It was only then I sensed something emanating from Fyfe.
I glanced at him.
Awe saturated his expression, making my next question breathy with wonder. “What is it?”
“How the hell did I not know you can sing like that? You sing like an angel.”
Pleasure suffused me. “I guess you never heard me sing in the few musicals I did as a teen. Other than that, I haven’t had much cause to sing. But Millie likes it. She’s a bit of a Taylor Swift fan, just so you know.”
“That was Taylor Swift?”
“Yup.”
“It was beautiful,” Fyfe opined gruffly. “You’re beautiful.”
I reached over and pressed a kiss to his cheek, his beard scratching deliciously on my chin before I pulled back. “You’rebeautiful.”
He gave a sexy huff of laughter like he wasn’t quite sure how to respond.
Not long later, Fyfe indicated left and took a very short track down toward the River Oykel. A footpath through grass-covered dunes led to a small patch of golden sand on the riverbank. It was perfect for a picnic.
Fyfe gathered Millie and the blanket while I grabbed the basket, and we made the very short trek to the riverside. It was a calm, slow flow of sparkling blue water. The hills slowed upward on the other side in patches of forests and spring greens, moss, amber, and copper. It was beautifully secluded, and the landscape created a natural windbreak against the gentle breeze.
Millie giggled as Fyfe held her and I slathered sun protection all over her perfect skin. She wriggled and wrinkled her nose, bearing her four front teeth. “I love you so much I could burst with it.” I covered her cheeks in kisses, making her giggle harder. My eyes flew to Fyfe and he gazed at me like …
Well … like he loved me.
My heart beat a wee bit faster as I filed his expression away and made sure Millie’s cheeks were protected. Fyfe straightened her little hat, keeping her on his lap. I insisted on smoothing sun cream on the back of his neck and arms, and he watched me in that same way as before. With a possessive tenderness that reflected what I felt for him.
Was he ever going to tell me he loved me?
I shoved that worry aside, not wanting it to ruin our day. After we were all sun protected, I set out the picnic on ourblanket. Fyfe fed Millie first and then we hungrily started on our food. We gave little bits that Millie could eat to quell her growing agitation at being left out food-wise. She always wanted to eat whatever we were eating.
“This girl is going to love her food, I think,” I informed Fyfe.
“Maybe she’ll learn to cook and help her auld da out.”
“You’re a pretty good cook.” We’d taken turns with our evening meals and while neither of us were spectacular cooks, we did okay.
“Ae!” Millie reached for the chocolate hazelnut pastry thing Callie had suggested from today’s bakery menu. It was bloody heaven in pastry casing. “Ae!”
Happiness overwhelmed me every time Millie used her version of my name. “This one is mine, Mills. You’ll get to try this scrumptiousness when you’re a wee bit older.”
“In moderation,” Fyfe added as he stuffed the whole thing in his mouth. He watched me laugh, his eyes twinkling with amusement. When he swallowed, he warned, “If we don’t stop eating at Callie’s, I’m going to put on weight.”
“Put on weight. As long as you’re happy, who cares?” I shrugged.
“Seriously?” He raised an eyebrow. “If I didn’t work out, you wouldn’t care?”
I scowled at him.
Then … fuck it.
“I loved you when you were a skinny wee Clark Kent and I love you as the built Superman I see before me. I’ll love you if you put on weight, lose your hair, go blind and/or deaf, can’t walk, can’t speak, and need help to dress in the morning. Whatever the future brings, I loveyou, not the fancy wrapping.”
“Ae!” Millie clapped with a grin, as if she agreed with me.
Fyfe barely noticed. He was gazing at me as if I’d just hung the moon.
