Once Upon a Matchmaker (21 page)
“So you’re asking me to stop by every day?” she deadpanned.
“No, I want more than that,” he told her seriously. “A lot more.” He regrouped, trying to work his way into a proposal. Admittedly, he was way out of practice. “In case you haven’t noticed, the boys love you.”
“The boys,” Tracy repeated. She’d argued fearlessly before judges that made other, far more seasoned lawyers cower. Why then was she so nervous putting herself out there now?
Because what Micah said could crush her if it was the wrong thing. Still, she couldn’t keep hiding indefinitely. This was it. She needed him to spell out exactly what he meant—and if it wasn’t what she was hoping he meant, then she needed to find out sooner, not later. And go.
“What about you?” she finally asked him. If her mouth were any dryer, it could have been named a national desert.
Micah didn’t answer right away. Instead, he grinned at her. “I thought you knew.”
“Knew what?” she asked, tension all but electrocuting her.
“That I’m one of the boys, too.”
His eyes held hers for a long moment. He’d never thought he would ever be saying these words again, ever be feeling these emotions again. But Tracy had brought him back from the dead and however unintentionally, made him see that he could love again.
“I love you, Tracy. I love your independence, your feistiness, I love the way you dig in and don’t give up and I love the way you effortlessly give of yourself without expecting anything back in return. Whether you know it or not, you saved me,” he told her. And then he realized what she probably thought he meant and he was quick to set her straight. “Not my career, me. I didn’t think I could ever fall in love again. It’s nice to be proven wrong.”
He drew her closer, wrapping his arms around her. “Marry me, Tracy.” He felt one of the boys tugging on his shirt. Looking down, he saw Gary.
“Marry us,” the boy whispered loudly, as if to remind him that he wasn’t alone in this.
“Marry us,” Micah amended. “We promise you’ll never regret it.”
At this point, Greg and Gary were all but jumping up and down. “Yeah, marry us, Tracy. Please?” Gary proposed as soulfully as he could manage.
“Pleas-eeze?” Greg added his voice to the plea.
Tracy blocked the laugh that bubbled up in her throat. She didn’t want to hurt the boys’ feelings by having them think she was laughing at them. “How can I say no?”
“Then don’t,” Micah coaxed. “Say yes.”
Her eyes were smiling as she said, “Yes.”
Greg and Gary instantly cheered. As for their father, he wasn’t cheering. But there was a reason for that. He was too busy kissing their new mom-to-be, and the boys were more than just okay with that.
* * * * *
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ISBN: 9781459230385
Copyright © 2012 by Marie Rydzynski-Ferrarella
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