HER ONE AND ONLY VALENTINE - (23 page)

'Yes.' His gaze changed, to a sincere intensity tinged with a hint of regret. 'And I need you to be very clear that she's the only one there might ever be with me. Though there are ways to try—'

Did he think that would make a difference to her? If he thought that then he couldn't possibly know how much she loved him, which meant he was taking a chance by doing this. He might not love her as much as she loved him. But she'd figured out that he was saying he wanted to try. There was no way she wasn't taking that chance.

So she lifted the hand she'd been resting on his chest, laying her palm against his cheek as she leaned up on her toes to place the same whisper of a kiss on his mouth, her nose close to his as she informed him in a steady voice, 'That doesn't matter. I already have one amazing child. Yes, a place like Brookfield was meant to be filled with children, and if this worked and we were lucky enough to have another one like Lizzie one day, then that would be more than
fine
with me...'

'For the record—I hate that word—
fine
isn't enough, for any of us.'

No, he was right. It wasn't—not any more. 'With a little work I reckon we could manage better than fine. But if we don't make another Lizzie then you should know I'd still want to fill this place with children for you to be a father to. There's adoption, fostering, we could run camps here in the summer—'

He kissed her into silence, not raising his head until she was breathless. 'Let me get used to being a father to just one for a while, shall we? I'm still trying to pick that up.'

'You're a great father.'

'Yes, but you have a head start on parenting—'

She took her hand off his face and gently smacked his shoulder. And he laughed, swaying her body a little deeper from side to side.

'That wasn't meant as a dig. I was just trying to say that you need to let me catch up some before you go shopping for a football team.'

'You can be horrible when you want to, you know.'

'I know. But you know that about me, just like I know that sometimes you can be stubborn and unreasonable. We learnt a lot of this stuff the first time round.'

'Yes, we did.'

'And that has to count in with the things to build on, doesn't it? Knowing those things and still wanting to be together means something.'

'Yes, it does.'

Rhiannon thought about the things he'd said at the table. 'You were counting friendship and working together in all this a minute ago too, weren't you?'

He squeezed her fingers. 'Yes, I thought you'd started to figure it out then, but you're obviously not as bright as I thought you were. If you were, then you'd have known that the
we're friends
line was complete nonsense—we were never
just friends.'

For the first time since she'd met him all those years ago, she told him the absolute truth, without trying to hide anything. 'Well, what the hell else was I supposed to say? And maybe I was scared this time to hope you might want more, so I let myself assume that you were talking about the ingredients for working together as parents.'

'I was, but that wasn't the only reason.'

'And that was the part I was scared to look for.'

He smiled affectionately. 'Why?'

She smiled equally as affectionately, her gaze dropping to the top of his polo-neck—the same one he'd worn the first night she'd set eyes on him again. 'I think you did break my heart the first time you left me. I just refused to let myself believe I'd cared that much, so I made myself hate you instead. I was a kid back then. But I'm an adult now and I know exactly how I feel. If I got involved with you and you left again it would kill me. Or at least the part of me that might ever care that much again.' She glanced up at him from beneath long lashes. 'And then last night, when you suggested that ridiculous half a marriage—'

His arm tightened on her waist, holding her closer against his large frame, his words coming out on a rushed grumble. 'That didn't come across the way it was meant to. But, in fairness, you've had me on the run for a while and it took some time for me to get things straight in my head. I hadn't even thought about how I'd tell you.'

'And it's all straight in your head now?'

'Yes, crystal clear. I know what I want.' He leaned in for another long kiss. 'The only problem would have been what you wanted, especially after the mess I made last night—though it was the first real hint I'd got that you might actually feel something back. So I enrolled Lizzie's help to make a better attempt at it.'

'You two are always going to gang up on me, aren't you?' Not that it seemed like such a bad thing to her, considering where they were.

'Only for the good stuff.'

The music changed to a different beat in the background but Kane ignored it and kept the same slow swaying and circling as he took a breath and smiled a more confident smile. 'So by any chance did you miss me as much as I missed you this last while, even though we spend so much of our time arguing?'

'I missed you so much it hurt. Thanks. And we've always argued—we're both stubborn. All that was missing this time was the making up.'

He stopped swaying, removing his arm, releasing her fingers, so that he could frame her face with his hands and lean in to look into her eyes, as Lizzie had done when she'd examined his eyes and figured things out. 'I
really
want us to make up.'

Her palms flattened against the erratic beat of his heart, her smile broad. 'I love you, you idiot.'

A look of relief washed over his rugged features, removing any hint of the frowns he'd worn at the beginning from his face, so that he looked like a twenty-one-year-old again when he grinned at her. He let go of her face and crushed her to him, groaning by her ear as she hugged him back. 'Good!'

She laughed joyously against his chest, only just allowing herself to really believe that he cared as much as he did because he hadn't been sure of her feelings, had he? No matter what he said or did, what confidence he'd given the impression he had, until she'd said the words to his face, with her heart and soul in her eyes, he hadn't been completely sure.

They weren't so very different, not really. And maybe a subconscious part of her had recognized that matching need to let someone in coupled with an opposing defensive shield of anger and resentment to hold that very person away. Fear of letting go. They both had it, didn't they?

It was why, when he had let go with Lizzie, a part of Rhiannon's soul had known the man he was and had fallen in love with that man. Lizzie may have felt like the only thing holding them together, but she was simply the result of a bond that had already been there, if in a more fragile, youthful state.

'I love you too, Mac.' He whispered it huskily into her ear, pressing his lips into her hair before he rested his head against hers and held her tight.

She turned her head to tell him, 'Once you say that to me, you can't ever take it back. I won't ever let you go. You need to know that. So be sure, take some time if you need to.'

'I don't need time.' He stepped back a little to look down into her eyes, the familiar teasing light dancing in a blue clouded with a cornucopia of deep emotion, his baritone voice stronger, more confident. 'But if
you
want to take some time to get used to this, then that's okay, just so long as you know we'll need to discuss the
never in a million years
thing. I have a ring in my pocket that I can't give you for Valentine's Day next year if we can't negotiate the million years down to a more reasonable time frame.'

Her eyes widened in surprise again, even though she knew he'd probably surprise her on a daily basis for the rest of her life. 'You bought a ring?'

'I did, not that long ago, around about the time I figured out what it was I wanted. Didn't actually plan on it, but I saw it and it felt right buying it.' His sensuous mouth swung upwards into a smile. 'And I'd like the chance to prove my point about still having
this
when we're old and grey and round-shouldered. So, what do I have to do to change your mind about the time line?'

Her eyes shone.
'W-ell...'

He stepped back and took her hand, dragging her towards the door. 'All right, if that's what it's going to take, I don't have a problem with that. We just need to tell our daughter she's having an early night.'

Rhiannon laughed loudly, neatly sidestepping him and then tugging him close, still laughing, so that they were pressed against the door. She drew his head down for the same heated kiss they had shared the night before and took it up a level, matching every slide of his lips, every stroke of his tongue, every small nip and intake of breath, while allowing her hands the freedom to roam up his arms, to hold on to his shoulders, to bury deep into the hair she'd always loved so much.

Until he mumbled against her mouth, 'Million years.'

She mumbled back, 'I might have lied about that.'

He lifted his head, shook it in disapproval. 'That was bad of you. Right, we'll spend time getting used to each other, then. Do this right this time. Though, just so you know, there's definitely marriage in our future.'

'I might need to see that ring.'

'No—you'll see it when I ask you to marry me.'

'I might not like the ring.' She batted her lashes at him. 'Go on—just a little look. Because I agree that there's definitely marriage in our future. And I happen to think it doesn't need to be all that far away. So I need to see the ring.'

He smiled, shaking his head as he looked at the upturned palm she was waving at his side. 'The ring comes with the question.'

Rhiannon let everything she felt for him shine in her eyes as she wiggled her fingers. 'Still want to see it. Weddings take ages to organize.'

Kane's beautiful blue eyes widened. 'Are you saying if I ask you now you'll say yes?'

'Why don't you ask me and see what happens?'

'Once this ring is on your finger, it stays on.'

'Yes, I know that.'

With a deep chuckle, joy lighting up his face, he reached into his pocket and produced the ring, holding it in front of her face for her to see, his brows lifting in question.

Rhiannon stared at it in wonder for a long silent moment, loving that he had chosen a stone the same colour as his eyes. 'It's beautiful.' She whispered the words. 'So ask me.'

'You're never going to do what I expect you to do, are you?'

'No, but you already knew that. Ask me.'

He twisted the ring back and forth between his thumb and forefinger, the light catching on the stone so it appeared almost hypnotic, especially when accompanied by a husky baritone voice filled with emotion.

'Marry me. Make us officially the family we already are. I love you; I probably always have. And life's too short to waste time; I know that better than most.'

She grinned like an idiot, her eyes filling with tears at the same time. How could she not want to live a lifetime with this man?

'I love you. So it's yes—a
million
times yes.'

Kane leaned in and kissed her again, for a very long time, taking a moment to smile down at her heavy eyes and swollen lips before she informed him with a sigh, 'You do know you've just ruined your chances of ever topping this Valentine's Day ever again?'

He reached for her hand, grinning wickedly as he slipped the ring into place. 'I think you'll find that I'm capable of more than a card and a box of chocolates every other year or so. You wait and see.'

Rhiannon pulled him close again, knowing that at some point they really should go and tell Lizzie that her romantic meal had done the trick. But when they bumped back against the door a voice yelled from the hallway, 'Are you two kissing?'

His mouth hovering over hers, Kane's gaze rose to fix on the door. 'Yes, we are! So shoo!'

A loud celebration commenced beyond the door, gradually dimming as Lizzie went further up the hall.

They laughed together before his mouth lowered to hers again.

'And we're going to be kissing for a long, long while to make up for lost time. We've ten years' worth of making up to do. Happy Valentine's Day.'