‘I’m sorry,’ he choked. ‘I’m so sorry.’
‘Shh.’ She kissed him again and kept kissing him so he could no longer agonise.
His face flushed, his fingers trembling as he reached out to her. And so she welcomed him—opening herself up so he could access every last inch of her heart and soul. She smiled as he claimed his spot in the very centre of her. He muttered her name over and over, the words of love over and over. He couldn’t hold them back and she couldn’t hide how they affected her.
In his arms she was bared completely, at her most vulnerable.
And never so safe.
They lay quietly for a few moments, recovering from the overload of sensation and emotion. And then he stretched out with a sigh and a smile of absolute satisfaction. ‘We really need to think about designing the master bedroom.’
‘Where’s that going to be?’ Kelsi frowned as she tried to concentrate. Now she thought about it, she hadn’t seen it on the plans.
‘Right about here,’ he said, watching her closely. ‘I’m going to take out your flat. You don’t mind?’
‘No.’ Happiness ran through her veins faster than the blood he’d already heated. The house would be whole, just as they’d be whole—together. ‘It’ll be fun creating something new.’
His expression lit up as he gave her a huge smile. ‘Maybe we should build our own place on Karearea, too, rather than staying at the lodge.’
‘You’re going to build homes everywhere now?’
‘Sure. Now I have the family to keep in them.’
And that sweet statement so totally deserved a reward.
‘Have you told your mother about the baby yet?’ he asked when he could speak again—quite some time later.
‘Yes,’ Kelsi said softly.
He tilted her face so he could see it clearly. ‘We’ll go and see her in person soon, OK? I can’t wait to meet her.’
Her eyes were watering ridiculously now. Because he would—she knew with absolute certainty that she could count on him.
‘Kelsi?’ He chuckled but wiped the tears away with gentle thumbs. A pointless exercise because it only made more tears flood her eyes and tumble down her cheeks.
‘Hormones, right?’ he asked.
‘Totally.’ She sniffed. ‘Not.’ She threw her arms around him. ‘I love you, Jack Greene.’
He rolled so he could be the cushion for her head—and her heart. His sigh long and relieved. ‘Thank goodness.’
He brushed her hair and tears back and held her until the last of her doubts drained away. And at last she believed in him and in herself.
In each other’s arms, they’d finally found home.