Hot Westmoreland Nights (15 page)

If she thought hard enough she figured there were a number of times they had gotten careless, like one of those times in the shower. But it really didn’t matter when it happened, the fact remained that it had happened. Now she had to decide whether she would tell him before returning to Florida. He had a right to know, but whether she would tell him now or later, she just wasn’t sure.

She had had lunch with Ramsey’s sisters last week. Evidently, he was in rare form and they figured his less-than-desirable attitude lately had had something to do with her. Chloe was surprised he hadn’t told them the entire story and fighting back tears she’d ended up telling them everything. How she had initially deceived him and then fell in love with him. Instead of taking their brother’s side as she had figured they would do, they ended up crying right along with her. They were convinced she loved Ramsey and that it was a shame
he couldn’t see it for himself. They were convinced once he thought things through he would see the truth for himself. If only she could believe that.

Chloe stood and walked over to the window to continue to look out. Her work here in Denver was finished and Lucia would be handling things from here on out. Her east coast staff was presently looking for a new prospect for the October issue of
Simply Irresistible
, and that was fine with her. She was ready to move on.

Going back to her desk, she picked up her cell phone to call Lucia who had left that morning for Atlanta to sit in on a leadership workshop with a few of Chloe’s other employees. She got Lucia’s answering machine. “Lou, I’m not feeling well, so I’m going to leave early for your place. That’s where I’ll be if you need me for anything. Otherwise, I’ll see you tomorrow when you return.”

Feeling tired and sleepy, Chloe took a long nap as soon as she got home. When she awoke, she saw it had gotten dark outside and she felt hungry. Reminding herself that although her pregnancy was in the very early stages, that whenever she ate she was eating for two, she went into the kitchen and prepared a meal.

Hours later she had showered, changed into her favorite yellow sundress and had grabbed a book to read when the doorbell sounded. Chloe went to the door and glanced through the peephole. Her breath caught in her chest and she pressed a hand to her throat. Standing on Lucia’s front porch was the man who’d captured her heart, the father of the baby she carried in her womb. Ramsey Westmoreland.

When Chloe opened the door, Ramsey could only stand there and stare at her. At that moment he thought the same
thing he had that first morning he’d seen her: She was beautiful.

He did recall that morning. He remembered how he’d tried getting away from her once he saw how attracted he’d been to her. That was something that had not been her fault. And he had done something that morning so unlike him. He had raced off in his truck, leaving his front door open to a stranger. He had assumed she was the cook and he hadn’t given her time to state otherwise.

Once he’d knocked the chip off his shoulder and had taken the time to analyze the situation, sort out the mess, he saw he had contributed to the misunderstanding. She was right in saying that although her original plans may not have been honorable, she had hung around and helped him out. He could just imagine how things would have turned out if she hadn’t.

“Ramsey, what are you doing here?”

Her question brought his attention back to the present. “I’d like to talk to you, if at all possible.”

He saw the wary look in her eyes before she nodded, opened the door wider and then moved aside.

When he passed her the first thing Chloe thought was that Ramsey certainly smelled good. And he looked good, too. He was wearing a pair of jeans, a western shirt and boots. He had removed the Stetson from his head once he’d entered the house.

Not asking him to sit, she turned to him. “What do you want to talk about?”

“I owe you an apology. You did try to level with me that day and I stopped you from doing so. Actually, I was afraid to let you.”

Chloe lifted a brow. “Why?”

“If you recall, it was the same day my three sisters came to visit and I, of all people, know how overwhelming they can be. I thought that perhaps they may have tried boxing you into a corner about a relationship with me. I haven’t been involved with a woman in a while and was afraid you might have begun feeling forced into a situation you weren’t quite ready for, and I didn’t want to hear you say it. Especially after I’d made plans to ask you to continue a relationship with me once your time was up at the ranch.”

Chloe’s reaction to his words was a total surprise. “You wanted to continue a relationship with me?”

She saw the intensity in his eyes when he said, “Yes.”

Happiness swirled in her veins and the intensity was back in his eyes. But still…

She searched his face. “Why, Ramsey? Why did you want to continue a relationship with me?”

He didn’t say anything for a moment, but the look on his features basically said it all. There were emotions there she hadn’t seen before, emotions he’d never revealed to her until now. But still, she needed to hear him say the words.

He must have known what she needed. Placing his hat on the rack, he then walked the few feet over to her to stand in front of her. She sucked in a deep breath and lifted her face to meet his gaze when he did so.

“The reason I wanted to continue a relationship with you, Chloe, is because I had fallen in love with you.”

He reached out and took her hand in his. “I know for us to be in love is not a cure-all. But at least it’s a start and is more than most people have. I do love you, Chloe, and I want for us to be together. I don’t want it to sound like I’m rushing things, but I want to marry you. I want to give you my babies one day. Bring you to the ranch to live with me as my wife. But
I know those have to be the things you want. I’m not asking you to give up anything for me, for our love. When you have to go away and travel for your magazine company, I’ll modify my schedule to travel with you. I—”

Chloe held up her finger and placed it on his lips. “If nothing else, these past two weeks have shown me I have people capable of managing the magazine without me. Besides, I rather like the idea of living on your ranch, being your wife and the mother of your babies.”

The brilliance of his smile touched her. “So you will marry me?”

“Yes.”

“And if you want, we can have a long engagement,” he said pulling her into his arms.

Chloe chuckled, shaking her head. “Now there’s the kicker. A long engagement might not work for us, unfortunately.”

He lifted a brow. “Not that I’m complaining, but why wouldn’t it work?”

She paused and then she reached out and took his hand in hers and carried it to her stomach. “Already, your baby is here,” she said in a whisper.

Chloe thought the look on his face at that moment was priceless. His mouth dropped open in shock. “You’re pregnant.”

She threw her head back and laughed. “No,
we’re
pregnant.”

Filled with more joy that he could stand, Ramsey didn’t care how such a thing could have happened when they had used protection. It didn’t matter. He wanted their baby. He pulled her closer into his arms and captured her mouth with his. The kiss was hungry, it was intense and, Chloe thought, it was full of love.

When he released her, he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist. “We’re getting married as soon as it can be arranged.”

She looked up at him. “We don’t really have to, you know. Women have babies out of wedlock all the time and—”

“My child will be born a Westmoreland.”

She chuckled. “If that’s what you want.”

“That’s what I want. Will you go back to the ranch with me tonight so we can make plans?”

She lifted her brow. “Is that the only thing we’ll make when we get there?”

Now it was Ramsey’s turn to smile. He answered honestly, “No.”

Chloe wrapped her arms around Ramsey’s neck. “Um, I didn’t think so.”

When Ramsey bent his head to hers, she was ready and knew that this was just the beginning.

N
o one had asked why Ramsey and Chloe wanted a rather quick wedding. They were just happy to see Ramsey finally tying the knot. It was a beautiful day in May and all the Westmorelands came.

Chloe was overwhelmed at the huge family she’d married into. And there were several celebrities—national motorcycle superstar Thorn Westmoreland, well-known author Stone Westmoreland (a.k.a. Rock Mason), and Princess Delaney Westmoreland Yasir, wife of Sheikh Jamal Ari Yasir. Everyone welcomed her into the family with open arms. She couldn’t help but smile, thinking it was a small world in that her father had already met the young, up-and-coming Senator Reginald Westmoreland at a fundraiser for a Georgia congressman last year. And Chloe was practically beaming in delight that Ramsey had also told her a few weeks ago that he would pose for the cover of her magazine.

Deciding they didn’t want a huge wedding, Chloe had worn a beautiful tailored white pantsuit and with Ramsey by her side they walked around Shady Tree Ranch, where the beautiful outdoor wedding had taken place, greeting their guests. She got a chance to talk to one of Ramsey’s elderly relatives, James Westmoreland. He was the one responsible for bringing the Atlanta and Denver Westmorelands together.

Chloe enjoyed talking to James and after talking with him she knew most of the story about Raphael and the mystery about the man’s life that was yet to be solved.

A short while later, Ramsey took Chloe’s hand in his and led her away from their guests. Even his men had come to the wedding and had brought their wives. She thought they looked good in their Sunday best.

“So, we don’t know if those women were wives of Raphael or not.” She noticed Ramsey was leading her farther and farther away from their guests.

Ramsey threw his head back and laughed. “I can only vouch for one of them and that’s my great-grandmother Gemma. I know they got married because we have a copy of their marriage certificate. The others…we shall see.”

“Is there anyone else besides Dillon even interested in finding out?”

“Yes, Megan. But she plans to do things differently. Unlike Dillon, she doesn’t want to do the research herself but plans to hire a private detective to solve the mystery for her.”

Ramsey stopped walking and turned to her. “I didn’t bring you out here to talk about Raphael.”

Chloe glanced around and saw they were a distance from the house. “And why did you bring me out here?”

He pulled her into his arms. “To say in private what I said in front of everyone today. I love you, sweetheart, and for the
rest of my life I promise to show you just how much, and I will love and honor you always.”

Tears sprang into Chloe’s eyes. “And I love you.”

The moment Ramsey had pulled her into his arms, Chloe knew that their lives would be filled with love, passion and plenty of hot Westmoreland nights.