That's Amore! - Janelle Denison [94]
Luke began to toy with her hair, tangled amidst the fabrics, and to stroke the soft, supple skin of her hip as he contemplated how to tell her what was on his mind.
It was too soon. It was crazy. But he knew without a doubt that he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. So he came right out with it. "Marry me."
She laughed. "Right."
"I mean it. Marry me. I want you to be my wife."
She slowly pulled away, looking into his eyes to gauge his seriousness. He hoped his feelings were as obvious to her as they were to him—to everyone, really, since his own mother had admitted this morning that she'd suspected he was in love with the beautiful shopkeeper.
"I'm serious. This isn't about cold feet or second thoughts or just how much I want you."
"You have me," she said softly, punctuating the remark by sliding her bare leg over his thighs. "And you don't have to say these things."
Rolling onto his side, he traced his fingertips over her cheek. "Yeah. I do. I love you and I want to marry you. Whether we wait a year or a week isn't going to make a damn bit of difference."
Her gaze shifted. "Luke, have you ever heard of being on the rebound?"
He groaned and ran a frustrated hand through his tangled hair. "Yeah, I've heard of being on the rebound and I've heard of hurt pride and I've heard of grooms with cold feet going after any sexy woman nearby." Cupping her face with his hand, he added, "But this isn't any of those things. This is me realizing how damn lucky I am to have gotten out of a situation I created out of my own stupid need to carry on with tradition. I got engaged for all the wrong reasons, and not one of them included falling in love."
He kissed the corner of her mouth, then whispered, "But I did fall in love with you. And I want to marry you for all the right reasons."
She still looked unconvinced. Though it killed him, he continued. "Say it's too soon. Say you want a career for a while. Hell, say you got caught up in the moment and you don't really love me. But don't you dare try to tell me I don't know what I want."
Her blue eyes widened and grew moist with emotion. "You're serious about this?"
"Dead serious."
She still didn't say yes. But she didn't say no, either. "What will everyone think?"
"Who the hell cares? My family already loves you, and they wanted to jump for joy when they realized I wasn't marrying Maria." Then, because she didn't know everything that had happened yesterday, he explained. "And Maria eloped with her dentist to Las Vegas last night, so it's not like anybody on her side is going to have much room to criticize me."
Her mouth dropped open. He tipped it closed with his index finger.
"So she was serious? She's been having an affair? Is she out of her mind?"
He liked her vehemence, which showed her indignance on his behalf. Surely that indicated he hadn't been wrong about her feelings. "Yes, it's true. She got engaged to me for the same lame reasons I asked her. Family, traditions, all that stuff. Her father's more conservative than anyone I know and he was the one who wanted the wedding, the Italian customs, even the gown." He shook his head ruefully. "Do you know she told me she hated the dress and wanted more than anything to wear a strapless yellow sundress instead? Her father picked the final one out of a magazine and demanded that she wear it."
Rachel thought about the exquisite gown hanging on a nearby rack and rolled her eyes. "She's mental."
"Not as much as we thought yesterday when she lost it at the restaurant. Apparently there was a mix-up with the company who sent those wedding favors. Inside the box were dozens of these little round metal charms that looked like eyes. A guy eating at the restaurant—who's Greek—said they're a tradition at Greek weddings, to ward off bad spirits."
A naughty grin widened her lips. "Or bad fiancées?"
He laughed with her, hoping her light mood meant she was getting used to the idea of his proposal.
"Yeah. The packing slip inside