“He figured out there was a reason why you took that picture when I didn’t know about it.”
“I took it so that when he saw it, he would know how exhausted you were while you were out trying to find him,” she defended. “It proved your love for him.”
“In his mind it proved something else, too.”
“That I love you?” she fired. “I have learned to love you in my own way, Vic. You’re a remarkable man and father, loved by your friends and family. What’s there not to love about you?”
“I could say the same thing to you. I’ve loved you for a long time. After the way you helped me find Jeremy, I can’t find the words.”
She got up from the chair. “We made a good team.”
He shook his head. “I despise that term. It doesn’t begin t—”
“Claire?” a familiar voice cried out, interrupting what he was going to say. “Dad?”
Vic frowned. “In the family room, sport.”
He came running into Vic’s arm. They hugged hard. “How come you came home so soon?”
“I have a stomachache and told Nate’s mom I didn’t want to stay there.”
Vic’s glance met Claire’s over Jeremy’s dark head. “Then I’m glad you’re here. Do you want to lie down in your room?”
“No. I want to stay in here with you and Claire.” He curled up on the couch just as Vic’s cell rang.
He pulled the phone from his pocket. It was Nate’s mom. He clicked On. She started to apologize, but he cut her off. “No explanation is necessary. Thank you for letting him play there as long as you did and driving him home. He’s fine now and will talk to Nate later.” He clicked Off.
Jeremy lay there looking at both of them with his w
arm brown eyes. “Is everything okay?”
“Of course,” Claire assured him. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
He sat up. “Are you two going to get married?”
In an instant, Claire lost color. “You know what? While you two talk, I’m going in the kitchen to fix us some lunch. Maybe by the time it’s ready, your tummy won’t hurt so much.”
His son’s timing to come home couldn’t have been worse. After she disappeared, Vic walked over and sat in the chair she’d vacated. Jeremy swung his legs to the floor. “Is Claire mad at me?”
“I don’t think so.”
“I bet she is.”
“Why?”
“Because she wouldn’t answer me.”
“That’s because she couldn’t.”
“How come?”
“A lady waits for the man to ask her to marry him.”
“Oh. So you haven’t asked her?”
“No.”
“But you said you loved her, and she said she loved you.”