He only then noticed she was wearing the T-shirt he’d bought her, and that conjured up all sorts of hot memories. He smiled that wonderful, melting smile of his, and then he pointed at her and said, "You love me."
He tried to take her into his arms, but she backed away. "You can’t quit."
"Yes, I can," he said. "I’ll do whatever it takes to make you feel safe, but you’ve got to stop running. No matter where you go, I’ll follow you. Damn it, Laurant, I’m never going to let you leave me again."
She put her hand out to fend him off when he tried to grab her. "I wasn’t running away. You left me, remember?"
"Yeah, well, I came back and you were gone. You sure didn’t waste any time pining away for me. Tommy didn’t even want to tell me where you’d gone, but I made him."
She was starting to catch on. Her brother had become a match-maker. "And what did he tell you?"
"That you moved to Paris. It made me crazy knowing you were so far away," he admitted. "I have to have you in my life. I want to come home to you every night. I want to grow old with you. I need you, Laurant."
She started crying again. He wouldn’t let her back away from him this time. He pulled her into his arms and held her tight. He kissed her forehead as he whispered, "Will you marry me?"
"I won’t marry a man who can’t hold a job."
"Then I’ll take the coordinator position they’ve offered me."
"No, what you do is too important. You have to promise me you won’t stop."
"You mean it?"
"I love you, Nicholas."
"I won’t quit."
He nudged her chin up and leaned down. He kissed her passionately, letting her know how much he loved her.
"Marry me, Laurant. Put me out of my misery."
Her head snapped back. She was suddenly looking stunned again.
"How did you get here?"
He wouldn’t let her dodge his question. "Marry me," he repeated.
She smiled. "I want babies."
"So do I," he said. "With you, I want everything. I’ll be a neurotic father, worrying about them, but with you as their mother, they’ll turn out all right. We’ll be a good balance for them. As long as I have you by my side, anything is possible. I love you, sweetheart."
She was fervently kissing his neck. "I already know you love me."
"Yeah? When did you figure that out?"
She hoped their babies would have his blue eyes. They were so beautiful. "When I saw you at my door. That’s when I knew you loved me. You got on a plane and flew across an ocean for me."
He laughed. "Losing you was more terrifying. Besides, it wasn’t all that bad."
"Are you telling me you’re over your phobia?"
"Sure I am," he choked.
She smiled, kissed him gently, and whispered. "We’ll go home by boat."