"How was your nap?"
His question snapped her out of her naughty thoughts. Because she"d gone to sleep right after talking with Jessica, she had closed her eyes with Durango on her mind. She had thought about him, dreamed about him, relived the night they had made love....
"Savannah?"
She quickly realized she hadn"t answered him. "The nap was good. How about if I make dinner tonight? While hunting for saltines the other day I came across all the ingredients I"d need to make spaghetti."
He lifted a concerned eyebrow. "Will that agree with your stomach?"
She chuckled as she dropped down on the sofa, trying to ignore just how s.e.xy he looked with his shoulder leaning against a doorway that separated the living room from the dining area. He was standing with his thumbs hooked in the front pocket of his jeans, and the chambray shirt he was wearing was straining across his muscular chest.
"In the afternoon everything agrees with my stomach, Durango. It"s the mornings that I have to worry about. So how does spaghetti sound?" she asked, hoping her voice didn"t contain the sizzle that she felt.
He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "Great, if you"re up to it. That will give me a chance to take a shower. And I need to talk to you about a few things."
Savannah"s dark brow lifted, which helped to downplay the fluttering she felt in her stomach. "Talk to me about what?"
"While you were resting I took the liberty to make a few calls and check on some things. You did say you were leaving all the arrangements to me and would be fine with everything as long as I left out the hoopla."
"Yes, I did."
"Well, I"ve made wedding plans and want to discuss them with you, to make sure they meet your approval."
She blinked in surprise. While she"d been napping, he"d evidently been busy. "Wedding plans? Then we definitely need to talk after your shower."
"All right, I"ll be back in a minute." Before turning to leave, he asked, "Are you sure you don"t need my help with dinner?"
"No, I can handle things."
"Yes, I"m sure you can," he countered, smiling.
And when he walked out the room she had a feeling that he"d been hinting at more than just her spaghetti.
"Everything tastes good, Savannah."
"Thank you." She tried looking at anything and everything other than the man sitting across the table from her. Doing so was simply too tempting. After glancing out the window and seeing it was still snowing, she scanned the room and took in the beauty of his kitchen and again mentally admired the setup of everything, including the pots that...
"Are you okay?"
His question forced her to do something she hadn"t wanted to do. Look directly at him. The moment she did so she felt fiery tingles move down her spine. "Yes, I"m okay. Why do you ask?"
"No particular reason."
Sitting this close to him she could actually smell his scent, one that was all man. But that didn"t compare to how he"d looked when he had entered the kitchen after his shower wearing jeans that hung low on his hips and a shirt he hadn"t bothered to b.u.t.ton.
"Are you ready to talk about the plans I"ve made?"
His question pulled her mind back from lurking into a territory where it had no business going. "Sure."
He stood and began gathering the dishes off the table. "Instead of going to Vegas I thought it would be nice if we went to Lake Tahoe instead."
She raised an eyebrow. "Lake Tahoe?"
"Yes, my brother Ian recently bought a casino resort there. I heard it"s truly spectacular and I would like to take you there."
"Lake Tahoe," she said again, savoring the idea. She had visited the area a few years ago and had thought it was beautiful. She smiled across the table at Durango. "All right. That sounds like a winner to me, so when do you want to do it?"
"Day after tomorrow."
"What!"
He chuckled at her startled expression. "I think Friday would be a perfect day for us to leave for Lake Tahoe. Starting today the weather will begin improving and tomorrow you can-"
"Hold up. Time out. Cut." She caught her breath for a moment and then said, "Durango, there"s no way I can marry you on Friday. I have to go back home and take care of a few things. I have to plan for the wedding. I have to-"
"We"re eloping, remember? And besides, I thought you didn"t want a lot of hoopla."
He had her there. "I don"t, but I hadn"t thought about getting married "I don"t, but I hadn"t thought about getting married this this soon." soon."
"The sooner the better, don"t you think? You"re a couple of months already. Jayla began really sticking out there by the fourth month. I remember when I went home for my father"s birthday during Easter and she was huge, almost as big as a house."
Savannah raised her eyes to the ceiling, hoping he had the good sense not to mention such a thing to Jayla. Even pregnant, women were sensitive when it came to their weight. "She was carrying twins, Durango, for heaven"s sake."
"And how do you know you aren"t? Multiple births run in my family. My father is the twin to Chase"s father and both of them had twins. Then Uncle Corey had triplets, so anything is possible."
That wasn"t what Savannah wanted to hear. She much preferred having one healthy baby, but of course she would gladly accept whatever she got. "I couldn"t possibly get ready for Lake Tahoe by Friday. I didn"t bring any clothes here with me and I would need to purchase some things."
"There"re several stores in Bozeman that will have everything you need. Tomorrow can be a shopping day."
Savannah felt rushed and decided to let him know it. "I feel like you"re rushing me," she said briskly.
A smile touched his lips. "In a way I am. Now that we"ve decided to do it, why wait? I want us to marry as soon as possible."
She couldn"t help wondering why. Did he think she would change her mind or something? She was carrying his baby, and until she"d shown up and announced that fact, he hadn"t been interested in marriage. She had thought she would have at least a couple of weeks, maybe even a month before they actually did anything. She"d a.s.sumed she would leave tomorrow to return to Philadelphia and they would make plans for the wedding over the phone. This was definitely not what she had expected.
"Savannah, why are you hesitating? We should move forward and get things over with."
Get things over with? Well, he certainly didn"t have to make it sound like marrying her was something being forced upon him. No one had asked him to do it. Getting married was his idea and not hers. She was about to tell him just that when he did something she hadn"t expected. He tugged her hand and pulled her out of her chair, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her against him. Well, he certainly didn"t have to make it sound like marrying her was something being forced upon him. No one had asked him to do it. Getting married was his idea and not hers. She was about to tell him just that when he did something she hadn"t expected. He tugged her hand and pulled her out of her chair, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her against him.
Startled, her head came up the moment her body pressed against his. Very little s.p.a.ce separated them. A smile touched the corners of his mouth for a few seconds before he said softly, "You"re trying to be difficult, aren"t you?"
She swallowed. It wasn"t easy to gaze into the dark eyes holding hers captive. "Not intentionally."
"Then why the cold feet? I"ve already checked the airlines and there are plenty of flights available, and I"ve talked to my brother Ian."
At her frown he said, "And yes, I told him we decided to get married, but I didn"t tell him why. He said that he would love to have us as his guests for the weekend. He"s making all the necessary arrangements."
He studied her features for a moment then asked, "Are you having second thoughts about eloping, Savannah? Do you prefer having a small wedding here so that we could invite our families?"
"No," she said quickly. "I still prefer keeping things simple. I guess I"m hesitating because it never dawned on me that I might be returning to Philadelphia a married woman."
"Then I guess you aren"t prepared to return to Philadelphia with a husband in tow, either."
His words were a shocker. "You"re going back with me?"
"Yes. You"ll have to introduce me to your family sometime."
Her head was reeling from the thought of him returning to Philadelphia with her. "You"ve already met my family at Chase and Jessica"s wedding."
"Yes, but I met them as Chase"s cousin, not as your husband. Besides, we"ll be newlyweds and it will seem strange for us not to be together."
"Yes, but-"
"And I want to take you home to Atlanta, as well, to meet my family. Not as Jessica"s sister but as my wife. Although everyone will probably reach their own conclusions as to why we eloped and got married, it"s really none of their business. We"ll tell them that we met at the wedding, fell madly in love and decided to get married."
Savannah couldn"t help but smile at Durango"s ridiculous statement. There was no way anyone would believe such a thing, and from the mischievous grin touching his lips, he knew that, as well.
"Let"s keep them guessing," Durango said, chuckling. "Our decision doesn"t concern anyone but us."
Savannah couldn"t help but agree with that, especially after her conversation with Jessica. Everything he was saying made sense. Now that they had decided to marry, why prolong things? "Fine, if you think we can pull it off, then Friday is fine."
"Good. And there"s something else you"ll need to do tomorrow."
"What?"
"Visit the doctor in town. I"ve already made you an appointment for tomorrow morning."
Savannah pulled back slightly and frowned. "Why? Don"t you believe I"m pregnant? Or do you want to have it verified before going through with the marriage ceremony?"
"No, that"s not it," he said tightly. "I just want the doctor to check you out to make sure you"re okay. You gave me a scare this morning and I just want to make sure you and the baby are fine."
Savannah met his gaze and saw the sincerity in his eyes and knew he had spoken the truth. "Okay," she finally said. "I"ll go to the doctor for a checkup if it will make you happy."
"It will," he said. "And thank you."
Savannah drew in a deep breath. She needed s.p.a.ce from Durango and took a step back. "I"ll get started on the dishes and-"
"No, you did the cooking so it"s only fair that I clean up the kitchen."
"Durango, I can manage to-"
"Savannah, that"s the way it"s going to be. Just relax. You"ll have more than enough to do over the next couple of days, and it seems the weather is going to cooperate."
She glanced out the window and saw it had stopped snowing. This was the break in the weather she"d been waiting for. But now, instead of packing to return home to Philly, she"d be preparing for a wedding.
"If you"re sure that you can handle the dishes by yourself, then I need to call and talk with my boss. I had told him I would be back in the office on Monday."
"Okay." When she turned to leave he said, "And Savannah?"
She turned back around. "Yes?"
"I planned for us to stay in the same suite but it has two bedrooms. Will that be a problem?"
She swallowed deeply as her gaze held his. "No, that won"t be a problem as long as there will be two bedrooms."
The smile that suddenly touched his lips made her stomach flutter and made heat flow all over her. "Then we"re all set. I"ll call the airlines and book us a flight."
They were eloping to Lake Tahoe.
Durango"s announcement of last night was the main reason for Savannah"s sleepless night. And the magnitude of it must have shocked her system because she had awakened the next morning without any feelings of nausea.
However, it seemed that Durango intended to be prepared because when she opened her eyes, she found him sitting in the chair beside her bed with a plate of saltines and a cup of tea all ready for her.
"Good morning."
The sensuous sound of his voice so early in the morning sent shivers all through her, and the concerned smile that touched his lips wasn"t helping matters, either.
"Good morning," she said, pulling herself up in bed. Although she appreciated his kindness and thoughtfulness, she would have much preferred if he had given her a minute or two to freshen up. She would have liked to comb her hair and wash the sleep from her eyes.
"Are you feeling okay this morning?"
"Yes, thanks for asking. For some reason I"m not feeling nauseated." She decided not to tell him her suspicions on the reason why.
"I"m glad to hear that." He then nodded his head toward the fireplace. "I tried keeping it warm in here during the night."
Her gaze followed his to the roaring flame. "Thank you." Because she hadn"t been able to sleep, she had been aware of each and every time he had come into her room and checked the heat.
"This is going to be a busy day for us since we"ll be flying out first thing in the morning."
Savannah"s gaze returned to his. "I imagine that it will be."
"After our doctor visit, I"ll take you to the mall. I figured you would probably want to shop alone, so I"ll use that time to pay McKinnon a visit and then come back later for you. You do remember my best friend McKinnon, don"t you?"
"Yes, I remember him." She definitely remembered McKinnon Quinn, just like she was sure a number of other women would. With his beautiful golden-brown complexion and thick ponytail, she had admired his handsome features that reflected his mixed-race ancestry. She had actually blinked twice when she"d first seen him because the man had been simply gorgeous. But even with McKinnon"s striking good looks, it had been Durango who had caught her eye and held it.
"I guess I"ll leave you alone so you can get dressed now," Durango said, standing and placing the tea and saltines on the nightstand.
It took fierce concentration to keep Savannah"s mind on their conversation and not on Durango as he got out of the chair. He was dressed in a pair of jeans, a pullover sweater and a pair of black leather boots. She didn"t care how many times she saw him dressed that way, but each time his appearance grabbed her attention. "Thanks for the crackers and tea," she said.
Durango smiled. "Don"t mention it."