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‘Patience has never really been my thing.’
‘Then do something to take your mind off it.’
‘Hmm...’ Nikos gave her a sexy smirk. ‘I can think of something, but two minutes fifty-five seconds isn’t going to cut it.’
Kate grinned, reaching for his hand. ‘Are you nervous?’
‘More excited. How long now?’
Kate pushed her phone further away from him. They were sitting on the floor in the bedroom, their backs against the wall. It had been all Kate could do to stop Nikos coming into the bathroom with her, and this was as far as she had been able to banish him.
‘Actually,’ she started nervously, ‘there’s something I want to tell you. I’ve made a decision.’
‘Go on.’ Nikos squeezed her hand.
‘I am going to sell Kandy Kate.’
‘You are?’ Nikos was visibly shocked. ‘You mean if you’re pregnant?’
‘No.’ Kate shook her head. ‘Either way. I’ve spent all this time thinking that Kandy Kate is all that matters, that it’s who I am, all I am, but now, thanks to you, I know that’s not true. I am not that pigtailed girl any more. In some respects I never was. I was always fighting for a part of me that never existed. This is the real me—just a regular New York gal, madly in love with the most wonderful man in the world. You are everything to me, Nikos, and all that matters. Thank you for making me see that.’
‘Oh, Kate, I should be thanking you. For having the courage to knock down the stupid barriers we had put up, to lay yourself bare like that. I love you so much.’
‘And I love you too. More than I can ever say.’
‘So...’ Nikos fought to control the catch in his voice. ‘What will you do, then? I mean, you don’t have to do anything, obviously. If you want to be a stay-at-home wife, that’s fine by me.’
‘I’d like to do more photography, and also get involved in some charity work. It would be good if I could combine the two. And maybe...’ Suddenly Kate felt self-conscious. ‘Maybe I could help your father in the taverna. I know he hasn’t always been the father to you he should have been, but I’d like to try and put that right. That’s if Marios will have me, of course.’
‘Have you? He’ll snatch your hand off.’ Nikos laughed. ‘He’s still running that place single-handed, flatly refusing to retire, even though I’ve made sure he’s financially secure.’
‘It’s not about the money. It’s his life.’
‘You’re right. But don’t expect me to start waiting on tables again.’
‘Aw, shame.’ Kate touched his cheek. ‘You made such a lovely waiter.’
‘Yeah, right.’ Nikos took her hand and pressed it to his mouth. ‘So you’ll be swapping one family business for another?’
‘Sort of.’
‘But definitely no confectionery empire for our unborn offspring to inherit, then?’
‘No, definitely not.’ Kate’s voice was firm. ‘I want our children to have the freedom to do whatever they want, be whatever they want, free from the shackles of responsibility—What?’
Suddenly she realised that Nikos was staring at her intently, his deep brown eyes shining with excitement.
‘You know, don’t you?’
Kate pulled a nervous face, then gave him a quick nod. ‘I feel kind of...different.’
‘Like pregnant, different?’
She nodded again.
‘Come on—hand it over.’
Reaching behind her back, Nikos retrieved the test stick and held it up between them. Kate squeezed her eyes closed. There was an agonising silence followed by a yelp of pleasure, and suddenly she was crushed in Nikos’s arms.
‘It’s positive, Kate!’ His voice quavered with awe. ‘We are going to be parents!’
Cupping her face in his hands, he laid his forehead on hers and for a few precious seconds they stayed like that, quietly breathing in the magnitude of the moment, before instinctively reaching to find each other’s lips for a tender kiss.
And there, locked in Nikos’s powerful embrace, surrounded by the immense power of his love for her and hers for him, Kate felt the rush of joy that told her that this time everything was going to work out just fine.
