Free Lady's Man by Tanya Anne Crosby

the minute I met you everything was out of my hands.”
    His lips curved into a weak grin. “So you’re saying maybe you like me more than a little?”
    “Shhhh … ” Annie bent to kiss him gently on the forehead. She brushed the back of her fingers over his cheek.
    “What do you think about marriage?”
    Annie screwed her face. “I think that’s a weird question and that you took a nasty blow to the head,” she said. But something in his eyes told her he was completely serious.
    “Not so weird if you just saw your life flash before your eyes. I mean … to me, Annie.”
    He stared at her expectantly.
    Annie blinked. “Are you … asking me … to marry you?”
    He shrugged. “Sort of. Maybe …” His eyes glistened slightly. “Yeah, I guess I am. I’ve been around long enough to know a good thing when I see it.”
    Annie stared at him.
    Who in their right mind signed up for a lifetime after a single awesome week? There were jobs to think about. Geography—they lived in different cities and what did they really know about each other? Marriage was hardly something to be taken lightly.
    Annie searched her heart, banished all thought and gave him the only answer that felt right.

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
                            

 
     
     
     
     
     
    EPILOGUE
     
     
    It was official as of this morning: 1776 East Ashley was off the rental market. Annie’s movers were due tomorrow. Jamie’s had come the week before.
    While everyone was preoccupied, Annie felt compelled to take the opportunity to peek into the attic, needing to know exactly where everything would go.
    Some habits were hard to break.
    Without any idea of what to expect, she pulled down the attic door, unfolded the steps and climbed up. There was a bulb at the top of the stairs, but there was no need to turn it on. Two small ventilation windows in the back and two more in the front provided all the light she needed and she didn’t want Jamie to know she was there. Aside from a few cobwebs, she was pleasantly surprised by how well organized the space was, but she took a moment to peek out the back window, checking to make sure that Jamie was still working on the sailboat in the back yard.
    While Lady watched his progress with interest, he was lovingly refurbishing the boat. It was nearly finished now, but Annie was almost six months pregnant and he’d already stated pretty emphatically that she wasn’t allowed on the boat until after she delivered.
    She wasn’t allowed in the attic either, but here she was anyway.
    Who would have figured mister carefree dude on the beach would turn out to be a worrywart where she was concerned?
    She had never pegged him for an attorney either, but that’s what he was, although mostly retired. At the age of 39, Jamie owned so many properties along the Atlantic Coast that he made enough to live on the earnings alone. Whatever time he spent on legal cases was as General Council for the local preservation society, handling cases involving endangered species conservation and land use. He was one of those guys her grandmother would say “who puts his money where his mouth is.”
    Annie loved him.
    So did Lady.
    Their faithful dog had become his shadow. She knew beyond doubt that this is where she was supposed to be. Annie sensed that as keenly as she did the water around her.
    In the attic, the scent of pluff mud was strong, mixed with the musty odors of old boxes. Dragging herself away from spying on her husband at the attic window, she set about the task of making room for the dozens of boxes she knew would be arriving soon. Much of what she intended to store up here were business related items, things she would set aside until after the baby was born when she could better determine where to re-open her business.
    She moved boxes around, stacking them neatly, inventorying what was here and creating a system. Forty-five minutes later, she was nearly done with no sign of the