Her sweet face crumpled. ‘Alejandro—’
‘I think my father confused love with possession. He held on to her and refused to let her go because he saw her as his.’ He fought back the emotion clogging his throat. ‘And I promised myself I was never going to be like that with any woman. I wasn’t going to marry. I wasn’t going to have kids. It was all so clear and so easy for so long. And then you stole into my new home and I turned into a demanding creep.’
‘No—’
‘I locked you in the library,’ he growled. ‘For heaven’s sake, Kitty, I was awful to you that night.’
But she shook her head. ‘You weren’t that bad. I was the one who’d broken in. I was the one in the wrong.’
‘But I took advantage of that. I saw you and I wanted you so I used every chance that came my way to keep you with me.’ He’d taken total advantage of everything to do with her. ‘All you wanted was what should always have been yours. The necklace.’
‘But I also wanted you,’ she said softly with a small shrug. ‘I took one look at you and...you fascinated me. Maddened me. But I wanted you the second I saw you. You were more honest about that than me.’ She licked her lips. ‘And then I got to know you. You didn’t bully me into staying there with you. You didn’t threaten me with violence. Not once.’
‘But you had to stay only because I had something you wanted.’
‘What I really wanted was you.’ She smiled sadly at him. ‘And if I had really wanted to leave, you wouldn’t have stopped me. We both know that.’
Did they? Would he have let her walk out? Not with the diamonds, but without. Yes, he would have.
Her smile deepened as she watched him. ‘You would have figured out the ownership of the necklace and returned it. You’re not dishonest. You’re just. And that night with the necklace was the catalyst for the attraction between us. My staying here was convenient for us both. It’s just that I couldn’t admit it at the time. I never wanted to admit how attracted I was to you because it overwhelmed me. But I stayed and then really got to know you. That’s when I was really in trouble.’
Alejandro couldn’t dare believe that she truly cared for him. He didn’t deserve it when he’d been so arrogant and so damn dismissive. ‘I don’t want to make you unhappy. I don’t want you to feel trapped. I need to be able to let you go. I have to let you go.’ He ruffled his hair distractedly, unable to get the words right. ‘Because I’m afraid of myself.’ He looked up at her. ‘But now I’m more afraid of life without you. I’m so sorry I walked away from you that day in Scotland, Kitty. I’m so sorry.’
Kitty was struggling to believe that he was here. That he’d bought all those dresses all over again. That he was gifting her the diamonds.
Most of all that he’d opened up to her about his father and about his fears.
And she was too afraid to really question why. She couldn’t bear to have her heart broken twice over.
‘There’s something I need to tell you,’ she said quickly. ‘I had my first pregnancy scan yesterday.’
He paled and she saw the fear flare in his eyes.
‘It’s okay,’ she added quickly. ‘Everything is okay.’ She swallowed. ‘Better than okay in some ways.’ She breathed out, struggling to stay in control. ‘I’m having twins.’
‘Twins,’ he echoed softly, his eyebrows lifting.
‘Two babies. Twins. Yes.’ She still couldn’t believe it herself. ‘That’s why I’m showing so much more at this stage.’
‘I thought that was just because you’re not very...’ He trailed off. ‘Twins...’ He looked dumbfounded.
‘Yes. It’s in the family.’ She half smiled.
But his expression was shuttered.
She kicked herself for the reminder about genetics and the passing on of particular traits. ‘Not that we inherit...’
‘No, it’s okay.’ He huffed out a breath. ‘It’s just that I don’t want you to think I’m here because of the baby... Babies.’ He rubbed his hand through his hair. ‘The pregnancy isn’t relevant—it’s you I want.’
Her pulse pounded loudly in her ears and she was glad because she was terrified of hearing what he was going to say next.
‘Kitty—’
‘You know that marriages with multiples are more likely to fail?’ she interrupted in a rush. ‘Financial pressures. Lack of sleep. Extra stress.’
He smiled at her—a slow, tender, vulnerable smile. ‘We won’t have financial pressures and we can get help—nannies, cooks, cleaners, whatever it takes. We’re in a better position than most. The thing is, I don’t know how to be a father,’ he said huskily. ‘I didn’t have a good example.’
She shifted on her seat, moving nearer so she could hear every one of his almost whispered words.
‘And I’ve never had a relationship last much longer than a month.’ He leaned closer to her too. ‘But I want it all with you, Kitty. I want you. I love you.’
‘I don’t really know how to be a mother yet, either,’ she offered shyly. ‘A bit of instinct maybe, some help from the experts, and we’ll be okay.’
‘More than okay. I know I need help processing everything.’ He looked intense. ‘I know you know about the nightmares. I hadn’t had them in so long, but then with you I guess everything opened up...’ He trailed off and cleared his throat. ‘I thought I had it all together, but I didn’t. I wince at the way I treated those women. I was cavalier. I thought I was doing no harm. But I was.’
She reached out and framed his face with her hands. He needed to stop beating himself up. He needed to believe in himself the way she did. ‘You’re okay, Alejandro. You’re a good guy. And I love you.’
‘You’ve changed my life,’ he said simply. ‘I love you so much. I want to be the man you need. I’m going to be.’
There was the determination she loved in him.
‘You already are,’ she promised him. ‘You are.’
A half smile lit in his eyes and he reached into his pocket. ‘I got this for you.’
There was a rushing in her ears as he opened the small box and she saw the diamond ring.
‘The jeweller worked round the clock to match the style to the choker, but if you don’t like it we can get another.’
‘I don’t want another.’
‘You don’t have to wear it.’
She laughed through her tears. ‘Stop it. I love it. You didn’t have to do that—just coming here was enough. All I wanted was you.’
‘Oh?’ He reached into his pocket again, some of his cocky arrogance returning. ‘But I got these too. For, I don’t know...next week?’
She stared at the heavy matching wedding bands in his palm.
‘Too soon?’ There was an edge of anxiety in him now.
‘No,’ she whispered. ‘Oh, Alejandro.’ She launched into his arms. ‘I need to feel you again,’ she confessed. ‘So much.’
His laugh was brief but exultant and he stood and quickly turned, flinging the rings to the floor so both his hands were free—to hold her close. Caress her. Claim her.
The kisses were fiery and frantic and the fabric separating their bodies tore. But then, just when he was so nearly hers, he stilled.
‘I’ve missed you.’ He trembled as he held back. ‘I don’t want to hurt you—’
‘You won’t. It’s okay. I want you so much.’
He was gentle anyway, holding her protectively in his arms as they reconnected again in this most intimate, most emotional of ways.
‘I love you,’ he told her.