Dream Wedding(165)

Okay, here went nothing. “You’re worried about me. You’re concerned that I’m going to get emotionally attached to you because we’re lovers and women tend to bond when they make love with someone. I want you to know that I understand and I’m—”

“They do?” he asked, interrupting her.

“What?”

“Women bond when they make love?”

“Yes. Most of the time. If they have feelings for the man. It’s pair bonding, like wolves or swans. But that’s not the point. I don’t want you to be concerned about me.”

“Because you haven’t bonded?”

This was the tricky part, she thought. She didn’t want to lie, but she was afraid to tell him the truth. She took a step toward his desk. “I’m a mature person. I can handle my feelings.”

“So you have bonded.”

“I didn’t say that.” Except by avoiding the question, she sort of had.

He moved toward her, stopping less than two feet away. His green eyes were alight with an emotion she couldn’t read. “It’s one or the other. Either you’ve bonded or you haven’t. But if it makes answering the question any easier, I can tell my bonding story.”

“Okay.” What was he talking about? Her stomach got all quivery and she felt both hot and cold. Dear Lord, please don’t let it be bad.

He took one last step forward, then kissed her gently. “I’ve bonded with you, Cassie. Even before we made love, I found myself falling in love with you. I didn’t recognize it at the time, probably because I’ve never felt this way before. You mean everything to me.”

She couldn’t speak. She wasn’t sure she was even breathing. Was this really happening? Was Ryan actually saying these things to her?

He touched her cheek, traced her mouth, tucked her hair behind her ears and gave her a shaky smile. “You deserve so much more than I have to offer. I don’t know how to be what you need, but I’m too selfish to let you go. I love you. I want to marry you. I want us to raise Sasha along with a couple dozen kids of our own. I want to make love with you every night, I want to hold you while you sleep and I want to watch you smile when you wake up in the morning.”

He clutched her hands tightly in his. “Just tell me what you want. I can learn to be a better man, if you’ll help me. I want to make you happy. I want to make all your dreams come true.”

He was saying everything she wanted to hear and more. So much more. The odd light in his eyes was love, she realized. He loved her. “You have made all my dreams come true.”

“Then why are you crying?”

She pulled one hand free and touched her face. It was wet. “I’m so happy.” Her head was spinning. “Is this really happening? Did you just propose to me?”

“Not exactly.”

Her heart plunged to her toes and then broke.

“No, don’t!” he said quickly. “I want to marry you. I want to elope with you tonight. But I know how important the family legend is with you. So I’m going to ask you to marry me, but I don’t want you to answer. Wear the nightgown tomorrow night, then answer me in the morning.”

“I don’t understand. What if I don’t…” She couldn’t finish the statement. But he knew what she was thinking.

“What if you don’t dream about me?” he asked. “If you dream about another man, I’ll win you from him because I know you’re my destiny. I’ll sweep you off your feet with passion and devotion until you can’t imagine being with anyone else. I’ll earn you, and once I have you, I’ll never let you go.”

“I want to marry you,” she said and kissed him.

“Tell me that again in forty-eight hours.”


CASSIE’S FINGERS TREMBLED as she unfolded the nightgown, then slipped it over her head. She climbed into her bed and pulled the covers up to her chin.

Ryan sat down beside her and smiled. “Don’t look so scared. It’s going to be fine.”

“I know, it’s just so strange. All my life I’ve wanted the nightgown to be magic, and now I don’t.”

“You’re going to dream of me. I know it. And if you don’t, hey, I have a plan. Either way, I love you and want you in my life.”

“I love you, too,” she whispered back.

They talked for a few more minutes, then he left her alone. Cassie fingered the lace at her collar and cuffs, then turned on her side. The bed felt odd. She hadn’t slept in it since she and Ryan had become lovers.

She closed her eyes, then opened then. After twenty-five years, it was finally her turn to wear the family nightgown, and now that the moment was finally here, she was afraid to go to sleep.