The From Paris With Love And Regency Season Of Secrets Ultimate Collection. Кэрол Мортимер

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       Epilogue

      Evangeline shoved the Murano glass bowl directly into the center of the art niche outside the baby’s room. Much better. Decorating the home she and Matt had bought—together—down the street from his parents’ turned out to be the most fun she’d ever had. Who knew?

      Fran came out of the nursery. “Carlos tacked up the border. Do you want to check out the placement before I have him glue it down?”

      Matt’s mother had taken on the role of Contractor Supervisor and ruled the workers with an iron fist covered in lace. The two women became friends instantly, and Evangeline fell into the habit of consulting the older woman on just about everything. Fran knew color and style and had fantastic taste.

      Since Evangeline had never created a home from scratch, the partnership worked beautifully—as long as neither of them mentioned the word marriage. She and Fran had politely agreed to disagree about the status of Evangeline’s relationship with Matt.

      “I’m sure the border is fine, but I do want to see it.” Evangeline stepped into the explosion of red, white and blue, the color scheme she’d chosen for her son’s room. The border looked perfect. Once the walls were finished, they could start arranging the room to welcome the highly anticipated arrival of Matthew Wheeler Jr., which frankly, couldn’t occur fast enough.

      She couldn’t wait to see Matt’s gorgeous eyes peeking out from her child’s face. But she’d have to, because she wasn’t due for twenty-two very long weeks. The ultrasound the doctor performed yesterday had confirmed both gender and delivery date. The little blob on the monitor was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.

      “Andy’s still out of town,” Fran remarked after Evangeline had given Carlos the okay. “Would you like to have dinner with me and Cia? The boys can fend for themselves for once.”

      “Thanks, that would be lovely, but I have plans with Matt. Special plans.”

      “Next time then.” Fran smiled and turned her Southern charm on Carlos to get his help with dragging the rocker into a corner.

      The ladies spent a few hours in decorating heaven until Matt strolled through the door from work, his smile for Evangeline alone.

      “I’ll make myself scarce.” Fran winked, clearly having interpreted the definition of “special plans” in her own way, and let herself out the door.

      Evangeline forgot to be embarrassed as Matt folded her into his arms.

      “Hey.”

      “Hey, yourself.” God, he smelled good, like home. Home—simple and achingly honest, and she’d never loved something so much. Roots with Matt had grown strong and solid. “Sell anything?”

      “Lucas closed the deal on the Watson property. Especially sweet since I yanked it out from under Richards Group without them realizing it.” His grin fluttered her stomach.

      He was so happy to be working with his brother again. And she was happy she’d agreed to live in Dallas so he could. Palazzo D’Inverno waited patiently for them to return, which they planned to do after the baby was born.

      “I confirmed with Lisa,” Evangeline said. “She’ll be here next week to start learning the new songs I wrote.”

      “Great. I’m looking forward to seeing her again.”

      Evangeline had gone to Detroit twice already, Matt firmly by her side as she worked through reconciling with her dad. Family dynamics were still new and often frustrating, but she was trying. Matt assured her that was the important thing.

      “You know what today is, right?” she asked.

      A guarded expression leaped onto his face. “That sounds dangerous. Is this one of those rhetorical questions that I’m already supposed to know the answer to?”

      She laughed. “I’ll assume that means you don’t. Four months ago today, I walked into Vincenzo’s palazzo, praying that no one would recognize me. I even wore a mask to ensure it, but there was this guy in the hall blocking my way. If I’d arrived one minute later, he’d have already been gone.”

      Matt’s arms tightened, smushing her softly rounded belly into his solid body. “Sounds like fate to me.”

      “Absolutely. How else would I have found the one person who recognized me with a mask on?”

      She tilted her head up to kiss him lightly, and lost her train of thought as he cupped her jaw to deepen the kiss.

      Fate. If she still had functioning vocal cords, they’d never have met. The center of her existence had been ripped from her fingers, but its loss had made room for this man and their family. Thank goodness the fire of tragedy had refined her into someone worthy of Matt’s unending devotion.

      With a squeak, she broke the kiss. Reluctantly. “Let’s get back to that in a sec. I got you something to commemorate our anniversary.”

      “You did?” He lit up. “I like your presents. The last one will be hard to top, though.”

      His warm hand spread over their baby, safely tucked inside her womb. “Maybe. I gave it a shot. You’ll have to tell me how I did. It’s in the kitchen.”

      She clasped his hand and led him into the kitchen he’d designed from the ground up, with dark cabinets and top-of-the-line appliances. He never minded when she invaded his domain but threatened her daily that if she hung around while he was cooking, she’d better learn something. So far, nothing had sunk in because she was too busy watching the chef’s butt as he moved between the stove and the prep area.

      A small bag sat on the island. Snagging it, she handed it to him. “It’s an armadillo.”

      “A what?” One eye narrowed. “You put an armadillo in this bag?”

      “Yeah. There’s this thing that I need to be rescued from. So I’m calling armadillo.”

      With a puzzled glance at her, Matt tipped the bag up and slid the contents into his hand. She plucked the box from his palm and cracked the hinged lid to reveal a platinum band inside.

      “Rescue me from being single. Will you marry me?”

      His eyes went so dark with pleasure, her heart fluttered. “Nothing would make me happier. What prompted this?”

      “I find myself in need of another name change.” Evangeline Wheeler—another role she had no idea how to perform but couldn’t wait to figure out. “This time, I’d like it to be permanent. I can’t risk letting that guy from the hall get away.”

      And he’d promised to never again push her into a corner and demand she do something she wasn’t ready for. No rules. No expectations. The decision had to be hers. She loved that about him.

      “Are СКАЧАТЬ