My heart soared, and the words caught in my throat. There was nothing I wanted more.
“Okay,” I rasped, clutching the little keychain that signified our commitment to each other to my chest. I couldn’t wait to add it to the key I thought would only be in my possession temporarily. Now I got to keep it.
A slow clap began from the doorway, and both our heads snapped up to find Vance watching us, a pleased grin on his face.Delilah stood next to him, her hands clasped together over her heart as she attempted to blink away tears.
“It’s about damn time, you knucklehead.” Vance strode across the room and reached out for a handshake, pulling Donovan into a backslapping hug. “You could’ve let me in on your plans, though,” he said with a scowl. “I was ready to give you a near death experience.”
A wary look flashed across Donovan’s face, and his gaze flicked to mine. “I didn’t know until I got to Boston,” he said, regret filling his eyes. An ache settled deep in my chest knowing how close he’d come to throwing it all away before realizing he didn’t want to lose me. “At least not for certain,” he amended. “There was always something holding me back from signing those papers.”
“You never signed them?” I asked, surprised.
He shook his head. “Never.” That admission eased a little bit of the sting.
“I took them with me, thinking I’d feel inspired to sign once I was back in my hometown, but the urge never hit me,” he explained. “I couldn’t sleep last night without having you wrapped up in my arms. Without the feeling of you curled into my side, rest wouldn’t come. I knew then that I was on the wrong path. What I wanted before no longer mattered. You are all that matters. You and this baby,” he added, dropping his hand to my stomach and resting his palm against my bump, “are everything to me.”
“What about your job?” I asked, worried he’d risked his entire career.
He shrugged, not a care in the world. “I'll stay where I’m at for now. Another position like the one in Boston will open up eventually at this location. Until then, I’ll focus on my family and making you the happiest woman on the planet.”
Happy tears dampened my lashes and slid down my cheeks. Donovan slid his arm around my waist and pulled me to him, placing a kiss on my forehead.
“You’re off to a good start,” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. He dropped his mouth to mine and pressed a soft kiss to my lips.
“Ewwwww,” a high pitched voice drew out from the doorway. We all turned to find Charlie watching us with her nose wrinkled and a clear look of disgust twisting her features. “Uncle Donny, why are you kissing Aunt Emily?”
Donovan sent a panicked look to Vance who shrugged and held up his hands. He wasn’t taking the lead on this one. Donovan was on his own.
“Well, Charlie,” he began, scratching the back of his neck nervously, “Emily and I are having a baby.”
Charlie let out an ear-piercing squeal and jumped up and down in excitement. Both Vance and Delilah gently shooshed her, reminding her Ellie was asleep.
“Sorry,” Charlie replied sheepishly before running toward us and wrapping both Donovan and me in a hug. He chuckled and ruffled her hair. She pulled back, her gaze bouncing between us. “Mommy and Daddy said that babies are made when two people love each other very much, but Elijah said it can only happen when they give each other a special hug,” she said, shooting a skeptical look toward her parents.
Donovan choked on a laugh then coughed to cover it up. I pressed my lips together to conceal my amusement.
Charlie crossed her arms and looked back and forth between us. “Well, which is it?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.
Donovan’s gaze lifted and locked on mine as he replied, “I think it might just be both.”
EPILOGUE
Donovan
“You are positively glowing,” I commented as I bent down to place a kiss on Emily’s forehead.
She snorted a laugh. “That’s called sweat,” she declared, pressing the back of her hand to her brow and dabbing at the perspiration gathering there. I could taste the salty proof of her claim on my lips, but I didn’t care. She still looked radiant to me.
“Why my mom chose the hottest week of the year to have a baby shower is beyond me,” she grumbled, attempting to fan herself with her hands. She only had about six weeks left until we welcomed our little one, and the unforgiving Virginia summer had been hard on her.
“Wait just a second. I’ve got something that will help,” I said then went to the hatch on our new SUV. I’d traded in my truck to have a more family friendly vehicle and hadn’t looked back.
I emerged with an ice cold cream soda—her current pregnancy craving—and a handheld fan. I clicked it on to its highest setting and rounded the SUV, drawing up short as I took in the sight before me. Emily stood with her face tilted up to the late afternoon sun, the rays highlighting the subtle smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose and cheeks. The soft pinkdress that hit just below the knees hugged her breasts, but flared out at the waist, leaving plenty of room for her growing bump.
Over the last several months, I’d watched her body blossom, her belly growing round with child.Mychild. Nothing had ever been more beautiful. I was a lucky man, and I couldn’t wait to spend the rest of my life with her. I just hoped she said yes.
I swallowed down the lump in my throat and approached her, holding out the can first. “Here you go.” Her eyes drifted open, and she turned to me. The second she noticed what I was holding, she gasped and snatched it from my hand.
“You’re a lifesaver,” she said, cracking it open and taking a sip, letting out a contented sigh. “Have I told you lately that I love you?” My pulse skittered, and a fluttering sensation filled my chest. It happened every time she said those three little words to me.
