“He’s not going to come back just because you’re back, is he?” Miranda asked as Jeannie grabbed the crate of clean wineglasses. “If he is, I’m not dealing with him.”
“He won’t,” Jeannie replied. “Can you move? This is heavy.” Honestly, could Miranda just give her a little space?
It’d be nice if everyone at Trenton’s could give her a little space on her first night back. Sure, there’d been a cake and a few baby presents but did anyone actually ask about Melissa? Nope. It was all Robert, all the time. Had he contacted her after he’d left the bar? Did she know anything about the all-out war being waged in the press and in the courts between the elder Wyatt and his son? Or, worst of all, what did she make of that mysterious “duchess” who’d appeared on Robert’s arm at the ill-fated campaign kickoff but had disappeared right before everything had gone to hell and didn’t she look familiar?
Maybe Robert had left a bigger mark on her than she’d realized because she had apparently perfected his icy glare. At least she could blame her mood on the baby. Poor Melissa, taking the fall.
But it was fine. Things were always rough after a breakup and this was kind of one.
She was just about to back through the swinging door that separated the kitchen from the bar when it burst open, knocking into her. She had to juggle the crate of glasses but she managed not to drop the danged thing. “What the—”
“He’s here!” Julian said in a panic, moving so fast he ran into her again.
Jeannie managed to get the crate of glass onto a countertop because suddenly, her hands had started to shake.
Miranda asked, “Who?” in a terrified whisper, the blood draining from her face.
“Him! Wyatt!”
“Breathe,” Jeannie said. What was he doing here? He’d made it clear they were done and he was protecting her or something by staying away and she wasn’t to wait for him. Done, done, done.
Or not.
“Should we call the police?” Julian asked, hands clutched in front of his chest.
Jeannie rolled her eyes. “For the love of everything holy, no. I’ll handle this.”
She took a second to compose herself. Which wasn’t easy because not only did she have to deal with Miranda and Julian quaking in fear but also the whole kitchen staff had gone quiet, and even the normal sounds of the restaurant and bar were almost nonexistent.
She pushed through the swinging door to find herself squarely in the sights of Dr. Robert Wyatt, in his normal spot. When he saw her, his eyes narrowed and—big surprise—he adjusted his cuffs.
He’d come for her. And to think, there hadn’t been a single star in the sky last night. Not even an airplane she could pretend was a star. But she’d hoped against hope that one day Robert might slide into his seat and order his Manhattan and give her that almost invisible smile and tell her everything was perfect again.
That they could be perfect together, because the time was right.
But Jeannie saw more than that. She saw how he was moving as if his leg was bouncing against the rung of the bar stool. And how, when he wasn’t adjusting his cuffs, he was tapping his fingers on the bar.
How about that. Not only had Robert put in a surprise appearance, but the man was nervous about it, too. None of that mattered, though, because he’d come for her.
Unless something else had gone wrong? That thought led to a sickening drop in her stomach because what if he wasn’t here for her? What if he...just needed a sympathetic ear and a drink?
“Well?” asked Julian from behind the door. “Cops?”
“No, for Pete’s sake. Just leave us—him—alone.” She let the door swing back and heard a muffled yelp. That was what Julian got for peeking. She made her way down the bar. Robert’s intense gaze never once left hers.
“Robert.” She winced. “Dr. Wyatt. The usual?”
“Jeannie.”
For as long as she’d known this man—years now—every word he spoke could either make her fall further in love with him or break her heart.
Dear God, please don’t let the sound of her name on his lips be another heartbreak. She couldn’t take much more.
Then he smiled. That small movement of his lips curving up just at the corners, where no one else would think to look for it. But she saw it. She saw him. Maybe she always had.
Her hands hadn’t stopped trembling but she ignored them as she filled a glass with his Manhattan and added the twist. She had to use both hands to steady it as she placed the drink on the bar.
“Here for your drink?” she managed to get out, proud of the way her voice stayed level. Not a verbal tremble in sight.
“No.” He didn’t even look at his drink. “I’m here for you.”
Her breath caught in her throat. “Me?” she squeaked. Dammit.
“Us,” he corrected. Before she could process those two little letters—that one measly syllable—he dropped his gaze to a tablet she hadn’t noticed on the bar next to him. “Here’s the thing.”
“Oh?” Her heart began to pound wildly out of control but she didn’t say anything else. He’d get to it in his own sweet time.
He tapped the screen and called up a picture of a...mansion?
“Robert?” If he’d bought her a huge house out of guilt or something, she was going to have to draw the line. She and Melissa did not need a mansion.
“I bought it through a shell company, so there aren’t any names on the paperwork, just to be sure,” he began, tapping more to bring up additional pictures of a gorgeous house with amazing decorating—clean lines, warm colors and not a single shred of tacky wallpaper. “It overlooks the lake and there’s a path down to a small private beach.” More pictures whizzed by—was that an indoor pool? “It’s got a clear view of the night sky—the light pollution doesn’t drown out the stars.” A victorious smile spread across his face. “I made sure of that.”
“Robert,” she said, barely able to get the words out. “What is this?”
He straightened in his chair before straightening his cuffs. “My mother sends her thanks for your help. I put my home in her name so that, when she’s able to come back, she can enjoy the wallpapered ceilings to the fullest extent.”
Oh, God. “Did you...give up your house?”
He nodded once, a quick and efficient movement. But she could tell that his leg was still jiggling and, when he started to straighten his cuffs for the third time in as many minutes, she reached over the bar and took his hands in hers. Behind her, someone gasped. Probably Miranda.
“Robert,” she said again, softly. “Tell me what’s happened.”
A look of need flashed over his face and was gone, replaced by imperial iciness. “I don’t want you to wait for me,” he said in a gruff voice.
None of this made sense. There was something going on here, something that would tie the houses and his jumping leg and his very straight cuffs together and she was missing it.
“I will,” she told him. “As long as it takes, I will.”
He shook his head firmly and said, “No, I mean...wait.” He took a deep breath and then, miracle of miracles, laced his fingers with hers. “I was supposed to stay away from you because Landon still has a lot of power and if he knew who you were, you’d be in danger and you...” Jeannie’s heart kicked into overdrive. “You’re very important to me.”
“Oh?” He wasn’t the only one who could wield single syllables in a conversation, dammit.
He stared down at their hands. “I’ve never been in love so I don’t know for certain that this is that. But I need you. I need to see you every day so I can talk to you and you can make me laugh and touch me and make me feel...right. I don’t feel right without you anymore and I tried. I tried,” he repeated, sounding mad about that.
No, she couldn’t imagine that Dr. Robert Wyatt tried and failed at too many things. Her eyes began to burn and this time there was no lake breeze to blame it on.
“But then I realized that by staying away from you to keep you safe, I was still letting him win because he still dictated what I did and how I did it and you know what?”
“What?” she said breathlessly. Why was there a stupid bar between them? Why wasn’t he in her arms for this—this—this declaration of love? Because that was what it was.
He loved her.
Oh, thank God.
“To hell with him. He can’t win,” Robert said fiercely and she knew this was a man who would lay down his life to protect her. “I won’t allow it. If I want to be with you, I’m going to be with you because you are the right person for me, Jeannie Kaufman, and I will make it the right time.”
Of course he would. He was a Wyatt. “So you bought a mansion?”
“For you. You and me and Melissa and...us.” He looked up at her and she saw love and worry and hope in his eyes. Finally, hope. “For our family, whether it grows or not.”
She almost fell over. “Robert.”
“Marry me,” he said and damn if it didn’t sound like an order. But before she could call him on it, he quickly added, “Wait. No, let me do that again.” He lifted her hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles like he really was a duke of the realm and she was the tavern wench who’d won his heart. “You’ve shown me what love is, Jeannie. And I want to spend the rest of my life sharing it with you. We can get married or not. I’m not your boss and you’re not my employee or even my bartender. You’re the woman I need and I hope I can be the man you want.”
“Oh, Robert,” she said, tears flowing.
“You’re crying,” he said, alarmed.
“I love you, too, you complicated, messy, wonderful man.” But then the past few weeks flashed before her eyes—his reaction after the first time they’d made love, the way his father had treated him and his mother, the fact that the legal mess was going to be the headline for weeks and months to come. “And I do want to marry you—on one condition.”
“Name it,” he said with a devastatingly gorgeous smile. “Anything. I can buy a different house or...”
“I’ve never wanted you for your money.” Something deepened in his eyes. An answering shiver of desire raced down her back. “But I want you to see a counselor to help you work through your...issues because marriage isn’t a magical cure-all. You have to work on some things yourself.”
He didn’t even hesitate, bless the man. “Yes. Of course. I’ll work on talking and hugging and...” His cheeks darkened and she had to wonder—was he blushing? “What else?”
She began to laugh and cry at the same time and that was when Robert let go of her hands and then vaulted over the bar. Vaulted! Then he had her crushed to his chest, his mouth on hers and those were definitely gasps because not only was he kissing her, he was also doing so in public. “Anything else, Jeannie?” he said against her lips. “Anything for you. If you want to work a bar, I’ll buy you one. I’ll buy you this one, if you want.”
Behind them, she heard a squeak of alarm and rolled her eyes.
“We can make plans later but—will you adopt Melissa?”
He scoffed at that. “Of course.”
“Will you just be with me, Robert? Through good times and the not-great times?”
His hands flattened against her back. She couldn’t get close enough. “There is nowhere else I’d ever want to be if it’s not by your side.”
“Then the answer is yes because you’re the right man, Robert.”
He grinned wolfishly and dear Lord, he was just the most handsome man in the world and he was choosing her. “You’re the right woman for me and when it’s right, there is no wrong time. Not if I have anything to say about it. After all, I’m a Wyatt.” He leaned down but instead of kissing her, he whispered in her ear, “And soon you’ll be one, too.”
And just like that, she fell more in love with him.
“Perfect,” she told him.
Because it was.