Her brother had agreed to a plea deal. Her father was never getting out of jail and, with any luck, her mother would be locked up before too much longer.
Renee was free to do whatever she wanted.
So what did she want?
They rode in silence the rest of the way down to the parking garage. He led her to a chauffeured car. The driver hurried to open the back door for her and Oliver guided her inside.
It was only when the door was shut that Renee found her voice. “What...”
“You didn’t really think I was going to let you walk into that crowd of sharks and try to hail a cab, did you?” He shook his head like he’d told a joke.
“Oliver,” she said, aiming for a sharper tone. His eyes softened as he folded her hand in his. “What are you doing here?”
“Coming for you.”
She blinked and then, when nothing changed—he was still staring down at her with those warm brown eyes, still looking at her like he was glad to see her.
How was any of this possible? She’d seen the headlines. The wild—and not always wrong—guesses about the nature of her relationship with Oliver. The firefighters telling how she’d almost burned down the ranch house. Hell, someone had even got Lucille to give a comment. True, it’d been “Private people are entitled to private lives. Now, get off my porch or I’ll shoot,” but still.
“You know if we’re seen together again, it’ll only make things worse for you.”
Everything soft and happy about Oliver hardened in a heartbeat. “Renee, what do you want?”
Her eyes watered instantly and she had to turn to look out the darkened windows of the car. They were out of the garage now and slowly creeping past the paparazzi waiting for her outside the building. She wondered how long they’d wait. Hopefully hours.
“I don’t want to cost you your business,” she said because it was the truth.
He snorted. She jerked her head around to stare at him. “Renee. What do you want? In the next five minutes or the next five years. What you want. Not what you or anyone else thinks you should do.”
Her throat got tight and somehow, a lifetime of training herself not to cry began to fail her now. Because Oliver was the only person who’d ever asked and actually listened to the answer. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Oh, babe.” He moved, pulling her onto his lap. She curled into him. “You know what I want?”
She shook her head against his shoulder.
“I want to take long walks around the park and maybe trail rides on the ranch. I want to see first steps and hear first words. I want to come home to fresh-baked cookies and spend nights in bed with you and wake up in the morning knowing you’ll be right there. I want to be by your side, in sickness and in health, in scandal and in quiet times—hopefully more quiet than this,” he added with a chuckle.
“But why?” She sniffed. “Why would you risk everything for me?”
He tilted her face up and stared into her eyes. “Because I love you.”
Her breath caught. She wanted that life, too. She wanted to raise her baby with him and know that he’d always be there for her. He’d never leave her and never cheat on her because he couldn’t live without her. Not because she was a promise he had to keep.
“I love you, Renee,” he repeated again, putting more force on the words. He tilted her chin up so she had to look at him. “And you know what?”
“What?”
“You’re worth more than any business or house or even swans. I’d give all of it up in a heartbeat, just as long as you were by my side. My father, my siblings—they’re all grown adults. They can take care of themselves. I don’t have to do anything for them. I only have to do what I want. And what I want is to marry you. I want to love you for the rest of our lives. That’s all I want.”
She gasped. As declarations went, that was pretty damned good. Much better than offering to marry her if it’d help. But there was still one giant, huge problem. “I can’t be your problem to solve, Oliver. I can’t. That’s not a life.”
She braced for him to start a running list of why he could protect her, how he could take care of her—just like he’d done when she’d been outed at the rodeo. But instead, he touched his forehead to hers. “I’m always going to do my best to make things easier for you. Not because you’re my responsibility but because that’s what you do for someone you love.”
When she didn’t say anything, he cupped her face and kissed her. “Tell me what you want. Forget the cameras and our families. Just you and me, babe. We’re the only ones who matter.”
“I want it all,” she sobbed. Stupid hormones. “I want to bake and crochet and take care of my baby. I don’t want nannies or chefs or... Well, Lucille is okay. But I just want us. I want to know that you won’t lie to me and I won’t lie to you. I want to know you’ll come home at the end of the day and we’ll spend the evening together as a family. I want to hang out with Chloe and be irritated by Flash. I want...” She was crying so hard she could barely talk. “I want to be a Lawrence. I’ve always wanted to be a Lawrence. I want a big, happy family where everyone is loud and messy and loved and no one hurts anyone. And I want that with you.”
“Oh, babe.” His voice sounded choked as he wrapped her up in a huge
