Like a blast from her past, Kaia dove into the water, lithe as a fish. No, she was not in Balmorhea.
She was swimming in the beautiful water feature Ridge had made for her at his house in the middle of the desert. A sweet oasis for his water nymph as he loved to call her. The pool was eight feet at its deepest spot, and shaded by a long wooden pergola. There was a curved slide and a diving board and a cascading waterfall.
Ridge had created a water-land paradise.
Tonight, they were having a blowout party to celebrate the ending of one chapter and the beginning of another. For the past year, as Kaia had finished her DVM, Ridge had been shuttling back and forth from Beijing to Calgary to Cupid and back again, winding up his business dealings as he turned the keys of Lockhart Enterprises over to Lui Yan.
The guests were due to arrive at six, but it was only four.
Ridge would be home soon. He’d called that morning to tell her he was on his way back from Calgary for the final time. The offices were now officially closed. The ink was dry on his deal with Duke. Ridge was now a rancher and proud owner of the Silver Feather Ranch.
At the moment, she was home alone, well except for Dart and Buddy and Bess, who were all napping in the air conditioning, and the place was quiet.
She got out of the water, wrapped Ridge’s white terry cloth bathrobe around her. It was the same bathrobe she’d worn the first night they’d made love. The night he’d stirred her to untold heights. The night she knew she’d mated with the other half of her soul.
Dropping into the lawn chair, she sighed happily and pulled off her swim cap, shook out her hair. She stretched her legs out in front of her, admired her freshly painted toes. She’d gotten a pedicure in honor of Ridge’s homecoming. His favorite color. Candy apple red.
She got up and went into the house, double-checking the provisions, making sure she had everything she needed for the party. Food. Drink. Music. She was ready. Since it was a pool party, she didn’t even have to change. Just put on a cover-up over her swimsuit.
The sound of a plane buzzed overhead. Ridge was home!
She raced out the front door, put her palm to her forehead to shield her eyes from the sun as she watched his plane touch down. Fifteen minutes later, his ATV came into view, her handsome husband astride.
He pulled up to the house in a cloud of dust, a stunning smile on his face. “Do you have any idea just how gorgeous you look?”
She ran to him, giggling.
He held his arms open, and when she was close enough, he scooped her up and spun her in a circle, pressed his face to her hair. “God, how I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too.” She nuzzled his neck.
“How ’bout a kiss.” He puckered up.
“Any time, any place.” She kissed his lips that tasted of peppermint. The instant their mouths touched the humming in her head bloomed, swelled.
Ah. Song of the Soul Mate. Telling her the thrill of kissing her husband was meant to be. It would not fade.
They’d gotten married at the cowboy chapel just as Archer and Casey had. Where the girlhood dreams she’d doodled in her notebook all those years ago had come true and she became Kaia Lockhart.
Ember had been her maid of honor. Aria, Casey, and Tara her bridesmaids.
They used Atticus as ring bearer. He had experience. Luckily, the boy had learned not to walk behind horses, and no one got kicked this time. Archer served as Ridge’s best man, of course. His brothers were groomsmen. Her mother cried. Granny Blue whispered, “The song is never wrong.” Duke was on his best behavior. Kaia doubted it would always be smooth sailing with her father-in-law, but the man loved animals as much as she did.
“When are the guests supposed to be here?” Ridge murmured, his lips pressed against her throat. “Do we have time to get you out of that swimming suit and into my bed?”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down for another kiss, dreaming of the delights awaiting in their bedroom.
But the sound of the glass patio door sliding open interrupted them.
“Lookee here, they’re at it again,” Aria said, as her three sisters traipsed into the kitchen, carrying food and drink. “Sappy time.”
“Don’t be jealous,” Ember said. “Your turn will come.”
“Frequent kissing makes for the best marriages.” Tara nodded.
“How would you know?” Aria asked. “You’ve never been married.”
“Mom and Dad still kiss like that.” Tara put a platter of her famous deviled eggs in the fridge.
“Bodes well for us.” Ember settled a tray of crudités onto the kitchen counter.
“Touché.” Aria swiped a celery stick.
Ember batted Aria away from the food. “Get out of that.”
“So much for getting you out of that swimsuit,” Ridge muttered.
“Later,” Kaia whispered. “Anticipation is the most underrated form of foreplay.”
“Oh,” Tara said. “Are we interrupting Ridge’s welcome home?”
“No, no,” Kaia said, at the same time Ridge said, “Yes, yes.”
“Should we go?” Aria pointed a thumb over her shoulder at the back door.
“I told you we shouldn’t have shown up so early,” Ember grumbled, and elbowed Aria.
“You’re already here,” Ridge said good-naturedly.
“The pool is amazing, by the way,” Ember said, turning to peer out the door at the water.
“Why is that bottle of wine unopened?” Aria asked reaching for the merlot and a corkscrew. “It’s almost five. Let’s get this party started.”
“None for me, thank you,” Kaia said.
“Aww, c’mon,” Tara said. “I know you’re not much of a drinker, but just one glass. We’re celebrating.”
“I can’t.” Kaia smiled shyly and ducked her head.
“Omigod!” Ember squealed. “You’re preggers?”
“Kaia?” The joy in Ridge’s voice was unmistakable.
She turned to her husband, nodded. “I took three pregnancy tests while you were gone, just to make sure, but it looks like you’re going to be a daddy.”
His color paled and he swayed on his feet.
“Quick,” Aria said. “Get him sitting before he passes out.”
Tara was already on it, guiding Ridge down into a kitchen chair.
“This is so wonderful,” Ember said. “You and Casey both expecting at the same time.”
“A baby?” Ridge said. “You and me?”
“Well”—Kaia smiled—“I’m certainly not having a baby with anyone else.”
“That is . . . I’m . . . you are . . .” Ridge couldn’t seem to find the words. But that was okay. Kaia knew what was in his heart. Happiness radiated off him in waves.
“Spit it out, man.” Aria danced around the room. “Tell her what you’re feeling.”
Ridge’s eyes drilled into Kaia’s. He patted his knee. “Come here.”
Heart pounding, she went to him.
He pulled her into his lap. Smothered her with kisses. “I love you,” he said with each kiss. “I love you, I love you, I love you.”
The old familiar humming started the second his lips touched her, rising with each kiss, growing, surging until every cell in her body throbbed to the beat of their love.
Then he dipped his head and kissed her belly through her swimsuit, sending vibrations swirling through the very core of her.
“Dear, sweet Kaia,” he breathed. “You’ve made me the happiest man on the face of the earth.”
“You’re not afraid?” she whispered.
“I’m freaking terrified.” He laughed. “But I’m in this with you one hundred percent.”
Tears pressed against the back of her eyes at the look of absolute joy on Ridge’s face. He wasn’t going to run and hide behind work.
The back door opened, and Kaia’s parents came in with Archer, Casey, and Granny Blue.
“We’re having a baby!” Aria announced.
“What?” Mom exclaimed. “Who?”
“Ridge and Kaia.”
“When?”
“In about seven and a half months,” Kaia confirmed.
Ridge pressed his forehead to hers, stared deeply into her eyes. “This kid is going to be the luckiest baby on the face of the earth.”
As she sat in the shelter of her man’s arms surrounded by her family, the seams of her heart swelled to bursting. And she knew with absolute certainty they were going to live happily-ever-after.