“Is she here?” I asked, my voice thick with worry. Delilah glanced over her shoulder hesitantly. “Please,” I pleaded, and her eyes shifted back to me. “I need to talk to her.” Finally she nodded and stepped aside.
Ellie was strapped to her chest in some kind of wrap I would probably have to learn how to use. I stopped to rub the top of her head, luxuriating in the feel of her soft downy hair against my palm. Soon, I’d have one of these tiny humans to love and to hold. I’d protect him or her with everything I had just like I would their mom.
Delilah’s worried expression softened, and she motioned me toward the kitchen. “She’s in there. I think she just finished a conference call.”
I nodded my thanks and stepped into the kitchen, my gaze immediately falling to Emily who sat at the table, her laptop open in front of her. Her focus wasn’t on her work, though. She was looking at her phone, her lip trapped between her teeth as she stared at the screen. I had a suspicion she was looking at the log of missed calls from me and deliberating on calling me back.
“Emily,” I said softly, trying not to startle her. Her gaze snapped to mine and widened in shock.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, trying to peer past me to see if I’d let myself in or if Delilah had granted me access.
“I could ask you the same thing,” I said, still keeping my voice gentle as I approached. Her spine straightened, and I could see her putting up her defenses, so I quickly added, “I was worried when I came home and couldn’t find you.” She winced and looked away.
“I didn’t like being there alone, so I stayed here last night,” she admitted, her tone flippant, but I read the truth in her expression.
“But you didn’t come home this morning. Why?” I asked, slowly closing the distance between us.
“I thought it might be best for us to get some space. We need to get used to being apart, and playing house isn’t?—”
“No we don’t,” I said, cutting her off. Calling what we’d been doing playing house minimized what she’d come to mean to me,and it was time to set her straight, to tell her the truth about my meeting in Boston.
A frown tugged at her lips, and her brows drew together in confusion. “Of course we do. You’re leaving soon, and I’ve come to depend on you far too much. I have to figure out how to do this on my own since you’ll be gone in a couple months.”
“No,” I repeated, stopping beside her and reaching out to take her hands. I pulled her to her feet and stepped into her space. Her breath hitched and her eyes fluttered closed when my hand cupped her face. I tilted it up toward me and finished my sentence. “You don’t.” Her eyes snapped open. They searched mine for meaning, and a slow smile curved my lips.
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that you don’t have to figure anything out. I’m saying that you’re not going to do any of this alone.” I curled my free arm around her waist and tugged her to my chest. My voice dropped, and my heart pounded against my ribs as I revealed what I couldn’t wait to tell her when I got home. “What I’m saying is, I turned down the job in Boston.”
A strangled cry left her throat, and she covered her mouth with her hand. Tears filled her eyes, and the sight caused my chest to constrict.
“I want to stay here with you. I want to watch your stomach grow round with our child. I want to be a family,” I admitted, nearly choking on the confession as dampness coated my lashes. I leaned down, pressing my forehead to hers, my voice growing husky when I added, “I wantyou.”
“Donovan,” she whispered, her whole body trembling as she fought to keep her composure. I pulled back so I could look her in the eye.
“I want all of you. I want your laughter to fill my home, your tears to dampen my shirt. I want your lipstick staining my favorite coffee mug,” I added, a crooked grin spreading acrossmy face at the memory, and a teary giggle fell from her lips. “I want the scent of your shampoo on my pillow and the ten pairs of the same black leggings you own hanging in my closet.” All the tension finally eased out of her body, and her genuine smile lit up her face. I sobered needing her to know I was serious when I told her this next part.
“I want you in my bed every night.” She shuddered, and her eyes flared with heat. I gripped her hand and flattened her palm to my chest, letting her feel my thundering pulse. My gaze never left hers as I spoke. “But most importantly, I want you in my heart. I tried to keep you out, tried to fortify all my walls, but you broke them down, brick by brick. And now that you're here,” I said, pressing down on her hand, “I never want you to leave.”
Tears streamed down Emily’s cheeks, the good kind this time. I framed her face with my hands and pressed a sweet kiss to her mouth, fighting the urge to deepen it. That would have to wait until we got home.
“Promise me you’ll stay, that you’ll come home with me,” I pleaded.
“I promise.”
Relief washed over me. I got my girl back, and I was never going to let her go.
29
EMILY
“Igot you something,” Donovan said, pulling a black rectangular box from his pocket. I took it, my fingers trembling as they curled around it. It was the wrong shape for a ring, and I couldn’t decide if I was relieved or disappointed by that. I opened the box to find a keychain with a charm the shape of a house with the word “home” written across it in boxy letters.
“Move in with me,” Donovan said, more command than question.
“I’m already living with you,” I reminded him playfully.
“I mean permanently. Don’t go back to your apartment. Break your lease; I’ll pay the penalty if I have to, but I want us under the same roof.”
