I shake my head. “Marian, those flaws make me love you even more. I’m sorry that you felt you couldn’t trust me. But it’s not all your fault. I kept things from you too.”
She smiles at me through her tears. “We must be the most messed up couple in the history of marriage.”
I chuckle despite myself. “Maybe. But one thing is for sure, through it all, I’ve never stopped loving you.”
Her eyes widen. “Even after everything that I’ve told you?”
She’s so beautiful that I want to take her into my arms there and kiss her senseless. “More so after that.”
Her chest rises and falls as she inhales deeply. “I hope I’m not dreaming else I’ll be royally pissed off if I wake up and find that this is a dream.” She stands up and comes to stand between my legs. She throws her hands around my neck.
I inhale her peppermint scent like a man fighting for breath and slip my arms around her waist. I lower my head and kiss her slightly rounded belly. “I love you, Marian Carter. Will you have me back?”
Tears flood her eyes. She nods. “I love you, Declan Carter. If you asked me again, I’d say yes.”
She lowers her head, and we kiss deeply. I pull her closer and closer until she’s literally on my lap.
A cough sounds from a distance. It comes again, closer this time. Marian and I break apart.
“Sorry to bother you two lovebirds,” Eric says. “But the bride and groom are about to have their first dance. Did you want to be there?”
Marian and I glance at each other and then at Eric. “No,” we say at the same time.
He chuckles and withdraws.
“I have a room,” I tell Marian.
“So do I,” she says in a seductive tone.
“We’ll go to mine,” I tell her. “No one knows the room number except me.”
I take her hand, and we leave for my room and the rest of our lives. When we enter my room and shut the door behind us, giddy joy fills me. Gratitude washes over me.
We stand in each other’s arms, looking into each other’s eyes in wonder.
“We came so close—” I start to say.
“To losing each other,” Marian finishes.
“Never again,” I tell her fiercely. “I can’t live without you, Marian.”
She pats her stomach. “Us neither.”
I take her hand and lead her to the bed, where for the next couple of hours, my only purpose is to show Marian how very much I love her.
Epilogue
Six months Later
Declan
“I can’t believe you got yourself kicked out of the delivery room,” Ace says as we pace the waiting room together.
I stop pacing to throw him a dirty look. “I was just trying to help Marian.”
Ace throws his head back to laugh. “You were making inappropriate jokes.”
“Marian needed a distraction from the pain.” Okay, I admit that I might have gone too far with the locker room jokes. The doctor had politely asked me to wait outside the delivery room. “I’m glad that Lexi is in there with her, but I feel cheated.”
I’ve had permanent anxiety in the last couple of months as the process by which our baby would come into the world dawned on me. The thought of Marian in pain was enough for me to break out into a cold sweat. Now that I think about it, I see that I’ve worked myself up to an almost nervous breakdown. No wonder I behaved like a lunatic in there.
“It’s been hours, hasn’t it?” I ask Ace.
He glances down at his watch. “I’m sure we’ll hear something soon.”
I think good thoughts. Marian is strong, and she was so excited and looking forward to natural birth. The double doors to the waiting room burst open without warning, and Marian’s doctor walks in.
The wide smile on his face tells me that all is well. “Congratulations! Come and meet your new baby boy.”
I’m out of there like a shot. The doctor and Ace’s laughter follow me. I don’t care about anything except the fact that I’m a dad. By the time I get to Marian’s room, I can hardly see from the tears blinding me.
Lexi pats my shoulder as she leaves the room.
I stop at the door and wipe away my tears. Marian is sitting up in bed with our baby in her arms. She smiles. She looks tired but happy. I approach the bed and kiss Marian. Then I look down at the baby.
“He’s perfect,” I whisper, completely awestruck. “And so tiny.”
She laughs softly. “Do you want to hold him?”