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“What?” Liam’s blue eyes widened and the cloud was swept away by fear.
“I need to. I’ll stay as long as it takes to find new childcare for Grace, but then I’m going to leave. It isn’t fair to our child to stay here.” Amelia bit her lip. “I hope I’ll still get to see Grace. I do love her.”
Liam rounded the counter and reached for Amelia’s hands. She was so surprised that she let him envelop both of her hands in his without pulling away. The contact was warm and soothing, but Amelia reminded herself to be strong. Liam didn’t love her.
“Amelia. Like I said, I wanted to do this differently, but there’s no time like the present. For a long time, I’ve let fear hold me back. Fear stopped me from having a serious relationship, from getting close to people I cared about, even from being the father that Grace deserves. When you came into my life, I hid behind you like yet another shield so that I could keep my distance from Grace. But you didn’t let me do that.” Liam’s lips quirked in a smile.
“Liam, what are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I made a mistake. I shouldn’t have hidden behind my fear for so long — and I definitely shouldn’t have let my fear stand between me and the people I love. Grace deserves better. So do you.”
Amelia couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Liam…”
“I love you, Amelia. I love Grace. And I love our baby.” His gaze dropped to Amelia’s stomach, then rose back to meet her eyes. “I should never have let myself put that love on the back burner. I thought the best thing I could do for all of you was work and stay away, but I realize now that was a mistake. I can’t let my work be more important than you.”
“Liam.” Amelia bit her lip. “I’ve dreamed of hearing this, but I’m having trouble believing that things won’t change.” She felt a tear roll down her cheek. “What if something goes wrong at work? What if we have a fight? You can’t just run off to the office when things get tough, like you did today.”
“I did run away today.” Liam nodded. “I told you I needed to do one essential thing. Do you know what that was?”
Amelia shook her head.
“I wanted you to come out of your room in the morning to find this, but we’ll have to go another way.” Liam let go of Amelia’s hands and crossed to his giant shopping bag. The first thing he withdrew was a sunshine-yellow onesie with the words I love my big sister! written across the front in big letters.
“Our baby should always know about family,” Liam said as he handed Amelia the onesie. “This is a reminder of what matters in our family.”
Our baby. Our family. Amelia’s emotions were in a whirl. It didn’t seem possible that Liam was really saying this.
“This is for Grace,” Liam said. He extracted a Lilypad Playbook, a kind of tablet for young children, from the bag. “I designed these to give kids the best educational advantages. I want that for Grace, too — but I don’t just want an education for her. I thought that was the most important, but I realize now that it isn’t. The most important thing is that she feels loved, always.”
Amelia nodded. “I agree. I do love her.” And I love you. The words sounded loudly and clearly in Amelia’s head, but she couldn’t quite say them. Not yet. Just because Liam was ready to be the kind of father his children deserved didn’t mean that he was ready to be a partner to her.
“So do I. The last one’s for you.” Liam pulled a small box out of the bag and handed it to Amelia. She opened it and immediately burst into laughter despite herself. Inside, nestled on the box’s cushion, was a ring with an enormous hard-candy diamond. “I wanted to get you a real one,” he said, “but not much was open this time of night, and I couldn’t wait to get back to you.”
“So, you got me some candy?” Amelia giggled.
“I did. But the important part is what it symbolizes.” Liam took the box gently from her hand, then stepped back and dropped to one knee on the kitchen tiles. “Amelia. I know that we’re already married and that our marriage hasn’t been the easiest so far. But there’s nothing I want in this world more than to stay married to you and to raise our children together. I love you, so very much. I’ve loved you for a long time now. I know I’ve hurt you, but if you’ll have me, I want to do my best every single day to make up for it. Will you make me the happiest man in the world and stay married to me?”
Amelia didn’t even hesitate. Her hand flew to her mouth as she nodded. “Yes. Yes, I will.”
“Oh, Amelia. I love you so much.” He took her hand and gently slid the candy ring onto her finger. Despite the swirl of joy and disbelief in her heart, Amelia giggled again at the feeling of the oversized candy ring on her finger.
“I love you, too.” She bit her lip as a flicker of a doubt bloomed in her mind. “But are you sure you’re ready for this? Real marriage, parenthood — all that? I know how much your job means to you.”
“My job does mean a lot to me — or it did.” Liam got to his feet and took both Amelia’s hands in his once again. “But like I said, none of it seems to matter without you and the kids. When we were at his ranch, Stanley told me that I should think about what I could allow myself to delegate. I can delegate my work, but I can’t delegate loving you. I can’t delegate being a father to our children.” He smiled at Amelia. “I know I’ve made mistakes, but from this moment on, I’m in this with you. As long as you’ll have me.”
At those words, Amelia finally let herself believe him. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, even as happy tears threatened to form.
“I’m in this with you, too.” She blushed as she leaned closer to him, this man who she loved. “Maybe now would be a good time to seal the deal.”
“Are you asking me to kiss you?” Liam grinned teasingly, and Amelia nodded, even as she felt her cheeks heat. “You never have to ask.”
Liam leaned forward and captured Amelia’s mouth in a sweet, gentle kiss. This kiss had all the passion, attraction, and connection of their previous kisses, but it had something else, too: the promise of a future together. Amelia melted into Liam’s chest as he kissed her thoroughly, his hands around her waist, hers resting on his shoulders. When they pulled away, Amelia caught sight of the candy ring and chuckled again. Liam followed her gaze.
“I promise I’ll get you a real one first thing tomorrow.”
“I won’t say no, but I hope I get to keep this one, too.” Amelia leaned her head against Liam’s chest. “It’s absolutely perfect.”
“Just like you.”
