And yet he was doing nothing to move away from her. He certainly wasn’t leaving. He was just standing there, breathing her in, trying to hold himself back from the insane need to cover her mouth with his and claim her as his.
His for ever.
‘On the contrary, this is entirely necessary.’ She cut across him. ‘This is me proving to you that I don’t need grand romantic gestures. I just need the little things that mean something.’
‘Is that so?’
‘It is.’
* * *
‘And some grand, romantic gesture...?’ His mouth twitched, but the gleam in his eyes reassured her.
‘Ironic, isn’t it?’ she said merrily. ‘Now, we’re already married, so I can’t propose. But I can organise a renewal of vows. A chance for us to recommit to each other when we both know exactly what we’re doing—and why. And a chance for us to do so in front of the two people we care about the most.’
Malachi knew, even before Sol and Anouk stepped around the corner, that his brother was going to be there. The one person he would have wanted to see him make a commitment to the woman of his dreams. It was as if she knew.
But maybe that was the point. Maybe Saskia really did know what he wanted and needed. She understood him, and she accepted him for what he was. And, after all, wasn’t that the true measure of love?
‘I think, Mrs Gunn,’ he managed hoarsely, reaching out to haul her into his arms, bump and all, ‘that I love you a little more every single day. And I want you in my life for the rest of time.’
‘I’m pretty sure I can manage that,’ she whispered, even as his mouth covered hers.
And her arms wrapped around him so tightly he hoped she would never let go.
* * *
Baby Gunn was born a mere week premature, with ten perfect toes and nine and a half perfect fingers. Her ankles still bore the scars of the amniotic bands, but Z-plasty would remedy that, just as a few months of night braces would correct the slight clubbing the bands had caused on her tiny chubby legs.
But to Saskia and Malachi their daughter looked beautiful. Their perfect baby, who had truly made their family whole.
* * *