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“Yeah?”
“I need to talk to you about something.” She turns in my arms. In the dim light, I hold her gaze and brush strands of red hair from her face. I love looking at her. “I’m going to take the substitute job at Tabby’s school.”
My hand stills where I’ve been drawing circles on her back. “You are?” She told me last week that she’d send in her resume and application.
She nods. “The principal called me this week. She said that she didn’t need to interview me and that Tabby’s teacher’s recommendation was enough for her. It’s only for a maternity leave, but Miss Shepherd said the teacher might stay out the rest of the year. And it would give me some experience to find something permanent next year.”
I weigh my words. “Do you want to take the job?”
She nods again. “I do.” She pauses, swallowing. “And I think I should move in with Violet permanently. This has nothing to do with us. I love being here with you. But Tabby…" She lets her voice trail off.
“I see.” My mind races. “Can you hold on for a minute?” I shift, sliding out from under the covers. I don’t bother with my boxers. Crossing the room, I open the suitcase I took to Canada and shuffle around in it.
“Duke?” June sits up in bed, pulling the blankets up over her breasts. “Did you hear me? I was saying I should move out.”
“Yep. I heard you. Just hang on.” When I find what I was looking for, I return to the side of the bed and turn on the lamp on the nightstand. June smooths her hair out of her face, confusion on her features. “But before we discuss that, I wanted to talk to you about something, too.”
I drop to my knee next to her. Her mouth opens with a gasp. “June,” I begin. “I know we had an unorthodox beginning, but I want all of your beginnings and endings from here on.” I pull out the ring I bought when I was in Vancouver. It’s a gorgeous round solitary set in a classic four-prong setting. Her eyes are as wide and round as quarters. “I love you. I’ve known for a long time that I want to marry you, that I want to share my whole life with you. You can teach or not, whatever you want. You can even move back with Violet if you prefer. If you aren’t ready to say yes, that’s okay. But I need you to know this is what I want. I want to marry you, to spend my life with you. To have you in my bed. To raise Tabby and any other children we have with you. I’m all in with you, and I hope you’ll do all of this with me.”
She lunges forward and wraps her arms around my neck. “I love you, Duke. And I do want to marry you. Yes, yes, yes.”
I crawl back into bed with less finesse than might be expected from a hockey player, and I kiss her deeply.
When I pull back, she’s flushed with happiness. “But I still want to teach.”
I nod immediately. “Then you should. You’re going to be amazing at it. I want you to be happy.”
“Thank you.”
I slide the ring on her finger, and we kiss again. That leads to us making love again. This time, though, we sleep when we finish.
She isn’t next to me when I wake up the next morning. I check the clock, and it turns out it’s almost noon. Jet lag is a beast.
I climb out of bed, put on some clothes, and head off to find her. She’s curled up in a reading chair in the library, a cup of coffee next to her and her computer in her lap. I lean down to kiss her cheek. “Morning, Freckles.”
“Good morning.” She smiles up at me and then turns the computer screen toward me. “You mentioned having children last night?” She scoots over to make room for me on the oversized chair. It’s a tight fit, though, so I pull her onto my lap. When we’re settled, she shows me the screen.
“Department of Children and Families,” I read. “What’s this?”
“It’s the requirements to be foster parents.” Suddenly, she looks uncertain. “I thought we could consider fostering. Until we're ready to have more children of our own.”
I squeeze her. “I don’t know anything about it. Tell me more.”
“It’s straightforward. The approval process. And since we have so much space here...” She talks fast, a sure sign she’s anxious. “It’s just that there are so many kids who need safe places, and since I’ve been through it, I thought I’d be a good fit.”
I lift my hand. “I’m on board. Just listening to your experiences would convince me. I think this is a great idea.”
“You do?” The tentative hope on her face fills me with tenderness.
“Of course, I do.” Someday, she’ll learn to believe in me automatically. I plan to work to earn that trust every day.
Joy spreads across her face. “Great. We can fill this out, then. Together.”
I pull her against me. “Just how I plan to do everything from now on,” I say. “Together.”
Epilogue
June
