The Tycoon's Proposal(45)

"Good morning," Ryan said, getting Nicole's attention. She jerked in surprise and looked up with guilty eyes.

Ryan wondered what she was up to. He'd stood there watching her for several minutes and she'd been concentrating so hard on what she was doing she hadn't been aware of anything around her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him suspiciously.

"I'm meeting an architect here for the girls, they want some remodel work done," he told her.

"Oh, I didn't know," she said, seeming to breathe a relieved sigh. She really had his curiosity up. She wasn't normally one to keep secrets. If she wanted to say something, she outright said it and to hell with the consequences.

"It looks like we'll be around each other a lot because this project will take at least a couple months," he said, with a self satisfied smile. Her eyes rounded at his words. There was no way she could be around him constantly at home and at her place of work and still keep her secret to herself. She needed to tell him but didn't know how to do it.

"Well, um, I need to do some stuff in the back," she said and then ran away. He was close to chasing her down and demanding to know why she was acting odd, but the man he was meeting showed up and that kept him busy for several hours.

By the time he was finished, Nicole managed to pull herself together and he knew he was getting nothing out of her. Ryan had discovered over the last several months even though she infuriated him on a continual basis he couldn't imagine living without her, or Patsy for that matter.

He looked forward to seeing them both when he walked in the door and his once empty home was filled with warmth and laughter and he didn't want it to go away. Now that he knew what she'd gone through as a child he knew she hadn't left him for the reasons he'd once thought. It was time to put his heart out on the table and take a gamble. 

He was afraid if she rejected him again he'd never be the same but he didn't want to continue on the way things had been. He didn't want her to give him everything of herself in their bed and nothing in the daylight.

"I have to head back home. I'll see you in a few hours," he said. Taking her in his arms, he kissed her with so much tenderness it left tears in her eyes. Nicole stared at him with a shell-shocked expression and simply nodded at him.

Ryan walked out of the shop whistling and feeling positive about the night to come. He went home and began setting the scene for what he hoped would be a romantic night, with a very happy ending.

Nicole got held up at the shop. The girls never asked her to stay late but they'd needed inventory done and asked for her help. It was eight by the time she made her way out the door. She was dead on her feet and still in shock over the pregnancy test.

She'd figured out she'd simply tell him the truth and explain a baby didn't mean they needed to change things. They could come to a mutual agreement so they could both be equal participants in their child's life. She hated the thought of them being nothing more than strangers. It hurt her in ways nothing had ever hurt before.

Nicole stepped into the house and looked around in confusion. The lighting was incredibly dim and no one seemed to be about. She looked down at the floor and saw rose petals everywhere. Had someone spilled something? Had there been an accident? She followed the path and found herself in the dining room.

Nicole gasped as she saw the scene before her. Her body began to tremble and her mind refused to acknowledge what she was seeing. Ryan was standing at one end of the room in a tuxedo, which showed his impressive body off to perfection. The man really wore a tux well, she thought. He was stunning and she could barely pull her eyes away from his magnificent form.

She looked at the table that was set for seduction. There were candles burning and more rose petals strewn about. Champagne was chilling and the aroma's drifting in made her stomach growl in hunger. In the middle of it all, there was the largest rose bouquet she'd ever seen. A romantic song was playing in the background causing her body to react.

"What is all this?" she asked in awe.

"I thought you deserved a bit of romance," he told her, with passion burning in his eyes. It took her breath away. He'd gone to so much trouble.

"I … I don't know what to say," she finally gasped. She felt the prickle of tears come to her eyes and quickly turned, not wanting him to see. She blamed her weak emotions on her pregnancy.

"Dance with me," he gently commanded and then she was in his arms. She didn't even think about resisting him. She fit into his body as if they were meant to be together. She laid her head on his masculine shoulder and he pulled her tightly against his hard body.

He smelled like home and she burrowed even closer against him. She didn't care about anything other than that moment. She needed to have this night with him, before she told him about the baby and their world changed. She knew she'd look back on their night together and it would cause pain but at least she would be able to honestly tell her child how very much she was in love with her father.