Pepper didn’t say anything, but she still felt a bit overwhelmed. Marriage? Wow! But perhaps there was some way to slow this whole thing down a bit. She’d only discovered that she was pregnant this morning, and now she was engaged and they would be married in…two days?
No, she’d have to slow this down. Pepper definitely needed a bit of time to process everything! And maybe, once he stepped back and thought about everything, Dimitri would want to slow down too.
Chapter 8
Pepper was still in shock at how quickly everything had happened. But as she turned and looked up into Dimitri’s eyes, she knew that she loved him. She was also sure that he didn’t love her. Not yet. But he would. Or at least, after they’d lived with each other for a while, he would feel something, maybe just affection, for her. She had to believe that, or she’d have to walk away and Pepper didn’t want to walk away.
“I promise to love, honor, and cherish,” she replied, correcting the judge and ignoring his surprise. Pepper felt Dimitri’s fingers tighten slightly on hers and wanted to laugh with relief. He wasn’t angry that she’d eliminated “obey” from the wedding vows. Thank goodness! Pepper hadn’t ever been good at obeying.
She listened as Dimitri repeated the vows back to her. Pepper hadn’t realized that she’d been holding her breath until she heard the words, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
Dimitri pulled her into his arms and kissed her. Thoroughly! And Pepper reveled in the heat of his kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck, wanting to remember every sensation and feeling for the rest of her life!
When he finally lowered her back to the ground, Pepper felt…happy! Ecstatically happy! She was Dimitri’s wife! He was her husband! Good grief, they were married! Truly and completely married!
Dimitri handed her a pen, pointing to several lines, telling her to sign her name. She didn’t read any of the forms, which was absolutely stupid, she knew. But Pepper was too stunned to really pay much attention to what she was putting her signature on. She might have just signed over her business! Hopefully, it was simply the wedding license.
“I’ve made reservations,” Dimitri announced as they stepped out of the judge’s chambers. “Let’s celebrate.”
She grinned, feeling giddy. “Let’s do it!”
They dined on rich and artfully presented food at one of the most exclusive restaurants in the city. No champagne, and Dimitri ordered ginger ale for them, ignoring the horrified look on the waiter’s face. Pepper was still so overwhelmed she could barely eat. All she knew was that she was married! Her hand kept fluttering to her stomach.
“I can’t really eat anything else,” she told him, even though she wasn’t sure if she’d eaten anything at all. Everything felt like a blur. A happy blur, but she just…Pepper wasn’t sure about anything right now.
Dimitri looked at her plate. “You’ve barely touched your food,” he replied, but when he lifted his gaze, he saw the heat and desire in her eyes. “Right!”
With a lift of his hand, the waiter arrived. “We need the check.”
The waiter blinked, stunned, and quickly backed away, coming back moments later with the check. Dimitri quickly signed and then took hold of Pepper’s hands, pulling her out of her chair and down the stairs to the limousine that was magically waiting outside the door to the restaurant.
“How does he do that?” Pepper mused, even as she ducked into the back of the vehicle.
“How does who do what?” he asked, lifting her up so that she was sitting on his lap.
Her arms automatically wrapped around his neck as she snuggled closer to him. “The driver? How is he always waiting outside of whatever building you are in with the door open? It’s like he can sense you coming out of the building and immediately drives up just in time so that he’s right there by the door.”
“Do you really want to talk about my driver right now?” he asked, sliding his hand under the silk skirt of her dress, pausing when his fingers encountered the lace at the top of her thigh high stockings. “What the hell are you wearing?” he demanded, his voice low and gruff.
She smiled, a slow, sexy smile that lit up her eyes with heat and promise. “I guess you’ll find out in a few minutes, won’t you?’
He almost fired his driver when the poor man stopped at a red light. But thankfully, his penthouse wasn’t far from the restaurant. He literally lifted her out of the limousine and barely took the time to set her down on the pavement before he took her hand and pulled her into the building.
He didn’t stop until they were in his bedroom with the door closed. She started to unzip her dress, but he pulled her hands away. “Let me,” he urged, then moved behind her and slowly, sensuously, slid the zipper down to well past the small of her back. “I love the lace,” he told her, kissing her shoulder and the curve of her neck. “And the stockings are an excellent touch.”
She smiled, but he could feel her trembling. He knew that they were trembles of anticipation instead of fear and slid his hands around so that they were covering her stomach. “Do you feel okay?”
“Yes,” she replied, leaning back against him, closing her eyes as his hands smoothed over the satin of her skin.
“No morning sickness?”
She felt that warm glow increase with his concern. “Not yet, but I’ve read a few books that say it’s too early for that.”
“When do you see a doctor?”
Her grin widened and she covered his hands with her own, feeling warm and wonderful. “I have my first appointment on Monday.” She turned and looked up at him. “Do
