“I love you, Hazel. And I hope you can forgive me for being a boor, a fool, and anything else. I promise to simply be a husband from now on, if you’ll have me.”
She smiled, and her hand relaxed beneath his. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep. I don’t expect anyone to be perfect.”
He laughed and gently pulled her hand away from his face. “May I kiss you now?”
“You don’t have to ask.”
And with that, he lowered his face to hers until their lips met. She tasted of sugar and honey and everything good in the world, and Wade thought he would never get enough.
His hand found the back of her head, his fingers entwining through her hair to pull her closer. She sighed deeply and pressed herself against him.
And then he stopped thinking altogether, lost in Hazel—until someone cleared his throat from behind them.
He pulled away carefully, a smile tracing his lips as her eyes fluttered open. “I have to go. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
She nodded. “I’ll be waiting.”
And he knew she would be.
Because he’d been waiting his entire life for her.
Epilogue
One year later . ..
“She is absolutely perfect.” Maggie peered into the baby’s blue eyes as she held her own baby daughter, Anabel, to her shoulder.
“I think so,” Hazel said. “And I believe these two will grow up to become the best of friends.”
Baby Ada blinked at her mother before closing her eyes to sleep again.
“I hope so. Did I tell you that Isaac confessed he wants an entire brood of children?” Maggie said, keeping her voice low so as not to wake the babies. “I told him two or three would be plenty enough, and he’d have to find himself another wife if he wished for more than that.”
Hazel laughed. It was good to have visitors again, now that she’d sufficiently recovered from giving birth. Simply having another woman to talk to had been something she’d missed for the past couple of months. “Where did they get off to, by the way?”
“I’m not sure but—”
