She nodded. “I’m too selfish to say no.”
A soft sigh escaped between his parted lips, his shoulders finally relaxing. “Thank you.”
“And just so we’re clear, I love you, too, Dane.”
His eyes blazed, and he swooped down for a hard kiss. She wrapped her hands around his wrists and allowed herself to be lost in the moment. Need pulsed through her like liquid gold. It wasn’t just heat, but something infinitely sweet and precious.
“Promise me you’ll make an honest man out of me,” he whispered against her mouth.
She nipped his lower lip. “First things first.” Then linking her fingers with his, she dragged him to the bedroom.
Chapter Forty-Six
Sophia tapped her feet on the cool linoleum floor, then curled her hands so she didn’t start biting her nails again. The waiting felt like forever, even though the clock said only ten minutes had passed.
Dane put a hand over hers. “Hey. It’s going to be all right.”
She nodded, forcing a smile. Six months had passed since the dinner, and it’d been like a dream. It did indeed feel like they were trying to cram a lifetime of love into every single day.
And that was what had given her the courage to seek the answer—to see if she carried the genetic marker or not. Otherwise she wasn’t being fair to him…or to herself.
Dane had asked her a few times to marry him, but she’d demurred. She hadn’t wanted to make the decision without knowing. He’d understood her hesitation, but had kept asking anyway. It only made her love him more.
“I’m just nervous that I might have it.” She pressed her legs together to stop the foot tapping. “It’s so silly because knowing is probably better than not knowing so I can plan for it, but…” She sighed heavily.
“You’re going to feel silly when you find out you don’t have it.”
She chuckled weakly at how confident he sounded. Gratitude filled her like warm honey. He’d been so patient, so strong by her side. “Are you going to dole it out?”
“It?”
“Love. If I don’t have it, you’ll have a lifetime to love me.”
“No. I’m still going to give it my all every day.” He kissed her on the forehead. “You’re worth it.”
Finally the nurse called her name, and she got up and held out a hand. “Come on.”
“You sure?” Dane said.
She nodded. “We should be together.”
He took her cold, clammy hand. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
The doctor’s office was at the end of the hall. It wasn’t a big room, but it was enough to fit three people comfortably.
Dr. Brown was fairly young, in his mid-thirties. The soft lines on his face made him look boyish although there were a few premature gray streaks in his golden hair.
He smiled as Sophia and Dane entered together. That was a good sign, right? Surely he wouldn’t have smiled if the result was bad…
“Please sit down,” Dr. Brown said. He flipped through some papers.
Nervous energy burst through her like a cloud of wasps. He spoke, but she couldn’t hear anything over the buzzing in her head. His mouth moved in slow motion, the light in the office dimmed and—
“Sophia? Sophia!” Dane was shaking her. “Are you all right?”
“Yes.” She blinked a few times. “What happened?”
“You went pale so fast, we thought you might faint,” Dr. Brown said, concern in his dark eyes. “Did you hear what I said?”
“I don’t… No.” She looked at Dane.
“The tests came back negative. You’re fine.”
She let out a breath. She didn’t have it!
“Congratulations.” Dr. Brown smiled.
“For real? There’s no chance of error?” she asked.
“Well… Nothing is absolute, but the chances are virtually zero.”
She clasped her hands together. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
The doctor laughed. “So happy for you, Sophia. And you too, Dane.”
Her legs shook so hard, she could barely walk on her own. When she stumbled in the hall, Dane scooped her up and started carrying her.
“Oh my god, put me down!” she squealed.
“I think I’m entitled to carry my woman, especially after such great news.” He smiled. “I knew it.”
“How?” she asked, wrapping her arms around him.
“We were due for some good fortune in our lives.”
When they reached the lobby, he let her down. Her body glided along his, and she inhaled sharply at the contact. It was insane how much she wanted him still. She’d always thought the heat between them would wane as they stayed together longer, but it only seemed to grow more intense.