I said, I like it. You’ve got my—” His intercom beeped, interrupting him. Surprised because he’d told his assistant no interruptions during his meeting, he picked up his phone. “Yes.”
“I’m terribly sorry to interrupt you, Mr. De Luca, but security downstairs has called and they said a very pregnant woman insists on seeing you.”
There was only one very pregnant woman in his life. Immediately concerned, he frowned. “Lilli,” he said. “Is she okay?”
His assistant, Grace, made a sound between a cough and swallowed laughter. “She sounds quite healthy, sir. Just very determined to see you. Security was unsure what to do with her.”
He nodded, feeling a twinge of amusement at the notion of the beefy guys downstairs trying to handle a demanding pregnant woman. “Send her up immediately.”
Alex stood, lifting his eyebrow. “Does this mean our meeting is over?”
“For now,” Max said. “Let’s set up a time to discuss a strategy for approaching the board about this.”
Alex extended his hand. “Sounds great.” He gathered his report and headed for the office door. Just as he reached for it, the door flung open and Lilli burst inside. Her cheeks bright red, she carried a large rectangular plastic food container.
“Good grief,” she said. “Do you train your security to suspect that every pregnant woman is a nut or did I just get lucky today?”
Max chuckled under his breath and moved toward her to take the container. “It won’t happen again. Here, let me help—”
“No,” Alex said and grabbed the container before Max could. “Allow me and let me say you look gorgeous as ever.”
Flirting again, Max thought with more than a pinch of irritation. Did the man ever stop?
“I look like a blond beach ball,” she told Alex. “But thanks for the effort. Would you do me a favor and call a few of the assistants into the office?”
Max frowned. “What—”
“Sure,” Alex said and set the container down on a table.
Lilli smiled nervously as she met Max’s gaze. “This won’t take but a few minutes. Then you can get back to whatever you were doing.”
Max shook his head. “But what is this?”
She gnawed her lip. “Just a little something.”
Her expression made him uneasy. What the…
Alex reappeared in the doorway with several members of the staff, their faces filled with curiosity. “Ready for service,” Alex said.
“Thank you,” Lilli said and went to the table where the plastic container sat. “I just need to borrow your voices for two minutes. Today is Max’s birthday, so I was hoping you would join with me in singing ‘Happy Birthday.’” She whipped off the top of the container to reveal a collection of frosted cupcakes decorated with sprinkles. “Sorry you can’t blow out the candles,” she said with a moue. “Security took my matches. Okay, let’s go.”
Max stood in stunned disbelief as she led the small group in song. Alex laughed the entire way through the tune.
When they finished, Lilli shot him a wary glance and a tentative smile. “Happy Birthday, Max.”
Max met her gaze and felt his heart swell to at least twice its normal size. He hadn’t celebrated his birthday in years. It was just another day to him. “How did you know?”
“That’s a secret,” she said. “But I didn’t know your favorite kind of cupcake, so I made a variety. Vanilla with chocolate frosting, chocolate with chocolate frosting, chocolate with vanilla—”
Alex extended his hand into the container. “I’ll take the chocolate with—”
Lilli lightly swatted his hand. “It’s Max’s birthday. He gets to choose first.” She glanced at Max. “What kind do you want?”
I want Lilli with Lilli frosting, he thought and cleared his throat. “Chocolate and chocolate,” he said and nodded toward the staff. “Go ahead, help yourself.”
Each of his employees took their treats and wished him a happy birthday before they left. Alex lingered an extra moment. “For your information, my birthday is November 16 and I love cupcakes.”
Max felt a surge of possessiveness. “Call a bakery,” he growled.
Alex laughed and shook his head. “You’re a damn lucky man, Max. Happy birthday,” he said and left the office.
Closing the door, Max turned toward Lilli, who was sitting in a chair across from his desk, biting off the top of a chocolate cupcake. He walked to the chair across from hers and sat down. “What possessed you to do this?”
“You’re not angry, are you?”
He shook his head. “Off guard. Surprised.” And a few other things he didn’t want to name. “You didn’t answer my question.”
She licked her lips and he wished he could do it for her. “It occurred to me that you may not have celebrated your birthday very much when you were in boarding school. That was a bad habit to start at such a young age,” she said in a chastising voice that made his lips twitch. “So I thought I should get you back on track.”
“Why?”
She met his gaze and he saw a flash of deep emotion shimmer in her eyes. Max could identify things that held a high value and what he saw in her gaze was more precious than all the gems in the exclusive jewelry store down the street.
“I think you are an amazing man. So the day you were born should be celebrated.”
Her simple explanation held no false flattery. He heard the sincerity in her voice, saw it on her face, and it was the most seductive thing anyone had ever said to him. Lilli, pregnant or not, made him hungry for more of her. Standing, he took her hand and pulled her close. “Marry me.”
He saw the desire and fear collide in her gaze. “It’s right,” he said. “For all of us.”
“How can you be so sure?” she whispered.
“Be honest, Lilli. Underneath it all, you want it, too.”
She closed her eyes for a long moment and he could feel her heart hammering against him. She took a small shallow breath and opened her eyes. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
Max made the arrangements so quickly Lilli barely had time to catch her breath, let alone her sanity. Three days before he’d scheduled a private wedding ceremony with a judge who was a friend, he and Lilli shared late-night conversation on the patio.
“I picked this up today. Let me know if you like it.” He casually slid a box across the table toward her.
Curious, she opened the box. Shocked at the diamond ring winking back at her from the velvet fold of the box, she choked on the water she
