“He’s mine.” He breathed in wonder.
She exhaled in relief. “He’s yours?”
He handed her the papers, which she eagerly accepted. “It’s 99.9 percent accurate,” she read aloud. “He really is yours.”
“No one can take him away.”
She dropped the papers with utter relief. “You’ve got a kid, Walker.”
“Yeah.” His smile was slow but not less devastating in its joy.
Her heart throbbed in her chest as she watched him. A weight had been lifted off his shoulders, and it showed on his face.
He glanced back at her before wrapping a hand around her nape and pulling her forward for a searing kiss.
“We’re celebrating tonight,” he said against her lips.
“Hell yes we are. Let’s ask Emily to stay, and we’ll pop open a bottle of wine.”
“Now who’s brilliant?”
As she leaned into the kiss, she couldn’t help smiling. Everything was falling into place one step at a time.
…
He tumbled into bed, Clara in his arms.
“That was a fun evening,” she sighed, snuggling up to his side.
“Yes, it was.”
They’d opened the wine but shared it with Emily as they’d passed the baby around the table, taking turns entertaining Hunter.
The nanny had been as thrilled as they were to learn the baby was officially a Beckett. She’d whipped up a meal that clearly put his meager culinary skills to shame, but none of that mattered. His child was undisputedly his, and his best friend lay in his arms.
When had he gotten so lucky?
He rolled his head to watch her, only to find her looking at him.
“Hey,” he murmured.
“Hey,” she whispered, reminding him of their first time together.
He reached over to brush the hair from her eyes. Her expression was languid but open. Once again, her beauty made him pause. He’d heard her complain over the years that her eyes were a little too wide, her nose a touch too long, her lips too full for the professional persona she tried to project. Staring at her now, all he could think was the flaws she saw made her perfect to him. She was gorgeous in a way no one else would ever be able to match.
Still, he wanted more. More than just hearing about her secret flaws and complaints. He wanted her trust, completely and utterly. Wanted the answers to the riddle she posed.
Would she tell him now what she’d never given him before?
“Can you trust me?” he asked, his voice soft as he traced her features with a gentle fingertip.
“I trust you more than any other person on the planet,” she answered with a laugh.
“But you still have secrets.”
The smile dimmed before she pushed herself up into a seated position.
He followed suit more slowly, loath to leave behind the intimacy between them.
“You’re asking about my past,” she said.
“Yes.”
She grabbed a pillow and hugged it close to her chest.
To distance us? he wondered. Or for comfort?
He slid closer until their knees touched. “You don’t have to tell me. But I’m here if you want to.”
“It’s not a unique story,” she said, picking at the bedspread. “All it will do is make you pity me.”
Cupping her face, he lifted her eyes to his. “You are the strongest woman I’ve ever met,” he told her. “Pity is the last thing I’d ever feel for you.”
Indecision filled her eyes.
“Let me know you,” he whispered, kissing her softly.
She sighed against his lips. “I’ve avoided this story for ten years.”
Hearing the brittleness of her voice, he relented. “You can avoid it for another ten if it makes you feel better.”
She shook her head. “No. You’re right. We’re moving forward for the first time in too long. Couples should trust each other. Should share what matters.”
Couples. Because that’s what we are right now.
Usually the idea of being in a relationship gave him hives, but hearing the word he dreaded on Clara’s lips didn’t seem as bad as he’d thought.
What is she doing to me?
Clara pulled back from his touch, and he let his hands fall as he waited for her to start.
“I wasn’t a baby on a doorstep but I was close,” she finally said.
“What?”
A ghost of a smile touched her lips. “Except neither of my parents wanted me the way you want Hunter.” She ran a hand down her face. “I was an accident. One that forced two people who were clearly not meant to be together into a permanent bond. Until Dad found a way to make it not so everlasting, that is.”
“Divorce?”
“Yep. He jetted off to Europe with his new arm candy, and that was the last I ever heard from him.”