“Lia?” he prompted, his voice shaking.
“Sam, you don’t have to do this,” she whispered, her own voice less than steady. “Not now. I’m happy. I want you. I have you. That’s enough for me.”
“Yes, but back when you were pretending to go all gaga over the thought of being pregnant,” he began, and she remembered the night in question with a smile. He’d looked totally freaked out. “I was thinking about medical plans, kids’ names, schools, and how our little girl would look. And then I really freaked out when I realized that I was disappointed when you took me from ‘Ha-ha, maybe I’m pregnant’ to ‘Ha! No, on the pill, sucker!’” He affected a high-pitched voice to imitate her, and she grinned at his falsetto before his words sank in.
“Are you serious? You were disappointed?”
“Imagine how weird it was for me,” he said. “I think that’s when I first had an inkling about my feelings for you.”
“I love you,” she said, swiping at another tear, and he cupped his palm around her nape and tugged her closer for a kiss.
“Will you marry me?”
“Yes. Eventually.”
“Eventually?” he asked, lifting his head and glaring at her. “What the fuck does that mean?”
“I’m not upstaging my sister. I want her wedding to be the only focus right now. Let’s tentatively schedule our marriage discussion for . . .” She squealed and then laughed when he yanked her onto his lap and kissed her again.
“You’re so full of shit,” he muttered against her mouth. “You said yes, so we’re engaged. It can be a long engagement or a short one. But I want at least an engagement ring on your finger before arseholes like Gregory think they still have a chance with you. We clear?”
“As crystal.”
“Lia, I’m going to say it now, okay? Out loud,” he warned, and Lia couldn’t stop herself from grinning ear to ear. For someone who had already told her he loved her more than once, he was certainly turning this into a production.
“Aaanytime now,” she singsonged when he swallowed nervously. He glared at her.
“I love you.” The words were curt and not very romantic, but she’d take them, because they were completely sincere.
“I know, Sam. And I love you, too.”
EPILOGUE
Five years later
Mason Carlisle slammed into the hospital waiting room. He was wearing green scrubs and a huge grin on his handsome face. Lia entwined her fingers through her husband’s and they both surged to their feet along with the rest of the room. Heavily pregnant Daff had to be assisted by Spencer. She was expecting their second child, a girl, to go with their beautiful three-year-old son, Connor.
“It’s a girl,” Mason announced proudly, his eyes gleaming with tears. He and Daisy had chosen to wait until after he completed his degree and they moved back to Riversend before starting their family, and this was their first addition. Neither had wanted to know the sex of their baby, but Lia had known it would be a girl. She’d always known their first child would be a girl. She squeezed Sam’s hand smugly, and he laughed quietly beneath his breath.
“Daisy’s fine. God, she was so amazing,” Mason continued, self-consciously scrubbing a hand over his wet cheeks. “We’re naming the baby Primrose.”
“Ha, told you it wouldn’t be Delphinium!” Sam muttered triumphantly. “You owe me breakfast in bed tomorrow morning. Along with my other B of choice for dessert.” She shot him a scandalized look before wildly scanning the room to be sure nobody else had heard his words. Thankfully they were all too focused on congratulating Mason.
“Primrose?” Lia repeated, a little disgusted. “Oh gosh, oh no . . . this means Pansy’s next, followed by Poppy,” she continued in dismay, and Sam laughed out loud this time.
“You’re fucking crazy, but I love you,” he said, dragging her close for a kiss. He led her to Mason, and they both hugged and congratulated him before asking if they could see Daisy. Mason nodded, he had his phone to his ear and was telling Charlie the good news. The twenty-year-old was currently in her second year at college in Cape Town. She was studying marine biology, and her brothers could not stop bragging about her to anyone who would listen.
“Come on, let’s go check out this kid,” Sam said, tugging Lia toward the door, and she sighed in exasperation.
“Sam,” she said, then repeated it more loudly when he continued forward. “Sam!”
“What?”
“Forgetting something, are we?” she asked pointedly, and he stared at her blankly before his face cleared and he grinned sheepishly.
“God, sorry!” he apologized and picked up one of the little baby seats from the plastic hospital chairs, while Lia got the other one.
“Forget the babies again, Sam?” her father asked. It was becoming a standing joke in the family. Sam was an amazing father, he loved the twins to bits, but after six weeks, it was still hard for him to remember that it wasn’t just him and Lia anymore. They’d only been married for three and a half years—Lia had insisted on a long engagement while they figured out their careers and living arrangements.