‘I was scared of losing you.’ His simple admission stopped her in her tracks, his honesty the revelation she needed. ‘I was scared of you balancing on a chair at that bloody house, scared of you driving around, scared of anything that might take you away from me. I know I was very wrong. I just didn’t want anything to happen to you.’
‘The way it did to them?’ Lily offered, because she knew what he must have been feeling, just had never considered it might have been related to her.
‘I’ve lost or damaged everyone I’ve ever loved and I couldn’t bear to it to happen to you. Couldn’t bear the thought of you getting hurt. Couldn’t bear the thought of you leaving, but at the same time I couldn’t cope with the thought of you staying, only to end up looking after me.
‘I love you.’ Hunter said it very slowly and very clearly so there was absolutely no room for doubt. ‘I love you because you’re funny and kind and good. I love you because, whether or not you love me, you’d have looked after me even though that truly terrified me. I love you because for the first time in my life I actually wanted to come home…’ He was staring right at her as he spoke. ‘For the first time in my life I actually felt as if I had a home.’
‘You really love me?’ she checked, and he laughed.
‘I love you because even when I’m saying it over and over, you still don’t believe it. God, Lily.’ Exasperation crept into his voice. ‘I’m lying here telling you all this like some blubbering idiot and I don’t even know how you feel. Isn’t that proof enough?’
‘You know how I feel,’ Lily shot back. ‘Why else would I have put up with you?’
‘Oh, I can think of a few reasons—because I’m loaded, because I’m brilliant in bed, because you’re pregnant and feel that you have no choice…’ He was joking, sort of, but he was also letting her in, allowing her to glimpse his fears. Both of them were being honest for the very first time, and it felt wonderful.
‘They’re not reasons to stay, Hunter, they’re excuses.’ Lily smiled, treated him to a short, sharp lecture just as she had the night they’d met.
And he confronted her, just as he had the night they’d met.
‘Stop evading the issue.’
‘I’m not.’
‘So what’s the real reason you’d be staying?’
She took a deep breath, held it for a moment before diving into the giddy world of being Hunter Myles’ s real wife, before saying the words she truly thought she never would.
‘I’m staying because I love you.’
EPILOGUE
‘I THINK Cory’s getting a tooth!’
Emma’s voice carried from the lounge to the kitchen where both Hunter and Lily were frantically trying to prepare a gourmet meal in a matter of minutes while Emma nursed her nephew. Somehow they had to cover up the fact that they’d forgotten that they had asked Jim and Emma to come over for dinner tonight.
Chaos was the norm these days—delightfully so. This was home now. No catered dinners. No working to the housekeeper’s schedule. It was chaotic bliss.
Hunter, thanks to finally mastering the art of delegation, was home far more often, only Lily was working now. Her studies were complete, she had a small but steady stream of patients. Just another busy couple juggling the demands of one small baby and two careers—and it was wonderful.
‘Is he sleeping through the night yet?’ Emma called.
‘Is she referring to you or the baby?’ Lily grinned before cheekily calling back the answer to both questions. ‘If I’m lucky I manage four, maybe five hours!
‘Open this,’ she added, handing a jar of sauce to Hunter, who was pretending to be offended. ‘There’s some garlic bread in the freezer.’
‘I hope you haven’t gone to too much trouble…’ Both women’s voices trailed off as Emma wheeled into the kitchen and surveyed the chaos, clearly realising they hadn’t gone to any trouble at all.
‘Em, we forgot.’ Hunter actually winced. ‘Sorry! You know, new baby and everything…’
‘That’s OK.’ Emma attempted a martyred expression but it dissolved into a burst of giggles. ‘Actually, we both forgot, too. We only remembered we were supposed to be coming over for dinner half an hour ago!’
‘Why don’t we ring for Chinese?’ Hunter suggested, but Emma wrinkled up her nose. ‘Or Indian.’
‘Pasta would be great,’ Emma broke in. ‘Actually, I’m a bit off my food—were you like that, Lily?’ Emma’s cheeks were flaming. ‘When you were pregnant?’