Hehatedthat she did that. Hated that she didn’t think her boobs were absolute perfection. Because they were.Lord, they were.
“You don’t want me to come with you to Montana?” Trepidation was written all over her face.
Pushing into a seated position, he rested his back against the cushioned headboard. “Of course I do. But I didn’t know ifyou’dwant to. It’s awfully rural there. You might be a hundred miles from the nearest Starbucks. And what about your job?”
“My days working for Leeman and Lester are numbered. After my screwup on Wayfarer Island, they’ll find a way to push me out.” Her eyebrows pulled together. “Are you saying nobody needs a lawyer who specializes in property disputes in Montana?”
The question was so ludicrous, he couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you kidding? That’s aboutallthere is in Montana. Ranchers fighting each other over water rights. The state and the federal government fighting everyone over questions of eminent domain.”
“So then why couldn’t I hang my shingle there?” She gave him a look so direct he shivered at the thought of her in front of a jury. “Also, I like to grind my own coffee beans. And just because I’ve never lived in the country doesn’t mean I don’t love it there. For heaven’s sake, some of the best times I’ve had recently have been on an island in the actual middle of nowhere.”
His breaths were shallow at the thought of coming home to find Cami in jeans and a chambray shirt. “Won’t you have to take Montana’s bar exam?”
“Pfft.” She rolled her eyes. “Piece of cake.”
He laughed and shook his head. “Do youeverlack in confidence?”
Instead of answering, she posed a question of her own. “Do youwantme to come live with you in Montana?”
He couldn’t believe she had to ask. “It’d be a dream come true.Literally.” When she cocked her head in confusion, he told her about his dream. About the burbling baby and the boy with dark hair. About the spaghetti and meatballs and the livestock guardian dog.
Her eyes were bright with unshed tears by the time he finished. Sniffing, she said, “Well, dogsdobelong in the house being pampered.”
He pulled her into his arms then. Partly so she wouldn’t see the tears that were gathering in his eyes. But mostly because it’d been at least a minute since he’d touched her and that was far,fartoo long.
She came willingly, snuggling tight against his side. And for a while they were quiet. When she finally spoke, there was hesitation in her voice. “And you’re okay with that? The thought of kids?”
“Sweetheart”—he brushed a lock of hair behind her ear—“the thought of making babies with you, of raising babies with you, makes me the happiest man alive.” She pushed up from his chest to search his face. There was a line between her eyebrows that he smoothed away with his thumb. “What is it?” he prodded. “I can see you’ve got something on your mind.”
Her voice was a little raspy when she asked, “Before we start making those babies, would you marry me?”
Everything inside him ground to a halt. His heart. The blood through his veins. The breath in his lungs. Did she have any idea how the thought of taking her as his wife filled up the hollow in the center of him until it was a wonder he didn’t burst with happiness?
“I would love nothing more than to be your husband, Cami. Would you be okay being mysecondwife?”
The smile that came over her face then was so soft and radiant that it kickstarted his heart. His blood followed suit, racing through him. His breaths came fast and shallow as he waited for her answer.
“Lily has your past, Dalton. I would be happy to have your future. And sometimes, when you’re loving me and missing her, maybe she and I can share your present.” She placed her hand over his chest. Could she feel the race of his pulse? “You have the biggest heart. Bigger than any I’ve known. There’s plenty of room for meandfor her in there.”
He choked on a rough sob and dragged her in for a kiss he hoped would tell her all the things he didn’t have the words for.
Like how amazing she was.
Like how grateful he was she’d come into his life to make him whole again.
Like how he was going to spend the rest of his life making her as happy as she’d made him.
Epilogue
Eight months later...
The night of the storm, Doc had lamented not being able to get away from death. And now here he was, back on Wayfarer Island, surrounded by so much burgeoning life.
All that nooky during the hurricane had resulted in Olivia getting pregnant with a baby girl. Her huge belly made it look like she’d swallowed a watermelon as she danced around the beach bonfire to the driving beats of Jimmy Buffett’s “Cheeseburger in Paradise.” LT watched from a nearby beach chair, his smile low and lazy and content.
Chrissy swayed next to Olivia. Her baby bump was less visible in her long, flowy sundress. Although it became more so when Wolf walked up behind her and placed his hands on her swollen belly so he could smooch the back of her neck. She spun in his arms and laid such a long, lusty kiss on his mouth that Doc had to clear his throat and look away.
Maddy cradled her and Bran’s six-week-old son in her arms while Bran dug in a bag for a new diaper because young Mister Pallidino had filled the one he was wearing. And Alex was sitting on Mason’s lap, cooking yetanothermarshmallow over the fire.
