Page 74 of Change of Heart

Cade

“Charli baby, I’m home.” Exhausted, I stumbled through the front door of our cabin. All I wanted was to crawl into bed with my gorgeous wife and crash into a comatose oblivion for a few hours.

“I’m in the kitchen,” she called.

Sometimes I still couldn’t believe she was back, that we’d been married for almost a year. I had never been happier in my life.

I kicked off my boots and crossed the living room to get to her. I needed her in my arms again. Even a day away was sometimes too much to bear. I’d spent so many years without her. Having her back was like living inside of a dream I still couldn’t quite believe was real.

I entered the kitchen to find her behind the counter pouring two glasses of sparkling cider into the glasses she only brought out on special occasions. “What’s happening?” I pulled her against me, wrapping her in my arms to bury my face in her sweet-smelling neck. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, Cade. I love you so much.”

“I love you too. What are we celebrating? The new book? I’m sorry I missed your party, sweetheart.”

“It’s okay. I got your roses, all three dozen of them.” She gestured to the vases distributed around the house. “They’re gorgeous. Thank you.”

“Of course.” I dropped a kiss to her upturned lips, running my hands into her hair, pulling her closer, letting myself get lost in her...

She pulled away., breathless and smiling. “I have something to show you first, Cade.”

With a shake of my head, I pulled her back and kissed her again. “I don’t need anything but you right now,” I murmured against her lips. “Can it wait? I need you. Right now. You’re so fucking beautiful, Charlotte. I’ll never get enough.” I let my hands drift down her back and over her luscious ass to lift her behind the thighs. Giving a little hop, she wrapped her legs around my waist as I kissed her deep.

Winding her arms around my neck, we melted into each other as I walked us down the hall to our bedroom.

“Wait! You got me all worked up, and this is important. Put me down so I can think straight. I promise it will be worth it.”

I set her down. “Show me.” My heart pounded in my ears, and I was hard as a rock, but I nodded at her to show me whatever it was that was more important than getting into bed and losing ourselves in each other.

She reached for my hand and led me back into the kitchen. “Remember after prom?”

I chuckled. “Yeah, I remember. Let’s go back to bed and reenact it.”

“After that, silly. Remember what we talked about?”

My mind cleared as my eyes hit hers and an anticipatory shiver shot through me. “Charli.”

“Yeah, Cade. We decided on two kids. Remember?”

“How could I forget? Are you saying…”

She grabbed a plastic bag from the counter and waved it at me. “I’m saying I missed my period and peed on ten pregnancy tests today and they were all positive. I’m saying you’re going to be a dad.”

“Charli baby. I—" I was wrong.Now,I had never been happier.

Tears filled my eyes. I couldn’t even brush them away; they came so fast. My heart was bursting with love. Filled to the brim with all the ways I could take care of her, and of our child. Nothing meant more to me than making sure she never regretted, not for one second, coming back home to Sweetbriar.

We stood there in the middle of the kitchen, staring at each other. Me, still in shock, jaw dropped, and her, with a plastic bag full of pregnancy tests in her hand, wearing an expression full of uncertainty on her face.

“Are you okay?” She finally said. “Is this—? Um, say something, Cade. Please.”

“I fucking love you,” I blurted.

A relieved giggle escaped as her body relaxed and the bag dropped to the floor. “I’ve never felt like this before, Cade, even the first time around with you. I never dreamt it was possible to feel this content. And I’m a dreamer for a living, you know. My god, how I love you.”

I knelt and kissed her stomach. “Hey in there, baby, it’s your dad…” I pressed my cheek against her warmth and nuzzled close as I choked up from the overwhelming emotions flooding through me. “You’re going to let me spoil the two of you rotten,” I informed her as she ran her hands into my hair. “No arguments.”

I squeezed her tight around her hips as she let out a laugh. “That sounds like heaven to me. As long as I get to do the same for you.”

“You already have.” I looked up, with my chin resting against her and her hands caressing my face, to brush my tears away. “I’m living my dream now. You were the only thing that was missing in my life and you’re here again. Now that we’re having a baby, I have everything. We’re making a family, Charli.”

“You gave me the world again, Cade. I didn’t think it was possible to have it all. But look at us. We’re so lucky. Take me back to bed.”

“Anything you want.” I stood and swept her into my arms to carry her back to our room.

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