He clasped their hands together, and she led him out of the gym. Together, they traveled through this house they’d shared. Her eyes latched onto the familiar surroundings. The bold art they’d chosen from Denver’s galleries still hung on the walls. As they crested the top of the stairs, her heart simply cried out, unable to help itself. The same wedding picture she’d stowed in her hope chest was displayed on the mahogany wall curio.
She tried to imagine the fortitude he possessed to keep that picture there, to see it day after day. Biting her lip did no good. Fresh tears streamed down her face. They continued to flow as she stepped into their bedroom with him. He hadn’t changed a thing. Her lavender lotion was still on her bedside stand along with the sticky notes she kept next to the bed for when she had an idea about a catering job.
Her breath simply evaporated in her lungs, and she wheezed. “You kept…everything?”
“I took everything out of storage and put it back when…I decided to go to Dare Valley and get you back.” He lifted his hand to rub away the tears falling from his face. “How could I get rid of everything? It would be like…getting rid of you.”
Oh, my. She hadn’t truly understood until this moment how much she loved him, how much he loved her. Like a man tending to a special storehouse, he’d kept their marital treasures in one place, waiting for her to come home.
She unlinked their hands so she could remove her clothes. No barriers could be between them. Not anymore. His gaze held hers as he did the same. When they stood before each other, it was as if their Eden had been renewed, their garden of paradise rediscovered after being lost. They reached for each other at the same time.
When their mouths met, she surrendered to the sense of wonder, the sacredness of touching him, and allowed him to touch her without holding anything back. She didn’t stop the moans from spilling from her mouth as she raised his hands to her breasts, giving him back the full and complete promise of her love.
He stroked her with a gentleness that brought back all the warmth inside her. She cuddled closer as she caressed his body, the ridges and edges of his muscles, with something akin to cherishing. Told him with her touch that she’d never again take for granted what they had together.
His body flowed with hers onto the bed. Their mouths joined in a deep, heated kiss. Passion carried her to a new shore, and she guided him on top of her as the force of their love washed over her. And when they could no longer wait to join together, she looked into his eyes and slowly took him inside her without any barriers between them.
There was only a slight change in the shape of his eyes as he met her gaze with something akin to wonder, but she knew he understood what she was saying. She said it aloud anyway.
“Make a baby with me,” she whispered.
He clutched her hands as he slid deep into her, and she gave herself up to the new bridge between their bodies and souls.
Chapter 38
Blake sat in the waiting room of the doctor’s office, ignoring the curious glances of the people around him. No one had asked for his autograph, thank God. He’d never snapped at a fan, but today his nerves were stretched to the max as he thought of what was going on in one of the examining rooms.
The most recent copy of Sports Illustrated lay idle in his hands, open to an article on the upcoming NFL season. He used his thumb to rub the wedding band on his ring finger. As soon as he and Natalie had arrived back in Dare Valley, she’d insisted they immediately retrieve it. But she hadn’t simply let him put it on. No, she’d dragged him out to the bridge he’d built to their better life and put it on his finger there, tracing infinity symbols all over his hand.
The door opened, and he straightened in his seat. Natalie had her arms around April, who gave him a brave smile as he rose and walked over to them.
“The doctor said they should have the results in a day or so,” Natalie said as they all left the building.
He knew how long a day or so could feel under these circumstances. A fucking eternity.
“It wasn’t that bad,” April added.
Since Natalie’s free hand was fisted by her side, he knew it hadn’t been easy for April. Everything Natalie had learned about being a tough guy had come from her parents. He hoped her mom could learn to be a little kinder to the part of herself that must be scared and hurting—just like her daughter had.
He drove them back to April’s house, where Natalie had to press her mom to let them come inside. She helped her get settled on the couch and then made her some tea. After one cup, April told them they could go home. Ellen O’Brien was going to come over later. Natalie ignored her and opened the refrigerator to look for fixings for dinner.
Together he and Natalie peeled potatoes, and standing next to her, he could feel it—they were a unit once more, just like the figure eights engraved into their bands, only this time they were stronger than they’d been, like metal re-shaped by fire.
No one ate much of the mashed potatoes, pork chops, and roasted beet chips Natalie had served. But that hadn’t been the point. When April finally said she wanted to go to bed, she refused to let Natalie stay and turned to Blake.