Fuck.
He keeps advancing on me, and I continue to back away until my back hits the railing on the far end of the porch, and I have nowhere else to go.
Rhys props his hands on either side of me and leans down until he’s nose-to-nose with me. “I’m so fucking in love with you, Gabrielle.”
“You weren’t leaving?” I whisper, still processing the words that just came out of his mouth.
“That’s all you got out of that?” he asks softly, his eyes searching my face. He’s not touching me yet, and I so want him to touch me. “I’m not leaving you. Ever.”
“Say the other part again, please.” My voice is rough with unshed tears.
“I’m in love with you.”
I bite my lip as one tear falls down my cheek.
“Are you going to say anything?” he whispers and catches the tear with his thumb. All I can do is shake my head. He loves me.“Good, because I have more to say.”
He takes my hand in his and leads me to my swing, gestures for me to sit, then sits beside me. “I’ve done a lot of thinking this weekend. Hell, I’ve been thinking since I got here.”
He smiles tenderly and pushes his fingers into my hair behind my neck, then begins to comb it. God, I’ve missed his touch.
“I really hope you want to stay,” I whisper, so softly I can barely hear it myself. Why am I so scared to tell him what I want?
“I think stay is the most beautiful word there is,” he replies and kisses my forehead.
“But I feel so selfish too,” I admit.
He cocks his head to the side. “Why?”
“Because you’d be changing where your home is, just for me. You’d be changing your life.”
“Gabby, home is wherever you and Sam are.”
I blink at him, stunned. Has anyone ever loved us so fiercely? And how did I miss this over the past few weeks?
“What about baseball?”
“What about it?”
“You’ll be gone a lot of the year for it.”
He nods thoughtfully. “Yes, but the majority of the season is in the summer when Sam is out of school. We are fortunate in that we can afford for you to go with me a lot of the time.” He drags his finger down my temple, then hooks my hair behind my ear. “All you have to do is tell me what you want, and it’s yours,” he continues.
“I want—”
“What?”
I shake my head and look away, but he tugs my chin back, so I have to look him in the eyes. “What do you want, baby?”
“I just want you. And I don’t want you to get mad when I tell you this next thing.”
He exhales slowly, still looking me in the eyes. “I’m not going to be mad.”
I nod and take a long, deep breath. This so didn’t go well the first time. I’m scared to hope that it’ll go better this time, so I clench my eyes closed, terrified to look him in the eyes.
“I’m pregnant.”
“Look at me.”
I simply bite my lip.
“Look at me, Gabrielle.”
I comply and feel the breath leave my body. His green eyes are soft. Tender. And if I’m not mistaken, a little misty.
And his voice is so damn soothing.
“Why in the world would that make me angry?”
“This conversation hasn’t gone well for me in the past,” I reply. “It scares me.”
He pulls me into his strong arms, holding me close, and kisses my forehead, then my lips. “No one wants this baby more than me,” he says. “You’re the best mom I’ve ever seen.”
“But it ties you to me forever,” I reply. “And I don’t know if you want that.”
“Well, that leads us to the next thing.” He clears his throat, then smiles widely, almost the way Sam does when he’s giddy. “I’m gonna be a daddy.”
“Yes, you are.”
“So fucking amazing.” He clears his throat again, and then his face sobers. “I love you, Gabby. You’re every hope, every dream I’ve ever had, and I didn’t even know it until I met you. No matter what happens in our life, every day I get to be with you is the greatest day of my life.”
Tears are now rolling unchecked down my cheeks. I can’t take my eyes off of him.
“You make me believe that love isn’t hard because you love everyone in your life so effortlessly.” He cups my jaw in his hands, his fingers mingle in with my hair, and his thumbs brush the tears from my face. “When you smile in that sweet way you do just for me, I swear I can see the next fifty years of my life.”
I smile and drag my fingers down his cheek. “I always think that you smile at me in a special way too.”
My heart stalls in my chest as he reaches in his pocket and pulls out a blue box with a slightly smashed white bow and places it in my palm. With shaking fingers, I unwrap the box and gasp at the gorgeous ring winking up at me.
“Rhys.”
“I need you with me, beside me, as my partner and my love, for the rest of my life, Gabrielle. Please tell me that you’ll be my wife. Have more babies with me. Let me give you and Sam my last name.”
Is this real?
“I love you so much,” I whisper through my tears. “I was so scared that I’d lost you.”
“Never.”
“I would be honored to marry you.”
“Oh no, sweetheart. The honor is all mine.” He lifts the ring from the box and slides it on my finger. It’s a perfect fit.