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But turning the lights on in the back of the limo would be asking for trouble. He didn’t want any trouble tonight—he just wanted to enjoy every minute he could with Pris.

Once he’d recovered himself enough to move, he kissed her softly. “I’m going up front to get our milk shakes and turn on the heater for a little while, so we won’t get cold.”

“The shakes would be nice, but believe me, I’m not cold.”

“Me, either, yet, but the wind’s picking up out there. I won’t be long.”

Moments later he had the engine running, the heater on and the bag of shakes in his hand as he climbed into the back again. While the door was still open he located Pris sitting on the floor propped against one of the leather seats, but once he closed the door, he had to feel his way.

“Gonna take off your pants again?” she asked in a husky murmur.

He laughed. “There’s only one sane answer to that one.” He put the bag down and peeled off his slacks. Then he picked up the bag and groped his way over to her. “To help you keep up your strength.” He put the bag in her lap.

She opened the bag. “I never drink a chocolate milk shake without thinking of you.”

“Same here.” When he took the cup, he knew it would already have the straw shoved through the lid, because that’s the way Pris did things.

His hand brushed hers, and his fingers came in contact with her engagement ring. “You’re still wearing your diamond.”

“Oh. Well, I can fix that in a jiffy.”

Although he couldn’t see her clearly, he realized she’d wedged her shake between her knees while she pulled off her ring. “Wait a minute,” he said. “You should probably leave it on, so you won’t lose it.”

“I won’t lose it.” She dropped the ring into her shake. “And I definitely don’t want to wear it anymore. Thanks for reminding me about it.”

Saying something had been pure reflex, because he didn’t want to make love to Pris while she wore another guy’s ring. Hell, he didn’t want her to wear another guy’s ring, ever. Too bad, unless he planned to put one there himself.

“It’s not a very expensive ring,” Pris said. “He didn’t think spending a lot of money on a diamond was practical. Mmm, this milk shake tastes great.”

“He discussed the cost of the ring with you?” Josh found the idea ludicrous. Talk about taking all the romance right out of it.

“Yes, and I told myself that meant he was a good money manager. He also bought a life policy on himself in lieu of an expensive honeymoon, but—”

“Hold it. Run that one by me again.”

“Three nights ago he said he had a surprise for me. It was this single-pay life policy on himself. He thought that was much better than the trip to the Bahamas we’d talked about. Instead we’d go camping for our honeymoon.”

Josh groaned and shook his head. “What an idiot.”

“It’s unromantic, I know, but he meant well. He wanted to make sure I’d never be in financial need in case anything ever happened to him.”

Brad’s logic hit Josh right between the eyes. It sounded absolutely stupid to him. And yet it was exactly why he hadn’t asked Pris to marry him six months ago.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“BUT I DON’T WANT to talk about Brad.” Pris sipped her drink. “The ring reminded me of him, but he’s history. Deciding to marry him was a big mistake, but at least I didn’t go through with it out of fear of embarrassment.”

“That was quite a thing you did, running out.” Josh reached over and rubbed her knee. “Facing your parents tomorrow isn’t going to be easy.”

She’d forgotten that he used to rub her knee when they were in bed talking. And they’d talked a lot. They’d connected on more levels than physical pleasure, but that had been spectacular enough to take center stage most of the time.

“I can face my parents,” she said softly. “I know they love me and want the best for me. Once they realize Brad’s not the person I thought he was, they’ll understand.”

“Are you going to tell them the whole story?”

She smiled. “Um, I’ll tell my mom, and I’ll let her decide how much to tell my dad. I’m getting