“Do tell,” he teased with a twinkle in those amazing eyes of his.
Mara hesitated, before she announced, “You’re going to be a father.”
At first his reaction scared her, for he didn’t move a muscle, and she was afraid that maybe he wasn’t as happy as she might have hoped. But then he suddenly threw his head back and let loose a loudwhoopof laughter before picking her up and swinging her around in a breathless circle.
“Now that is the best gift you could have given me,” he said once he’d set her back on her feet.
“Truly?”
Roarke blinked. “How could you doubt it, my love? You are my whole reason for living. You are the very air that I breathe.”
Oh my.“Why, Lord Eversleigh, I do believe you might just turn into a poet.”
“I feel like I can be anything, as long as you’re by my side.”
Mara felt another blush stain her cheeks as the butler strode in and announced that luncheon was ready. As the guests of honor, Roarke and Mara led the way to the dining room, and Mara gasped as she saw the array of wonderful delights laid out on a sideboard in front of them, including a three-tiered wedding cake.
“It’s beautiful,” Mara breathed.
“You’ve truly outdone yourselves,” Roarke said to Rion and Athena, who were behind them.
“I did say I owed you, didn’t I?” Rion smirked, while his wife merely rolled her eyes.
As Roarke seated Mara at the table, he moved slightly, and she thought he was going to the opposite side. “Stay with me,” she asked, clinging to his hand, only to smile a bit sheepishly when he sat down beside her.
He gently tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear, before lifting her hand to his lips. Eyes shining with true happiness, he whispered, “Forever.”
