forgive me—”
Her words were cut off when he reached for her and lifted her in his arms. He buried his face in the soft fabric of her sweater and inhaled her scent.
“You’re sure? You’re not going to leave again?” he asked in a garbled voice.
She was pressing small, frantic kisses against his neck and jaw. He felt the wetness of her tears on his skin. “No. Never again.”
“You’ll stay with me?”
She put her hands on each side of his head and looked into his eyes. “I promise. If that’s what you want. I wasn’t sure…those things you said about not wanting another relationship—”
“Did you actually think that applies when it comes to you?” he asked incredulously. He kissed her with the single intent of silencing her doubts on that front.
“Our future was ripped away from us so long ago,” Mari murmured when he lifted his head a moment later. “We’ve been given a second chance. It’s a blessing, and I’m so sorry I couldn’t see that before.”
“As long as you see it now,” he whispered, his mouth hovering next to her lips. He kissed her softly, and when he caught her taste, hungrily. He growled low in his throat before he lifted his head. “God, I love you so much. I can’t believe we’re going to have a baby.”
She smiled. “I love you, too.”
He kissed away the tears on her cheek. “The future starts now, Mari.”
She took his hand and placed it on the curve of her belly. He went still at the sensation.
“Actually it started twelve or so weeks ago.” Her golden brown eyes were filled with joy and amusement as she glanced up at the high-ceilinged lobby. “Right in this very place.”
He smiled slowly. Laughter burst out of her throat when he spun her around, her long hair flying in the air. He set her back down on her feet and leaned over her. He spoke to her through nibbling kisses on her lips.
“What do you say we go back up to your room and celebrate our future to its fullest?”
She leaned up and pressed her mouth to his. He held her tight. Marc had the vague, distant impression that they were attracting a few stares from passersby, but he couldn’t have cared less. The realization had struck him that he held his whole world in his arms. His future…their future had never shone so bright.
Epilogue
The following spring
Mari thought her heart would burst with joy. The child in her arms had never seemed so beautiful to her as she did at that moment, nor had the man who sat beside her looked so wonderful. She squeezed Marc’s hand. He turned to her and smiled.
Perhaps it was the sublime spring day or maybe it was the special event they attended. The priest solemnly continued with his blessing of the lovely memorial fountain Marc had had commissioned to be built at the edge of the woods on Silver Dune.
She glanced down the row of seated visitors and caught sight of Eric Reyes. She smiled when he gave her a quick thumb’s up. She was sorry to see that Natalie hadn’t been tempted out of her solitude to attend the lovely outdoor ceremony.
Rylee Jean Kavanaugh chose that moment to make a loud, burbling sound in her sleep. Marc and she glanced down in surprise and concern, but Rylee resumed her peaceful nap, her tiny, rose-colored lips making a rhythmic, pursing movement as she slept.
“She’s going to wake up hungry as a horse,” Marc whispered.
Mari noticed his devilish grin and the way his gleaming blue eyes flickered quickly over her breasts.
“She’s got an appetite like you,” Mari whispered back, giving him a mock look of censorship.
Something caught her eye at the back of the seating area. Her smile faded. Marc turned to look where she stared.
“I can’t believe she came,” she whispered.
They watched Colleen Kavanaugh lead her mother to a seat in the back row. Almost every seat they’d set up in the clearing had been taken. The Family Center had gotten off to an excellent start. Clients attended the ceremony, as did family members, employees and people from the town.
Father Mike continued. “We would like to end this ceremony by having each of you bless this fountain. Those who have survived the pains of substance abuse and those who are trying to find the hope within themselves in order to survive please come to the front, grab a small portion of salt and toss it into the fountain. The salt represents toil and tears, but also stands for hope. Hope is invisible, something we must find within ourselves using the vision not of our eyes but of faith. Your blessings and wishes today may disappear like the salt in the water, but this fountain will be replenished and strengthened by your hope for the future. Please come forward and cast your wishes into this fountain.”
People began to stand and join in a line. Mari glanced back halfway through the ceremony and saw Brigit Kavanaugh sitting next to her daughter. She looked stiff and uncomfortable, as if she’d gate-crashed a party where she wasn’t welcome.