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They were spending the evening with his family and then Christmas Day with Margo’s. On the drive to the new house, Margo fiddled with the keys he’d given her. She never would have believed a month ago when he appeared in her ER that they would be saying I love you and driving back down the same road they used to imagine where they would live together. And now they would.
“Are you freaking out right now?” Drake asked in a whisper as he turned down the wide two-lane road that ran along the Potomac River. She caught a glimpse of the water in between the huge homes.
“Maybe a little.” His hand gripped her thigh. “But not in a bad way. More like an ‘I can’t believe how much has happened in the last few weeks’ way.” His deep laugh filled the warm car, and she realized it wasn’t the change that was causing her heart to almost ache. It was joy. Unadulterated joy to be with him and know that he would have her back, and she would have his.
He slowed the car as they approached a white brick two-story home with gray shutters and a stone circular driveway. He stopped in front of the home and parked.
“Welcome home, love. I hope you like it.”
The window fogged from her face pressing so close to look up at the black trim of the angular roof.
“Home.” She tested out the word.
“Come on, we have a few hours to get familiar with the place before we head to my parents.” He hopped out and came around to open her door, then grabbed her smaller bags. “I’ll get the rest after I get you inside.”
There were five steps up to the double slate doors, and Drake set the bags down.
“You want to do the honors?” he asked.
Pulling the keys back out of her pocket, she unlocked the door and began to twist the spindly handle when her feet were lifted out from under her.
“Drake, what are you doing?” She yelped as he picked her up to carry her inside.
“I’m carrying my future over the threshold,” he said and pushed the door open so he could carry her inside.
The house was undeniably posh and modern inside with cathedral ceilings, a large staircase to the left of the entry that led up to an open hallway. Drake set her down on the herringbone wide light brown floors as she took it in. They were on an elevated foyer that looked out into a massive family room with a fireplace as tall as her and a wall of glass doors with a view of the yard and river beyond. In the corner of the room was a massive Christmas tree with white twinkly lights.
“You put up a tree?”
His arms wrapped around her, and his chin settled in the crook of her neck.
“It was here, but I did the lights. I thought if you were even a little hesitant about moving in, the tree would be the final convincing detail.”
She nodded. “Smart thinking.”
“I thought you might want to decide on ornaments for our first Christmas back together.”
Turning to face him, she looped her arms up around his neck. “Thank you for coming back and still loving me.”
“Oh, babe. I’m just sorry we lost those years apart.”
Brushing her lips over his, she didn’t want to dwell on the time apart. “Me too, but at the same time it feels like we ended up exactly where we were supposed to be.”
“Like magnets, we were always going to find our way back to each other,” he said as his hands slid down her back to swat her bottom. “Let me give you a tour before I get too distracted.”
“Is that a dock in our backyard?” she said, taking his hand to walk down into the living room and testing out the idea of the house being theirs together.
“Yes, we also have a boat and a few kayaks. The house comes fully furnished, but we can replace anything you don’t like.”
“Isn’t this house a little big for us as a starter house?”
Drake laughed. “It won’t be just the two of us for very long if you still want that big family,” he said, squeezing her hand.
Margo gulped, and her ovaries did somersaults of joy. She wanted babies but didn’t expect the option to come up so quickly.
“I do. Just not right away. I need to have you all to myself for a while longer,” she said.
Drake’s flagrant smile spread wider. “You just tell me when. I’ll be ready.”
