Two weeks later the doorbell of Holly’s Clear Lake City house rang at a quarter past six in the morning, waking her from a not-very-sound sleep. A jumble of dreams centering around Chris had woken her every few hours, and she was just dozing off again when she heard the chime.
She grabbed her robe and scrambled into it as she hurried to the front door, her only thought being Please don’t wake the twins! Ian and Jamie had been fractious ever since the three of them had returned to Clear Lake City—apparently they were missing their life in Granite Gulch as much as she was—and she didn’t want them to start off the day short of sleep.
The chime sounded again just as she reached the door, and she glanced through the peephole, intending to give whoever it was a piece of her mind for ringing the bell this early. Then she gasped and fumbled with the locks in her haste.
“Chris!” Holly threw herself at him, and his arms closed around her. “Oh, my God, what are you doing here?”
“I couldn’t bear it without you a minute longer,” he said when his lips finally let hers go. “I couldn’t sleep because I was thinking of you, so I threw a few things in a bag, jumped in my truck and hit the road. Made good time, too.”
“No speeding tickets?”
He grinned at her. “Not even one.” His eyes softened as he gazed at her. “But if I had gotten one, it would have been worth it.”
* * *
Two weeks’ worth of yearning was obliterated in less than fifteen minutes. They snuggled in the aftermath, their hearts racing, both still having difficulty breathing.
“Wow,” Holly said. Then, “Do that again.”
Chris started laughing so hard he wheezed. “Give me five minutes—ten max—to recover, and you’ve got yourself a deal.”
She joined Chris laughing helplessly. “I didn’t mean now. Just sometime. Sometime soon.”
He rolled her beneath him before she could protest. Then stroked his fingers over her still-hypersensitized flesh, making her breath catch in her throat. “Sometime soon can be now, Holly,” he whispered seductively. “Just wait. I’ll prove it to you.”
And he did. All she could think of as her body took flight was that Chris was a man of his word. Then she couldn’t think at all.
* * *
“When are you coming back to Granite Gulch?” Chris asked over the breakfast table an hour later. “I’m not trying to rush you—okay, yes, I am. The house just isn’t the same without you and the twins.”
“You’re living in the house?”
He nodded. “I moved all my things out of my apartment the day you left. I also talked to Annabel and my brothers about the farmhouse in Bearson—what you said about not leaving it as some sort of shrine. So whenever you’re ready, you can go through the farmhouse and pick out what you want for our home.” A slow smile spread over her face, and Chris asked again, “So when are you moving back?”
“I’ve already listed this house for sale,” she temporized.
“Yeah, I saw the sign on the front lawn.”
“But I can’t just move in with you,” she began.
“The heck you can’t.” His voice was pure steel, his expression obdurate, but then he grinned suddenly. “Hey, did you hear that? I didn’t even have to think about it, I just said heck instead of—” He broke off suddenly, glancing at Ian and Jamie, who weren’t paying the least bit of attention to the conversation—they were eating their Cheerios with complete unconcern.
A lump came into Holly’s throat. How she loved this man, especially at moments like this. But... “I can’t just move in with you,” she repeated. She tore her gaze away from Chris and looked at her boys, then back at him, praying he’d see what the problem was. “I don’t want people to think—”
“That you’re living in sin?” Chris waggled his eyebrows at her.
She flushed. “I know it’s old-fashioned. And if it was just me, I wouldn’t care, honest. But I don’t want anything said that the twins might hear. They understand a lot more about what’s going on around them, and I—”
Chris put his hand on hers. “You don’t have to justify it to me, Holly. I told you two weeks ago, I love you. I need you. I can’t live without you. I wasn’t kidding. I asked you to marry me, and you said you would. So in my mind we were officially engaged the minute you consented to be my wife.”
“Mine, too,” Holly said softly.
“If it was up to me, we’d find a justice of the peace and make ‘engagement’ a thing of the past.” She started to speak but he stopped her. “No, let me finish. I know weddings mean a lot to women. And I know you were denied a fancy wedding when you married Grant. I intend for this to be the last chance you have for the kind of wedding women dream of—so we’ll do it right. Formal engagement party, formal wedding, and everything that entails.”
Holly smiled at Chris through sudden tears. “Thank you for understanding.”
“But once we’re formally engaged, you’re moving back to Granite Gulch, right?” The eagerness in his voice touched something deep inside her. She’d sworn she’d never again marry a man who didn’t love her, heart and soul, but that would never be an issue with Chris. “I need you, Holly,” he added in a low tone. “These past two weeks without you—life’s too short. We both know that. So please don’t—”
“I won’t,” she assured him. “They say suffering is good for the soul. I don’t know about you, but my soul has suffered enough.”
He laughed softly. “Mine, too.”
They stared at each other for endless seconds, then Holly cleared her throat. “So regarding an engagement party—would you believe I was going to call you about this today?—I was thinking next week would be good.”
“We always go to Ethan and Lizzie’s ranch for family celebrations now. I’d have to check with them.”
Holly gave Chris her best “are you kidding me?” look.
“What?” he asked, obviously clueless.
“Lizzie just had a baby. Do you have any idea of the kind of work involved in a party like this? Even if it’s potluck, the hostess—and the host, too—have a mountain of work both before and after. No way are we having our engagement party at their ranch.”
“Then what do you suggest?”
“Peg offered to have it at her house, but I don’t want to put that responsibility on her, either, any more than I want to do it to Lizzie. What about renting out the Granite Gulch Bar and Saloon for the afternoon? It’s plenty big enough, it’s right there on Main Street in the center of town and everyone would be free to enjoy themselves—no one would have to worry about the food or drinks or anything. And before you ask,” she told him, “I already inquired. It wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg, and besides, I have the money.” She flushed a little. “My money, not money from the twins’ trust.”
Chris shook his head, a stubborn expression on his face. “We haven’t talked about money, Holly, but I guess now’s as good a time as any. I’m not a millionaire—not yet—but I’m not hurting, either. Your money is yours. Whatever our family needs I’ll provide. You want to be a stay-at-home mom until the twins are in school? Fine. I can afford it, no problem. I can afford to pay for our engagement party, too.”
Holly lifted her chin, her eyes narrowing as she prepared to do battle. While she understood Chris’s desire to provide for his family, to feel that he was taking care of them, there were a few things he needed to get straight before they went any further. She loved him with all her heart, but she couldn’t be anything other than the independent woman she was. Not even for him.
She almost retorted that their marriage was going to be an equal partnership, with each of them pulling their own weight and all decisions made jointly, or else no deal. But then an idea occurred to her. “You’re not the boss of me,” she said softly. Hoping Chris would get the message.
The stubborn expression vanished and a lighthearted grin replaced it, followed by a reluctant chuckle. “Okay,” he said after a minute. “We’ll split the cost of the party fifty-fifty. But I’m buying the engagement ring. That’s not up for negotiation.”
In that moment Holly knew everything was going to be all right. Chris could always make her laugh...but she could always make him laugh, too. And that was just as important as love in building a relationship that would last a lifetime. There would be arguments in the future—of course there would be—but neither of them would ever go to bed angry with the other, because one of them would always make sure of it...with humor.