“Family vacations.” The look that crossed his face undid her completely. In that look, she saw everything she needed to know. All of her doubts and worries faded. He wanted this. All of it. Her. And this baby. A family.
They were going to be a family.
She didn’t expect it to be easy. This was all new and scary and sudden. The world was going to have its opinions. Their child would one day learn about the past. Taryn’s family may never forgive her. But for once, all that mattered was how she felt in this moment. She was happy. This was right. They loved each other.
She’d been wrong.
Sometimes love was enough.
Shaw stood and pulled her to her feet. “Want to see inside our new family RV?”
She squeezed his hands and rocked forward on her toes. “Of course. I think it’s proper procedure to christen a new vehicle before travel…you know, for luck.”
“Yes. Absolutely,” he agreed, his tone serious. “Naked christening. I think that’s a requirement.”
She nodded. “Of course. We have to do it right.”
He grinned and bent down, sweeping her off her feet and into his arms, grocery bags forgotten. “We will. Do it right. But I don’t need the luck. I already have it.”
She pulled at the collar of his shirt. “Because you’re about to get lucky?”
He shook his head. “No, because I have you.”
She put her hand over his heart, something restless settling inside her, and took a long-awaited deep breath. “You do. You had me right from the start.”
He kissed her again and then carried her into the RV. “And I want you to the very end.”
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
Shaw laid Taryn along the bed in the back of the RV, thankful that he’d taken the time to put new sheets on the mattress, and stared down at this woman in awe. No, not this woman, his woman. She smiled up at him, trusting, glowing with happiness.
With more than that. Not just happiness, but glowing with new life and love. He still couldn’t believe it. When she’d told him she was keeping the pregnancy, every cell in his body had wanted to collapse—with relief, with love, with fear.
So much about this scared him. He didn’t know how to be a dad. He didn’t know if some dangerous gene ran through his blood. He didn’t know how he would tell his son or daughter about their uncle Joseph and the pain he’d caused so many people. All of that flat-out terrified him. But the other picture of the future, the one where Taryn was holding a child who had her bright smile and her curly hair and maybe little pieces of him, too, one who was a blend of both of them, that image filled him with a joy he’d never experienced before. One that flooded every dark corner inside him with light. He was going to be a dad. Hopefully, a husband one day, if Taryn would have him. He would be part of a family. He would be part of love.
He knew this probably wasn’t how Taryn had planned her future to turn out. She’d probably had a much more methodical, well-thought-out plan in mind, but right now, he chose to believe her when she said she was happy and excited. When she said she loved him. That was a miracle in and of itself. As was getting her pregnant because of a random box of condoms. He was done questioning unexpected gifts.
He wasn’t sure if he believed in a higher power. He’d questioned the existence of any entity that would allow Long Acre to happen. But right now, gazing down at this woman he loved, for the first time, he believed the divine could exist. Somehow, the universe had brought Taryn to him. He couldn’t deny the magic in that.
He lowered himself onto the bed, straddling her thighs and brushing the back of his hand over her cheek. “You are so epically beautiful.”
A warm, full smile lifted her lips. “Back at ya, handsome.”
He traced the edge of her jaw. “I’m sorry you had to give up so much to be here.”
“Stop.” A frown wrinkled her brow. Then she reached for his shirt and pulled him down to her, brushing her lips over his. “Don’t you get it, Shaw? Letting you walk away would be giving up so much more. You are a gift. You’re worth the price of admission.”
He closed his eyes, letting her words move through him. “I love you, Taryn Landry.”
“I love you, Shaw Miller.”
His real name had never sounded so sweet to his ears. He braced above her and let his gaze drift over her, wanting her so badly, he ached. “So is there anything I need to be careful about?”
She grinned and wiggled beneath him. “Yeah, make sure it’s good.”
He laughed, the sound loud in the small space. “You know what I mean.”