He was rambling, and it was sweet, and she was smart enough to read between the lines, but she had her pride, too. Lots of it.
“But why are you here?”
He blinked and took a step forward, closing the door behind him, batting the gold strings from the balloons away. “I choose you.”
Her knees melted at the look in his eyes, the sweetness of his voice, but she was no fool and she kept her mouth shut, letting him get to the good stuff.
“If you’re brave and crazy enough to choose me and the boys, I’d be a fool not to choose you. I would choose you no matter what my life was like. You’re the most exciting woman I’ve ever known. The most beautiful and talented person I’ve ever known, and I was a fool.”
“You were.” She nodded in agreement though her heart was exploding with love.
“Glad we agree.” He stepped closer, closer again. “Boys,” he said over his shoulder. “Go into the other room.”
“Are they going to kiss?” Casey asked, and Ben shushed him before pushing them into the kitchen where they’d probably only be eavesdropping.
“I don’t know what is going to happen in a few years or next week. Hell, with these boys I don’t know what’s going to happen in ten minutes.” His fingers cupped her cheek, brushed the hair behind her ear until he cradled her face in his big rough hands. “I’ve never been in love,” he said. “So I’m not sure if that’s what this is. But I want you with me. For as long as you want to be there.”
“That sounds like love,” she whispered.
“You are the expert.” He kissed her, as sweetly as a first kiss, as tenderly as the thousandth. “I love you,” he breathed into her.
“I love you, too.”
“Gross!” Casey cried in the kitchen “They’re kissing!”
Jeremiah laughed, pressing his forehead to hers. “It won’t be easy,” he said, as if warning her.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding on as tight as she could. The ride would be bumpy, no doubt about it. But she couldn’t imagine anything more fun, more exciting, more fulfilling than taking this ride with Jeremiah and his boys.
“Who wants easy?”
Epilogue
One year later
“Ask me again,” Lucy whispered against Jeremiah’s ear as he listened intently to whatever was happening up at the front of the church.
He didn’t even turn. “Marry me.”
“One more time.” She grinned, she couldn’t help it, and when he turned slightly murderous eyes on her she grinned harder.
“For the love of God, Lucia Marie Alatore have mercy and marry me. Or at least answer me. It’s been two days.”
“I want to take my time. This is only going to happen once.”
He shook his head, looking away. “Oh, come on, we’re up.”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her to the front of the church where Mia and Jack stood with baby Oliver by the baptismal font.
Lucy and Jeremiah said what they were supposed to say as godparents, and Lucy fell even harder in love with Jeremiah, at the earnestness with which he agreed to care for this baby as if it were his own.
He knew better than to not take it seriously.
Baby Oliver was dipped into the font, cold water trickled over his head. Oliver wailed and behind her she heard Sandra, Walter and the boys laughing and sighing with their own love for the new baby.
“Yes,” she said in the noise, squeezing Jeremiah’s hand. “I’ll marry you.”
He grinned, but didn’t say anything for a long moment. Then he lifted her hand and kissed it. Closing his eyes against her fingers.
Back at the ranch, Jack and Mia were having a small party at their new house, which had been finished in Mia’s seventh month of pregnancy. Or, as Lucy liked to put it, Demon Stage Two. Mia had not been a happy pregnant woman.
“I swear to God, there will be blood if someone doesn’t get me some cake,” Mia muttered, stroking Oliver’s head as she breastfed.
Mia was the most unorthodox happy new mother Lucy had ever encountered. Not that anyone expected anything different.
“Do you have any idea what my nipples feel like?” she’d asked at one point. “You try being happy with these nipples.”
“I’ll get you some cake,” Lucy said, unperturbed by her sister. She really couldn’t be perturbed by anything anymore. Not even when she stepped out of the nursery to find Walter and her mother necking like teenagers.
“Really?” she asked as the two jumped away from each other. No one was quite sure what was happening between Walter and Sandra, but Walter had gotten his one-year sobriety chip a few months ago and suddenly he and Sandra couldn’t keep their hands off each other.
It seemed she’d moved in with Jeremiah just in the nick of time. She had no desire to share her mom’s love shack.