Needed: One Convenient Husband(30)

"Couldn't. Past tense."

"What does that mean, exactly?" Against all the odds, the very fact  that Kyle was here, that he had gone to a great deal of trouble to find  her, filled her with wild hope. Hope that she couldn't afford because  she had barely survived leaving Kyle and, now that she was pregnant, she  could not accept the empty, convenient marriage he preferred. And she  would not, absolutely not, terminate her pregnancy.

"I followed you to the cemetery the day of the wedding. I thought-"

His gaze connected with hers for a long, tense moment. "I was saying goodbye."

Kyle pushed to his feet and did a restless circuit of the room before  crouching down and taking her hands in his. "I made a mistake, about you  and the baby. And about myself. I thought I couldn't heal, but I did-it  just took time." In grim, rough words, he told her about his hunt for  her and the research into her past that had finally made him face his  own demons. "When Nicola and Evan died I blamed myself."

Despite her determination to keep as much emotional distance from Kyle  as she could while he spoke, her heart broke for what he'd been through.  "You couldn't protect them from a terrorist attack."

"They shouldn't have been with me in barracks. I should have made them  stay in New Zealand where it was safe." He was silent for a moment. "I  was waiting for them as they turned into the barracks. One minute they  were there, the next there was...nothing."

Appalled, she stared at the tight clasp of his hands. "I didn't realize  you had seen it." And suddenly the small scars across his stomach and  arms, the nick on his cheekbone made sense. If he'd been caught by a  bomb blast, he would have had multiple injuries.

She touched her abdomen. "This baby could die." In terse words she told him the grim details of her childhood.

"I know," he said simply. "But the fact that our child may have the disorder, as bad as that would be, was never the issue."

And finally she understood. Kyle had blamed himself for the deaths of  his wife and child, but it hadn't ended there. Guilt had seared so deep  he thought he didn't deserve love or fatherhood.

She touched his clasped hands. "I thought you were incapable of loving  either me or the baby." When the reality was that Kyle was exactly what  she had first thought him to be when she had fallen for him as a  teenager, a strong protector who loved deeply. The way he had responded  to the loss of his family only underlined that fact.

Kyle gripped her hand. "I can love you and this baby, if you'll let me."

Dimly, she heard her name being called.

When she stood up, she pulled Kyle with her. "This is my husband," she  said a little shakily. "I'd like him to come into the appointment with  me."

Kyle sat with her while she had the procedure. When the clinician had  finished, he ascertained the time it would take to receive the test  results then made some calls. Normally it took two weeks, but a hefty  donation to the lab facility, and the time was reduced to forty-eight  hours.

When they left the clinic, on the advice of the clinician, Kyle  insisted that Eva shouldn't drive and that she needed to spend the next  couple of days taking it easy.

Kyle accompanied her down in the elevator. When they reached the  shadowy environs of the parking garage beneath the clinic, Eva gestured  in the direction of her car. "I could move back into my place for a  couple of days."                       
       
           



       

Kyle's Maserati flashed as he unlocked it. "I want you to stay at the house."

Kyle was still looking at her in an intent way that made her heart beat  faster, as if he couldn't bear to let her out of his sight.

She drew a deep breath, feeling breathless and on edge but oddly, crazily confident about Kyle for the first time ever. "Why?"

He cupped her face between his hands, and she let him pull her close,  loving the soft gleam in his gaze. "Because I love you. I'm in love with  you. I want you back, if you'll have me."

She felt weird and a little dizzy, but the feeling was oh, so good. "Yes."

A split second later she was in his arms. The emotions that rolled  through her were too powerful and intense to even think of moving; all  she could do was cling to Kyle, absorb the warmth and comfort of his  presence, and the stunning fact that he loved her.

She drew an impeded breath. "I love you."

A split second later, he dipped his head, and finally he kissed her.

* * *

Two days later, Kyle, who had taken time off work to be with her, took  the phone call from the clinic. He handed the phone to Eva.

Fingers shaking, she listened to the result then terminated the call.

Kyle pulled her close. "What did they say? Not that it matters. For  however long we have this baby, we'll love it, and if you want more  we'll adopt."

Eva swallowed, hardly able to believe what she'd heard after years of  fearing the worst. "They think it's all right. There's no sign of any  abnormality." Then she burst into tears.

Kyle simply held her, and when she'd finished crying, he pulled her  outside down to the sunlight-filled cove at the bottom of the garden.

He loosened off his hold and handed her a clean handkerchief. "I just wish you'd told me about the disorder years ago."

"I didn't know I was affected until after Mario broke us up." She  shrugged. "It was after that that he took me to a specialist and I had  the tests done. I think he was afraid I'd run after you." She sent him a  slanting glance, "And he was right. But when I understood I was a  carrier of the disease, that changed everything."

Kyle's brows jerked together. "I would never have walked away from you  because of a medical issue. Mario told me to back off. He didn't say  why, exactly, but he gave me the impression you came out of an abusive  home, that you needed protection, not sex."

She coiled her arms around his neck, loving the feel of him so close,  adjusting by slow increments to the knowledge that her future and the  baby's was going to be a whole lot different than she had imagined.  "Secrets are hard to let go of-they become part of you." She hesitated,  but it was time to let go of her own hurt. "Did I tell you that I love  you, that I've loved you for years?"

"Not today." Dipping his head, he kissed her for long, dizzying minutes.

Eva drew a deep breath as Kyle finally lifted his head. In the time  they'd been talking, the sun had slid down the horizon and the shadows  were lengthening. "We should go back to the house."

"First, you need to wear these." He reached into his pocket and pulled  out a familiar black velvet ring box. Holding her wedding and engagement  rings in one hand, he went down on one knee on the sand and slid them  onto the third finger of her left hand.

In the deep, steady voice she loved so much, because it was an  expression of Kyle's character, that he, himself, was steady and true,  he asked her if she would be his wife for richer, for poorer, in  sickness and in health.

Her throat closed up. "I will. I love you."

When he rose to his feet, she lifted up for his kiss. As they walked  back to the house together, Eva knew they would have difficulties to  face but, finally, she was secure in the knowledge that whatever came,  they would face it together.





Epilogue

Six and a half months later, in the midst of renovations to the house  they had firmly updated while keeping all of the beautiful period  features, Eva put the final touches to the nursery.

Maybe it was old-fashioned to want an actual nursery opening off the  master bedroom, but since she would only be pregnant this once, she had  decided she would have it exactly how she wanted. The renovation and  redecorating had entailed planning, hours of online browsing and  multiple shopping trips, but it had been a labor of love.

Kyle, who had arrived home unexpectedly, considering that it was only  two in the afternoon and he shouldn't have been home for a whole three  hours, leaned against the doorjamb and surveyed the room. "It looks  good." He gave her a slightly wary look as he loosened off his tie. "Is  it finished?"                       
       
           



       

Eva dragged her gaze from the electric blue of Kyle's. Months into a  marriage that had been more sublime and interesting than she could have  imagined, because she had never had to share her space with a man, she  was even more in love with her husband.

Her husband.

The words still gave her a thrill and filled her with a glow of  happiness. She and Kyle had spent time on Medinos, a honeymoon gift from  Kyle so she could get in touch with her Atraeus roots and get to know  her Messena relatives. She had met more family than she could poke a  stick at, but the experience had been filled with laughter and healing.  Most of all, she had enjoyed doing up the house with Kyle-the house that  he had bought for her-working together to create a home that was a  harmonious blend of them both. They still disagreed; on occasion they  argued, but Eva figured that was a healthy sign.