“I can understand that.” His voice was just a little unsteady, as if shaken by emotions he was holding barely in check. “I’m a little nervous about all this myself. But every fiber of my being tells me it’s right. In fact…”
His eyes glinted with a return of the infectious humor that was so much a part of the man she had fallen in love with over Chinese food. “I’d be willing to wager on it. I’ll bet you that I’ll be around to walk Daryn up the aisle in, say, twenty-five years or so. Assuming we let her date by then, of course.”
Nerves merged with hope, both mixed with almost overwhelming love. She moistened her lips and tried to match his light tone. “What are you willing to bet? Another hundred bucks?”
“I’m willing to bet everything I have,” he answered simply, his eyes burning with sincerity. “I’m betting my heart.”
Taking all her courage metaphorically in both hands, Kim moved into a group hug with Tate and Daryn, smiling up at him mistily. “I’ll take that bet.”
While Daryn patted their faces enthusiastically, she and Tate sealed the wager with a kiss.
Epilogue
Guided by the dim glow of a nightlight, Kim made her way back to her bed in the middle of that night. Dropping her lightweight summer robe to the floor, she lifted the sheet and slipped beneath, where she was gathered immediately into Tate’s bare arms.
“Is she okay?” he asked, his voice husky.
“She’s fine. Just making noises in her sleep again, I guess.”
“She makes some funny ones,” he agreed with a chuckle. “Startled me a couple of times last night when I was snoozing in the chair.”
“I worry a little that you’ve only seen the best side of her,” she fretted, resting her head on Tate’s chest, just above his steadily beating heart. “I mean, she’s a very good baby, but she can be a pill sometimes.”
He laughed softly. “The best side of her? Did I mention the two toxic-level diapers I changed last night? Or that I learned the hard way not to bounce her up and down immediately after giving her some milk? Or that she tuned up for a scream-fest every time I dared to lay her down for a minute last night? I had to time my bathroom breaks with her naps, which wasn’t always ideal, by the way.”
“No, you, um, didn’t mention any of that.” She was amazed yet again by what he had encountered with such admirable equanimity last night.
“But then this morning when she woke up and gave me one of those slobbery little two-toothed grins? Well, my heart melted.”
“I react exactly the same way to that smile every morning,” she admitted.
Tate shifted onto his side and leaned over her, brushing her hair away from her face as he looked down at her. “I know it’s going to take some time for you to really trust that I’m in this for the long haul. I’m thinking you should look at the evidence. I’ve survived a weekend with your mother and her sister, a grilling by your grandmother, a test of on-the-spot resourcefulness by your younger brother, and a night with a sick, cranky baby and her sick, cranky mother—and I’m still here. Still oddly looking forward to whatever else you might throw at me.”
She shook her head in bemusement. “Maybe I just can’t imagine why you would want to continually subject yourself to my crazy life.”
“Because I love you,” he answered without hesitation. “And I love Daryn. I love us together as a family. Maybe someday an even bigger family.”
She swallowed hard at the thought of having a child with Tate. She’d convinced herself she would never have another child, and she’d thought she was okay with that. Now she realized she liked the idea very much.
“Too soon?”
“Maybe a little,” she agreed with a shaky laugh.
He brushed his lips across hers. “We have plenty of time to discuss kids. I guess we should focus on getting married first. To make your mother happy, of course.”
“Married,” she repeated rather blankly.
He chuckled. “Married. I don’t want to be your husband for a weekend, Kim. I want to be your husband for a lifetime. Any thoughts about that?”
“I think…Grandma gave her ring to the right granddaughter, after all,” she said shakily.
His smile flashed in the darkness. “Is that a yes?”
“It’s a yes. We’ll take our time, do it right, make very sure of every decision we make, but—”
“I was thinking we could get married soon. I’d be good with Monday—but if you need a little more time, that’s cool, too. I know you can’t take any time off right now, but we can plan a vacation next summer, maybe.”
“Um—Monday?” The word came out in a near-squeak.