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Their children were all laughing and splashing behind them. Even Macey and Hope were taking part in the fun.
Nolan smiled and extended his hand, praying she’d take his offer. “I won’t carry you, but we have to jump or we’ll never live it down. As a team?”
He wanted to be a team with her in every way and hoped someday she’d agree.
She looked at his hand, then back up at him. Nolan waited.
“Come on, Pops,” Kiera called to him.
“Mum!” Chad hollered. “You’ll love it.”
Madeline smiled and shook her head. “I doubt I’ll love it, but …” Her smile grew and her emerald eyes were full of him. “How could I possibly resist the king?”
Nolan’s heart rate picked up. Did she mean that? Did her words only apply to this circumstance, or was she done fighting the connection between them? A month wasn’t a long time to ‘date’ and be together constantly in the scheme of life and love, but they’d known each other for years and he’d been interested in and hyperaware of her for over eight months now. Apparently, she’d taken a little longer to notice him.
Nolan was tired of hiding the depth of his longing and need for her. He wanted her as his partner, his friend, his wife. Not that he would admit it yet, or she might push him away again.
Madeline placed her hand in his, and Nolan interlaced their fingers. He could hear everyone in the lake calling to them, but he could only see Madeline. Their hands clasped together meant everything to him. This might finally be his moment.
“Let’s do this before I wimp out. I hate cold water.” She grinned impishly and tugged him toward the ledge.
They stepped onto the rock and looked at the expectant faces and chattering teeth of their children.
“Count them down!” Faith cried out. “Three …”
“Two …” Everyone joined in. “One!”
Nolan and Madeline locked gazes. And then they leaped.
Falling. Together. A thrill and the joy of companionship. With Madeline.
The icy water enveloped him, cold prickles stinging every inch of his skin.
Nolan burst out of the water and gasped for air. Madeline surfaced beside him.
“Cold!” she cried out.
Everyone laughed and cheered.
Nolan wrapped his arm around her waist and swam with quick strokes with his free arm and kicking hard with his legs. He touched the bottom and lifted her against his chest, cradling her close. “I’ll warm you up.”
He heard a low whistle from Tristan and a mutter from Chad to Hope, “I guess this is more serious than she led us to believe.”
The look in Madeline’s emerald eyes warmed him up, but Chad’s comment was sobering. Madeline might not appreciate her son and daughter-in-law seeing how besotted Nolan was with her.
Nolan slogged through the water and then carried her up onto the shore. He had no intention of setting her down. Her arms were wrapped tight around his neck, and she leaned into him, her warm breath on his cheek deepening his awareness and yearning for her. Water dripped from his hair and his clothes, pooling in his shoes.
“That was amazing,” Tristan crowed, escorting Jennifer out of the water. “Now we slosh home in wet shoes and clothes and then use the spa to warm up.”
Everyone cheered at that.
“We could’ve slowed down long enough to take our shoes and socks off,” Ray muttered.
“Buck up, tough General,” Macey teased. “If you had slowed down, you wouldn’t have gotten me in there.”
They all continued to laugh and tease.
Nolan was focused on Madeline’s beautiful face, her blonde hair darker and plastered to her head. He didn’t want to release her. He could easily carry her home. She was substantial and perfect in his arms, and he prayed the torture of holding himself away from her was finished.
