Feel that?"
He groaned an affirmative.
She went on that way until she had tasted all those sensitive erogenous zones. Then she taunted him with a little striptease. By the time she settled onto him, uniting their bodies completely, they were both ready to shatter.
Maggie lay in his arms afterward. She had missed him so badly. If she had her way, they would never be apart again.
"I was thinking," he said, his voice huskier than usual from their lovemaking.
She raised up, propped on his chest and smiled at him. "Yes?" She loved his voice. She would rather listen to him talk than to eat...most of the time. Lately, she"d been eating everything in sight.