Page 42

T he gardens were really lovely.

With the slight warm breeze and the sun shining overhead, Sara tipped her head back and gazed upward.

Soaking in the warmth.

She needed every bit of heat she could get. Her palms were ice cold and her face felt hot.

It was a sign of nerves, she knew it.

Ever since the day she’d overheard her father with his lawyer, she had been sick to her stomach with nerves.

Ana had flown in from Texas to help her confront her parents. Ana reminded them that while she was adopted, Sara could emancipate herself from them.

“What?” Laura had clutched a hand to her own chest and stared at her wide-eyed.

Jack Jones frowned and shook his head.

“We only want what’s best for you,” her adopted father said.

“I understand,” Sara said patiently. “But you’re not hearing me. I can’t marry Justin. I don’t love him.”

“You can’t marry a nobody!” Laura hissed, grabbing her husband’s arm.

“He’s not a nobody! He works at a legitimate job as a bodyguard. He works for the government,” Sara said hotly, making sure she kept what Levi did vague.

“That’s a commoner.” Laura sniffed.

“For the love of hell, mother. This isn’t the nineteenth century,” Sara said, glaring.

“Levi Huxley is not a nobody,” Ana said and pulled out her phone.

“What?” Sara jerked around and stared at Ana.

Her friend lifted her phone.

Birds chirping overhead brought her eyes up and she smiled, remembering her parents’ shocked faces when they learned what Ana had found.

Undeniable proof that Levi Huxley came from big money. His family built and owned several successful empires. The man’s parents could buy hers at least five times over.

Oh man, when she remembered her parents’ faces, she wanted to cackle. They had broken the engagement off with Justin and had started pressuring her to call Levi.

“No.” Sara shook her head.

“Why not?” Laura insisted. “He seems perfect for you.”

“You’re talking with dollar signs in your eyes,” Sara said.

“That’s not true. I just want to see you settled with someone worthy.”

“When you thought he was a nobody, he wasn’t worthy,” Sara reminded her.

“That says more about them than anything,” Ana cut in. “And you have something important to tell him.”

Jack had been quiet up to this point and now spoke.

“I may have misjudged him. He did give the money back.”

“You lied to me about that.” Sara wasn’t as forgiving.

“Wait…what do you have to tell him?” Laura said, confusion wrinkling her brow.

Sara glared at Ana. “Don’t.”

“Why not?” Ana tipped her chin and then gave her stomach a pointed look.

“Oh my god,” Laura said. Her mother, if nothing else, was very astute. “You’re pregnant.”

The scuff of a shoe and footsteps brought her once again to the sound of birds and the slight warm breeze.

That’s when she saw him.

He stood on the path. The backdrop of the majestic gardens behind his powerful shoulders. The wind lifted his hair slightly. His beard was perfectly groomed, and his eyes were piercing blue in the bright sunlight.

She wasn’t ready. She thought she would be before his appearance, but now that he was here and standing in front of her, it was almost more than she could bear.

“You didn’t tell me you gave the money back,” she said. It was the first thing she could think of.

“I took it.”

She smiled slightly. “You did. When did you give it back?”

“After we met in San Francisco.”

“Why?”

“Because you were more than a job by that time,” he said, his voice low and rough.

Sara nodded and fingered a long strand of her hair. She held his gaze across the distance.

“You said you wanted to date me,” she said.

“Yes.”

“Our parents would be thrilled.” She gave a wry smile.

“That’s a given.”

His answer made her snort, and she slowly patted the spot next to her on the bench.

Levi approached her. He moved like an animal would: all power, grace, and something dangerous simmered beneath the surface.

He made her nervous. She wasn’t afraid of him, but he was all male.

Alpha male.

“I don’t know if we can date,” she said, now was the time for her to be as honest as possible.

“Why?” he asked gruffly as he sat next to her and shifted sideways so she could look into his face.

“Do you remember when I asked you about Rebecca and her baby?”

“It’s not my baby.” he squeezed his hands into fists. “Please believe me.”

“I do. Do you remember what you said after that?”

A crease wrinkled his brow, and confusion darkened his blue eyes. After a moment, he slowly shook his head.

“You said you didn’t want kids,” she reminded him.

He jerked slightly. Frowned at her. He rubbed at his jaw with his fingers and then his eyes widened.

“Is that why you were mad at me?” He sounded outraged.

Sara nodded with a snort.

“You could have just asked me about it. You could have told me why you were mad. I don’t want to have her kids. If I do have kids, I’d only want them with you.”

She searched his eyes for a long moment, seeing his sincerity.

“My parents want me to marry,” she said.

“Mine too.”

Levi couldn’t believe his luck.

The money issue was taken care of now that she knew he’d given it back. The topic about having children was cleared up now that he knew why she had been mad at him.

Now, Sara was bringing up marriage, and the ring box in his pocket was burning a hole in his pants.

His mother had tucked it into his hand just before he’d left the house to search for Sara in the gardens.

“It’s your grandmother’s ring. I think Sara would love it. She’s lovely.”

He pulled the box out.

Waiting wasn’t really his thing, but when Sara’s eyes widened on the ring box, nerves suddenly punched him in the gut.

“I want to marry you.”

“Since when?” she challenged.

Of course she did, and he wouldn’t have her any other way.

“Since the time I climbed up your balcony.”

She giggled and he grinned.

Opening the box, his grandmother’s ring was nestled inside. The four-carat diamond cluster was embedded in white gold, and Levi took the ring out and waited.

His palms were sweating and a drop trickled down his temple. He could feel his shirt sticking to his skin.

She was the most important thing in the world to him.

If she said no, then he would become a hermit. He would live his life alone, forever going from job to job without a harbor.

Taking a deep breath, Levi took the leap and spoke.

“Will you marry me?”

“Yes.” she answered without hesitation.

His heart threatened to pound out of his chest. Almost lightheaded from the relief, he lifted her hand and slid the ring on her finger.

Pulling her into his arms, he bent his head and kissed her.

When she pulled back, she gazed up into his eyes.

“I hope you were serious about kids.”

He smiled. If that was the most of her worries, then she could rest assured.

“I meant every word,” he said.

“Good…daddy.”

Her smile was sly.