“I didn’t mean to throw that out there the way I did,” she said after a long period of silence.

“You knocked the wind out of me for a second.”

She ran her hands over his back and down to cup his lovely rear. “You recovered rather nicely.”

He chuckled and raised his head to kiss her. “I did, didn’t I?”

Though she was on pins and needles waiting for his answer, she nodded and gave him a playful smile.

“The thing is…”

Tiffany’s stomach clenched the way it used to when she was with her ex-husband. His explosive temper was something she’d never gotten used to, and her stomach had been in a constant state of upset. She told herself Blaine was nothing like him, but she wanted it to work with him so badly. Sometimes she wondered if she wanted it too badly.

“I’d sort of hoped we might get married,” he said.

It was Tiffany’s turn to stare at him in shock. “Married.”

“That’s what I said.” He kissed both cheeks and then her lips. “Not that this counts as an official proposal, but what would you think if I did propose?”

“I…um…I just got divorced.”

“So? Are you planning to play the field now that you’re free?”

“Of course not. You know I’m not.”

“Then why not make it official?”

“I thought we’d take baby steps.”

Blaine withdrew from her and turned onto his back, reaching for her hand and bringing it to his lips. “I understand that you’ve been through a lot, and the last thing I want is to pressure you for something you’re not ready for. But you should know I’m all in, Tiff. With you and with Ashleigh.”

Her eyes filled with tears that she blinked back because she refused to ruin this special moment by bawling. She’d done enough of that when she was married. “I love you so much. You know that, right?”

“Yes.”

“I’m not ready to talk about getting married again. That has nothing at all to do with you, though.”

“Okay.”

“So what do you think about baby steps?”

He turned on his side and rested his hand on her belly. “I think, besotted bastard that I am, I’ll take whatever you’re willing to give and be very, very grateful for every minute I can get with you.”

Releasing a sigh of relief, Tiffany turned into his embrace and kissed his chest. “This has been a really nice day.”

“You’ve waited a long time for the men in your life to love you the way you deserve to be loved.”

“Yes.” As much as she didn’t want to cry, she couldn’t help the tears. These were happy tears, however. They’d been a very long time coming.

Chapter 13

Chapter 13