“You’re fun, too, Willow. Can we play again soon?” she asks sleepily.
I nod. “I’d really like that.”
“My daddy says he really likes you. I do, too.”
Leaning down, I press a gentle kiss to the top of her head. “I really like you and your daddy, as well. Sleep tight, kiddo.”
Her eyes flutter closed, and I watch her breathing settle into a slow, steady rhythm. The easy sleep of a child. I stay there for several minutes, watching her, filled with longing to have more nights like this.
Because I wasn’t entirely honest with her. I don’t just like her and her dad. I love them.
When I head back downstairs, I come to an abrupt stop at the entry to the kitchen. Ronan’s mom is there, in a bathrobe, her face pale and drawn, getting something out of the fridge.
“Pam, hi,” I say when she notices me. I know Ronan said his mom was home sick, but I didn’t expect to find her in the kitchen. And since I don’t know if Ronan ever got around to telling her about us, I have an idea what she thinks about me being here with her precious granddaughter.
“Hi, Willow,” she says with a wan smile. “Sorry to intrude, I just wanted to get one of Ronan’s electrolyte drinks.”
“That’s okay,” I say, making my way into the kitchen. “How are you feeling?”
Ronan’s mother grimaces. “Not great.” She coughs into her elbow to punctuate the statement. “Whatever this bug is, it came on fast. I just hope Ronan and Peyton don’t catch it. Which is why I won’t linger.”
Drink in hand, she shuffles toward the back door, then pauses and looks back at me. “Thank you for coming to help tonight. My granddaughter was thrilled to know you were coming back.”
“Oh, it was nothing,” I stammer, feeling the weight of her gaze on me. I may not have grown up with a mom of my own, but I’ve spent enough time around Tori to sense when a mother is about to stand up for her kid.
But to my surprise, Pam doesn’t have anything bad to say.
“My son and granddaughter are happy. Very happy. And I’m no fool, I know it’s not just because they enjoy living here or that the team is doing well this season. It’s because of you. When we moved out here, I could see immediately that Ronan had changed. There was a hopefulness to him I hadn’t seen before. He might think he was fooling me with his ‘late nights with the team,’ but here’s the thing. Mothers always know. He was going to see you.”
I open my mouth to apologize, but she beats me to it.
“I’m not upset that he didn’t tell me the truth. Your relationship is none of my business. Except to say, thank you. Thank you for helping him see that he deserves to be happy and loved. To have someone take care of him the way he always takes care of everyone else.” Her head tilts to the side thoughtfully. “Don’t hold back your feelings, Willow. Something tells me you deserve your happily ever after just as much as he does.”
With one last small smile, Pam walks back out to her guest house, leaving me with my heart beating wildly.
It’s still racing an hour later when the front door unlocks and Ronan walks in to find me sitting at the kitchen counter with a cup of chamomile tea in my hand.
“Hey, Cherry. How did everything go?” he asks, kissing the top of my head.
I spin around on the stool and watch him shrug off his suit jacket and loosen his tie.
“I love you.”
His hands freeze. Slowly, he shifts toward me, eyes bright with hope and love. “What was that?”
I swallow and offer a tremulous smile. “I love you, Ronan. You and your daughter. I love you both. More than I ever thought possible. I’m sorry it took me a while to say it back, but I was scared. Only I think it wasn’t loving you that scared me. I’ve realized that loving you doesn’t mean losing who I am. Because you love me for who I am, and you won’t let me lose that.”
A smile creases his face as his eyes close and his head tips back slightly. After a second, he looks back at me, fire in his gaze as he lifts me off my stool and into his arms, kissing me deeply, making me dizzy with the intensity of emotion I feel reverberating through him.
Pulling back slightly, he rests his forehead on mine, his hands locked tight around me. “I love you, Willow. Fucking hell, do I love you. You’re everything I want, everything I need, and everything I never thought I could have. And I swear to you, for as long as you’ll have me, I’ll never let you forget that you complete me in a way no one else ever could.” His broken whisper has my eyes welling up with happy tears once again.
Tears that quickly dissipate when Ronan steps back and unbuttons his shirt, shrugging it off to the floor.
“I want to make love to you, Willow. Can I do that?”
“Yes.”
Chapter thirty-six
