The Siren (33 page)

After a minute, he reached up and took my wrists in his hands, pulling them gently down between us. “Do you remember when we were in San Antonio and I told you I wasn’t going to propose to you?”

I laughed. “Yeah. I don’t think I can forget about that conversation.”

“Well...” He held up his hand. On the tip of his pinky finger was a large, circular diamond with a halo of smaller diamonds around it. It was glistening in the pink and orange glow of the last rays of sunlight.
 

My mouth fell open. “What is this?”
 

His eyes were wide, but his mouth was tipped up around the corners. “This still isn’t a proposal,” he cautioned.
 

“Then. What. Is. It?” I asked, carefully articulating my words.
 

He took a deep breath. “I know our life together is very complicated, and I’m sure it always will be. In fact, I’m pretty damn sure it’s only going to get worse from this point on.” He paused to laugh. “Angels and demons be damned because I don’t want anything else in this world more than I want you and all the mess that comes with us being together.”

I raised a skeptical eyebrow. “This sounds like a proposal.”
 

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring box. He opened it, placed the ring in the cushioned velvet center, and snapped the box shut. I cocked my head to the side and glared at him as he tucked the box into the inside chest pocket of his jacket.

I put my hands on my hips. “Are you just trying to be an ass or what?”

He put his hands on the sides of my face. “No. I’m not trying to be an ass. I just want you to know how serious I am about us.” He took a step closer to me. “I don’t ever want to wonder if you might have any regrets.”

I opened my mouth to spew my objection, as well as a few more obscenities, but he covered my lips with his finger.
 

“I know you love me, but you love him too.” He bent slightly to look me directly in the eye. “While I’m gone, I want you to really consider it and decide, with absolute certainty, what you want for the rest of your life.”

My brow crumpled. “Are you breaking up with me?”

He shook his head. “No, but I am giving you the next few months to really get honest with yourself and with me and Nathan.” He put his hand over the pocket where he had stashed the box. “I want you to be sure because when I put this ring on your hand, it’s going to be for forever.”

I dropped my gaze to our feet, and a tear dripped from my eye and splashed onto the toe of his boot. Warren was right. I knew he was. Knowing it was the right thing to do didn’t make it any easier though. I didn’t deserve Warren. Hell, I didn’t deserve either of them.

He tipped my chin up and brought his lips down to meet mine. “I love you,” he said again when he pulled away.

“I love you, too.”

* * *

Adrianne had a loaded smile splashed across her face the next morning when Warren and I met her and Nathan in the lobby of the Ramada Inn. “Well? Did you two have fun last night?”
 

I smiled and looped my arm through Warren’s. “It was a beautifully spectacular evening.”

She clapped her hands with glee. “Yeah? Did anything
exciting
happen?”

Heat rose in my cheeks. Lots of exciting things happened, but none of them would I share with Adrianne…at least not in Warren’s presence—or Nathan’s. I recognized her tone though, and I held up my bare left hand. “We’re not engaged, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

Nathan looked at Adrianne. “You owe me twenty bucks.”

She rolled her eyes.

Warren laughed and looked down at his watch, then at me. “We’ve got to get going. Are you ready?”

I pouted. “No.”

He sighed and tugged on my arm. “Come on.”

Nathan drove my car down Whitehall Park Street till we reached a large four story white building. I was riding in the back seat, practically sitting in Warren’s lap. When he parked in the lot near the front, we all got out. Warren pulled his duffel bag out of the trunk and dropped it on the curb.

Adrianne wrapped her arms around his neck. “Be safe. I’ll pray for you,” she said.

He smiled. “Thanks, Adrianne.”

Next, he turned to Nathan. “Come home safe, brother,” Nathan said.

Warren pulled him into a tight hug. It was odd seeing the two of them embrace. Odd, and perfect. “Take care of her for me,” Warren said when he stepped away. “Keep your damn hands to yourself, but take care of her.”

Nathan laughed. “I will.”

Warren gave me a warning glare. “Don’t let her run off and get herself into a shit-load of trouble while I’m gone.”

I held up my hands. “I don’t do that!”

“Right,” the three of them said at the same time.

Nathan and Adrianne got into the car. Warren took a slow step toward me and reached for my hand. He rested his forehead against mine and closed his eyes. “In all seriousness, please be careful.”
 

“I will be. I promise.”

He tucked my hair behind my ears. “The Glock you shot when we were in Texas is in your nightstand by the bed. It’s loaded, just in case. Get Nathan to take you to the range again. You need to practice.”

I groaned. “I don’t wanna.”

He put his arms around me and pulled me close. “I don’t care.”

Tears began to well up in my eyes. “Please come home to me.”

He pressed his lips against my forehead. “Always.”

Tilting my chin up with his finger, he kissed me long and slow. The magnetic energy surged through us, and I enjoyed its intoxicating tingle one last time. My knees felt weak when he finally pulled away. He lifted my left hand up and kissed the spot where I should have been wearing that sparkling diamond.
 

He cut his eyes at me. “Just out of curiosity, if I had asked, what would you have said?”

“You know what I would have said.” I sniffed and rubbed my eyes, smearing mascara across my knuckles.

He cupped my face in his hands and wiped under my eyes with his thumbs. Staring into his eyes, I let the sensation of his kind soul burn itself into my memory. He kissed me one more time. “I love you,” he said.

“I love you.”

Stepping away, he picked up his black bag, slinging the strap over his shoulder. He headed toward the front door and paused at the entrance to look back and wave one last time. I still hated his short hair.

Then he was gone.

* * *

The car was silent till we got out of Charlotte’s city limits. Adrianne reached back and touched my arm. Her makeup was smudged from crying as well. “Are you OK?” she asked.

My cheeks were still wet with silent tears. I nodded and squeezed her fingers. “Yeah. I’m OK.”

“You wanna talk about what happened last night? I thought for sure you were going to show up engaged this morning.” She pointed from Nathan to herself. “We placed bets on whether or not he was going to propose to you.”

I folded my arms over my chest. “I want to know why Nathan was so sure he wouldn’t.”

Nathan kept his eyes on the road. “Because he told me.”

My head snapped back in surprise. “He told you?”

“Yeah. He said he wanted to, but he needed to give you some time to make up your mind without him being in the picture.”

Adrianne split a glance between both of us. “Make up your mind about what?”
 

Nathan and I both stared at her.

“Ohhhhh.” She turned around and slouched down in her seat. “Well, this is awkward.”

Nathan seemed as desperate to change the subject as I was. He looked over his shoulder at me. “How’s your head? Is it starting to hurt yet?”

I looked up with surprise. “Not at all, actually.”

He looked down at the odometer. “That’s weird. I figured it would have started about ten miles ago.”

A surprising thought exploded in my mind, and the puzzle pieces swirled and snapped together.

My new instant ability to heal.

Being able to see Warren’s soul.
 

Detecting angels even though they weren’t visible.
 

The reason why the spirit world was suddenly so interested in me.

The absence of my migraines…

Warren hadn’t completely left me at all.

“Oh my God.”
 

Adrianne turned around in her seat again at the sound of alarm in my voice. “What is it?” she asked.

I clamped my hand over my mouth to prevent myself from blurting it out.
 

I’m pregnant.

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