12. Lovely

He watched his wife come down the stairs wearing a long red gown with spaghetti straps and a matching shawl. She had pinned her hair up in one of those French twists with a few loose curls hanging from the sides. It was in that moment when he thought she had never looked more lovely.

"It's true what they say Red; Pregnancy makes you glow."

She smiled when she walked towards him, locking her arms around his neck as she looked deeply into his eyes. "You don't look so bad yourself cowboy. Are you sure you don't mind coming with me tonight? I mean I know that this event doesn't exactly hold the best memories for us."

He reached for a small box and slipped the red rose from it. "Do you have a present for me Bo Buchanan," she joked?

He slipped it behind her left ear and adjusted her shawl as he kissed her softly. "Anywhere I get to go with you is a dream come true…and besides, every man in the room is going to be looking at me wondering how in the world you could really be mine."

"I am yours. Don't you ever doubt that again," she said. "This time when I walk onto that stage to accept my award, I will feel like I deserve it. I'm so happy to be your wife and to finally get the chance to raise a child with you right from the start. You make me feel like anything is possible."

"Because it is Red. You are the best thing that ever happened to me. I know you don't see it but you are. You keep me grounded. I am so proud of you. And I don't care how many men are looking at you, I know that you are only looking at me and that is what counts. I have never felt more blessed in my life. Thank you for giving me a second chance to get everything right with you."

"You aren't the only one who ever made mistakes Bo; I did too. And you know what? I feel blessed too. I feel lucky that I'm the one you have given your heart to. If you think you can walk into that room and not have every woman with a pulse look at you like they want to devour you then you don't know how sexy you are…"

"You think I'm sexy huh?"

"Like you don't already know that…"

She raised her eyebrows at him and he slipped his arms around her waist. "Maybe I just like hearing it."

"I like hearing you tell me I'm beautiful too. "

"You ARE beautiful Red. You take my breath away."

She felt his hand slide down her backside as he kissed her neck. She knew where this was going.

"Bo Buchanan…We don't have time for this. I have an award to accept remember?"

"So do I sweetheart; So do I."

"You think so huh? Have you been a good boy?"

"That depends on what your definition of 'good' is."

She giggled when he trailed his mouth down her collarbone. She would be a fool to not want to feel him just like this for as long as they had. "Five minutes Bo; you have five minutes," she finally said, reaching for the zipper on his pants. "Now make me purr."

Her lips found his as their hands grasped for zippers and buttons. When clothes were discarded, she was soon lying underneath him on the couch; His calloused digits digging into her back as her legs locked around his torso. She felt his breath against her neck as he thrust into her; As she shifted her hips, he slid further inside her, his hands on her skin as he brought them both to ecstasy.

Five minutes turned into ten and though she was tempted to stay right here with him, she forced herself to pull away. She would have all night to show him exactly how much she loved him. Now it was time for the world to know.

Bo couldn't take his eyes off his beautiful wife when she was standing at the podium accepting her award. This had been the same awards ceremony where his world had once come apart. Now it was the beginning of a new life for them.

"I want to ask my husband to come up here with me for a second," she said, and he was only too happy to comply. She slipped her arm through his and smiled. "I might be accepting the award for 'woman of the year' tonight, but this award really belongs to you Bo…because I wouldn't be the woman I am today if it wasn't for your love and forgiveness. We fell apart in this very room so many years ago and yet here we are again…this time standing united with a baby on the way; a baby that you know is yours right from the start. I just want you to know that I don't care if I never win this award again because the only woman I want to be is your woman. Thank you for giving me another chance. I love you."

He kissed her softly on the lips and they could hear the crowd erupt into applause. He asked her to dance and they spent the evening gazing into each others eyes as they swayed to the music of each others heartbeat.

This awards ceremony had once held nothing but bad memories; Now it was something to be remembered fondly. She rested her head on his shoulder as his hand found the small of her back. She had never felt more love then when her husband was holding her close on the dance floor. Neither of them noticed anything else in that room; Their eyes were only for each other.