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“Maybe,” she teases, elbowing me gently in the chest. “But seriously, Damon, I’m so grateful that you saved me,” she says with tears springing to her eyes. “You prevented the worst from happening, and it could have been really awful.”
“Shh,” I soothe, holding her close once more as the tears spill down her cheeks. “I can’t help but be possessive of you,” I say. “It’s just the way I’m built – like the alpha male you described.”
She sniffles and laughs a little. “I guess we’ll have to find a happy medium together because obviously, you can’t stalk me all the time.”
“Heh. We’ll see.”
She laughs again, this time with a sparkle in her eye. “So do you forgive me, Damon?” she asks, pulling back to look at me once again. I’m genuinely confused.
“But for what?”
She takes a deep breath. “For being insane. For pushing you away after that incident at the mall, and then breaking up with you. Because you see, I need you. I want you, and I’m miserable without you.”
I pull her close.
“Only so long as you forgive me,” I whisper in her ear. “For being just as pushy, just as needy, and just as foolish for not reaching out to you sooner.”
Her breath trembles as she exhales, relaxing against me.
“I love you,” she says in a small voice, and my heart swoops with joy. “More than you know, Damon. I’ve missed you so much.”
“I love you too, bunny,” I growl, pulling her voluptuous form close as my heart sings. “I love you more than anything, and I want to be with you. Now that we’ve gone through these trying times, we know we can make it through anything. We just have to stick together.”
My words are heartfelt, but Rachel pulls back with a shadow in her eyes, and my heart constricts. Was it too much too soon? Did my words scare her?
But she merely shoots me a tentative smile. “Damon,” she says. “I have something to show you, and it might … well, you’ll see.”
I grin. “Given what’s happened, I think I’m pretty much ready for anything.”
She merely smiles again before getting up to rummage in her purse. Then, Rachel comes back with her hands behind her.
“What have you got there?” I ask, playfully suspicious.
“Nothing special,” she says before holding out the item. “Just the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen in your life.”
I take the snap from her. At first, I’m not sure why she’s showing me an ultrasound, but then I see her name, R. Marsh, in the top left corner, and understanding dawns.
My hands are trembling by the time I set the photo down. “Bunny,” I whisper brokenly, “is this real? Are you expecting my child?”
“It’s real,” she murmurs, pressing both of her hands to her belly protectively. “I only found out last week, and it’s part of the reason I wanted to get back in touch with you.”
Moments later, I have her in my arms and lift her off the ground in a spin before collapsing on the couch together. I wrap my limbs around her body and pepper her face and her neck with kisses until Rachel, giggling, pushes my big form away.
“I take it that you’re happy with this news?” she asks, still a bit tentative.
“I’m beyond happy, bun. I’m… I’m…”
“Overjoyed? Elated? Jubilant?”
“All of the above,” is my growl. “I want this baby, and I want forever with you.” I press my lips to her neck and whisper, “You and our baby are mine, and I promise to protect both of you for the rest of my life.”
“You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that,” she says in a gentle tone. “Damon Nash, I love you so much. You are the world to me.”
I nuzzle against her neck, my heart beating in my throat.
“And I love you too, Bunny.” With that, our circle of love is sealed and the rest of the world melts away. After all, this woman has given me the best gift of all: her heart, and now with a child on the way, I promise to treasure her love forever.
Epilogue
Rachel
* * *
Two years have passed since Damon and I reunited, and every second of my time with him has been such bliss. I finished my physical therapy degree a year ago, but I’ve never actually practiced. Instead, I decided to focus on my pregnancy, and after Haley was born, I was so busy being a mommy that I still haven’t gotten the opportunity to use my degree.
But I don’t regret it because my daughter is the cutest thing, with black hair and blue eyes just like her daddy. As if on cue, our daughter toddles through the living room in nothing but her diaper. She has a habit of unbuttoning herself from her onesies, and I can never figure out how the little escape artist does it.
