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I traced the words with my fingertips, tears sliding down my cheek as I turned my chin to answer him. “I was wondering when you were going to get around to this.”
Coming to his knee in the dying grass, he slid his hand into the pocket right inside the chest of his coat. “I didn’t want to be too predictable. Got to keep that spark alive. Don’t we?”
Taking a step toward him, I wiped my face with the back of my sleeve. “That’s never been a problem for us. Has it?”
He took the ring out of the box, sliding the tiny blue container into his waist pocket this time as he held the ring out between us. “Since the second you stepped into the cafeteria on the first day of school until right now, I’ve understood we belonged together.” Slightly rolling his eyes at me, he sighed at how he could never quite make any of us believe in all that woo-woo stuff he tried to convince us of. “I know you guys are always busting on me for being the magic man and all, but we’re soul mates. There’s never been any doubt for me, not a single second.”
My lips wiggled too much to say anything back, so I only nodded until he smiled at me. “I never lost faith that this day would happen. Because I can’t be without you, nor would I ever want to live in a world you weren’t part of ever again.” The fingers of his other hand bent for me to come to him. “So please make me the happiest man in the world and marry me.” Taking a deep breath when our hands met, his head dropped toward me a little as he arched his brow. “Finally.”
The same ring I left on the table twenty years ago slid down my finger, and I sighed as I held out my hand to see it. “Absolutely.”
Groaning as he stood again, he dusted off his pants leg. “Now that that’s out of the way...” Folding my hands under his, he bunched them together on his chest, that naughty turn of the end of his lip curling at me as he jerked his eyebrows. “Let’s talk about that empty pregnancy test box I found hidden at the bottom of the bag when I took out the trash this morning.”
I told myself I wouldn’t keep the truth from him if he figured it out, but there were so many possibilities still.
He squeezed my hands a little tighter when I hesitated, that hitch in his breath he let out telling me everything would be okay and making me relax enough to smile when he asked, “Baby, am I going to be a daddy?”
Nodding back at him, I caught a tear on the edge of my tongue. “I got one of those three test jobbies, and all of them were positive on different days. So, yeah, I think it’s safe to say that.”
“Oh, Faith.” He tossed his arms around me, holding on so tight I had to push him back a little. “I’m so happy. But why didn’t you tell me as soon as you found out?”
All those nagging doubts leaked out in a whisper when I closed my eyes. “It’s early still, Dom. I just wanted to wait until I got the labs back before I got your hopes up.”
We’d already been to the best OB/GYN in the state who warned us of all the challenges that might be ahead. So, he put his fingers to my lips and shushed any of those fears in me. “This is definitely not something I want you to protect me from. Good or bad, I’m with you in this — every second.” Two fingers softly beat at my lips when he motioned between us. “We’re a team, so please don’t leave me out of anything from now on.”
I shook my head back at him and let him take some of those worries from me. “I won’t. I promise.”
His eyes dropped to his watch, and he kissed the tip of my nose before he backed up a step. “Okay, we should head back now.”
Leading me toward the path again, he laid his hand on my back and flapped his lips. “I promised Jase and Carolyn I wouldn’t ruin the surprise, but it’s my professional opinion that it’s not the best time to be spooking you unnecessarily.” Unable to resist the urge anymore, he stopped me so he could touch my lower belly. “So, when you find a bunch of cars in the driveway, don’t let on like I told you about the party they’re throwing us, please.”
I put my hands over his against my shirt and shook my head, making our noses brush over each other as he waited to kiss me. “Dom, I wouldn’t dare ruin this day. We have so much to celebrate.”
We stood there at the spot where we made our love official and clung to each other for a few more minutes, recording that memory into our story forever.
57
Epilogue
Faith
I lifted my face from the fluffy pillow I passed out in and squinted into the darkness.
My eyes slowly adjusted to the moonlight coming through the curtains, and I noticed the bassinet beside the bed was empty.
Panic tore through me for a second when I realized I was all alone until the rocking chair creaking on the other side of the house caught up with me.
Pushing back the covers, I swung my legs over the side of the bed. Tiptoeing toward the familiar old country song about what a dad’s job is, I found Dom singing to Heidi and feeding her the bottle I saved for when he got home from work.
Because I knew how having his blue eyes fixed on mine could hypnotize a woman, my breath hitched at the beauty of him whispering over her and her cooing back at him. Not that I had a single doubt about what he’d be like as a father or husband, but how he fit the twenty-year-old daydream so well had me wiping my tears away in silence so I didn’t disturb him.
I leaned against the doorway, watching him love on her until he sensed me standing beside him and looked up at me. “I was just telling Heidi how one day I was going to find her a man who’ll love her as much as I love her mommy.”
Shaking my head as I came over to them, I pulled the blanket from the back of the sofa and wrapped it around me. “I don’t think that’s possible.”
I bent down to kiss him, and he smiled back at me as our lips broke apart. “Me neither.”
Between the meds, and the counseling, and the meditation, he found a comfortable rhythm to life even with the frequent feedings and diaper changes piled on to his other responsibilities. But he seemed a tad more tired-looking than usual and struggled to keep his eyes open to me when I sat on the couch. “How was work?”
