“You’re a dear, dear man.” When she put a palm against his chest, that innocent touch renewed his awareness of her. “The only way I’d cease doing such a thing is if a pregnancy prevented it.” As he gasped, she grinned. “I’m not, if you wondered, but we haven’t been careful.”
“No, we haven’t.” Would the coupling they’d just enjoyed send her into that state? “We should have probably discussed that before we—”
“Hush, William. There are no regrets. I want our children to know they can be fearless, and they can be anything they wish as long as they’re willing to put in the work.”
Endless possibilities for the future glimmered in his mind’s eye. “We’ll take each day as it comes then.”
“Of course. There truly is no other way to live one’s life.”
Content to hold her, William let his eyes drift closed. Who would have thought he’d find everything he needed in a woman who’d hidden her true self behind an image of a wallflower? As soon as he could arrange for a common license, they would wed. “Do you wish to travel for your wedding trip?”
“Mmm, I hadn’t thought about it, but it might be nice to have a few weeks to ourselves at your cousin’s Derbyshire property, seeing as how that’s where we first met. And spring in the country should prove delightful.”
“I’ll ask Andrew as soon as we return from our drive.”
Gratitude welled in his chest. Tears of the same filled his eyes and he let them escape onto his cheeks. The life of a Storme hadn’t been the easiest existence, but he vowed to learn from his father’s mistakes, and with the woman he loved by his side, he had the potential to succeed where his father had failed.
Never had he looked forward to anything more.
The End