The Pregnancy Plan (18 page)

“Are you going to say yes?” Maddie whispered the question.

Ashley lowered herself onto the edge of the mattress. “Yes to what?” she asked cautiously.

The little girl rolled her eyes. “Didn’t you pay any attention to his story?”

She couldn’t help but smile at the indignant tone. “Yes, I paid attention to his story.”

“Well,
he’s
the prince,” Maddie said, as if it was something Ashley should have figured out for herself. “And
you’re
the princess. And if he loves you and you love him, then you should get married.”

If only life was as simple as a fairy tale and happy endings were guaranteed, Ashley thought. But she’d learned long ago that there were no guarantees in life, and only more recently acknowledged that she was responsible for her own happiness.

And tonight she’d finally accepted that her greatest chance for happily-ever-after was with Cam, his little girl, their baby and the life they could build together.

“Would it be okay with you if we got married?”

Maddie’s head bobbed enthusiastically. “Then you could be my new mommy.”

“You have a mommy,” Ashley felt compelled to remind her. Even if Danica had never been comfortable in that role, she was still the woman who had given birth to this amazing little girl and deserved to be acknowledged as her mother.

Maddie nodded again, with less enthusiasm this time. “But she’s only a sometimes mommy, and I need an every day mommy like Victoria has.”

“I kind of like the idea of being an every day mommy.” She hugged the little girl, and though she knew she would have a baby of her own to cuddle in a few months, there was no doubt that Cam’s firstborn would always hold a very special place in her heart.

When Cam came back into the room with a cup of water, Maddie took two tiny sips, then handed it back again.

“That’s all you wanted?” he asked suspiciously.

She nodded.

He shook his head as he set the cup on the dresser. “Straight to sleep now.”

She nodded again.

He turned out the light and led Ashley down the stairs and into the living room. Now that they were alone again, she worried that the awkwardness that had characterized their relationship of late might return, but then he took her in his arms, and she didn’t feel awkward at all. She felt as if she was finally where she belonged.

“So,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “What did you think of story time?”

She thought it was the most wonderful fairy tale she’d ever heard, but she wasn’t quite ready to admit as much.

“Creative,” she said. “But the magic sword? Talk about obviously and pathetically phallic.”

“A dragon slayer needs a sword,” he insisted, and tugged her down onto the couch beside him. “But if you think you could do better, you can help me with Oscar’s adventures.”

She shook her head. “His story line is entirely yours.”

He shifted so that he was facing her, and stroked a finger gently down her cheek. “Actually, I was hoping we could work on it together. Maybe collaborate, over the next fifty or sixty years or more.”

Her heart started pounding faster again. “That’s a long-term collaboration,” she warned.

“I figure it will take a while to get to the ever-after part.”

“Is that your idea of a proposal?” she challenged.

“What do you think?”

As much as she wanted to throw her arms around him and
say yes a thousand times, she worried that giving in too soon would set a dangerous precedent for the next fifty or sixty years. She might finally be ready to admit that she loved him, but she didn’t want to give him the impression that she was easy. Instead, she said, “I think you should stick to playing doctor.”

He shifted closer, touched his lips lightly to hers. “Where did I screw up?”

“You skipped over the most important stuff,” she told him.

He smiled. “You mean the stuff where I tell you how much I love you, have always loved you, and will always love you?”

“Yeah, that stuff.”

“Okay,” he said solemnly. “I love you Ashley Roarke, have always loved you and will always love you—until the stars fall from the sky.”

“Ooh, that part about the stars…nice touch.”

“Thanks.” He took her hands, linked their fingers together. “Now would be a good time to tell me that you love me, too.”

“I do love you,” she admitted. “I always have and always will—until the stars fall from the sky.”

He smiled. “So what do you say—will you marry me?”

“Will you slay dragons for me?” she asked him.

“Absolutely.”

“Do I get to see the magic sword?”

“Honey, if you marry me, the magic sword is yours.”

She leaned forward and touched her lips to his. “How could any girl refuse an offer like that?”

T
he night before Ashley and Cameron’s wedding, an unexpected snowstorm blew through Pinehurst.

Being as it was the first Saturday in April, the bride had been prepared for rain—she hadn’t anticipated snow. But even when she awoke to find the entire town buried beneath almost eight inches of fluffy white stuff, she wasn’t concerned. She and Cameron had overcome much bigger obstacles to get to this point in their lives, and she knew that her husband-to-be wouldn’t let anything get in the way of the ceremony, which was scheduled to take place later that morning.

Her mother wasn’t quite so unruffled.

“It’s April,” Lillian Rolland fumed, stomping the snow off of her shoes inside the door. “There isn’t supposed to be snow in April, and especially not on your wedding day.”

Megan, who had managed to arrive even before the snow
plows had been down the street, rolled her eyes behind their mother’s back.

“You can’t schedule the weather,” Paige, who had driven in from Syracuse the day before, said philosophically.

“But I arranged for a horse-drawn carriage to take the bridal party to the church,” Lillian reminded them.

She may have only had a few months to plan the wedding, but she hadn’t overlooked any details. Since Megan had tied the knot with little notice and even less preparation at City Hall, Lillian had been determined to ensure that at least one of her daughters had a proper wedding, and she’d dragged her new husband away from their home in Europe and thrown herself into the preparations.

“If we can’t have four horses, at least we have four-wheel drive,” Ashley told her mother now.

“But I wanted to ride with the horses,” Maddie chimed in.

Lillian brushed a hand affectionately over the child’s hair. “At least someone here appreciates the details.”

“Come on, Maddie,” Paige steered the little girl toward the stairs and away from the battle she sensed was brewing. “Let’s get you dressed.”

“I appreciate everything you’ve done,” Ashley assured her mother. “And I know that, because of all your careful planning, my wedding day is going to be wonderful. I just don’t think anything—not my dress or flowers and especially not the weather—matters as much as finally marrying the man I love.”

Her mother sighed. “You’re right. Of course, you’re right. I just wanted everything to be perfect for you.”

“Everything will be,” Ashley said, because she knew that being with Cam would make it true.

An hour and a half later, two horse-drawn sleighs glided to a halt in front of the Holy Trinity Church.

“It was just like riding in a fairy tale!” Maddie exclaimed.

“Personally, I would have much preferred a heated limo,” Paige confided to Megan, as they followed the skipping child up the wide stone steps—which had been carefully shoveled clean and salted—toward the front doors.

Her cousin pulled her shawl more tightly around her shoulders. “Well, if we had to freeze our butts off, at least we did so in style.”

As Ashley lifted her skirt to follow the others, she could barely feel her toes inside her satin pumps, but she didn’t complain. Not just because she didn’t want to offend her mother after she’d gone to such efforts to amend the transportation arrangements, but because she knew that Cam was waiting for her inside the church and that knowledge was enough to warm everything inside of her.

When the music began, Paige gave Ashley a quick hug—careful not to crush her flowers—before she started up the aisle. Megan went next, whispering, “Be happy,” with a smile that assured her sister she knew she would be before she followed her cousin’s path. Then it was Maddie’s turn, and several guests would later remark that the little girl’s smile was almost as radiant as the bride’s.

For Maddie, this was the happiest day of her life, though she couldn’t decide if it was because it was her daddy and Ashley’s wedding day, or because she was getting a baby sister (she refused to consider that the baby might be a boy), or because she was going to Florida with Grandma and Grandpa for her spring break while the newlyweds went on their honeymoon.

It was the happiest day of Ashley’s life, too, but she knew exactly why. Because she was finally married to the man
she’d always loved. Because Cam and Maddie were now part of the family she’d always wanted.

And because her happily-ever-after was just beginning.