Chapter 50 50
This house was made for the sound of children’s laughter. As Alana followed Stefan through room after room, she felt that there was a sense of ease in the house. As if the building itself were taking a deep breath and relishing the feel of people within its walls again.
“Stefan…”
The kitchen was amazing, but she hardly had time to glance at it as he led her straight through the big room and out the back door.
“Come on, I want you to see this,” he said, stepping back so that she could move onto the stone patio in front of him.
A cold ocean wind slapped at her, and Alana realized the house was sitting on a knoll above the sea. The stone patio gave way to a rolling lawn edged with trees and flowers that looked as she imagined an English cottage garden would. Beyond the lawn was a low-lying fence with a gate that led to steps that would take the lucky people who lived here right down to the beach.
She did a slow turn, taking it all in, feeling overwhelmed with the beauty of the place as she finally circled back to look out at the sea, glittering with golden sunlight.
Shaking her head, she glanced at Stefan. “I don’t understand, Stefan.
What’s going on? Why are we here?”
“Do you like it?” he asked, letting his gaze shift around the yard as he dropped the diaper bag and her purse to the patio. “The house, I mean,” he said, hitching Juliana a little higher on his chest. “Do you like it?”
She laughed, uncertainty jangling her nerves. “What’s not to like?”
“Good. That’s good,” he said, coming to her side. “Because I bought it.”
“You—what?”
Stefan nearly laughed at the stunned expression on her face. God, this had been worth all of the phone calls to real estate agents he’d been making. Worth getting up and leaving her that morning so that he could finalize the deal with the house’s former owners. This was going to work. It had to work.
“Why would you do that?”
“For us,” he said, and had the pleasure of watching her features go completely slack as she staggered unsteadily for a second.
“Us?”
“Yes, Alana. Us.” He reached out, cupped her cheek in his palm and was only mildly disappointed when she stepped back and away from him. He would convince her. He had to convince her. “I've been waiting to get one because I wanted us to pick our home together,” he said, locking his gaze with hers, wanting her to see everything he was thinking, feeling, written in his eyes.
“Really?” She blinked, shook her head as if to clear away cobwebs and then stared at him again.
The wind was cold, but the sun was warm. Shade from the trees didn’t reach the patio, and the sunlight dancing in her hair made him want to grab her and hold her close. But first they had to settle this. Once and for all.
“Yes,” he said, starting out slowly, as he’d planned. “But I can't wait any longer, baby. I found this place and loved it too much to let it go. I only hoped you'd like it too, and I'm so happy that you do.” She took a step back, and, worried that she would start to overthink things, Stefan moved in closer to her and talked faster. “This will be our home after we get married.”
“Oh Stefan…”
He talked even faster, hurrying to make her see what their future could be. “Please marry me. Don’t say no till you think about it, Alana. When you do, you’ll see that I’m right. This is perfect. For all of us.”
She laughed shortly, looked around the backyard, at the sea, and then finally she turned her gaze on Stefan again. “I can't believe you're doing all this.”
Panic warred with desperation inside him and it was a feeling Stefan wasn’t used to. God please don't let her say no to me again, he prayed inwardly. All his life, he was never the guy scrambling to make things work. People kowtowed to him. It didn’t go the other way, until Alana.
Now here he stood, in front of this one woman, and knew deep down inside him that the only shot he’d have with her was if he played his last card.
“I'm doing it because I love you—” he reached out with his free arm, snaked it around her shoulders and dragged her close to him. So close that their bodies and the body of their daughter all seemed to be melded together into a unit.
“I love you so much and there's nothing I wouldn't do for you. I want… I need you to be my wife,”
Her eyes held a world of confusion and pain and something that looked an awful lot like hope. That gave him hope too. If he could keep her off balance, he could still win this. And suddenly Stefan knew that he’d never wanted to win more; that nothing in his life had been this important. This huge. He had to say the right things now. Force her to listen. To really hear him. And to take a chance.
Staring down into her eyes, he took a breath, and then took the plunge.
The leap that he’d once thought he'd never thought to make, until he met this woman standing before him. He reached into his pocket and withdrew the small box that held the ring he'd bought days ago, waiting for the right time to ask, but he wasn't waiting any longer.
“I want to have a life with you. I want you and Juliana to be my family. I want to come home every night to you. I want to have more children with you, if you want more. It's all your choice.” He stopped, paused, and said, “Please don't say no.”
Alana lifted her face to his. Her gaze slid over his features as she thought of all he'd done, of the man he was. She was completely in love with him. She'd wanted to fight it, but it kept coming. He kept coming. It wasn't just that he was a great help or that Juliana adored him, but that he was so willing to do right by both of them. All three of them. Alana knew his honor was at stake, his feelings for their child laying the path.