Affairs of State(57)
Her gut churned. Her nerve endings cracked with an effusive “Yes!” but her brain issued loud warning signals. “I don’t want you to marry me out of a sense of duty, because I’m pregnant.”
“I’m not asking you because you’re pregnant.” Amusement sparkled in his eyes. “I bought the ring before I knew about the pregnancy. I was planning to build up to my proposal and do some romantic beating about the bush before springing the big question on you, but your surprise announcement made that seem superfluous. I want to marry you, pregnant or not, Ariella Winthrop, and I’m not leaving until you say yes.”
“You’re planning to bully me into it?” She stiffened. Sometimes his boundless enthusiasm and confidence were appealing, and sometimes it was a little scary.
He softened his grip on her hand. “No.” He spoke softly. “There I go, running roughshod again. I apologize. I truly wish to embrace a lifetime of your moderating influence on my overly ebullient personality.”
He said it so sweetly that her heart squeezed. She did believe him. “I don’t think anyone could squash your bubble too much.” She chuckled. It touched her deeply that he’d congratulated her on carrying their baby. For the first time it occurred to her that maybe he wanted to be congratulated, too. “I’m sure you’re going to be a wonderful father, even if we aren’t married.”
“That’s true, I will be.” He hesitated. She could almost feel him bursting to insist that they would be married, but holding himself back, trying not to offend her.
“You’re a wonderful man, Simon. I’m totally overwhelmed right now with all the publicity about my father, and my mother and the TV special. It’s almost ridiculous that I met you at the same time. It would be crazy to leap into an unplanned marriage without thinking long and hard about the consequences. Perhaps at some time in the future we can discuss it again and…who knows?” She trailed off, running out of words. Part of her wanted to run screaming away from Simon and everyone else and hide from reality. The rest of her wanted to rush to him and throw herself into his strong arms and let him take care of her the way he so confidently intended to.
“I’m not leaving, if that’s what you were trying to hint at.” That familiar gleam of humor shone in his eyes. “Me and my ring will sit quietly in the corner until you come to your senses.”
“As if that was possible.” She couldn’t help smiling. “I doubt you could sit quietly anywhere for more than about three minutes.”
“Three whole minutes?” He rubbed his mouth thoughtfully. “You could be right. In the meantime, you should be eating for two so I think we need to go out for a hearty lunch.”
She laughed. “You’re impossible.”
“I’m all about making the impossible possible. They said I couldn’t raft up the Zambezi or ascend the north face of Mount Everest. They laughed when I talked about internet access in the Masai Mara. I proved them all wrong. If they say an American isn’t a suitable bride for a British prince, then I’ll spend the rest of my life proving them wrong about that as well, and have fun doing it.”
His passion made her heart swell. But he was talking as if she was just another mountain to climb. “You do make a compelling case for your own convictions, but you don’t seem to be listening to me.”
“How?” His look of confusion made her want to laugh again.
“I said I’m not ready to commit to anything right now. I’ve had the biggest shocks of my life these past few months and I barely know which end is up.”
His expression grew serious. “Point taken. I’ll stop pushing my agenda. Now, how about that lunch?”
“That, I’ll agree to.” And she let him take her hand and help her up from the sofa. His skin sparked arousal as it touched hers. She hid a silent sigh from him. Why did her life have to be so complicated?
* * *
She frowned when Simon’s driver pulled up in front of Talesin. The navy awnings created cool shade in front of one of the most exclusive restaurants in D.C. Unease trickled through her. “Are we eating here?”
“Their steaks are world famous. You need iron rich foods.”
“Why does everything you say make me laugh?” Then she glanced about. “Did you know it’s the president’s favorite restaurant?” What if they ran into him here? She hadn’t seen him since the dinner they’d shared after the taping, though he’d sent her several warm emails and they were talking about a weekend together at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland.