Silence descended again. Chase looked toward the beach. “Pretty heavenly out here, huh?”
“Everybody’s working. It’s quiet. Really, really quiet.” And now that he was sitting there with her, she realized how damned lonely she’d been. “Hey, um, did you want to know if the baby is a girl or a boy? They could tell in my last ultrasound, but I won’t say if you want it to be a surprise.”
His face lit up again. “You know?”
She smiled and nodded. “I couldn’t wait. And I have enough surprises coming at me. I thought knowing might help me get ready. But if you want to wait—”
“No. No, I’d love to know.”
“Okay.” She stood, pulled the envelope from the kitchen desk, and crossed the room to offer it to him.
Instead of taking the envelope, he wrapped his fingers gently around her wrist. And the way he looked up at her made her ache. “God, I’ve missed you.”
Her heart squeezed hard. Fear lunged to the forefront, but she pushed it back. She was so tired of hiding and fighting. “I miss you too.”
“Sit with me?”
She let him draw her onto the sofa beside him. Zahara pressed her face to his shoulder. “It’s really hard for me to say I’m sorry. And I should have said it long before now…” Unease tightened her throat, and she deliberately pulled in air. “I have…baggage, you know? But I’m working on it. I don’t want it to affect how I raise the baby. I’ve been reading books and watching videos—”
“Z.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a bear hug. “I have complete and total faith in you. You are going to make an amazing mother. Baggage or no baggage, everything that’s happened in your life has made you you. I love the way you turned out, and I’m going to love our baby, no matter how he or she turns out. That’s what families are about—loving unconditionally.”
He was warm and strong, and he smelled clean and spicy. Now, safe in the circle of his arms, she hated the wedge she’d driven between them. When he tipped her head back, she had tears sliding down her cheeks, and she didn’t care. He’d been strong enough to come here, strong enough to apologize, strong enough to embrace this surprise baby. Zahara could find a way to be strong enough to show her feelings. To trust. To love.
She wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled his head down to kiss him. Everything about it felt magical—the way his lashes fluttered closed, the way he hummed against her lips, the way he combed his fingers into her hair.
When he pulled back, she said, “You were right.”
“Which time?” he asked with a grin. “I’m right a lot.”
She burst out laughing and pushed at his chest, but he didn’t let go.
When the laughter ebbed, she said, “In the very beginning, when you said I was afraid of you. Of us. I was. I still am.”
He let his forehead fall against hers. “Let’s be scared together, Z.”
“Yeah,” she said. “I like that idea.” She kissed him again, then offered the envelope. “Look at your baby.”
“Wow, this is pretty exciting. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to find out with you.”
“You can come when I have another scan.”
“For sure.”
He took a deep breath and opened the envelope, drawing out the pictures. “Drum roll, please…”
He looked at the images, his eyes darting to the words the sonographer had written on the screen: It’s a girl!
“Oh my God.” He looked at Zahara. “A girl? Really?” When she nodded, he laughed and looked at the pictures again. “Good God, a little girl.” He flattened a hand over his heart. “Damn, that is…indescribable.” Tears glazed his eyes, and he pulled Zahara into another hug. “I hope she looks just like her mama.”
Zahara laughed. “The pictures are all the same. I asked for extra so you could give them to your parents and sisters.”
“My family is going to freak out over this.” He kissed her forehead. “Have you picked a name yet?”
“No. I wanted to do that with you.”
He kissed her again, longer, deeper, and Zahara had never felt anything so good. She pulled out of the kiss, framed his face with her hands, and let go of that last tether of fear. “I love you, Chase. I really do.”
Softness slipped into his gaze just before he closed his eyes and pulled her close. “Oh God, you have no idea how good that feels.”