“It hit me two days ago, on our last night on Althea. The French door was open, and…before I found you in our bedroom, I thought somehow Mwana had captured you again.”
She pulled back in surprise. “Really?”
“It wasn’t completely irrational. Although I’m guessing irrationality is another symptom?”
She smiled, nodding. “Trust me, there are many symptoms of love.”
He looked so terrified, she rose on tiptoe and kissed him. His arms
banded harder around her. After several seconds, she broke the kiss. “You were telling me when you discovered you loved me,” she prompted, aching to hear the words again.
He kissed her fingers. “It wasn’t a discovery, more of a realization of what I’d been feeling all along but was subconsciously refusing to put a label on.” His laugh was pure self-deprecation. “I suppose because when it comes down to it, there’s still a frightened ten-year old somewhere deep inside, scared of being hurt and rejected again.”
“Tell me again,” she demanded gently. “Practice makes perfect, I hear.”
He touched his forehead to hers. “I love you, my Tinkerbelle,” he complied huskily.
Tears filled her eyes. “I love you, too. I’ve loved you since the first moment I saw you.”
“You didn’t hate me in-between when things got rough?” he asked, doubt coating his voice.
“I thought I did, but true love can withstand anything. You’re my hero, my savior, my husband. And I’ll love you until I draw my last breath.”
He sealed his lips to hers, but after a long, thorough kiss, pulled back, a frown on his face. “That’s what my mother said about love withstanding anything.”
Belle tipped her head, gazing up at him thoughtfully. “You should give her the benefit of the doubt, darling. In her own way, she loves you. I could see it when she was here. Maybe she wasn’t very great at expressing it to you—”
“Yeah, that runs in the family.” His grimace was pained. “She didn’t regret having me, so that’s a start. And she withstood my father’s obsessive tantrums for as long as she could. She walked away from me, too, but she claims she’s regretted it for a long time.”
That explained a lot of the heartbreak she’d seen in the other woman’s eyes. “So are you going to see her?” Belle asked.
“After I read the emails she sent me over the past few years that I never opened. And only if you’re there, too. You can reassure me that I’m not as fucked up as I think I am.”
“Of course you’re not. And yes, I’ll be there.”
“Keep saying that, and I may start to believe it.”
She gave him a swift kiss. “I intend to say it for a very long time, my darling.” She leaned back. “I have one request, though.”
“What’s that?” he asked with an indulgent smile.
She slipped her arms around his neck. “I don’t ever want to live in that apartment. I can’t bear it.”
“First thing tomorrow we’ll instruct agents to find us a house. We’ll sell the apartment and donate the proceeds to a few orphanages in Nawaka. Ones we’ll both visit when I’ve made sure it’s safe. Agreed?”
Her very soul blossomed with the depth of her happiness. “And here I thought I couldn’t possibly love you more than I already did.”
His face grew somber, although the light of emotion still shone in his eyes. “Do you love me enough to consider making a baby with me at some point in the future? After I’ve managed to work through my mommy issues?”
She gasped softly. “You want a baby?”
“How could I not? With you to love our children, they’ll be blessed.”
Happiness burst within her like New Year’s fireworks. “Oh, Nick, you’ll love them too, and yes, I’ll pull you back when you threaten to break some poor boy’s legs for daring to date your daughter.”
“Dating? Our daughter?” He looked horrified at the thought. “Shit. I think I’ve changed my mind.”
She laughed. “You’ve put it out into the universe. You can’t take it back.”