He cupped her face, his thumb stroking her cheekbone. “I have no idea what you overheard, but I’d never use those words about you, Luna! Never! I fell in love with you that weekend. I know it sounds crazy. Falling in love over a weekend sounds ridiculous. But…I can’t help it. I love you. And I’ve missed you!” He kissed her more lingeringly. “When I heard that you were flying here, I was hoping that you might feel the same way. Or that you, at least, missed me.”
“I have missed you! I really do! That’s why I couldn’t respond to your messages, Tasim. Because the words, I’d heard them, and I was too hurt.” She blinked through her tears and sighed. “I’m so sorry! I messed up so badly and I…!”
“Stop!” he whispered, kissing her again. And again! When he finally straightened up, he hugged her close again. “Let’s get out of here. We need some privacy for this conversation.”
Luna agreed and he took her hand, leading her towards the long line of limousines and SUVs waiting for them. As soon as they ducked into the back, Luna was accosted by one of the ugliest dogs she’d ever seen. But her sweetly eager expression and adorable brown eyes greeted her with immediate affection.
“Peter, no,” Tasim ordered in a firm, but not unkind tone.
“This is Peter?” Luna asked, extending her hand so that the dog could smell her scent. When the dog licked her, Luna reached out and scratched her ears. “You’re a sweet girl, aren’t you?”
“Yes, this is Peter,” Tasim explained, rubbing the dog’s rough back. Peter’s tail wagged and, as the limousine moved forward, Peter leaned against Tasim’s legs. Luna noticed that Tasim held the dog steady, balancing the canine so that she wouldn’t fall and get hurt.
“Peter is the dog that you charmed,” Luna exclaimed, awe and happiness making her a little light-headed. “Ella explained what the comment meant.”
“What comment?” Tasim asked.
She sighed, leaning back against the cushions of the limousine and closing her eyes in embarrassment. When she opened them again, Luna found she couldn’t look at Tasim as she explained.
At the end of her story, Luna finally looked up, noticing his hand holding hers. “Can you forgive me?” she asked, her voice shaking a little.
His answer was to pull her onto his lap and kiss her. Luna wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back with all the love she felt for the man.
He straightened and gave her a squeeze. “I’ll tell you what: I’ll forgive you, if you agree to marry me.”
That was a shocking stipulation. “Marry you?”
“Yes,” he replied firmly, touching her chin so that she looked directly into his eyes. “The past two months have been absolute hell, Luna. I’ve sent messages, but it wasn’t until today that I heard from you. I don’t want that again. I want you here, by my side, always.”
She grinned, thinking that she couldn’t believe how happy she was. “Well, I guess…?’
“No guessing. I love you, Luna,” he murmured into her ear, making her shiver.
“I love you too,” she whispered back.
“Then marry me.”
Luna laughed, feeling free and…and something licked her ankle. She turned, beaming down at the scruffy dog. “What do you think, Peter? Should I do it?”
The dog’s only response was another lick. Luna reached down and scratched behind Peter’s ears. “You’re right.” When she turned and looked at Tasim again, she smiled. “Okay, let’s do it. It sounds absolutely nuts, but I love you, Tasim. I can’t believe that I feel this way after only knowing you for a week.”
“We can make it work, Luna. I promise.”
She smiled, and cuddled closer to his chest. “I agree. Let’s do it!”
Epilogue
“I’m not doing it, Tasim!” Luna stated emphatically.
Tasim looked up as his wife waddled into his office. Even at eight and a half months pregnant, Luna still made his body go wild with lust. “You’re not doing what, love?” he asked, tossing his pen onto the desk as he turned and extended his hand to her, pulling her onto his lap.
“Having this baby,” she said, shuddering. “We helped Peter give birth to her puppies last night. I’m not going through that!”
He rubbed her round belly sympathetically. “You’re not?”
“No!” she replied firmly. “We’ll just have to find another way!”
Tasim chuckled, and kissed her sweetly. “Okay. I’ll get right on it.”
Luna shifted on his lap, not wanting him to lose circulation in his legs because of her weight. “Tasim, you’re patronizing me. But I’m serious. That looked absolutely awful and I’m not going through it!”
“I heard you, love.”
Luna sighed. “You’re charming me again, aren’t you?’
He grinned. “Is it working?”
Luna considered for a moment. “Yeah. Kinda.”
He laughed, kissing her again, still rubbing her belly. “It won’t hurt as much as what Peter went through. You’ll have drugs and an epidural.”
She leaned into him, loving how safe and protected she felt when he held her. “I think you’re lying to me.”
“I’m not. But we’ll get through this together.”
She didn’t believe him for a moment, but she loved him anyway.
Twenty-four hours later, Tasim woke to Peter barking.
Tasim lifted his head, looking around at the darkness. Peter barked again, but this time, Tasim heard the warning. This wasn’t just a bark. Peter never woke up in the middle of the night, unless it was an emergency. And the last emergency had been when she’d woken up to give birth to her babies.
Tasim looked around. The bed was empty except for him. “Luna? Honey?”
“I’m fine!” she yelled from the next
