“Maybe not tonight.”
“Fair enough.” He was still studying her. “You okay?”
“Just realizing that things aren’t always what I think.”
“You’re telling me. You, for instance, keep surprising me.”
“How so?”
“Oh, your sister’s been giving me an earful.” He grinned. “You were quite the bossy Bess as a little girl.”
“You’ve been talking to Kenzie. If she’d just done what I said, I wouldn’t have had to boss her around.”
“It’s always the other guy’s fault.” He gazed at the snow-covered yard and rocky slope that ended with the crashing North Atlantic waves. “Your family is amazing.”
“They’re great. Even Dad, when you get to know him.”
“I get it. I have a daughter now, so I figure I’ll be a lot like that one day.” He slipped his arm around her back. “Are you really okay with leaving this place? I know how much you love it.”
“I do.” She faced him. “But I left because I wanted to make a life for myself apart from here. And I’ve done that in a way I never expected.”
He gazed down at her. “Delaney. You’re everything I didn’t even know I needed.”
She smiled, her cheeks warming. She’d fought for him, and he’d fought for her, and together, they’d fought for Charlotte.
He pulled her closer. “I love you.”
“I love you.”
He pressed his lips to hers in a gentle kiss, then started to deepen it.
“I love you, too, Miss Laney!” Charlotte barreled into her legs and held on. She yelled to no one in particular, “They’re kissing again!”
Whoops and laughter came from the other room.
Noah scooped his daughter up. “We need to talk about timing, Charlie-Bear.”
Delaney grinned at the sweet little girl who’d stolen her heart. His daughter, and someday, God willing, hers too.
She kissed Charlotte on the cheek, then Noah on the lips.
Their kisses tasted like chocolate and forever.
The End…
