Kitty erupted with rapid-fire speech. “I understand if you’ve changed your mind. I didn’t mean to imply you had to make good on your previous—”
“—Kitty?”
“Yes?”
“Kindly shut up.”
“Oh.” She dropped onto the edge of the bed.
He knelt before her, taking both her hands in his. He removed her second glove, as he had her first, mostly to buy himself time. He feared he might stammer over his words, and he didn’t want to make a mess of this. Not again.
“Kitty, I’ve done a lot of thinking over the last”—he huffed out a breath—“ever since you crashed into my life.”
She winced.
He shook his head and traced his knuckles over her cheek. “I’m not good at this. Bear with me?” He gazed into her eyes.
She nodded.
“I thought I knew what I wanted. Thought I was so smart, setting up my life in such a way that no one could touch me, no one could hurt me, no one could make me or my family vulnerable, ever again. But the thing is, I had it all wrong.
“I thought my father was weak because he loved my mother so much her death wrecked him. But the truth was…” He stood. Scrubbed a hand over his face. “He was just weak. It had nothing to do with love.”
“Weak like Collin is weak,” Kitty offered in a soft voice. “But not you, Zeke. You’re the strongest, bravest, best man I know.”
He rolled his eyes, but her words filled his heart with warmth and yearning and so much more. “I don’t know about that. I have been weak. Putting all my faith in things. In money and wealth. In my ability to stay detached. ’Til you came along.”
He crouched before her again, taking her hands. “Somewhere inside me, I recognized the truth, but I kept rejecting it. Until today. Until this morning, when I woke beside you. I knew I didn’t want to go anywhere without you.
“When I arrived back to Aylesford, and you’d gone missing, I realized…I realized—” He had to break off to force down the irritating lump in his throat. “Christ,” he muttered. “This is damned embarrassing.”
“Take your time, my darling.” Kitty’s eyes shone with unshed tears, and what looked like joy.
He’d put that light in her eyes. He’d never felt more proud or more like a man.
“I don’t want to. I want to tell you how much I need you and…love you,” he choked.
She emitted a high-pitched squeak, and covered her mouth with her hands.
“I want to tell you I won’t rest until we are married. I won’t ever leave you again, or England, for that matter, unless you’re with me. I need you to know I want babies with you. Lots andlots of baby girls with your jet-black hair and tiger-green eyes, and maybe a boy or two.
“But if we don’t ever have a baby, that’s all right, too, as long as I have you.” He broke off. Thought a moment. “I think that about covers it.”
Kitty fell back on the bed, her body convulsing in silent sobs.
“Kitty?” He pounced on the mattress—only to find her choking on laughter.
That was the trouble with tigers. You just never knew what they’d do next.
“Oh, Zeke,” she said when she had her laughter under control. “I do love you so.”
“And you’ll marry me?” He raked a hand through his hair. “This time I want a straight, yes answer.”
“Yes. Oh, yes, my love.” She reached for him.
He sprawled on his side, pulling her into his chest.
They lay locked together for a long time, Zeke running his hand down her back, assuring himself she was there, alive and well, and truly his.
