“I just know that there’s nobody I’d rather have had these babies with than you. And that you’re going to be the most amazing father to them, Martin.”
The words cut deep in the best way possible, a balm that soothes the wound that has lain open within me since I saw the kind of man Thom turned out to be. Hearing that from her, it’s everything I could have wanted and more—she’s the one person whose opinion I value above all others, because she’s the one who’s raising my children. And if she believes that I’m worth keeping around them, then I suppose I have no choice but to believe her.
“Do you want to be in their lives?” she asks. “The twins, I mean? I know it’s complicated, but I would love for them to have their father around?—”
“Of course I would,” I reply at once, before she even has a chance to finish. A warmth settles over my chest at how certain I am of my answer. I went back and forth for so long, unsure as to whether I was worth being part of their world, but hearing her take a stand on it the way she has, it’s impossible to deny.
“And what about…what about us?” she asks shyly, a strand of hair falling into her face once more, as though she’s trying to hide behind it. “I mean, I know that, with my past and everything, it’s not exactly going to be easy, but…”
I pull her toward me and plant a kiss against her lips. I don’t have the words to express how much I care about her, but I just have to hope that my touch is enough to convince her of everything I need her to know.
She catches her breath, leaning her forehead against mine for a moment as the smile curls up her lips. “Martin, I love you,” she murmurs.
And it shocks me, hearing those words, even though it shouldn’t. After everything we’ve been through, how could it? I’m not much of a believer in fate and the machinations of the universe, but if I was, I would believe that they had gone out of their way to bring us together like this.
“I love you too,” I reply.
As I plant my lips against hers, I find no doubt in my mind, nothing but the pure, sweet certainty that I mean every word of it. And that everything that’s brought us here has been worth it, if it has led us to this moment.
25
LILA
“Goodnight, sweethearts,”I whisper as I flick out the light.
Martin, just behind me, leans over my shoulder and grins as he looks down at our sleeping babies. “They look so precious when they’re fast asleep.”
“Yeah, because it means they aren’t screaming the house down for something to eat,” I reply, and he chuckles, wrapping his arms around me from behind and hooking his head over my shoulder.
“Guess I’m still looking through rose-tinted glasses.”
“I hope you never stop.”
He plants a kiss on the side of my neck, and I feel that flush of excitement that only his touch seems able to bring to me. I’m still a little giddy from the enormity of what we shared earlier, those sweet words that have been dancing around my head ever since.
I love you, I love you, I love you.
I want to say it over and over again, until there’s nothing left but the knowledge that he adores me in just the same way I adore him, and that nothing in the world will ever take that away.
“Come on, you need to get some rest,” he tells me as he leads me through to the living room, dropping a kiss on the top of my head, the baby monitor sitting on the table before me.
“I’m fine, honestly,” I reply, but a huge yawn escapes my lips before I can even finish what I’m saying.
He laughs. “Not very convincing,” he says as he heads to the bathroom.
I hear the bath starting to run, and close my eyes as I rest my head back against the couch. There’s something so peaceful about being here with him, the twins, something I could get used to. It’s a far cry from how things were with Thom, when every time he stepped through the door I would feel my teeth set on edge and the panic begin to set in. But that’s a lifetime away now, and I’m another person, in another world.
With another love, a real love, that I could never have imagined.
Martin gently scoops me into his arms before he carries me through to the bathroom, which is filled with the scent of lavender and eucalyptus. The water sheens with the glimmer of oil, and I furrow my brow, looking over at him with a grin.
“Did you…?”
“I might have picked up some stuff for you,” he admits, as he pushes the strap of my cami away from my shoulder. “Hope you don’t mind.”
“I think I’ll cope,” I giggle, winding my arms around him and planting a kiss on his lips as he gently eases the top off of me entirely.
Bath oils, damn, that’s kind of fancy. I’m not used to being taken care of in this way, but truly, if this is what it’s like, I could get used to it.
