Malcolm straightened his shoulders. “As ye well know, losing Aileen nearly destroyed me. I never expected tae meet another woman I could adore. A woman who would become as essential tae my existence as air. So when ye came into my life—”
His voice broke at that. He swallowed and waited for the surge of love and gratitude to pass.
“When I realized how deep ye had burrowed in,” he tapped his chest, “I panicked a wee bit. My life had formed around my grief, ye see. And I was comfortable in that place. The thought of truly living again—of placing my heart once more within another’s frail body—when I know only too well how risky that prospect is. . . . Ye are so tiny, Viola, and I cannae imagine the danger of ye attempting tae bear a child, of being a mother—” He did break at that, dashing the back of his hand angrily across his cheeks.
Partially for the grief of all he had lost.
Partially for the realization that he would face it all again in order to have Viola as his wife.
“Ah, Malcolm. Hush, my love.” Her small hand pressed to his face once more, eyes bright. “I accept the risks that come with loving you. Yes, a child would bring more love into our lives—as he or she would be our love manifest in another’s tiny body. I would absolutely brave that unknown path with you . . . for you. But there is time yet. For now, let us take life one day, one risk, at a time.”
Malcolm wiped his eyes again, hating how easily his tears flowed. “Aye, ’tis good advice,mo chridhe.”
“Mo chridhe?”
“My heart,” he whispered. “My love.”
“Oh!”
“I’m going to kiss ye boneless now,” he said.
“Really?”
“Aye. I thought it fair tae warn ye.”
She answered by smiling and pulling on his neck.
Malcolm was no slow-top.
His head bent down. Viola raised up. Their lips met in the middle.
Had it only been a day since he kissed her? It felt like a lifetime. How he adored the soft give of her lips against his, the sheer gift of it all.
Butthiskiss . . .
It felt like homecoming. Like sunlight. As if he had just emerged from the earth, shining and new, to find a home already prepared for him.
At her side.
In her arms.
In her heart.
Viola wanted toweep.
Why the blissful happiness racing through her could only come out as crying, she could not understand. It simply seemed the only place so muchfeelinghad left to go.
Malcolm was kissing her.
She was kissing Malcolm.
Her Malcolm.
Kissing.
Openly. Together.
At last!
