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Glancing at my watch, I call out to them. “Hey, you two. We have to go. I need to get the shop open.”
Anna gives me a little pout and stomps the sand on her way back to me. But she doesn’t give me any sass. I pack her beach bag and help her get her sandals on.
“I’ll walk you to the shop,” River says. He takes the beach bag in one hand and Anna’s hand in the other, a gesture that makes my heart ache. Anna reaches her free hand out to me, and I take it.
We walk across the beach together, Anna anchored between us. It really does feel so right to be like this with River. We do feel like a family, the three of us.
But can something this good truly be for real?
I open the bakery door and shuffle Anna inside to the office to change out of her swimsuit and into her clothes. When I come back out, Gabby is standing behind the counter, her chin resting on her fist as she moons up at River.
“Underwater welding? That’ssocool.”
“Gabby, would you mind walking Anna down to the florist and picking out a bouquet for the shop?” I say.
“Oh. Yeah. Sure thing, boss lady.” Gabby turns around and mouthsOh my god, he is so hotat me. I give her a look and she laughs and goes off to grab Anna for the errand.
After Gabby and Anna leave, I feel River’s hand touch my lower back; in the next moment, he’s pressing a kiss to my temple.
I close my eyes for a moment, feeling so torn that I want to cry.
“Can we talk?” I say.
“Of course,” he says.
We sit down at one of the tables by the window. I just want to get it out and get it over with. The quicker I tell him he can go, the quicker he can leave, and the sooner I can start getting over my broken heart.
“I don’t want you to stay with me because it’s the right thing to do, River,” I say. “You don’t owe me anything. I made the choice to be a single mom a long time ago, and I knew what I was getting into.”
“What? Leah, I’m not going anywhere. I told you I wasn’t going anywhere.”
“Anna doesn’t ever have to know. I won’t tell her.”
River shakes his head. “No. Obligation has nothing to do with this.You’rethe reason I want to be with you. And if that means I also get to be a dad to your incredible little girl, then that’s just a bonus.”
I swallow. “You really mean that?”
“I promise you I mean it.”
I don’t say anything for a few seconds, overwhelmed once again by how intense all of this is.
“This is a lot, River,” I say quietly. “It feels too good to be true.”
Reaching across the table, River grabs my hand and tugs, pulling me to him. He sits me on his lap, takes my face between his hands, and looks at me deeply.
“It’s not too good to be true. It’s fate. Leah, I know we’re meant to be together. And I feel it in my heart that I’m Anna’s biological dad. But it also doesn’t matter if that’s true or not. Because I want the three of us to be a family regardless. I love you, Leah. I’minlove with you.”
My breath catches.
“But that doesn’t mean we have to rush anything,” River continues. “We can go slow with all of this. We can take as much time as you need.”
My eyes fill with tears. Grateful tears. Suddenly, the intensity of all of this no longer feels so overwhelming. I may not quite be ready to tell River that I love him yet, but my gut tells me that I’m going to get there soon.
“You,” I say, running my hands up through his hair, “are the most incredible man I’ve ever met.”
I lower my mouth to his at the same time as he pulls me toward him. Our kiss is deep and long and soft.
I never, ever want it to end.
