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I gulped. Loudly. "Will I what?"
"Marry me," Bobby repeated.
"That's what I thought you said." To say I was stunned was an understatement of the greatest proportions - if you could describe understatement as huge. Could you? I didn't know, but I was taking the chance no-one would query my random, shock-filled thought. "Wow, that's...that's so not what I expected you to say."
Bobby, who, strangely, appeared calm and unruffled, tilted his head slightly to one side and gave me his trademark smirk. God, I loved that smirk. I loved him, too. "What did you think I was going to ask?"
I shook my head, trying hard to grab on to one of the hundreds of thoughts whirling around inside my brain. "I don't know, exactly, just not...I mean...hell, no-one expects the Spanish Inquisition, right?"
Oh God, did I just liken his proposal of marriage to the Spanish Inquisition? Clearly, I'm losing my Monty Python-quoting mind.
He hmmphfed and gave a small smile, looking very debonair still in the black pants and white jacket he'd worn to dinner, with the red polka dot tie I'd given him last week. He appeared to be waiting patiently for me to give an answer. The thing is, though, I knew him better almost than I knew myself, and I could see a number of small tell-tale signs that told me he was nervous and unsure, in spite of doing a great job of covering it up. A faint tic in his left eye. A tightening of his jaw. His right pinky tapping against his thigh.
"The thing is..." I began then stopped, searching for the right way to say this. Bobby's jaw tightened even further and my heart gave an urgent thump-thump-thump. "I mean..." Now his face stilled, as though he was carefully putting a mask in place. Shit! I'm messing this up.
He straightened in his seat, pulling his shoulders back, a look of pain creeping into those gorgeous brown eyes. "Hey, kiddo, it's okay if you don't wanna..."
"I'm pregnant!" I burst out, interrupting him. And then it all came out, a verbal vomiting of incoherency. "It's a shock, I know - at least, it is to me. I had no idea. I mean, hey, I'm forty-two; I thought I was too old for...and, heck, you've been there and done that...we haven't even talked about...and what sort of mother will I make if I don't even...you'll be a great dad - well, obviously...but you don't have to...we don't have to...get married, that is. You don't have to make an honest woman out of me. Not that I'm dishonest, but...you know. You might not even want to marry me now, I mean, look how crazy I'm being and I've only been pregnant for like, a few weeks, and...I'm gonna get big and fat and...God, I love you so much...and...you don't have to marry me just because of the baby, we can just...do you even want another baby? We haven't even talked about...okay, I think I already said that. Did I already say that?" When I finally stopped to draw breath, I chanced a glance at him, seeing the same look of shock I'd seen in my mirror when the little stick showed a plus sign. "Hell, listen to me...I'm raving like a lunatic and I'm the calm, steady one in this relationship." That was how our dynamic worked - I was the calm to Bobby's storm, the solid to his spontaneous. I grounded him and he brought more fun and laughter to my life, the yin to my yang. Now I felt more like a loose cannon, ready to blast at any moment. "Bobby..." But I didn't get the chance to spew another torrent of words because he leaned closer and clapped a warm hand over my mouth. The look on his face had changed to...joy. Unfiltered, unaffected, unmitigated joy.
My heart fell back into its regular rhythm, I gave a deep sigh and suddenly felt grounded again.
"Honey, that's...hell, that's the most amazing, wonderful news. And why would I not still want to marry you, you crazy woman? I mean, sure, we didn't expect it, but heck - you, me, a kid; what could possibly go wrong?" Probably thousands of things I couldn't think of at the moment, but what the hell? I had him, he had me, and the rest would work itself out. "And hey, you'll be a wonderful mother, c'mon." At that, my insides melted and started leaking out my eyes. Bobby pulled me into a tight embrace, the warm breath from his soft laugh caressing my ear. "Sweetheart, if I wanted to marry you before I knew about the baby, why on earth would you think I wouldn't want to marry you now I know?"
"I don't know," I sniffled, snuggling closer into his arms. "I think I thought I didn't want you to think I was trying to trap you into marrying me, or something."
He gave another soft laugh, pressing a tender kiss to my cheek then wiping his thumbs under my eyes. "You can trap me any old day you like." That didn't make me cry even harder, nuh uh. "I love you and hey, call me crazy, but I kinda thought you loved me too, so..."
"So...?"
"So, say yes," he urged.
"Are you completely and absolutely sure? I mean, I've only been pregnant for three weeks and I've already gone a little crazy. Goodness only knows what could happen a few months down the track."
"Well," his smile reached all the way to his eyes and sent a warm rush throughout my insides. "Maybe for the duration you can be the crazy one and I can be the cool, calm and collected one."
"Oh God." We both laughed at my response.
"Hey, we'll take each day as it comes," he assured me, gently running his fingers through my hair, thereby sending tingles to all of my extremities.
I sighed again, my tears halting. "I love you," I whispered.
His big brown orbs looked deeply into mine. "So say yes, already. Sheesh."
I couldn't help it, I giggled, suddenly feeling as giddy as if I'd downed a whole bottle of champagne. "Yes, already," I warbled, a huge grin finding its way to my face.
"Well, about time," Bobby murmured, then brought a hand under my chin and lifted it, bringing his lips to mine, and all thought completely left my mind.
