Forgotten Honeymoon (19 page)

She’d known they couldn’t avoid talking
forever. She put her hands in the pockets of her jeans and looked
into his light blue eyes. “Yes. I was so mad earlier, I didn’t give
you a chance to talk.”

He said, “I want us to live together as man
and wife. I want us to raise a family together.”

This was what she’d wanted to hear.

He continued, “If the baby turns out to be
Nigel’s, I’d want to raise that child as if he or she were my
own.”

Her throat tightened at his generosity.
“There’s no need to worry about that. The baby can’t be Nigel’s. He
was bluffing. I presume he wanted money.”

Lars nodded. “One hundred thousand
dollars.”

“What a jerk. First he almost rapes me, then
he tries to act as if he’s the father.”

“Rape?” His voice rose in alarm.

She hastened to reassure him. “It was scary,
but I managed to get away.” She smiled. “I broke one of my teapots
over his head.”

Lars ground his teeth. “I should have
strangled him when I had the chance.”

She put her hand on his arm. “No, it doesn’t
matter now. I’m just glad he’s out of my life.”

“Our lives.” Lars added.

Kelly nodded. “What else do you want?”

He faced her and put his hands on her waist,
bringing her towards him. She put her hands on his chest, half to
keep her distance, half to feel him close. “I want to grow old with
you,” he said gently. “I want you to love me.”

“I do,” she said quietly, and he kissed
her.

“Ah, Kelly,” he said, when she drew back.
“I’m better at kisses than the words.”

“I know, but I need both.”

“I love you, Kelly,” he said huskily.

She wanted to believe him. For a few minutes,
she enjoyed the feel of him and his intoxicating kisses, but
eventually she stepped back. “No,” she said firmly. “We have a
problem of using sex as a substitute for communication. There are
things we need to talk about.”

He squared his shoulders. “Yes, you’re right.
I need to apologize. I’m sorry I took advantage of you at a weak
moment.” He smoothed her hair and brought the dark strands up to
his lips for a kiss. “I was greedy. I saw an opportunity to have
you and I took it. I seduced you.”

Kelly smiled. He was so serious. “What is it
that makes you think I’m such a brainless ninny that I’d let you
sweep me off my feet if I didn’t want to be swept?” She pointed her
finger and playfully poked him in the chest. “Didn’t it ever cross
your mind that I was taking advantage of you?”

He didn’t believe her. “You’d just broken up
with Nigel. You were drinking. You were upset.”

“I have a confession.”

He looked worried.

“I wasn’t drinking. I just let you think I
had. Those were virgin margaritas I was quaffing.”

He was stunned. “Why?”

“I thought if you thought I was drunk, I
could get away with more. Seducing you.”

Lars laughed. “We were both scheming?”

She nodded. “Deep in my heart, I knew that
you cared for me, that I could trust you. And since you found me
physically attractive --”

“It was more than that, Kelly.”

She smiled. “I was taking a risk, making
myself vulnerable, but it wasn’t a big risk. I figured I’d tie the
knot first and hope you didn’t have regrets later.”

“I can accept that,” he said finally, “But
what about Sunday morning? I’ve gone over it a million times in my
mind, and I still don’t understand why you left, unless you were
telling me the truth.”

Kelly flushed. “I’m not very proud of that. I
was so hurt, I let you think I was going back to Nigel. Believe me,
I never would have -- at least not knowingly. After the car
accident I didn’t know what to think.”

He nodded. “I understand that, but you said
our marriage was a mistake.”

She tried to explain. “Sunday morning I woke
up. There I was, naked with just a sheet wrapped around me, and you
were already up and dressed. We’d jumped from friends to lovers in
less than twenty four hours. I was nervous, a little embarrassed,
and worried about what you were thinking. I asked if you had any
regrets and you said, ‘yes.’“

“Of course I had regrets. I felt bad that I’d
convinced you to elope, instead of getting married in a church with
all your friends and family there. I worried that I’d rushed
you.”

“And I thought you wished we hadn’t gotten
married. So I ran off to take a shower and didn’t dare come out.
When I finally gathered my courage, I came out, and you took a
bathroom break.”

She frowned at the memory. “Your phone
vibrated. It was my dad, texting you for an update.”

He drew his breath in sharply. “I didn’t know
you had seen that.”

She nodded. “I scrolled through the
conversation. It was damning. At the club, you’d said something
like: ‘Mission accomplished. Everything under control.’ Later you
said, ‘She’ll be with me for a few days.’”

“What was I supposed to say? He was
worried.”

“He asked about Nigel and you responded,
‘He’s out of the picture. She won’t marry him now.’”

Lars said, “You thought I’d married you just
to keep you away from Nigel?”

“What else was I supposed to think? I felt as
if I were a task on some checklist. Keep Kelly happy - check. Make
sure she doesn’t marry Nigel - check.”

“I was trying to tell him as little as
possible so we could surprise him with the wedding.”

“That makes sense now, but at time, I was
afraid you felt nothing for me -- that you were babysitting me.
That’s when I grew defensive and asked if my father had sent you
after me.”

He looked guilty. “What could I say? It was
the truth.”

“You could have said, ‘I love you, Kelly.’
That’s what I wanted to hear.”

“Words are difficult for me.”

“I know, but when I asked you why you married
me, you just stood there. I was furious. I wanted to get some
reaction, so I told you I wanted a divorce.” Tears filled her eyes.
“And you didn’t fight or argue --”

“I’m fighting for you now, Kelly.”

“-- you just accepted it. What was I supposed
to think?” She folded her arms over her rounded belly. She still
didn’t know what to think.

His voice was husky. “Part of me couldn’t
believe you preferred me to Nigel. I’m not your type.”

Kelly shook her head. “You’re exactly my
type. It just took me a while to figure it out. On Tuesday I was
driving over to your condo to tell you, when I had the car
accident.”

“And I left for Boston, thinking I’d ruined
my only chance with you.”

Suddenly she was grateful for the baby that
had brought them back together, giving them another chance. She
looked deep into his eyes. She brushed his hair back from his face.
“Actually, you’ve always been my type. I fell a little in love with
you when I was fifteen.” At his look of astonishment, she said,
“That’s part of your charm. You don’t realize how wonderful you
are.”

“But you and your friends were always
laughing at me.”

Kelly said, “That’s what fifteen year old
girls do when they’re nervous. I was giggly and silly, but I adored
you.”

“The feeling was mutual.”

Now it was her turn to be astonished.

“Let me tell you a story,” Lars said. He
walked over and sat on her mattress. He patted a spot next to him.
“Get comfortable,” he said. “This might take a while.”

Kelly hesitated, then curled up next to
him.

“Thank you,” he said, putting his arm around
her. He said, “Eight years ago, I started working for your father.
I was twenty-two, anxious to do a good job. All I wanted was to
become a sales manager as soon as possible. Then one day I saw you,
and my life changed.”

Kelly turned her head to look up at him. “Are
you telling me you fell in love with me when I was fifteen?”

“No, you were just a kid. But I knew there
was something special about you.”

Kelly was amazed. “I remember that day. We’d
just won a soccer game. I came into Dad’s office, all sweaty and
dirty, wanting permission to spend the night at Brenda’s. Then I
saw you, and almost died of embarrassment.”

“You handled it well. You were charming.”

Kelly rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe it.
You’ve always liked me?”

He touched her cheek tenderly. “Yes. But it
was safer to keep my distance. I got used to keeping my emotions
hidden.”

And he’d done an excellent job. Kelly was
humbled by the devotion now blazing in his eyes. How could she
doubt him? “I’m grown up now,” she said quietly.

“I know, and sometimes I’ve treated you like
a child, trying to control your life. I’m sorry.”

She thought of her mother. “It’s easy to do,”
she said, forgiving him completely. “Just don’t do it again.”

“It’s a deal.” He reached over to kiss her.
“Ah, Kelly, I love you dearly.”

“That’s what I want to hear.” She kissed him
again. Which led to more than kisses.

Much later, Kelly sighed. “Do you think I’m
fat?”

Lars laughed. “You’re pregnant, not fat.”

“Good answer.”

He kissed her stomach. “You are beautiful. I
love the fact that we made a baby, that my child is growing within
you.”

For a man who didn’t think he was good with
words, he was doing fine. She said, “I love you, Lars.”

He said, “I think we should go on another
honeymoon.”

“When?”

“Now. After the baby’s born. Once a year.
What do you think?”

“It’s a great idea, and this time I’ll
remember.”

THE END

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

Hello, I hope you liked
Forgotten
Honeymoon
, book one in my Best Friends Wedding Series. I love
amnesia stories and one of my favorites is a Myrna Loy/William
Powell film LOVE YOU AGAIN, in which a con man with amnesia has
become a boring business man. When he gets his memory back, he
decides to go to the boring business man’s town and clean out his
bank account. It’s hilarious.

For those who are interested, book two in the
series is
The M Word
. It is the romance of Kelly’s best
friend Brenda. It is now available.

If you enjoyed the story, please consider going to
the website where you purchased your ebook and write a review.

If you like pregnant bride stories, you might like my
novel BABY COMES FIRST. I also have another sweet, quirky novel HER
EX NEXT DOOR.

My Blog: “Celebrating the Sweet Romance:

http://beverlyfarr.com/

Thanks. I look forward to hearing from you.

Beverly