Platinum Grooms: Pregnant at the Wedding

Snapping open the buckle of her seat belt, he pulled her to him, sitting back in his seat and lifting her to his lap, to hold her close while he kissed her hard. Ashley’s heart pounded and her breathing became erratic. Forgetting their disputes, she wound her arms around his neck and kissed him in return, wanting so much more.

As they kissed, she knew time was passing and desire was growing more intense by the second. To slow things down, she pulled away reluctantly.

“You’re irresistible, Ashley,” he said gruffly, touching her throat.

“You know how I react to you,” she replied, moving off his lap and straightening her clothes, sitting down to smooth her skirt and buckle up again. His steady look made her heart thud. Struggling for composure, she stared out the window at the black night, the pinpricks of lights occasionally showing in the distance.

“I don’t know how you’ll react,” he replied solemnly after a few minutes’ silence. He reached over to caress her cheek. “But I intend to learn how you respond to each touch and kiss.”

“You’re coming on strong, Ryan,” she whispered, finding his words as effective as a touch. “Let’s get back to some other topic. The wedding, if you want.”

With a long, intense look, he shrugged. “We didn’t discuss where we’ll live after we marry. How about my condo? Then we can build a house, so we’ll have more room when the baby comes, or soon afterward.”

Astounded, she stared at him. “I hadn’t thought about where we’d live,” she said, thinking about his sprawling, plush condo in an exclusive, gated area. She also thought about her own place, which was smaller, far more simple. “That’s fine, Ryan. None of this seems real to me.”

“It’s real,” he said. “Come back over here in my lap and I’ll convince you it’s real.”

She shook her head. “My mind boggles over all the abrupt changes. Things I never expected to have happen are occurring one right after the other.”

“Also, in the next week, find a decorator. Do my bedroom over—colors, new furniture—so the place is both of ours. We should start married life with a new bed. Spend whatever you want.”

She stared at him in consternation and amazement. “You can be so strong willed and then so generous.”

“Maybe you’ll discover that I’m really a nice guy.”

“I know you’re a nice guy,” she said. “Until you want something.”

He smiled. “You can do any other rooms over in my condo, too—or all of them if you want to.”

She laughed. “You plunge full steam into everything you do! Okay, I’ll look at your bedroom. A new bed for us would be great,” she said, and the thought made her breathless.

“And I can’t wait to try it out with you.”

“You’ll make me blush.”

“Just makes you look even more gorgeous.”

He fished in his billfold and handed her a card. “Charge everything you want to this.”

“Ryan, you’re being generous.”

“You’ll be my wife, Ashley. It’s like doing it for myself,” he answered casually. “Another thing we haven’t discussed is your job.”

“See?” she said. “This is what I was talking about. I knew you would step in and take charge of everything.”

“I believe we’re agreeing on most all of this. You know we have to make each one of these decisions. And I’m leaving a lot of the wedding plans solely up to you.”

In fairness, she knew he was right. “So what have you decided about my job?”

He gave her a fierce look that made her draw another sharp breath. “If you want to quit immediately, that’s fine with me.”

“No, I don’t want to stop working yet.”

“You have to before you have the baby. How about three months before, at the latest?”

“How about two?”

He nodded. “If that’s what you’d like. As long as you’re in good health, that’s fine with me. And don’t do any heavy lifting. I can send a man to help with any moving or carrying, since it’s just you and two other females.”

“I don’t think we need a man,” she said, smiling.

“Who carries those tall candlesticks and things like that for weddings? Who loads them into a truck and then into the church?”

She shrugged. “All right, I do or my assistant does. But I can’t afford to pay some guy to hang around and carry stuff.”

“I’ll pay him. Give him some odd jobs around the place. I’ll get someone who’s young and strong and going to college, so he’ll be part-time for you. How’s that?”

“Fine, Ryan,” she said, knowing it was useless to argue, and that it would be a big help to her. “Actually, I’ve thought about trying to get someone part-time for that very reason. It’ll be good. I just didn’t see how I could justify his pay.”

“Now you don’t have to.”

“Thanks, Ryan,” she said quietly. “You’re being incredibly generous.”

He shrugged. “I can afford to be, and we’re going to be family soon.”

She drew a deep breath and wondered how long it would take her to adjust to her new status. They rode in silence for a time, until he asked her about growing up on the farm.

“What happened to your mother?” Ryan asked.

“She died in a fire in the barn when I was sixteen. She did a lot of farming, just like Dad. She loved it and so does my brother. What happened to your mother?”

Ryan smoothed his trouser leg over one knee. “We couldn’t afford health insurance and she kept saying nothing was wrong. She had a stroke and died.”

“How old were you?”

“Eighteen. Damn, I hated it.”

“When that happened, you had your close friends, Nick and Jake, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, and their friendship saved me. Emotionally and financially. We swore we’d help each other—I think I told you all about that.”

“You did and it was amazing. All of you have success.”

“Yeah, it’s gratifying. Life has been generous to all of us. I don’t ever want to be poor or hungry again. When I was growing up, we had some bad moments. But we were a tight family and all got along, and that’s more than a lot of families have.”

“Yes, it is. So did we, and I’m thankful for my family. Jeff, my brother, is twenty-one, four years younger than I am,” she said. Ashley recalled that the weekend she’d met Ryan, she’d learned he was thirty-two.

They talked as they flew back to Dallas, and when they finally returned to her apartment, she faced him at the door. “It was quite a day and night, Ryan,” she said solemnly, looking at her hand. “The ring is beautiful.”