The Baby Proposal. Andrea Laurence
Читать онлайн книгу.
problem.” Kal looked past her toward the shopping center they were coming up on. “Since we’re discussing the ways we’re completely unprepared for marriage and parenthood, I think we need to make a pit stop.”
Lana held on as he whipped the car into the parking lot and came to a stop outside a baby supercenter. She’d only set foot in it once, to buy a baby shower gift for Mele. “I don’t know what we need yet. I’ve got to go by Mele’s apartment and see what she has.”
Kal shook his head and turned off the car. “No, you don’t. We’re getting all new stuff. Come on.”
Lana leaped out of the car and jogged to catch up with him. “Are you serious? I can’t afford to buy all new baby things.”
Kal pulled his dark sunglasses down his nose to look at her with an expression that could’ve melted a woman’s panties right off. Lana had learned early on that when he looked at her that way, it wasn’t smoldering, it was irritation.
“You’re not buying it. I am.”
She suspected he might say that. “This is too much, Kal,” she complained. He simply ignored her, going into the store ahead of her. “Kal!” she finally shouted with her hands planted on her hips.
He stopped and turned around to look at her. “What is the problem?”
She narrowed her gaze at him. Women she’d had as friends over the years had asked her how she could be friends with a man as hot at Kal and not want more. While she convinced herself she didn’t want more, she used this as exhibit number one: he was stubborn as an ox. “It’s too much.”
“We’re already getting married and moving in together to pull this off. What is too much, exactly?”
She knew he was right. “I don’t want you to buy a ton of things. We might only have her for a few weeks.”
“Or we might have her for years. Either way, she needs a place to sleep, food, clothes, diapers... If it makes you happy, I’ll donate everything to charity when we’re done. It won’t go to waste, okay?”
Lana bit at her bottom lip but knew she’d lost this battle before it started. Kal wasn’t about to decorate the baby’s nursery with the thrift store finds they collected from Mele’s apartment. “Fine.”
Inside the store, Kal waved his finger at the manager standing behind the customer service desk. “We’re going to need some assistance.”
The woman came forward, polite, but curious about his forwardness. “What can I help you with, sir?”
“With everything. We’re buying it all, so I need someone to jot down what we choose as we go through the store and have it delivered to my home.”
The manager seemed flustered but grabbed a clipboard and the registry scanner and went straight to leading him up and down the aisles. Lana tried not to roll her eyes. Why Kal couldn’t just get a cart and shop like a normal person, she didn’t know.
She figured it out soon, however. There wasn’t a cart big enough. He hadn’t been exaggerating when he said he was going to buy everything. It took about two hours to go through the entire store. They bought a complete bedroom suite with a crib, changing table, dresser, lamp and rocking chair. They got bedding, a mobile, a car seat, a high chair, a stroller and a swing. Diaper bags, bottles, cases of baby food and diapers, medicine, shampoo...you name it. They even bought about twenty outfits and pajamas.
It was exhausting, but Lana had to admit Kal had good taste. Everything he selected was beautiful. The furniture for the nursery was a soft gray color that complemented the star and moon bedding set. It was enchanting for a baby’s room. Hopefully Akela would love all her new things as much as Lana did. She was so young, she probably couldn’t appreciate most of it, but the toys Kal purchased last would be a big hit with the baby at least.
As they finished selecting the last few things, Lana took a step back and counted her blessings. There was no way she could make any of this happen without Kal. He was an amazing friend and person. Not just for agreeing to marry her, but for all of it.
She really didn’t understand why Kal was determined to stay single. He insisted he was too busy for that sort of thing, but she didn’t believe it. He was the kind of man who could make any dream into reality. If he wanted a family, all he had to do was snap his fingers and women would line up to volunteer for the job. He was tall and muscular with a build they would clamor to run their hands over. His hair was dark and wavy, and his skin was golden brown. His smile could melt her defenses. Honestly, when he was wearing one of his expensive suits and marching around the hotel like a man on a mission, she had a hard time figuring out why she didn’t just throw herself at him.
She joked about what a pain he could be, how stubborn he was, what a playboy he was to go through women the way he did. The truth was far different. She loved Kal. He was the best thing in her life, where she didn’t have much outside of her job and her friendship with him to rave about. If she really let herself think about it, she probably would want him. It was just a ridiculous thought, so she never let herself have it.
Kal was simply too good for her. He was educated, rich, cultured and from an important family. Yes, they could be friends and even fake husband and wife, but a real relationship with a woman like her? Even if he was open to marriage, he wouldn’t choose her. She was really surprised he agreed to fake marry her considering her sister was in jail and her family was such a mess. Their friendship made it possible and she would cling to that for dear life. It was better than any romantic relationship, anyway.
It sure made dating hard, though. Where would she find a man to measure up to Kal? It was impossible, and she’d certainly tried. Over the last few years, she’d gone through a steady stream of losers. None even came close to Kal. Not only was he handsome and ridiculously rich, but he was funny, kind, thoughtful... She couldn’t have chosen a better best friend. And come tomorrow, a better husband, even if just for show. All she’d expected him to do was sign on the dotted line, hold her hand in court and act like a loving husband in public. Instead he was paying a small fortune, fully committing to making this work. All to make Lana happy.
Lana didn’t know why Kal was single, but it was easy to see why she couldn’t commit to someone else.
Kal straightened the bow tie of his white tuxedo and looked himself over in the mirror. He certainly looked like a groom. He was as nervous as he imagined a groom would be. But that spark of excitement was missing. It just all felt awkward. Backward. Definitely not how he’d intended to spend his Tuesday.
Marriage hadn’t always been an alien concept to Kal. When he was younger it was something he knew he would do someday, but reality intruded. When he was twenty, a car accident claimed the lives of his parents and left his brother blind. Kal realized then that no one was invincible, including him. He’d grown up so sheltered and privileged that he almost thought nothing bad could ever happen to him. Then, in an instant, he’d lost the most important people in his life. No warnings, no goodbyes, just gone forever.
Suddenly he had more responsibilities piled on him than most kids his age. His grandparents helped with the hotel while Kal finished college and Mano adjusted to his disability, but Kal eventually stepped up to lead the family when he graduated. That was enough family and responsibility for him. Marriage was not in the cards for Kal. He wasn’t sure he could go through something like that again—getting attached to someone else just to lose her...or to leave a family behind to pick up the pieces after his death. It seemed like too much risk for the potential reward.
So why, then, was he pinning an orchid to his lapel and heading out the door to the Mau Loa’s wedding pavilion? Well, because he just couldn’t say no to Lana.
When she’d looked up at him, her dark brown eyes pleading with him to say yes...there was no question that he would do whatever she asked of him. He just wanted to make sure she was serious