“What’s wrong?” he asked, brushing a hand across her cheek. “You look a little pale.”
“Um, nothing.” She bit her lip as imagined a room finished with a pink area rug and bedding, shelves lined with stuffed animals, and a mural on the wall, depicting a scene from a fairy tale. “Just thinking.”
“About?” He tipped her chin up when she didn’t answer him. “Tell me, Bella.”
“I’m imagining a bedroom fit for a princess,” she whispered. “The kind of bedroom every little girl dreams of.”
“Oh yeah?” He tipped his head as he waited for her to continue. “And how about this one?” he asked, pointing to the bedroom that would be across the hall from the first, mirroring its dimensions. “What do you see in here?”
She narrowed her eyes as she considered the possibilities. “Maybe light blue walls, denim bedding.” Her finger ran across the width line. “Built in shelving here and here. He’d have to have somewhere to put his books and baseball cards—”
“Don’t forget his ball and glove.”
They shared a smile and she couldn’t miss the hope in his eyes. He was waiting for her to confirm that he wasn’t the only one thinking about their future, the children they would one day have.
“You’ve going to be a great father, Loran.” She took a step back, needing room to breathe. “I have no doubt about that.”
“There’s still a but in there.” He sighed, tipping his head back. “When will you be able to say that without thinking‘I’m not there yet’?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
She didn’t want him to leave with lingering frustration, but she wasn’t going to pretend she was all in unless she was. Was it so terrible to need more than a few weeks to be sure? Even if this was someone she’d been thinking about for over a year?
She turned to face him, praying she could make him see things from her perspective. “I just told you I love you. Can’t that be enough… for now?”
He hesitated before nodding. “It is enough. It’s more than enough.” He pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry, baby. I don’t mean to pressure you. It’s just hard sometimes. I want you to feel the way I feel, but sometimes I forget I’ve had the past year to work out my feelings for you. You spent that time trying to get over me.”
She couldn’t have said it better herself. At least he seemed to get it now. “Then we’re okay?”
He smiled. “We’re better than okay. How can we not be? You said you loved me, right? That’s a hell of lot more than I expected when I walked in here today.”
“I do love you,” she whispered. “So much it kind of scares me.”
“Whenever you take a risk, like falling in love, it’s supposed to be scary. Moving here was scary, right? But that didn’t stop you from doing it.”
“No, it didn’t.” She linked her arms around his neck as her lips met his. “And being scared won’t prevent me from giving you everything I have to give. I’m all in. Don’t doubt that just because I can’t quite think about marriage and babies just yet.”
“I like hearing you say that.” His grin spread. “Babies.”
She loved making him happy. “Babies, babies, babies,” she whispered, brushing his lips with hers.
He growled as he cupped her bottom. “Keep that up and I’m gonna miss my flight.”
She hated to think of him being alone if his mother’s condition worsened. “If you need me, just call, okay? Promise?”
“I will. But she assures me she’ll be fine. I just need to see for myself.”
