Denver felt gazes at his back as he led Sophie down the deck and around the back of the lodge. Two couples conversed on the private patio, enjoying the last remnants of warm weather. The couples waved as they walked past, heading for the trail.
Waiting until they reached the lookout point before he broke the silence Denver suspected she desperately needed, he asked, “You want more kids, Soph?”
She leaned her arms on the wooden fence and stared out at the bay. Many considered this spot to offer the most stunning view in town, especially at sunset. If they stayed another hour, they could watch it together. But neither had that kind of time tonight.
“I’m happy for her, you know?” Sophie refused to look back at him, so he leaned on the rail beside her; the pair focusing on the bay’s view. “For years, we thought Tessa didn’t even want kids. But then she came back here, found her old spark with Liam, and well, the rest is history.”
“She’s great with Caroline,” Denver offered. “I’m sure she’ll make a wonderful mom.”
Sophie’s lips curled into a smile. “I know she will.” Seconds later, her tears fell in rapid succession.
Denver gathered her into his arms, holding her tight. He let her cry against his chest as tears soaked through his sweatshirt, dampening his shoulder. “I’m happy for her,” she said into his shirt as sobs rocked her body. “I promise I am.”
“What’s wrong, Soph?”
“I love Caroline. I swear she’s my whole world.”
Slowly, the reason for her emotional outburst became clear to him. Sophie was mourning the children she still wanted to have. Children she had already accepted weren’t in her future anymore. “You’re an amazing mother. It’s not wrong to want more kids.”
She eased her head from his chest and looked up into his eyes. Tears soaked her cheeks, mascara she rarely wore running in streaks. Her lips parted, as if she meant to say something, but no words came out.
Denver brushed her tears away, gently with his thumbs, desperately wanting to kiss her. To reassure her that everything would be more than all right. Together, they could have a whole busload of kids if that’s what she wanted. But the words lay in his throat, strangled by fear.
“It’s too late for that,” she said in barely more than a whisper.
“It’s never too late.”
Sophie reached up for his cheek so quickly Denver didn’t have time to process that she kissed him until their crashed lips moved against each other. His startle gave way to the love he’d been carrying in his heart for so long. His hands cupped her cheeks as the kiss deepened, the ground beneath them growing shaky and unstable.
Kissing Sophie Whitmore was not everything he’d dreamed it would be. It was so much more.
