“Elena, please say yes. Say you’ll be my wife, marry me, Elena. I want you to be mine forever.”
“I want that too,” I whisper, a smile spreading over my face. “I’ll marry you, Landon.”
He’s smiling as he slides the ring onto my finger. It fits perfectly. I reach out with my hand, my ring pressing against his chest as I search for his heartbeat. I can feel his pulse racing beneath my palm.
“See? You’ve driven me wild,” he growls. Then he scoops me up for a kiss and I wrap myself around him. Through his shorts, I can feel his manhood. I smile as we kiss. He wants me so bad, but I think I want him more. If he thinks I drive him wild then he has no clue what he’s doing to me. I want him with every fiber of my being. I break away from the kiss.
“Take me to bed,” I whisper to him. “Let’s celebrate.”
“You read my mind,” he growls. He begins to carry me across the beach and I gaze up at him, reveling in how in love I feel right now. All my problems have gone away. It’s just me and him against the world.
And that’s all I need.
CHAPTER TEN
Landon
It’s been a few days since we got back from the Hamptons. Elena insisted that before we put the house up for sale and found somewhere else to live that we try and talk to her dad. I understand why she wants to try, of course. He’s her father and she loves him unconditionally, even after the way he treated her. But in the back of my mind, all I can think is that he’s never going to be okay with our relationship.
For the past three days, Elena has knocked on the door of her family home and waited for a response. She never gets one, even though she knows her parents are in. I guess her mother must be on her father’s side, or at least still deciding how to feel about our relationship. I wish it didn’t have to be this hard. I knew that the second I told my parents, they’d be happy for me. Jenny was ecstatic to find out that we were engaged as well. So why can’t Elena’s family muster up the same energy for us?
I head downstairs and catch Elena looking out the window again. She’s taken to doing that, hoping to catch her dad on his way out or into the house. I sit beside her and she offers me a sad smile.
“He’s got to leave the house at some point, right? I don’t want to miss him.”
I sigh, pulling her onto my lap. “Elena, if he wants to speak to you, he’ll do it on his own terms, and only when he’s ready.”
Her face falls. “I just want to talk it over like adults. Why is he so determined to reject the idea of us? If he doesn’t talk to me soon...well, he’s going to lose his daughter forever. He’ll never get to walk me down the aisle. He’ll never get to meet his grandchildren.”
A few days ago, when we got back, we took a test to confirm our suspicions and we found out that indeed Elena is pregnant. It was a dream come true for us both, but it’s bittersweet for Elena, knowing her family might never be a part of our baby’s life. I kiss her cheek.
“We don’t need anyone, but each other,” I growl. “I’ll take care of you. You don’t worry about a thing.”
She nestles into me. “I know you’ll look after me, but I want my family back to. It’s not that I need him anymore. I outgrew his need to control my life, for sure, but I just miss him. We were so close up until you moved here. And I know he hasn’t given this impression to you, but he’s a good man.”
She’s right. None of his behavior has ever suggested to me that he’s a good man. I still haven’t forgotten that he tried to punch me, rudely left our house mid-meal, and called me a creep. I’ve never held a grudge before, but this man is beyond frustrating. He’s just a reminder that everything would be perfect if he was a little more accepting.
“Look, Elena, you know him better than anyone. If you think he’s a good person, then I believe you. But maybe this whole thing was just one step too far out of his comfort zone. We can’t force him to be okay with this. If he hasn’t come over by now then maybe he never will.”
I see her face fall. Tears spring to her eyes. “I know, you’re right. I just so desperately want things to go back to the way they were.”
I hold her close and we don’t say anything for a while. It kills me seeing her so upset over this. I want to make everything right, but I know there’s nothing I can do. If I go over there and try to knock some sense into him before he’s ready to talk, it’ll only make things worse. It’s a waiting game, and I can’t get involved, as much as I’d like to.
“Try and relax, baby. I’ll take you out for dinner tonight, okay? We’ll get you something nice to take your mind off things.”
Elena offers me a sad smile. “Thanks, but I don’t want to miss Dad. I don’t really feel like going out anyway.”
I’m at a loss. I don’t know how to help her. All I can do is hold her tight and let her know I’m here. I feel anger rising inside me at her father’s behavior. If only he could see sense and just push his pride aside…
The doorbell rings.
Elena
My heart skips several beats. I would never admit this out loud, but I
