The Baby Proposal Read online

  She froze in her tracks at the sound of her married name. She tried to recover, reaching out to him. Her eyes fell on the shiny wedding band on her ring finger and followed it as it rested on his outstretched palm. Mrs. Bishop.

  “Are you having second thoughts, Lana?”

  She looked up at him with wide eyes. “What?”

  Kal pulled her close to him and looked down at her. His eyes were lined with concern as he searched her face. “You look...troubled. I went along with this because it was what you wanted, but if you’ve changed your mind, we can rip up the license and pretend it never happened.”

  Part of her wanted to say yes. She felt she was dangling off a cliff and he was the only one who could snatch her back from the precipice. But she knew she couldn’t. She had to do this for Akela.

  “No,” she said as firmly as she could. “This was the right thing to do. A little scary, but the right thing. Thank you for doing this for me.”

  Kal smiled and pulled her into a comforting hug. “For you, Lana...anything.”

  Four

  They drove up the coast to have a celebratory sushi dinner at their favorite place in Kapalua. When they told their server they were there celebrating their wedding, she ran to the bakery next door and got them a vanilla cupcake to share, since they didn’t serve desserts.

  Lana felt guilty about the whole thing. Kal insisted they needed to celebrate and share the news with as many people as possible, but it bothered her. She hadn’t really thought about the part of the plan where they had to lie to everyone about their relationship. Lying to the judge and the county employees didn’t seem as bad as lying to their favorite waitress, their family or their friends.

  When they got back to the house, Lana was amazed to find her things there and mostly put away. In Kal’s closet, a large section had been dedicated to her clothes and shoes, and in the bathroom the second sink and vanity were peppered with all her toiletries. A couple boxes of miscellaneous things, like a few books and picture frames, were in a box on the kitchen counter for her to place where she liked. She’d hoped to kill some time tonight getting settled in, but Kal’s minions had taken care of everything already.

  “Would you like to see the new nursery?” he asked as they wandered around the house that was now supposed to be her home.

  Lana couldn’t help the expression of surprise on her face. “What do you mean?”

  “It’s all done. The store delivered everything this morning, and I paid the interior decorator that did the house to come over and get it all ready to go.” Kal took her hand and led her to the room that had until recently housed all his exercise equipment.

  A plush moon hung on the door with the name “Akela” embroidered in golden thread. Kal had a wide, excited grin on his face as he opened the door, as if it were Christmas morning. His enthusiasm was contagious and Lana couldn’t help smiling, too, as they went inside.

  There, she stopped, frozen in place. It was...amazing. The last time she’d been in this room it was wall-to-wall weights and cardio equipment. A massive mirror had stretched along one whole side. It was all gone now. The walls were painted a soft gray to highlight the new wainscoting that wrapped around the room. The gray crib was against the back wall with the moon-and-stars bedding. The mobile that hung overhead had little plush stars in white and blue, and matching decals were sprinkled across the walls like constellations.

  There was a coordinating dresser, an armoire and a comfy-looking rocking chair. A crystal chandelier had replaced the previous lighting. Apparently he’d bought far more than she thought while she wasn’t paying attention. It was the classiest, most adorable nursery she’d ever seen, fitting in with the rest of the luxurious décor in Kal’s house.

  Kal stepped inside and opened up the closet. There was the assembled high chair, stroller, car seat and swing. “It’s all ready for tomorrow. I’ll have to get the car seat anchor installed in the rental tomorrow morning so hopefully we can take Akela home with us right away.”

  Looking around at everything, Lana felt the emotions start to overwhelm her. The last few days had been so stressful, but Kal had been there for her through everything. He’d gone over and above, by far, and not just by marrying her. Tears started to well in her eyes no matter how hard she fought them.

  Kal turned to look at her and his face morphed into panic at her tears. Lana almost never cried. “What’s wrong? You don’t like it? I thought a gender-neutral set would be best, since I told you I’d donate it all once this was over.”

  Lana shook her head vehemently. “It’s beautiful. I love it.” She launched herself into his arms and clung to his chest. He held her tightly and made no moves to pull away. That was one of her favorite things about Kal. She wasn’t very touchy-feely, but every now and then, she needed a good hug. He would hold her for as long as she wanted to be held. He never pulled away first.

  This time, however, suddenly felt different. He held her the way he always had, but she could hear his heartbeat speed up in his chest. He seemed a little stiff, a little more tense than usual. Memories of their kiss flashed through her mind, drying her tears and making her own pulse quicken. Had their fake marriage managed to ruin their innocent hugs, as well? It didn’t feel as innocent as it used to.

  Finally Lana straightened up to look him in the eye. She intended to speak but instead found herself in his arms, their lips only inches from each other. They lingered like that, both of them unsure what to do. Lana could feel the current running between them. It urged her to kiss him. At the same time, her rational brain was screaming at her to step back before this sudden attraction ruined their friendship.

  That was the thought that snapped her out of it. She took a cleansing breath and smiled. “Thank you for all this, Kal. It’s more than I’d ever hoped for. This is all more than I expected. You’re amazing.”

  Kal smiled, a smaller, almost shy smile that made the tiny flecks of gold in his otherwise dark brown eyes twinkle. His square jaw was still a little tense as though he was struggling to hold back all the feelings that had danced between them a moment ago. “You deserve all this and more.”

  She didn’t, but she appreciated that he thought so. “Akela is going to love it,” she said, shifting the conversation off herself. Lana pulled away and took a lap through the room, circling the gray-and-white chevron rug and heading back to the door. “You’re just too efficient, Kal. I thought I would spend tonight assembling a crib or putting away my things and now I don’t have anything to do.”

  His brow furrowed as he turned to her and followed her out of the nursery. “I didn’t want you to have anything to do. I wanted to make this all as easy as possible. What’s wrong with that?”

  “Nothing,” she sighed. She took a hard right to return to the living room and away from the master suite. Nothing aside from the fact that it was their wedding night, and although she knew nothing was supposed to happen between her and Kal, her nerves were getting the best of her nonetheless. Their lingering touches were becoming increasingly potent. “It’s just something to occupy my mind.”

  “Hopefully tomorrow you’ll have an infant to occupy you. Tonight you’ll just have to cope with the boredom of being married to me.”

  He smiled wide and Lana felt her belly tighten in response. Their wedding was supposed to be a piece of paper to make the judge happy, but ever since their kiss this afternoon, things had felt different between them. Every touch, every glance her direction stirred a response in her body when it never had before. She wished it would stop. The situation was complicated enough without a sudden attraction to Kal.

  Lana turned away and glanced down at her phone. It was just after nine. Too early to turn in but too late to start a movie or something. She really needed a little time away from Kal. That might help the situation. Of course, now they lived together, so there was only so far she could go.

  Then she remembered the giant jetted tub he had installed in the master bathroom. It was probably still unu
sed. “I think I’m going to take a bath and break in your new tub,” she said. “It’s been a long day.”

  Kal nodded. “There’s fresh towels in the linen closet just beside it.”

  Lana disappeared into the bathroom and, once she shut the door, let her back fall against it to block Kal and all these new feelings outside. She took a deep breath, happy to find the air in here was not scented with his cologne.

  She had to shake this off, she told herself as she went to the tub and started filling it. Kal agreed to a marriage on paper, and she wasn’t about to repay his kindness by getting all moony-eyed over him now that they were married.

  As Lana slipped out of her clothes and pulled a towel from the cabinet, she realized just how odd it was to think of herself as married. It certainly wasn’t where she had expected herself to be a week ago. Things had changed so quickly. Then again, it wasn’t a real marriage. And this wasn’t a real wedding night. And yet her friendship with Kal didn’t feel the same as before. Something had changed, something more than just a piece of legally binding paper.

  Lana slipped down into the hot, steamy water and felt her muscles instantly relax. She pressed the button on the side, and the jets came to life. They massaged her neck and back, forcing her to enjoy her time there and not worry about everything that was waiting outside the doors.

  Eventually, however, the water started to cool and her fingers started pruning. She couldn’t hide in the bathroom forever. She had to face Kal again and determine what their sleeping arrangements would be. Although there was a nicely appointed guest room down the hallway, for appearances they probably needed to share the master bedroom. Everyone from the nanny to the cleaning lady needed to believe they were married, but that huge king-size bed didn’t seem nearly large enough for the two of them.

  Funny how they’d actually shared that same bed before when they stayed up late watching movies and fell asleep, but it hadn’t been such a big deal then.

  She pulled the drain on the tub and climbed out, wrapping herself in a fluffy white towel. It felt childish, but she avoided leaving the bathroom for as long as possible. She brushed out and braided her hair, went through the complicated nighttime skin care routine she rarely, if ever, did, brushed and flossed, then rearranged all her things on the counter the way she liked them.

  When Lana was out of things to do, she scooped up her clothes and carried them with her toward the bedroom. When she stepped out, she found Kal lying on the bed. He had changed into a pair of pajama pants and was propped up with a bunch of pillows, reading.

  She tried not to pay too much attention to the carved muscles of his bare chest or how handsome he looked with his reading glasses on. Instead she pivoted on her heel and marched straight to the closet without making eye contact. There, she tossed her clothes into the hamper and searched through her new space for pajamas of her own.

  Ones with full coverage, if she had some.

  * * *

  Kal had a really large closet, but not so large that Lana could get lost in it. True, she had to find out where all her things were stored, but after ten minutes, he started to wonder if she would ever come out.

  He could tell that things had changed between them. The minute their lips had touched, it was like a switch had been flipped in their relationship. Despite all their agreements going into this marriage about it being on paper, a part of him wondered if that was even possible. Seeing her in that amazing wedding dress, feeling her surrender to his kiss, noticing how skittish she seemed around him...the attraction wasn’t in his imagination.

  That kiss had unleashed something that the two of them had worked hard to keep suppressed. He was sure they both had their reasons for ignoring the sexual tension that buzzed between them, but now it was nearly impossible. It was exactly what Kal had been afraid of. Pandora’s box was open and there was no way to shove the temptation back inside.

  That was probably why Lana was in the closet layering on every piece of clothing she had. Not that it would help. He knew each curve of her body—it was on display three nights a week at the luau. They’d hung out by the pool together. His best friend...wife now...had few secrets from him, physical or otherwise.

  He was about to investigate her disappearance when the door opened and she finally stepped out. She was wearing less than he expected—a pair of flannel shorts and a relatively skimpy tank top. The top clung to her curves and left little to the imagination without a bra on beneath it. Lana hovered awkwardly by the closet door, so Kal turned his attention back to his book.

  “Find everything okay?” he asked.

  “Yes.” Lana strode to the bed and pulled back the comforter. She crawled in beside him and tugged the sheets up under her arms. On the nightstand was her iPad, and she picked it up to start playing her game of choice.

  “Feel free to move anything around in there if you don’t like how they put things away.”

  “It was fine. I just had trouble trying to decide what I wanted to wear to bed.”

  Kal put the bookmark between the pages and set his book in his lap before he turned to look at her. “Don’t change what you would normally wear on my account. I want you to be comfortable here. I know none of this is normal, but this is your home now, too, for as long as this goes on.”

  Lana looked at him with a curiously raised brow. “I appreciate that, I really do, but I don’t think my normal attire is appropriate.”

  Kal frowned. “Why?”

  “I sleep in the nude.”

  He was pretty sure he’d never blushed in his whole life, but suddenly he could feel his cheeks start to burn. He should’ve anticipated that answer. He slept in boxers on the hotter evenings and flannel pants on cooler nights. Lana had lived alone for as long as he’d known her, so why wouldn’t she sleep naked?

  “W-well...” he stammered, “I say do what you want to. We’re both mature adults. If you’re more comfortable that way, I’m sure we can deal with it.”

  Lana twisted her lips into a thoughtful expression. “So if I just stripped all my clothes off right now, you’d be okay with that?”

  Kal swallowed hard, grateful for the thick comforter over his lap. “Absolutely.”

  “And that wouldn’t make you uncomfortable?”

  He sighed. “You’re my best friend, and now you’re legally my wife. I think me seeing you naked shouldn’t be that big a deal. I’m not going to lose all my self-control and ravish you or anything.”

  Lana’s almond-shaped brown eyes narrowed at him. “Okay. If you really feel that way.” She reached for the hem of her tank top to pull it up over her head.

  Kal froze, his breath catching in his throat. He knew he should look away, but he couldn’t even move enough to do that. Was she really going to just pull her clothes off? She’d been more nervous since their ceremony than he was. It seemed like an awfully bold move on her part.

  Lana stopped and flopped back against the pillows in a fit of laughter. “Oh my goodness. You should see your face,” she managed to get out between giggles. She flushed bright red and her eyes teared up with amusement. “Abject panic.”

  She was just messing with him. That wasn’t nice of her at all. Kal grabbed a nearby pillow and smacked her in the face with it. It silenced the laughter at last as she looked at him, stunned by the assault. “You’re evil,” he said.

  “Oh yeah?” Lana grabbed a pillow of her own and swung it at him. The movement knocked the book off his lap, and the bookmark fell out onto the floor, losing his place.

  Great.

  Now it was war. Flinging back the blanket, Kal climbed to his knees and grabbed the pillow tight in his hands. He started wailing on Lana in between taking blows to the head and shoulders from her assault. They battled for several minutes until he managed to knock the pillow from her hands. That was when he moved in for the kill. Lana was extremely ticklish and he was going to get back at her.

  He lunged forward and his fingers found her sensitive sides and belly.

&nb
sp; “Oh no!” she wailed through laughter and tears. “No tickling!” Lana shrieked, but he wasn’t letting up.

  She scrambled to try and crawl off the bed, but Kal took advantage of her distraction. He climbed over her legs and pinned her arms down to the bed. “Gotcha!” he shouted triumphantly.

  Lana struggled beneath his grip for a moment before she realized she’d lost the battle. Her breathing was labored from the wrestling and the laughter, and her normally golden tan skin was flushed and blotchy red from exertion. It was then that he noticed her breasts as they moved up and down against the thin cotton of her tank top. Her nipples were hard and pressing through. She might as well be naked, really, for all the shirt left to the imagination.

  He swallowed hard and tore his gaze away to look her in the eye before she caught him checking her out. The light of amusement was gone as she watched him, and something different was in its place. The same something he’d seen after they shared their first kiss this afternoon—a perplexing mix of attraction, confusion and apprehension.

  This playful game had suddenly taken a turn into dangerous territory.

  For the first time in his life, Kal wasn’t sure what to do. If it were any other woman in his bed looking at him that way, he’d kiss the living daylights out of her, then strip off those clothes and make love to her all night.

  But this was Lana. His wife, Lana. It made more sense and no sense all at once.

  He wanted to kiss her again. That kiss earlier had been sweet and unexpectedly enticing, leaving him wanting more. It was his wedding night. A kiss from his new wife wouldn’t be too forward, would it?

  Before he could decide, Lana’s hand reached up, and she threaded her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. She tugged his mouth to hers and they collided with the impact of an atom bomb. She made the move, so he put his reservations aside and went with it.

  It was nothing like their earlier kiss. This one was fueled by pent-up desire, a taboo attraction and an overwhelming sense of exhaustion that made it impossible to fight anymore. The kiss was hard and Lana’s mouth was demanding. He freed her other arm and she tugged him closer to her. Whatever hesitation she might have been feeling earlier had flown out the window, and she was ready and willing to take what she wanted from him.