A Soldier’s Heart(62)

He whirled and saw her, his eyes widening in shock and ultimately joy; eyes full of all the answers she’d ever need.

“Sweetheart!” He caught her with hands that locked them together. He slid his fingers into her hair and sought her mouth like a man dying of thirst seeks water.

She clung to him, whispering words of love onto his lips, his cheeks, his eyelids, and received them in turn.

He cupped her tear-streaked face with his hands, his thumbs caressing her trembling lower lip. His eyes, no longer unfathomable, searched hers. “I feared I’d never get this chance to tell you I love you in ways I’ve just begun to understand.”

She turned her lips into his palm and kissed it. Cupping it against her cheek, she looked up into those eyes which so long ago had first drawn her. “We’re the lucky ones. We have been given another chance.”

He pulled her tightly within the haven of his arms. “It’s not chance at all, sweetheart. In every battle I’ve ever fought, I’ve been alone. But today I could feel you beside me, feel your love reaching out to me.”

At last a joyous peace settled into Serena’s heart and she knew that of all their beginnings, this was the one of love.