But first, she had to hear him out. Had to be sure that he’d never leave again. She could risk her own heart, but she wouldn’t put her son’s happiness on the line.
“I was wrong, Nicole,” he whispered. “I never should have left. Never should have risked losing you forever. My only excuse is, I hadn’t planned on falling in love. You caught me off guard.”
“You did the same to me,” she said.
“See, I never actually thought I was capable of the kind of love I feel for you. I never saw myself getting married or being a father—”
She pulled back instinctively, but he held on to her.
“That was then. This is now. I love you, Nicole. I love Connor. I want us to get married,” he told her. “I want to adopt Connor, if you’ll let me. I want to be your husband and his father. I want more kids. As many as we can have,” he said, warming to his theme, a smile curving his mouth. “Nothing the Kings like better than big families.”
“More kids.”
“Lots of ’em.” He swore it, his voice carrying the ring of truth, of desire.
For the first time that night, tears filmed her eyes and spilled over. Griffin reacted instantly, moving in to sweep the tears aside with his thumb and then pull her into him, nestling her body against his. “I swear to you, that’s the last time I will ever make you cry, Nicole. No more tears.”
She wanted so desperately to believe. To let herself grab this happiness and hold on to it. For her and for Connor.
“I’m asking you for a chance, Nicole,” he said, leaning back until their eyes could meet and hold. “One more chance to prove how much I love you both. To show you that I’m the only man in the world for you.” He bent down and kissed her mouth quickly, firmly. “I swear I’m worth the trouble.”
She laughed a little, and it felt as if the ice around her heart was shattering.
“I’m taking that as a good sign,” he said, giving her a half smile that tugged at her heart and soul. “But I want you to know, even if you say no to me tonight, I’m not going away. Not ever. I know what I want now, Nicole. And I’m willing to fight for it. I’ll wait for you to be sure. But I won’t give up. Not on you. Not on us.”
He caught her chin in his fingers and rubbed her skin with his thumb. “I’ll come back tomorrow night and the night after that and the night after that until I finally convince you.”
“You think you can?” she asked, loving this side of him. Loving being with him again and feeling the hope for a shiny future rising up inside her.
“Honey, I’m a King. There’s nothing we can’t do,” he assured her.
“Griff?” Connor walked into the room and both adults turned to the little boy in his sleeper jammies. Clutching his alligator in the crook of one arm, the child looked up at Griffin and gave him a huge grin. “Griff is back!”
“Yeah, buddy,” he said, giving Nicole a cautious glance. “I’m back. I promise I won’t go away again.”
Connor raced to him, and Griffin swung the boy up into his arms.
“Connor missed you,” the boy said solemnly.
“I know, and I’m sorry,” Griffin told him. “I missed you, too. But I brought you a present.” He reached for the hat, plunked it down onto the boy’s head and grinned at him.
“Fireman!” Connor shouted with glee.
Nicole’s heart couldn’t be fuller. She watched her son and the man she loved together and her whole world suddenly fell into place. Everything was just as it should be. All she had to do was take a single leap of faith. To trust in the love she felt and the love she could see in Griffin’s eyes.
“Mommy, Griff is back!”
“I see that,” she said, moving in closer to the two men in her life. “I think he should stay, don’t you?”
Griffin’s gaze locked on hers. His heart was in his eyes, and she read everything she needed to know right there. This wasn’t a gamble. This was the best thing that had ever happened to her. And she wasn’t going to miss a minute of it.
“Stay!” Connor blurted, then leaned into Griffin. “And a story.”
“You bet, little guy,” Griffin said and held out the beautiful sapphire-and-gold ring toward Nicole.
She lifted her left hand and watched as he slid the ring onto her finger. Its weight was perfect. Everything was perfect.
In the flickering light of the television, a family was made.
Nicole leaned into Griffin and felt his arm come around her. Here was her dream come true. Here was everything she would ever need.
“Let’s put our son to bed,” Griffin said with a smile, “then we can…talk. I’ll prove to you just how much I missed you.”
Love flared into life inside her and washed through her with a wave strong enough to wipe away disappointments and hurts and everything but the rightness of this moment.
There was only one thing left to say to him.
“Welcome home, Griffin.”