“What are you thinking?” he whispered softly. “I can see those gears grinding in your head.”
Her lips curved gently. “No, you can’t.”
“You’re trying to talk yourself out of marrying me.”
“No, I’m trying to figure out why you would want to give up your freedom for us.”
“I love Juliana.”
“Of that I have no doubt. But what about you and me, Jack?”
He sighed. “You know how I feel about you.”
“I know how your libido does, but what about you?”
Jack struggled with his words, with whether or not she was ready to hear what he had to say. And whether he understood it himself. He’d spent half the night trying to gather his feelings into a neat package and failed. “I…I don’t know.”
She stiffened.
“Can you say the same thing?” He felt his breath snag in his lungs.
“No, I can’t. My feelings are jumbled and Lord knows I’ve tried to piece them together since you came back.” She pushed out of his arms and dug in her purse for a tissue, then tossed the handbag on a chair. “I care about you a great deal, Jack.” Well, that was cautious, she thought. “And I know it’s not because of Juliana, since we’ve been living without you for a while.” She looked at him. “But you haven’t. You came into a ready-made family.”
“Yeah, so?”
“Come on, it’s not that easy.”
“No, it wasn’t. It was a shock. But all I had to do was take one look at my little girl and I was lost. And her mother still does crazy things to me.”
“I’ll never know if you care for me because of her or for myself.”
“You’ll have to trust my word.”
She couldn’t quite bring herself to do that. Not yet. And if he shouted to the heavens that he loved her, she wouldn’t believe him, anyway. There was still a huge part of her that didn’t trust a man to tell the truth and mean it. She’d thought the other men in her past were decent men, good men, up until they betrayed her. Or was she just not seeing them for what they were at the time? Was she blinded by her love? Granted, they hadn’t been in a tough situation like the one she and Jack were in now, and the gloves were off with her and Jack. There were no claims of undying love to sway her.
Oh, but she remembered her heartbreak when she’d learned the truth about each of her fiancés. Keeping herself at arm’s length wasn’t a bad thing, but Jack wouldn’t stand for that. Despite his desire to commit himself to her and their child, was he ready for what Melanie wanted from him?
When she remained silent, staring at him with that odd look in her eyes, Jack’s heart folded over itself. “You have good reason not to trust men, honey. But I haven’t done the things those others have. I’m not leaving and I’m not looking elsewhere, either.”
“And if you did find someone else?” Saying it out loud stung her.
“I don’t want anyone else.”
“Because I’m the mother of your child.”
“No, because you’re the woman I want.”
Melanie felt as if an arrow landed right in her heart. For a moment right then, she believed him. She smiled.
He returned it, then his expression sobered. “I will never betray you, Melanie. Never.”
She stared, wanting to trust his words. Wanting to just believe him.
“You’ll let me know when you trust me, right?” he said, and she blinked.
How could the man read her like that? It was irritating and a little comforting. “Yes, I will.” At least he’d accepted the fact that right now, she was borderline.
Jack took several measured steps toward her, watching her eyes flare as he approached. He grabbed her close and kissed her, leaving nothing hidden, nothing undone. And she came apart in his arms, her fingers driving into his hair, her body meshed with his and yielding for him.
“Marry me, Melanie.”
“Yes,” she breathed.
“Just so you know,” he said against her mouth, “I plan to be a husband in every way.”
Her heart skipped to her throat. “Oh, goody.”
He laughed and kissed her again, and his hands found their way beneath her blouse, to her skin. She flinched with the sweet contact. She could barely stand when he touched her, and he dropped into a padded chair, pulling her onto his lap.
He spent several minutes working his magic on her, and when her hand slid down to the bulge in his jeans, Jack groaned and set her on her feet.
She blinked, breathing hard.
He strained as he stood. “I need to call someone.”
“Excuse me?”
He smiled patiently and cupped her face in his palms. “I told you, baby, when I made love to you again there would be vows between us.”