‘Do you think they would have been?’
He wrinkled his nose. ‘I doubt it. I think Gwynnie’s death was the catalyst for my parents splitting up, but if she’d lived then they would’ve split up over something else.’
Katrina was pretty sure of the answer, but she asked the question anyway. ‘Have you ever talked to your family about it?’
‘No.’
‘How long is it since you saw them?’
He shrugged. ‘I can’t remember when I last saw my father. We haven’t exchanged Christmas or birthday cards for quite a while.’ He paused. ‘He remarried and had three more girls, so I guess he didn’t need me around.’
‘Rhys, you’re his firstborn. Of course he still needed you around.’
‘I’m a reminder of bad times for him. Just like I am for my mother.’
‘Do you still see her?’
‘I visit her every few months, but I don’t stay long.’ He shrugged. ‘It’s hard for her, Katrina.’
‘It’s been hard for you, too,’ she pointed out.
‘I’m not a little boy any more. I can deal with things. But now you know the truth about my family. They’re not like yours, Katrina.’
And she was very, very glad hers hadn’t been like that. ‘I wish for your sake they’d been more like mine.’
‘So,’ he said softly, ‘do I. But you can’t change the past, and I really don’t want to drag it up any more.’
‘Of course. And thank you for being honest with me.’
‘Honest?’ He smiled ruefully. ‘Not quite. Because there’s something I’ve wanted to say to you for a while.’
Her heart missed a beat. No. She was sitting on his lap, he was holding her close…he couldn’t be about to end things between them. Surely not.
Please not.
‘What might that be?’ she asked.
He raked a hand through his hair. ‘I’ve never said this to anyone before. And there are bits of me that are scared to say it. In case I get it wrong. And my timing’s completely out.’
She couldn’t read his face at all. And for him to be awkward and unsure…She was starting to worry. But if her world was about to crash down, better to know sooner than later. She lifted her chin. ‘Be brave.’ Even though she didn’t feel brave—at all. ‘Say it straight out.’
‘I love you,’ he said.
She stared at him, hardly able to take it in. ‘Did you just say…?’
‘Sorry. I told you it was bad timing. I’ve already dumped enough on you tonight.’ He turned his face away.
‘No, no, no.’ Gently, she cupped his face with both hands and made sure he was looking straight at her. ‘Guess what? I love you, too.’
He was silent for a long, long time. And then he said, ‘I can’t remember the last time anyone said that to me.’
What? She’d been told every single day for her entire life—either in person, or by text, or by phone, or by a card, or by something daft one of her parents had spotted on a day out, decided she’d like and parcelled up for her. It was something she did for her family too—she and Madison often gave each other ‘un-birthday’ presents, whether it was a fridge magnet or sticky notes or just a postcard one thought would amuse the other.
How could someone never be told they were loved?
It was way outside her comprehension.
‘What about your ex-girlfriends?’ she asked.
He shrugged. ‘I told you, I’ve never said it before. I couldn’t trust myself to commit—I’ve never had much faith in family and relationships—and my last few girlfriends said I was too cold.’
‘You’re not cold at all,’ Katrina said. ‘You’re private, yes, but you’re warm and you’re clever and you’re sexy as hell. And I love you.’
‘This isn’t fair of me. You deserve to be part of a warm, loving family, and I can’t give you that,’ he warned.
‘You don’t need to,’ she said simply. ‘I already have one. And I’d be happy to share them with you.’
There was wonder in his face as he looked at her. ‘I never thought this could happen to me. I love you, Katrina. I think I have since the moment I met you. When you went all stroppy on me and informed me that you were going to put a bit of sunshine into a child’s life and nobody was going to stop you.’ He smiled. ‘You’ve put sunshine back into my life.’
‘Good. And I intend to keep it that way.’ She paused. ‘There’s this little thing called teamwork. And I happen to think we make a great team.’
‘Yes. We do.’ He kissed her. A sweet, gentle kiss that was full of promise—a kiss that told her he’d finally broken down the wall around his heart and let her in.