Caitlin lifted Beth in her car seat from the back of a cab. Now seven months old, her tiny premature daughter had grown into a happy baby with a sweet smile and chubby arms and legs. The pediatrician’s scale showed she was definitely making up for her slow start. Caitlin asked the driver to wait, then turned to see Mick sprinting down the steps of his house toward her. Her heart did this crazy flip-flop whenever she saw him. How much longer could she hide the fact?
She was head over heels in love with the guy, and he continued to act like a perfect gentleman. But sometimes she was sure he saw her as more than a friend, and Beth’s mother. But if she were wrong, she might jeopardize the easy relationship they shared. For Beth’s sake, she didn’t want that to happen. Then yesterday something occurred that gave her renewed hope.
Mick reached her side in a few long strides. “Let me give you a hand.” His voice seemed more breathless than the short trip to the curb warranted.
“Thanks.” She handed him the baby’s carrier and tried to stay calm as she walked ahead of him up to the house.
“What time will you be back?” he asked, holding the door.
“I meet with my reading tutor until noon, then I’m working at the gallery until four-thirty, so let’s say five. Will that be a problem?”
“Not at all. You know I’ll keep Beth any chance I get. How’s the new job going?” He set Beth’s carrier on the floor.
“It’s great. I put my nose in the air and pretend I know more about art than the people who come in to buy it. Most of them can’t resist a piece if a snob tells them it’s a steal.”
“I can just see it. By the way, have I told you how proud I am that you are learning to read?” he asked quietly.
She looked up to find him staring at her intently. A flush heated her cheeks. “You are?”
“Yes, I am. That took a lot of courage.”
Looking to her child asleep at her feet, Caitlin said, “No, it didn’t. Not after what happened to Beth.”
From outside, the cab honked once. “I guess you’d better get going,” Mick said.
“In a minute. Woody came into the gallery yesterday. He told me something interesting.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“I mentioned you were coming over for dinner Friday, and he said as long as I didn’t feed you spaghetti I’d be safe.”
“Woody has a big mouth.”
“I’ve fixed you spaghetti a dozen times in the past few months. You’ve never complained once.”
“Well—I—I like it the way you fix it.”
“You do?” She smiled to herself. Yes, there was definitely hope for her. “Guess I’d better run.”
He caught her arm as she turned away. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
His touch sent a tingling spiral of warmth through her. Her gaze moved from his hand to his face. “What?” she managed to ask in a husky whisper.
“A goodbye kiss—for Beth.”
“She’s asleep. I don’t want to wake her.” The tingling grew stronger. He pulled her closer.
“I could save one for her. For later,” he suggested.
“Yeah...that’s...a good idea.” Caitlin didn’t care that they weren’t making any sense because as soon as his lips touched hers, she only wanted to keep on kissing him. Her arms circled his neck. All the joy she had kept hidden in her heart bubbled to the surface leaving her giddy with happiness.
The cab honked again, and Mick broke the kiss. Caitlin pressed her cheek against his chest and was thrilled with the feel of his strong arms around her.
“Whoa!” he said between deep breaths.
“If you say you’re sorry, I’ll hit you,” she threatened.
He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “Sorry? No, sorry wasn’t what came to mind.”
“Well, it should be!”
“Why should I be sorry?” Concern filled his voice.
“Because you took so long to do this!”
“Honey, I wasn’t sure how you felt. I didn’t want to rush you into anything that you weren’t ready for. You’ve had so many big changes in your life.”
She pulled back and gazed into his eyes. “I love you, Mick O’Callaghan. I love you. I’ve been waiting months to tell you that.”
“I love you, too. More than you’ll ever know. I love you the way the night sky loves the stars. The way the sun—”
“Shut up and kiss me again.”
He did, and quite thoroughly.
When they broke apart, he stroked her cheek with his knuckles, then slipped his hand behind the nape of her neck and pulled her close until his forehead touched hers. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes.”
“No hesitation?”
“God brought you into my life so that we could be together as a family. Who am I to argue with a plan that good?”
“I don’t deserve you, but I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to make you happy.”
“You do that without even trying.”
Vaguely, she heard the cab honking. Mick held her out at arm’s length. “Your driver is getting impatient.”
She nodded in resignation. “I’m going to be late for class.” In her carrier, Beth began to fuss.
“You could skip today,” he offered.
Oh, how she wanted to. At one time, she would have, but Caitlin shook her head. “And set a bad example for our daughter? I don’t think so.”
“Say that again.”
She wrinkled her brow. “I don’t think so?”
“No, the part where you said ‘our daughter.’”
Caitlin grinned, happier than she ever remembered being. “Our daughter is awake and if you don’t have her bottle ready in two minutes or less, she’ll scream the house down.” As if on cue, Beth’s crying rose in volume.
He let go of Caitlin and lifted the baby from her carrier. “She’s a lot like her mother in that respect,” he said with a knowing smile. Taking Caitlin by the elbow, he walked her to the door. “Tonight, you and I are going to have a long talk.”
“Talk? I had more kissing in mind.”
“Okay, a little of that, too.” He gave her a quick peck, then a gentle push toward the street.
Reluctantly, Caitlin climbed into the cab. As it pulled away, she rolled down the window and blew a kiss toward the two people she loved more than anything in the world and gave thanks to God for the blessing He had showered upon her.
Mick’s shout reached her as the cab turned the corner and she sank back onto the seat with a contented smile. She met the driver’s eyes in the rearview mirror and sighed. “Wasn’t that the most beautiful thing you ever heard?”
“I missed it, lady. What did he say?”
“He said ‘Hurry home. We’ll be waiting for you.’”
* * * * *