Page 67 of Emergency Engagement
Me. It’s me. I need him.
But for some reason, her feet remained glued to the floor. She’dbecome performance art.Woman Paralyzed with Regret.
She knew the moment he saw her. His eyes locked onto her face, and her nerve endings tingled. Slowly, he approached. “I need a minute with you.”
“I’m sorry,” she stammered, and immediately started crying. Damn pregnancy hormones.
“No, I’m sorry. I know this isn’t the right time or place. I’m the last guy you want to see, and I’m showing up like a selfish jerk and ruining your big night. Timing’s not my strong suit, but I need to speak to you before you leave for Italy.”
She had to talk around the lump in her throat. “I canceled the fellowship as soon as I learned I was pregnant. I didn’t want to have my baby half a world away from home.”
“Thank you,” he said, and had the grace to look genuinely relieved. “Thank you for that, even if you had your own reasons for doing it.”
She didn’t know what to tell him about her reasons, so she stayed quiet.
“I want to introduce you to some people you should have met a long time ago.” He held a book out to her. She took it and looked down to see a pink photo album. Her heart prepared to run, but she found her voice.
“Y-you don’t have to…”
“I do.” He flipped the book open, and a picture of a sweet, tiny newborn in a little pink hat filled the page. Two deep, all-seeing eyes stared back at Savannah. Miniature versions of Beau’s. “This is Abbey.”
“She’s beautiful.”
“Yes,” he agreed, and turned the page to a photo of a pretty, young brunette in a hospital bed, holding the baby and smiling a smile that radiated pride and adoration. “This is Kelli.”
“Also beautiful,” she managed, but the lump was back with a vengeance, and she couldn’t say more.
He flipped through a few pages and opened the album to a picture of a younger Beau with one arm wrapped around his baby, and the other wrapped around his wife’s shoulders. They stood in the shade of a big green maple tree. His smile reflected an unrestrained joy she hadn’t seen from him since he’d been a little boy, chasing her around the swing set with his silly rubber snake.
“This was us.”
Tears stung her eyes. He’d lost so much. Of course he feared losing again, and she’d been ruthless with his fear. “I’m so sorry.”
“I was, too. I loved them. Having them in my life made me happier than I even realized until they were gone. And when they left, I would have done anything—bargained with the devil, sold my soul, traded my life—to have more time with them. Losing them hurt so much. The hurt faded after a while, but it will never completely leave.”
“I understand. I do.”
“The thing is, I’ve been so focused on the hurt I overlooked something important. I wouldn’t trade a minute of my time with them. Not even to eliminate the pain. I’ll always wish we’d had more time, but even knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t have missed them for the world.”
“I’m glad.” She sniffed back tears and wiped her watering eyes. “I know you loved them.”
The lights went down around them. The crowd broke into a countdown.
Beau talked faster. “I did. They’re an important part of my past. But you, and our baby? You’re my future, and I don’t want to miss this, either. I love you. Iwantto be there with you, and I want you with me—through every up and down. I’m all-in. No hedging. No holding back. I can handle anything except letting you walk out of my life. What do you say, Savannah? Will youtake me on?”
She wrapped her arms around him and hung on. “Beau Montgomery, you have a hell of a way of wishing a girl happy New Year.”
“It’s my way of asking you to marry me. Take a risk on me, on us, and a happy new life.”
“I’m all-in.”
He kissed her as the lights strobed, and the crowd cheered, and people shouted, “Happy New Year!”
“Happy New Year to you, Smith,” he whispered. Her knees went weak from the vibration of his voice in her ear and the sheer thrill of being pressed against him again, but to her surprise he suddenly drew away. She nearly swayed, but he dropped to his knees, clasped her waist in his big hands, and placed a gentle kiss on her stomach. “Happy New Year to you, little one.”
“To us,” she corrected when he stood and wrapped her in his embrace. “Happy New Year to us.”
He kissed her again, long and slow, only raising his head when hers started to spin. He rested his forehead against hers, and she basked in the joy lighting his eyes.
“To us.”
