Holding the Dream (33 page)

“See? That's just what happens when you get tangled up in love. You hurt each other. I didn't ask to be in love with you, did I? I didn't plan it. And now I can't bear the idea of being without you, of not sitting at the table in the morning watching you cook breakfast, or listening to you tell me to
concentrate when you've got me lifting those damn weights. Walking on the beach with you and those mangy dogs. And I want a baby.”

Stunned, he waited a beat. “Now?”

“You see? You see what you've done?” She sank onto the couch and buried her face in her hands. “Listen to what I'm saying. I'm a mess. I'm insane. I'm in love with you.”

“I know all that, Kate.” He sat beside her, pulled her into his lap. “It suits me just fine.”

“What if it doesn't suit me? I could really screw this up.”

“That's okay.” He kissed her cheek, nuzzled her head on his shoulder. “I'm good at fixing things. Why don't we look at the big picture and work on the details as we go along?”

She sighed, closed her eyes, and felt blissfully at home. “Maybe you'll be the one to screw it up.”

“Then you'll be there to put everything back in place. I depend on you.”

“You—” Those words, the look in his eyes that showed he meant them, were more powerful to her than any declaration of love. “I want you to. I need to know you do, and will. But marriage—”

“Is a practical, logical step,” he finished and made her smile.

“It is not. And besides, you never asked me.”

“I know.” He smiled back at her. “If I asked you, there's a possibility you would say no. I'm not going to let you say no.”

“You're just going to ease me into it until it's a done deal.”

“That's the idea.”

“It's pretty smart,” she murmured, feeling the beat of his heart under her palm. Fast and not quite steady, she realized. Maybe he was just as nervous as she was. “I guess since most of my stuff's here already anyway, and I love you so much and I've gotten used to your cooking, it isn't such a bad idea. Being married, I mean. To you. So, it looks like your idea worked.”

“Thank God.” He pressed her hand to his lips. “I have been waiting for you, Kate, all my life.”

“I know. I've been waiting right back.”

He tilted her head back and smiled into her eyes. “Welcome home.”