Read Online Bedded Then Wed by Heidi Betts - Free Book Online Page A

her palms turning damp with nervousness. And she knew that when she spoke, her voice would quaver. “What about our future?”
    “I’ve been thinking.”
    Of course he had, and he’d decided he’d had enough of her.
    “These past few weeks…we’ve had fun. We’ve been pretty good together.”
    Yes, they had been. More than good. At times, they’d been phenomenal. But apparently that didn’t matter to him.
    “And I’ve been thinking…”
    Yes, yes, he’d said that already.
    “That maybe we should make it permanent.”
    Of course. Ever since Suzanne had left him—
    She stopped. Stopped thinking, stopped blinking, stopped breathing. Had he just said…?
    What had he just said?
    “Excuse me?” she practically wheezed with what little air was left in her lungs.
    “Emma,” he said slowly, his eyes dark and solemn as he stared into her own. “Will you marry me?”

Six
    E mma had heard of being struck speechless before, but she’d never actually experienced it until this moment. Her head was spinning so fast, she feared she might pass out, and, even though her lungs burned for air, she couldn’t seem to inhale.
    He’d just asked her to marry him. Mitch. Had asked her. To marry him. When she’d thought for sure he was about to dump her instead and had been bracing herself for the worst.
    Finally she managed to suck in a long, much-needed breath. “But—”
    “It may not be a love match,” he said, running his hands up her arms to cup her shoulders and essentially cutting off whatever she’d been about to say. “I know that, but we get along well enough to make a marriage work. I like you, you like me. There’s no doubt we’re good in bed. And I’ll take care of you, no matter what. You can trust me on that.”
    In the space of a heartbeat, she went from being elated that he might have feelings for her after all…enough to propose to her…to being crushed by his blatant admission that he didn’t love her at all but merely saw a marriage to her as something that would be convenient and comfortable for both of them.
    Her first instinct was to tell him what he could do with his less-than-inspiring offer. But then she began to think of how much courage it had taken for him to even ask.
    Suzanne had done a real number on him, and she knew exactly how bitter he still was over her betrayal. It was a huge step for him to come to her now and ask her to marry him…even if it wasn’t her idea of a dream proposal.
    And she had been in love with him for as long as she could remember. This was her chance to be with him, regardless of the circumstances.
    Maybe he didn’t love her. Maybe he never would. Or maybe he just didn’t love her yet. People changed. And people most especially healed after painful breakups.
    If she married him, then every day would be another chance for her to erase a little more of Suzanne from his mind and heart and instill herself there instead. Not all women were like his scheming, two-timing ex, and all she needed was an opportunity to prove that to him.
    A small voice inside her head warned her not to get her hopes up. That a woman couldn’t change a man, and there was no use trying.
    But Emma didn’t want to change Mitch. She liked him just the way he was…or she had before he’d married up with that tramp.
    And now, she simply wanted to be around when his battered heart finally healed and he got over his ex. For that, she could put a couple of years into a marriage that lacked the emotions she so dearly craved.
    As long as she believed there was a chance he’d come around, a chance he could grow to love her as much as she already loved him.
    A shiver of anticipation raced through her, settling low in her belly and spreading warmly outward.
    She was doing the right thing. She knew she was.
    Leaning close, she put her hands on either side of his waist and pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth. “Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
    His fingers