Oh, she had. And why hadn’t she thought to say that straight away to him? “Yes.” She looped her arms around his neck, the truth of that simple fact shining through. “I am totally and completely in love with you. I know it’s only been a few weeks. I’m the one who said things take time.”
“I seem to recall you shouted it in the Aston.” That gorgeous, lopsided grin of his returned, making her knees ridiculously weak.
“I did, didn’t I?” Ah, but she would need that stubbornness to go toe-to-toe with her hardheaded Landis man. “My point is, I do love you. It came on me differently this time, but I know just as surely that this is real.”
“Phoebe? Quiet, my love.”
His love? She would never grow tired of hearing that. “Yes?”
“I should have realized sooner what was happening between us. God knows, you’ve rocked me more in a million ways than anyone has before from the first time I saw you, to the first time I kissed you, made love to you. Something about the way you handled things with Bianca finally got through my thick skull until I could see just how perfect you are, how perfect we can be together. I would be a damn fool if I let you go.” His smile dug a dimple in his cheek. “I may have been slow on the uptake, but I’m not an idiot. I love you, Phoebe Landis, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you and our daughter and any other children we decide to add to our family.”
“And I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
He tucked her closer against him, their bodies a perfect fit. “We’ll start house-hunting here, for a place of our own.”
A final problem tugged her with worries about long-term happiness. “But you love your job, the thrill of international dealings.”
He tunneled his fingers into her hair. “I love you and Nina and the life we’re going to have together more.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing that.”
She arched up on her toes as he leaned down, his kiss wonderfully familiar and even better every time, as they built on the desire she’d felt the first time his sexy voice had stroked over her. How much more would she have to look forward to in the future?
His hands slid down her sides to loop low around her waist as he kissed along her jaw, his late-day beard a sweet abrasion against her skin. The scent of his aftershave mingled with the salty air, swirling inside her like dreams of their future unfolding. And just that fast an idea took shape inside those possibilities and plans.
Phoebe nestled against his chest, looking out over the ocean. “What if Nina and I traveled with you?”
His muscled arms tensed against her and he didn’t answer at first, the waves rolling and receding while his heart thudded steadily under her ear. She stroked the hair at the nape of his neck. “Kyle?”
“I thought you would want the home and hearth here, stability for Nina.”
So had she. At first. But she was learning more and more about thinking outside the box as she contemplated blending her life with Kyle’s. “We’re her security. And as you said before, we have options. We can hire an entourage of help so we never have to worry about finding sitters. We can afford to rent an entire house wherever we travel. Think outside the box for us, the way you do in your career.”
“Your plan is definitely worth discussion.” His face creased into a one-sided smile, his hands sliding intimately low down her waist. “We could always talk about it more on a long drive up the coast, since I decided to keep the Aston.”
Possibilities flamed to life inside her, for now and all the years ahead. “Top down?”
She could already imagine the sea spray against her face, Kyle pulling over on a deserted stretch of beach…
“Whatever you want, my love,” he promised. “I’ll make it happen.”
Epilogue
Nine months laterOcean breeze caressing her bare shoulders, Phoebe draped her arms around Kyle’s neck, her fingers toying with the hair at the nape of his neck. He wore it slightly longer now that he was no longer in the air force.
But they led a more spontaneous life overall these days as they traveled the world in his job as head of Landis International. Their latest stop? Lisbon, Portugal. They had renewed their marriage vows this afternoon with all the family gathered around the veranda at their rented waterside villa.
Her frothy off-white wedding dress twining around her legs, she tipped her face into the wind on this side of the Atlantic. “So we’re really, really married now.”
“I sure hope so.” His hand slid between them to caress her stomach, which would soon start to swell with the baby they’d made two months ago.
Ashley and Matthew had a daughter now, baby Claire, who adored her older cousin Nina. Ginger and Hank Renshaw’s grandparent nursery had just about expanded to a wing of cribs and toddler beds. They’d even added an in-ground baby pool and playground. But then, Ginger had openly admitted she was thrilled to entice her grandbabies over to spend time at Grandma’s house whenever possible. Phoebe couldn’t help but admire her mother-in-law’s efforts when they always made her feel so very welcome.
Phoebe rested her hand on top of Kyle’s, over their child growing inside her. “We should retrieve our daughter from her grandparents before they spoil her too rotten.”
“It is her bedtime, isn’t it?” He slipped his arm around her waist and steered her up the steps leading into the peach-colored stucco villa. Castle ruins nestled scenically on a mountainside in the distance. “I packed a new bedtime storybook for her, one about panda bears.”
“She’ll love it.” Her grandparents weren’t the only ones who enjoyed spoiling Nina. “Next time we’re in D.C. we’ll have to take her to the National Zoo to see the giant pandas.”
Phoebe found she enjoyed traveling with Kyle, and realized it wasn’t a sacrifice after all with unlimited accommodations and a nanny. She continued to teach a class online, the perfect flexible career for a wife and mother on the go around the world. She was finally seeing the historical sites she taught her students about.
And she wasn’t the only one enjoying her career. Bianca had actually struck it big as an actress after all—in Bollywood. She was totally enjoying her big-screen family in India. The Bollywood film industry had increased English-speaking productions and the viewers loved her. And of course Bianca loved being loved.
The money wasn’t too shabby, either.
From all indications, she was very happy being a long-distance mother. She hadn’t uttered a peep about the child-custody agreement and didn’t even ask to see Nina half as much as she was allotted. They’d never even needed to roll out the incriminating images of Bianca, although they’d made sure she knew they had them. Since the nanny stayed with Nina during the few times Bianca came to the States to see her daughter, they knew the little girl was safe.
Nina seemed to see Bianca as more of an indulgent aunt who sent lavish gifts but rarely made an appearance. With that first sweet word, “Ma-Ma,” uttered just for Phoebe, Nina had made it clear who she viewed in that role.
Phoebe paused in the wide-open double doors leading into the villa, inviting a cross-breeze. She turned her new ring around and around on her finger, the diamond-and-sapphire ring nestled alongside her diamond-studded band. “Do you know what I’m looking forward to most today?”
“What would that be?” He skimmed her loose hair back from her face, his gold band glinting in the setting sun. “I’ll do my best to make it happen even better than planned.”
She tucked against him suggestively, already envisioning exactly how all the pieces would go together once they were behind closed doors. “I can’t wait for our wedding night. This time, we’ll be celebrating on the same day that we said the vows.”
“Now, that wish—” he smiled, dipping to graze a kiss at the corner of her mouth “—will be my absolute pleasure to fulfill again…and again.”