Until You Loved Me (Silver Springs #3)(106)
“That’s all I needed to hear. The answer is yes,” she said. “I’ll marry you dressed in a tent, if that’s all that’ll fit me.”
He couldn’t help chuckling as she rose up on tiptoe to kiss him. “We can always wait to have the reception until later.”
*
Ellie had gravitated to the side of the store that displayed the less expensive, modest-size diamonds. She’d said she didn’t see any reason to waste money or buy anything ostentatious, but Hudson refused to let her be conservative about this. Now that he’d found the woman he was going to spend the rest of his life with, he planned to give her everything he could—and that included a giant, three-carat round-cut solitaire.
“Someone’s going to murder me for my ring,” she muttered as they left the jeweler’s, but Hudson could tell she was secretly thrilled. That she would’ve been satisfied with less, that she didn’t demand expensive things, made it so much more fun to splurge on her. She’d smiled shyly and blushed when the jeweler had encouraged her to try on the ring he’d ended up purchasing. But then she’d stared at it as if she’d never seen anything quite that beautiful before. So even though, once she heard the price, she took it off immediately and handed it back, Hudson had ignored her protests and bought it, anyway.
“Are you positive this whole marriage thing isn’t just a reaction to the fear and stress you’re feeling?” she asked as they drove home.
“I’m positive.”
She kept glancing at the rock on her left hand as if she thought it might disappear if she didn’t keep an eye on it. “Still, I don’t think we should’ve bought a ring that costs as much as a house. What if you decide to give Matisson that ransom? You might need the money.”
“Quit worrying. I’ve got this.”
“But I’m not working. I can’t contribute anything right now.”
“You’re carrying our baby. That’s your contribution. Even if you weren’t pregnant, you wouldn’t need to work. You won’t ever need to work.”
She bit her lip. “What if I want to? That won’t bother you, will it?”
His incredulous look told her she was crazy to even ask. “Why would it?”
“Because it might make me less available and unable to travel with you.”
“I’m not going to demand that you sacrifice what you love just because we’re getting married. Besides, I’m proud of what you do.”
“Okay.” She held her hand out. “Jeez, this is huge. It’s hard to imagine being as rich as you are. Please tell me you won’t spoil Garrison.”
“Garrison? That’s the name we’re going with?”
“Do you still like it?”
“I do. But I can’t promise I won’t spoil him. I’ll probably spoil both of you.”
Her phone rang before she could respond. “Oh, my gosh, it’s the lab!”
He pulled to the side of the road because his heart was beating like a piston. “Is it a match?”
She signaled for him to be quiet so she could hear the technician. “But you said you’d have it today...So when will it be?...You’re sure? I can’t tell you how important this is...I understand...Fine...Tomorrow, then.”
“Well?” Hudson said when she was off the phone. “What’d he say?”
“One of their technicians went home sick this morning. This guy—Dane something—thought he’d be able to get to it, but he couldn’t. Promised me he’d call with the results tomorrow.”
Hudson let go of a long sigh. “Damn. More waiting.”
“Just one more day.” She was obviously trying to encourage him, but he could tell it sounded like an eternity to her, too.
*
It wasn’t until eleven that night that Hudson received the “proof” and wiring instructions in an email from Samuel Jones. Those documents—and the fact that Jones would try to cheat him, especially in such a devious way—made him so angry he knew he’d never be able to sleep.
“Wait till I get my hands on him,” he said as he paced in the living room where he and Ellie had been watching a movie. “Even if Matisson is my father, Jones is going to be sorry he tried to cash in on my misfortune.”
“He sees you as having more money than you can spend. He probably doesn’t even feel bad about it,” Ellie said.
“I’m going to make sure he feels bad. I’ll invite him over to get the money. Then I’ll show him what happens to guys who—”
“Hudson,” she broke in, “you can’t touch him or you’ll be the one who goes to jail. And you don’t need that. You don’t need the negative press you’d get from breaking his jaw, either.” She made a fist with her small hand. “But I wish we could ambush him. I bet it would hurt if I hit him with this rock.”
Hudson couldn’t laugh, although he knew she was trying to get him to relax. “You stay away from him. With my luck, he’d kidnap you and hold you for ransom.” He glared down at the DNA results he’d printed out that were supposedly from some lab in Arizona. “Based on testing results obtained from the analyses of the DNA loci listed, the probability of paternity is 99.9998 percent.” He had one for Julia’s supposed maternity, too. Those documents turned his stomach, even though he’d expected whatever Jones sent to signify a match—to both people. “We know Julia’s medical records are bogus. But are these results real?”