Mildred was turning when I caught her by the arm and made eye contact with Chris. “I’m sorry I wasn’t the one to tell you guys about Gabe. You deserved to know.”
She brushed some escaped red tendrils out of her face. “Oh nonsense, sweetheart. You’ve had enough to worry with. I was relieved we hadn’t misjudged Gabe in the beginning.” She looked to Gabe. “The resemblance is uncanny.”
She reached out her hand and Gabe took it. “Take care of our Willow.”
“I have every intention of doing that.”
Smiling back at me, she said, “You did good with this one.”
“I think so, too.”
I glanced at Gabe. It was obvious he was relieved. Coming home felt more right than it had in a long time because of the man with me. So much had changed since I had been here last. Gabe was alive, I was pregnant with twins, and Alex was alive.
Inside I felt different in some way, but the house welcomed me regardless. When we had to leave, it would be too soon.
“I hope this young man has been feeding you good. I made lasagna for lunch.”
Lasagna was my favorite. “It’s so good to be home.”
Chris gave me one last hug. “I hate to run, but my granddaughter has a recital.”
“Tell her I said congratulations. Hopefully she can come to the house and show me sometime.”
Chris beamed. “I will. She’ll love it.” Hesitantly, he put his hand out for Gabe who took it firmly. “Take care of her. She’s like a daughter to me.”
“I promise, sir. I hate what my brother did. I had no idea he was still alive.”
“I know, son.”
From the welcoming smiles on their faces everything would be okay.
In the bedroom, down the hall from mine, I stood surveying the room. Currently, it was a guest room. Dad’s paintings of the willow tree were leaning against the wall. They used to hang above my crib after I was born. The tree was colorful as the weeping willows incorporated all the colors. As a child, it was the first thing I saw in the morning when I woke up and the last thing before I fell asleep.
I checked the time. We were going to have to leave here shortly and I wasn’t ready to go. Lunch had taken longer than expected as I filled Mildred in on Carson. For now, I wasn’t telling her or Chris about the pregnancy. The fewer who knew, the better.
Mildred had left for the day to catch up with her sister, who was staying the night. Security was definitely tighter, but necessary. I had seen men circulating a few times while we ate lunch.
This morning on the way to the doctor I called Apple Blossom to inquire about volunteering art lessons for a day. The director had been hoping I would call to schedule something since she’d received the okay on my background checks. She loved my assistant “Joe.”
Gabe came up behind me and kissed me on the neck, only teasing my already frustrated libido. I leaned back into him. “Is this where you want the babies’ room?”
“It is.”
I pointed to the corner. “I thought I could paint a mural over there for a play area. Something cute.” Feeling a new wave of energy, I stepped from Gabe’s arms and walked across the room. “And over here, I could paint something else that went along with reading. A rocking chair would be nice. Something comfortable.” I walked across the room to the windows and waved my hands. “This would make a good place for the changing area. I know eventually the kids will want their own rooms. But I think it’ll be easier to keep them in the same room for now.” I pointed to the wall with the bed. “I figured two cribs could go over here. I wanted to put the paintings Dad did for me as a kid between their beds.” I stopped when I realized Gabe hadn’t said a word.
He was watching me with a huge grin on his face.
“What? Why are you staring at me?”
“Because right here. Right now. I have everything I ever wanted. You’re going to be a wonderful mother. Thank you for having my babies.”
My heart melted. “Our children are lucky to have a dad like you. They’re going to be loved.”
“Always.” Gabe wrapped his arms around my middle and I leaned back. Things were good between us.
In a little less than eight months, this room would be filled with love and screaming babies. I wondered if Mom and Dad had planned my baby room similarly. I chuckled to myself. Dad probably had. Mom was more laid-back. Dad had always been the worrier. He had fretted for days, wondering if Mom would agree to marry him. Thinking of them reminded me of something he knew as I broke free of Gabe’s embrace.
“How did you know about Dad and me going to the spot every year where he proposed to Mom?”
When Gabe had been Tack, he had initially received my trust because he knew about my tradition with Dad. No one else knew. No one. Every year, we went to the spot behind our estate in Italy where Dad proposed to Mom. We laid flowers and stayed there for hours sharing memories. It was painful but healing at the same time. Since I lost Mom when I was younger, it helped cement those memories firmly in my mind.
“I came here before I left to go back to base.”
He had? Dad never mentioned anything. My eyes darted back and forth.
Gabe walked to me. “I came here to declare my intentions to your dad. I wanted him to know how madly in love I was with you. It was important to me for him to know since I was leaving for an undetermined amount of time. I imagined how I would feel if it had been my daughter.”
If there was ever a moment for me to fall more in love with Gabe, this was it. “Wh-when did you do this?”
“The day I took you to the park to carve our initials in the tree. I came by here first thing in the morning instead of going on my run while you slept. Your dad took me down to the ocean and we drank espresso. I was a nervous fucking wreck. Then he pumped more caffeine into me. It’s amazing I kept it together.”
I chuckled. Dad always started deep conversations with espresso. “That sounds like Dad.”
“It was a tough conversation. Alfonso began by saying you had a pure love. There were no hidden agendas to your love. It was a gift to have a woman like that. He asked me why I thought I deserved you over anyone else.”
Wow. What had he said?
Gabe moved me to a chair and knelt before me. My voice caught in my throat. “I told your dad I didn’t deserve you.” I started to protest, but he held up his hand. “It’s true, sweetheart. I don’t deserve you. But, I told him I would never stop loving you and proving I did. I told him I would protect you until my dying breath.”
Tears slipped free. “You do deserve me, Gabe. We deserve each other. Love isn’t who is better. It makes us better and fuses us together.”
“It does.”
His hands grabbed mine. “I told your dad that I planned on making you my wife when you were ready and that I wasn’t going to rush you. I swore to him I would protect you always.”
That was the promise Tack spoke of when we talked. His words were beautiful. I was speechless. He caressed the side of my face.
“Alfonso then told me of your tradition. I asked him why he told me. All I got in response was a reference to the ocean. He said, ‘the tide recedes and comes back again every day regardless of the weather. Love should be like the tide and always return even when things are difficult.’”
It was Dad’s way of telling me he approved of Gabe. I threw my arms around him and knocked us to the floor. Gabe protected me so I was barely jostled. “I meant what I said earlier. My entire world is in this room. But it will be complete when you agree to be my wife.”
I wanted nothing more than to be his. Forever. Fingers came to my lips. “I’m going to give you a proposal you deserve, but I don’t want you to wonder what my intentions are.”
“Gabe, I love you.”
“You’re my life, sweetheart.”
The cleaning smell was strong as I entered the waiting room. I had crossed paths with the janitor near the door. It was some sort of bleach with pine lemon smell. It was a welcome smell over burnt co
ffee.
Marissa and Rosie were talking to Marie in the waiting room. Only approved family were allowed in Carson’s room. It seemed like Marie was filling in my friends.
For a moment I froze, wondering how I would explain everything. They knew I was married to Alex. Overall, the marriage had been kept low key due to Alex’s supposed undercover cop job. He’d only met them once, maybe twice, in person. What a fool I had been. All lies.
At Martha’s Vineyard I’d reconnected with my friends. They welcomed me back with open arms. In a little over five months, Marissa would marry her longtime boyfriend, Clay.
Rosie was in a league of her own. For years she had obsessed over Carson, or whoever was unattached in our circle of friends. I was still unable to get the image out of my head of Rosie in teal feathered nightie when she wanted to seduce Carson at Martha’s Vineyard. The horror of the visual lingered. But, that same weekend, Rosie had hooked up with Mitchell. Things were going strong between them.
Their eyes bugged out when they saw the man walking behind me.
“He’s alive?” Marissa’s eyes grew even wider. “I mean… I… I thought he was killed.” She covered her mouth with her hand as she muttered, “Oh shit. I need to shut up now.”
Rosie stood there frozen, too.
“Um…” Great, Willow. Perfect answer. I had no explanation. What was I allowed to say? They stared at me, waiting for a reason why my dead husband was alive.
Gabe gave my waist a squeeze just before he said, “Hey, Marissa. Hello, Rosie. It’s been a while. Let’s talk in a side room.”