Sam stared at her, tilting his head and taking in how utterly defeated she looked. Like she’d already decided how he was going to react.
‘Clara.’ He stepped closer, still holding Skye, who was looking at her with big sad eyes. Clara didn’t move away, but her focus dropped to the ground.
Sam reached out, running a finger down her flushed cheeks; her eyes were bright with unshed tears. He leaned in and kissed them away. ‘I have a confession to make too.’
‘What?’ Her brow furrowed. ‘Don’t try to pretend it doesn’t matter to you. You already told me it did. And so did your mum.’
‘I’m not going to pretend anything. But… I overheard you once talking about premature menopause with Lissa. I didn’t think you’d want me to listen, so I went away and didn’t hear all of it. So… I’ve known for a while. And yes, it hurts and upsets me.’
She looked away again, her face pained.
‘But not for myself. For you. I already have two children. They don’t share my DNA, but they are in part what I’ve made them. And I’m gutted for you because I understand what it’s like to have your choice taken away. Ididwant more children when I was with Olive, because that seemed right at the time, but now I’m happy with Kaleb and Jacob. I don’t need more children to make me happy. The only person I need to make me happier… is you.’
She met his gaze and sucked on her lower lip. ‘You really mean that?’
‘Of course I do. Your happiness is so important to me. I’ll support you no matter what.’
She fell into his arms, and he held her close. ‘I’ve been so worried. I never thought anybody would want me. It’s like a curse.’
‘I want you. I love you.’ He rubbed her back. ‘You’re not cursed. Just amazing. And if things work out for us, and we find that we want a baby, we can investigate other ways.’
Warm tears trickled down her cheeks.
‘And we could always get another furry one.’ His grin broadened. ‘I’m sure Skye would like a sibling, wouldn’t you?’ He nuzzled her, and she licked his face.
Clara giggled through her tears. ‘Oh god, yes. That’s perfect. You really get me like no one else.’
He dipped in and kissed her softly. ‘My beautiful little fake date.’
‘I hope you’re not comparing me to a squished fruit again.’
‘You’ll always be that to me.’
He pulled her and Skye close, his arms enveloping them in a warm embrace. The rain had almost stopped now.
‘We should go and tell everyone,’ he said. ‘My mum will be thrilled.’
‘Oh gosh. And she’ll need to get away.’
‘Everyone is more worried about you than anything else, believe me.’
‘And you want to tell them all… right now?’
Sam nodded. ‘Sure. I think everyone is desperate for us to get together.’
‘And the boys won’t think you’re choosing me over them?’
‘I hope not, because that’s not what I’m doing. You’re all important to me in different ways, but I can only do so much. They understand that I don’t want to move again, because they don’t really want to either.’
They made their way back to Sam’s car. He stretched out his hand and took Clara’s. She linked her fingers with his, then glanced up and smiled.
‘And when we go back to Somerset, if Dominic invites us over, we won’t have to fake anything,’ he said, smirking. ‘He’ll be none the wiser about our little arrangement at Easter.’
‘So true.’
When they got into the car, he put the heater on to help her dry out. She put her head back as he started the engine, gazing out of the window.
‘Do you think your mum will be disappointed? About me not being able to have children, I mean.’
