“I do, beautiful. I really mean it.” His hand went to the small of her back, and the tips of his fingers grazed the top of her ass in a possessive gesture that soothed both him and his dragon.
He led Corinne through the house and into the back yard, which was very large, considering where they were in Paris. The house had been build a long time ago, and it was more of an estate than a house. It had given him plenty of space to plan out what he had done for Corinne.
As soon as she saw the setup, her eyes were enormous, and she blinked back tears.
“What’s this?”
She looked around her, taking in the back yard.
The large white screen was all set up, and the image was being cast, announcing the feature film. Really, Paris had just paused the movie at the opening credits, where the title was written in huge, bold letters. There was a thick blanket on the ground and about a million pillows. There was a snack table, loaded down by popcorn, ginger ale, saltines, and all of the foods Corinna had been craving, including a basket of fresh from the oven chocolate croissants. He knew she had to avoid them, but she hadn’t been sick all day, so he thought maybe she could chance it if she wanted to.
“I know we’re both nervous about going out into the world right now, so I figured I would bring the world to you.” Paris shrugged, because he was suddenly feeling very self-conscious. Corinne hadn’t said a word, she was just staring at the setup, wide-eyed with her jaw dropped open.
“You…you did this for me?”
“Of course.”
“But…why?”
“Because you’re my mate.” Because I love you. “Because you deserve it.” I seriously love you. “Because we’re dating, and you’re the most special person in the world to me.” Because you deserve the world, and I would do anything to make you happy, and to protect our children.
Corinne’s breath hitched, and she launched herself at him, closing her arms around his neck. Her lips pressed against his neck, and she kissed him a few times. He felt moisture against his skin and pulled away to see that Corinne was crying.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
“Nothing. This is just too beautiful.” She pointed to the snacks table. “You put saltines in fancy popcorn buckets for me.”
He grinned at her. “I figured if that’s all you could keep down, then the crackers should be in the right container to give you the full movie experience.”
“Thank you, Paris. Seriously. Thank you so much. This is literally the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me.”
Paris grabbed one of the buckets of saltines and placed it on the blanket. He lay down against the mountain of pillows, and he opened his arms. Corinne knelt down by his side, before crawling into his arms. Paris tucked her under his chin and smelled her sweet flowery scent. It soothed something inside of him. Even his dragon, who had been on edge since learning the trouble that could be lurking behind every corner, hissed out a contented breath and calmed down.
“It’s really weird. When I’m in your arms, I’m not nauseous at all. It all goes away, and I swear, the babies settle. Honestly, it’s like Peanut and Nugget know that you’re their daddy, and they behave just for you.”
Paris chuckled. “Do you think maybe it’s because you’re more relaxed around me, so they settled just naturally?”
Corinne was quiet for a long moment. “I guess you’re right. I am calmer when you’re around. Especially when I’m in your arms. Is that part of the mate thing?”
“Maybe. I think it’s probably increased because you are carrying our children.”
“You always do that. You say that they are ours.”
“Well, they are. They will be part me and part you. I hope they have your eyes, and your smile.” He ran a hand through her hair. “I’d love a boy and a girl with blonde hair just like yours. But really, so long as they’re healthy, I’ll be happy.”
“As terrified as I am of having twins, I’m happy they’ll have each other.”
“What do you mean?”
“I didn’t have siblings. I would have loved to have a twin to play with, to just have someone around when things got rough. They will always have someone to play with.”
“Oh, sure. That’s nice.” He laughed softly. “Though siblings don’t always get along. I remember London and I wreaked havoc on York’s nerves when we were little. He was always a little bit serious. Even as a kid. I think he already felt the heavy pressure of being the heir to the Warwick banks, you know? But we would break into his bedroom and reorganize his bookshelves. It drove him absolutely nuts. But he always forgave us when we built forts and invited him to play with us.”
“It sounds wonderful.”
“It was.” He paused, considering his words carefully. He didn’t want to upset her, but he also didn’t want to get angry that he hadn’t been there to protect her. “Was your childhood really lonely?” He hated to ask. He hated to bring her horrible past into the beautiful evening, but he knew it was part of her. He had to know all of it.
Corinne shrugged in his arms. “Yeah. There were no other kids around. Gustave made sure that the only people around me were guards. But I had my painting, and I had movies.” She nudged his side. “What’s the movie playing tonight?”
He chuckled at how expertly she had changed the topic of conversation.
“It’s that new romantic comedy with that actor everyone loves.”
Corinne gasped. “But that’s not even out in theaters yet!”
He laughed at her shocked surprise. It was a beautiful thing to be able to give her such a surprise. “I know, but Johanna is friends with the director and the costume designer. They sent me a reel for our own personal viewing.”
“Holy shit. This is the coolest thing ever.” She kissed his cheek. “Thanks for this, Paris. This really is the best date I have ever been on. Well, the only one, but it is setting the bar really high.”
“I’ll keep that in mind for next time. Now let’s get it started!”
Corinne hunkered down into his side as she munched on saltines and sipped ginger ale. He drew patterns on her back and spent half the time watching her instead of watching the screen.
His mate really was the loveliest woman. Her reactions were adorable, and she tried not to get teary-eyed, when the couple finally realized they were meant for each other.
When the on-screen couple finally kissed at the end, after a declaration of love, Corinne turned in his arms and kissed him.
“Thank you, Paris.”
She might as well have said she loved him.
He would have said it right back.
Chapter Eighteen
Corinne
Corinne stretched out on the blanket. Her body was almost glued to Paris’s side. She didn’t mind. His muscular form was the most comfortable body pillow she had ever had.
But it was more than that.
She hadn’t lied, when she said she felt settled and at peace when he was around. She felt complete and at ease. The babies behaved, and she actually managed to keep her food down.
The fact that he had listened to her history and not scorned her was still fascinating to her. She really thought he was going to have her thrown out of his mother’s house.