Two weeks later Marina "I DON"T WANT to go," I moan, hiding my head beneath the pillows. It"s way too early for me to have to deal with this. Ever since Ivy"s become pregnant, she"s been on a tear. She turned into a total bossy little thing who has no problem pushing people into doing stuff they normally would never do.
"Tough s.h.i.t." Ivy yanks the sheet off me, making me shriek. d.a.m.n, the air is cold. Almost as cold and unfeeling as she is. "We"re going to this all-day spa and we"re going to love it, even if it kills us."
That she"s forcing me to go to a spa shows how ridiculous I am. I"m the biggest baby ever. Since I shut down the bakery and cafe, I"ve become a total recluse, barely getting out of my pajamas, let alone going to see anyone. I"d rather wallow in my misery.
"I don"t want to be buffed and pampered," I whimper as I slide out of bed, shuffling toward my bathroom. Ivy"s already dressed and looks adorable, her growing baby belly so cute everyone wants to touch it, which drives her nuts. She"s not a big fan of complete strangers touching her and asking when the baby is due. I"ve even witnessed her pretending she has no clue what they"re talking about.
That always freaks them out.
I force myself into the shower, perking up considerably once I stand beneath the hot spray of water for a solid ten minutes. I emerge from the bathroom a little over twenty minutes later to find the smell of coffee calling to me.
Dang. I should ask Ivy to move in with me.
We sip coffee and talk, Ivy telling me about Archer wanting to take her to Hawaii before the baby is born and how she really doesn"t want to go. I tell her she"s crazy, they need to savor all the alone time they can get before that baby comes and totally changes their lives.
Ivy agrees.
We"re finally on the road in Ivy"s car, ready to head to the spa resort when she turns toward St. Helena, a neutral expression on her face.
"Where are you going?" I ask her, my voice quiet, my thoughts a jumbled-up mess.
I miss Gage. My mom is thrilled we"re finished and wants to talk about what a jerk he is, but I told her any discussion about Gage is off limits. Dad leaves me alone because he knows I"m heartbroken and Mom gave him the same talk I gave her.
No talk of Gage in the house. Ever.
But I want to talk about Gage. How happy he made me. How pa.s.sionate we were together, both in bed and out of it. He made me think, he made me want to achieve something. Anything. He made me strong.
And now I feel weak and lonely without him.
"I needed to pick up something first," she says vaguely, waving her hand.
Huh. I don"t like where this is going. I remain calm, though, and notice the colorful bunches of balloons hanging in front of . . . the bakery.
A giant crowd of people are waiting outside, and I see my familiar chalkboard easel, the words GRAND REOPENING written in bold script across the front of it.
No way. I had no clue the bakery was being reopened. Gage sure did move fast.
And doesn"t that leave a bitter taste in my mouth.
Ivy drives by the bakery slowly, coming almost to a complete stop so I can see everything. G.o.d, she"s obvious. "I wonder what"s going on in there?" she asks innocently.
I don"t know how she can keep a straight face. "Gee, I don"t know, Ivy. Maybe we should go inside and see what"s going on."
"That"s perfect!" She claps her hands together and then parks the car. She"s practically leading me by the hand toward the cafe, and my feet are dragging. I so don"t want to go in there. I don"t want to see the new owners, though I have my suspicions the only owner is Gage.
Still. I don"t want to deal with this. Deal with him.
Not only is the outside of the cafe and bakery overflowing with people waiting in line to get in, but the inside of the cafe is packed too. Somehow, the determined pregnant lady gets us inside and I"m immediately shocked by all the changes.
The entire interior has been repainted, and Gage ordered all new tables and chairs, giving the location a cleaner, simpler feel. A new gla.s.s case has been installed, as well as new countertops, and I can"t help but gape at everything, too stunned to study any of it for too long for fear it"ll up and disappear.
"The kitchen is revamped too," Ivy says close to my ear so I can hear her. The chattering crowd is absolutely deafening. "You should go check it out. There"s all state-of-the-art appliances. Your aunt is in seventh heaven."
"Wait a minute. Gina is working here?"
"How do you think they"re able to have the open house if they have no one here to bake all the goodies? Yes, she still works here. And she"s loving every minute of it, despite Archer wanting to steal her away. Not that I can talk about it." She clamps her lips shut and does the universal sign for lock-them-up-and-throw-away-the-key. "Archer will kill me if he finds out I told you he"s desperate to take Gina."
Yeah right. Like Archer would ever lay a hand on Ivy. "Take me to the kitchen," I tell her, needing her with me so I won"t have to confront any of my fears-as in Gage-alone.
She escorts me back there, and the closer we get to that swinging door, the more heavily I lean on her. My heart is racing double time, my feet feeling like they have lead weights on top of them, and I stop just before we go through the door so I can look at her.
"There"s no spa day planned, is there?"
"This is it." She throws her arms out, a silly smile on her face for a moment before it slowly starts to fade. "I hate nothing more than seeing my two favorite people in the entire world, besides the man I"m going to marry, so miserable without each other."
I hang my head, breathing deep. I hate that we"re so miserable too.
"You two need to talk and listen to each other. He never meant to hurt you, Marina. I hope you"ve finally realized that."
Slowly I nod, not wanting her to see me. I feel weak and blink back the tears that are threatening to spill.
Ivy moves in closer so she can whisper in my ear. "Let him spoil you. He"s so in love with you it"s disgusting. He would do anything to make you happy." With a gentle shove, she pushes me through the swinging door, and I lose my footing, sending me nearly sprawling as I tumble inside the kitchen.
My gaze goes wide as I drink everything in. The layout is the same, but the appliances are all brand new. Big, gorgeous, stainless steel-and all top of the line.
That had to have cost a pretty penny.
"You like it?"
I whirl around with a gasp to find Gage standing before me, clad in an Autumn Harvest T-shirt, much like the one I used to wear, and a pair of jeans. He looks delicious, tired, happy, sad, and worried.
I can relate to him on every single thing except the delicious part. I"m not feeling very delicious.
"It"s beautiful, Gage," I whisper, bracing myself when he approaches me.
"I did it for you." He reaches for my hands and holds them loosely in his. "I did it all for you. The revamp of everything, the grand reopening, all the new advertising materials, all for my girl. The local paper is going to do a write-up about you too. You"ll be famous."
I"m only stuck on a few choice words he mentioned in that pretty speech. G.o.d, I missed him so much. Having him in front of me, so handsome but looking so unsure, makes my heart swell with overwhelming emotion for him. "Your girl?"
Slowly he nods, his fingers tightening around mine. "You"re mine. Whether we"re together or apart, I know it. I think you know it too." He takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. "I"ve been miserable without you in my life. I need you, Marina. I need you by my side, working with me, laughing with me. Loving me." His eyes glow as he steps closer, and I hold my breath, waiting for him to say something more. "Tell me you still feel the same."
Gage I WAIT WITH near unbearable antic.i.p.ation to hear what she has to say. Ivy bringing her here to see the bakery and me is a good sign. If she hated me, she wouldn"t have come in.
At the moment, I"m looking for any sort of positive sign-I"m that desperate.
"What you"ve done here is so beautiful." She smiles at me, her eyes shiny with unshed tears. "Thank you. I don"t deserve this."
Ah, that"s where she"s wrong. She deserves all of this and more. So much more. "I know we"ve gone through our ups and downs. We"ve both made some dumb choices. But I don"t ever, ever regret meeting you. Arguing with you. Having angry s.e.x with you." My voice lowers. "Falling in love with you."
Her lips part, a shaky exhalation leaving her, and I pull her in, slipping my arms around her waist so I can crush her to me. I never want to let her go.
"Oh, Gage." She presses her face against my chest and begins to cry, leaving me feeling helpless by her tears.
"Don"t cry," I whisper against her hair as I stroke it with my fingers. "I love you."
"I love you too," she sobs into my shirt.
I smile despite her tears. What she just said is a good thing. A very, very good thing. "I want you to marry me," I whisper close to her ear.
She withdraws from my embrace but I don"t let her go too far. "What did you say?"
"I want you to marry me. We"ll live here in St. Helena in the little house I"m having renovated and we"ll keep the San Francisco house for all the cars. They all can"t fit here. We"ll only have a single-car garage," I say, earning a smile.
"Only if you promise to build a garage so we can keep a few of your cars here. I"d want to take them out for a test drive." She nibbles on her bottom lip, driving me wild just watching at her. "You know. Just for . . . fun."
Ah, d.a.m.n this woman. She is just perfect for me in every way. "You"ve got it. Whatever you want," I vow.
"What about your real estate business?"
"I can do that from here." I have been for almost two months and everything"s worked out fine. "We"re not too far from the city so I can drive in when needed. It"ll all work out. As long as we have each other, we can make it work."
She smiles up at me, her pretty eyes sparkling at me. "What about that proposal you mentioned."
I frown. "Proposal?"
Marina frowns back. "Yes, you know. The one where you mentioned marriage?"
"Ahh." I"m a complete bonehead. Reaching inside my front pocket, I pull out a small box and hand it to her. "Here you go."
She opens the box with shaking fingers, a small gasp escaping her when she sees the glittering two-carat diamond nestled inside. "It"s too big," she immediately protests, glaring at me.
"It"s perfect." Taking the box from her, I withdraw the ring and grab her left hand, sliding the solitaire onto her ring finger. It fits. "You"re perfect." I kiss the tip of her nose.
"Hmm. I think you"re the one who"s perfect." Leaning up on tiptoe, she kisses me, turning it instantly deep and hot. She sways against me, I grab hold of her hips and let myself become acquainted with her delicious, persistent lips and tongue when I hear a voice clearing nearby.
Popping my eyes open, I find Gina starting at us, her expression irritable. "You two kids made up then?"
Marina turns within my embrace, her back to my front as I wrap my arms around her waist. She settles her arms over mine, our fingers interlaced, her head resting against my chest. I"ve never felt this content. "We have," she admits dreamily. "Gage asked me to marry him."
"And you said yes."
She nods her confirmation.
"What about your parents?"
I feel her stiffen and squeeze her closer, willing her to relax. She finally does. "I think I can convince them to come around. Dad is more agreeable then Mom," Marina says.
"Well, you have your work cut out for you then, don"t you, Pretty Boy?"
I inwardly groan at her choice of nickname. "So we"re back to Pretty Boy?"
"Well, you sure are pretty with that s.h.i.t-eating grin on your face now that you"ve got your woman back in your arms." Gina smiles and tilts her head toward the cafe. "You two need to get out there. Everyone wants to talk to you."
"Really?" Marina asks incredulously.
"Really," I say, kissing her temple. "They all know I did this for you."
"How come I was kept in the dark?" She pouts.
"You did that by choice, by becoming a total recluse," I tease, though it hurts me too. I hate that I made her feel so bad she could hardly drag herself out of bed.
She turns so she"s facing me once more. We promise Gina we"ll be out there in a few minutes just as she exits the kitchen.
"I am the luckiest woman in the world," Marina sighs against my lips before she starts kissing me again.
d.a.m.n it. She keeps this up, and we"ll test out that new desk I had installed in the office. See if it"s as st.u.r.dy as it appears. I set her away from me instead. "Later. Right now, we need to go greet our guests."
More mock pouting. d.a.m.n, her lips are luscious. Unable to resist, I drop a kiss on her forehead, her nose, lingering on those delicious lips. "Let"s go out there and tell them our good news. You can show off your ring."
"Maybe I want to stay back here with you instead." A wicked gleam lights her eyes. "If there weren"t so many people out there I"d suggest we reenact the first time we fooled around in the kitchen."
d.a.m.n. This woman blows my mind constantly. "You"re out of control. Don"t you still have the video? We can watch it later."
That wicked glow shines brighter. "I do still have it."
I drop a kiss on her nose. "Maybe we should make another one sometime." I can"t even believe I made the suggestion, but that"s how far gone I am for this woman. "Now come on, let"s go talk to your customers."
"Gage." She stops me before I start out to the cafe front, a frown on her face. "So does our engagement mean you lost the bet?"
I frown, realization dawning as soon as I hear the words. "You know about the bet?"
Slowly she nods, nibbling on her lower lip. "Ivy told me a while ago, one night when we were hanging out. She said I had a right to know."
"And you"re not mad?" I remember how Ivy had reacted. Not a pretty sight.
"Of course not. I wish you would"ve told me about it sooner." She loops her arms around my neck. "I would"ve helped you win."
d.a.m.n. More confirmation of just how perfect she is for me.
Gently pushing her away, I take her hand and we exit the kitchen, immediately greeted by the wild applause and celebratory shouts from our neighbors and customers. I even recognize a few friends in the crowd, though I hadn"t noticed them before. The both of us step back, overwhelmed by the response, and she grins up at me, squeezing my hand.
My heart expands in my chest, filling up so much s.p.a.ce, I"m almost afraid I can"t breathe.
But that"s okay. As long as I have Marina by my side, we can get through anything.