‘I think we’re going to be pretty busy for a while.’
‘We...?’
Achilles came closer. Put his hand on Sofie’s still-flat belly. ‘Us.’
Sofie looked up at him. She was stripped bare emotionally. ‘I’m scared that you don’t see me. That I’m just a project now, because of the baby. I can’t be invisible again, Achilles. It’ll kill me.’
He came closer and cupped her face in his hands. ‘From the moment I woke in that hospital all I’ve seen is you. You are beautiful and kind and full of so much potential. Not just as a wife and mother. You have an amazing career ahead of you as a flower-arranger.’
Sofie let out a sudden unexpected laugh. A giddy feeling was bubbling up inside her. Achilles did see her. He had always seen her. More than anyone else ever had. She had to trust that.
As if reading her mind, he said more seriously, ‘I see you, Sofie. I want you. I love you. I can’t promise it’ll be easy for me to start a family, but I want this. And I’ll do whatever it takes to prove it to you and to overcome any demons in my way.’
Sofie looked at Achilles. ‘What about the catamaran race?’
He shook his head. ‘The only reason I bid on it was because I’d been feeling so numb ever since that night on the island when you said you cared for me and wanted to leave. And because I knew you were leaving the next day. I felt a sense of desperation to feel something, even fear. I’ve pulled out of the race.’
‘Thank God...’ Sofie breathed. ‘It looked terrifying.’
‘I can’t guarantee I won’t want to do it at some stage in the future—but maybe after I’ve had a few trips around your lake in your neighbour’s fishing boat first.’
Sofie smiled and tears blurred her vision. She threw her arms around Achilles’s neck and pressed her mouth to his. He caught her head, fingers tangling in her hair, holding her there so he could deepen the kiss.
After long minutes of getting reacquainted, Sofie pulled back. Dizzy. ‘I love you, Achilles Lykaios. I’ll do my best to make you happy.’
‘You already do. More than you even know.’ Now he sounded emotional. But then he said, ‘But do you know what would make me even happier right now?’
Sofie moved against him, revelling in the evidence of his desire. ‘I think I can guess.’
He picked her up and carried her up the stairs. Sofie giggled like a teenager. The fact that there were no sheets on any of the beds wasn’t even noticed as they sank into one another and made their vows to each other for a lifetime of commitment and love.