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Her mouth drops open, and her eyes shoot wide.

“You love me?” she stammers, her eyes glittering with the threat of tears.

“I do,” I chuckle.

“What about—you only kept me here because I owed you the debt of clearing my debts. Isoldmyself to you. How can youloveme? I thought you only wanted an heir from me.”

I stand up and walk around the table to her side. I pull her from her seat into my arms. “Lara, I never saw it that way. I never thought you owed me anything; when I made that ‘deal’, it was only because I didn’t want you to leave. Even back then, my heart was falling for you. I might not have understood it, but I was already fighting to keep you close. You never sold yourself to me, Lara. I wanted to help you, and I wanted to have you near me.”

Lara looks bewildered as she stares up at me, and I start to worry that her expression is one of concern.

I step away from her, not dropping my arms from around her, but giving her a tiny bit of space.

“Lara?” I say tensely, and the questions I want to ask won’t come to my lips.

She seems to understand my fears, and a wide smile breaks across her face.

“I love you too, Nestor. I am so madly in love with you, and I was too scared to tell you. I was scared you didn’t feel the same way.”

Her words slam into me, and happiness washes over my entire soul.

“You love me, too?” I laugh, pulling her tight against me again.

She giggles, crushed against me. “I can’t breathe,” she complains, still laughing.

I pull her away again and wrap my hand around her cheek. Tilting her head up towards me, I lean down and kiss her.

All this time, we were both too scared to tell the other, and all this time, we felt the same way.

The kiss sends fire flooding through me, an intense, deeply emotional yearning for her. Something so beautiful, so real, that it causes me to choke back tears that I have never cried before.

Lara leans away from me and gently touches my face.

“We’re both idiots, aren’t we?” she smiles.

“Yes, we really are. We could have been enjoying this ages ago,” I laugh.

“Well, if you don’t mind, I’m going to be sharing your bed from now on.”

“Are you kidding? The housekeeper is already moving your stuff across to the open closets in my room,” I tease.

“Let’s never keep secrets from each other, Nestor. I want to tell you everything, forever.”

“Let’s get married again,” I say, watching her eyes light up. “A real wedding, with a beautiful dress and my family there.”

She squeals in excitement and jumps into my arms.

The dinner is forgotten as I carry her upstairs to our room.

Epilogue - Lara

“Do you think he’s going to grow any bigger?” I ask, standing sideways in the mirror and admiring how much my belly has expanded over the last six months.

The dress Nestor bought me for tonight’s family dinner only just fits, even though it’s designed for my pregnancy.

“He’s going to be a giant. Are you ready to go? You know how Mom gets when we’re late,” Nestor says, standing behind me and wrapping his hands beneath my belly, lifting it slightly to hold the weight for me.

I groan in relief and lean into him. “Stay there. Don’t you dare move.”