Page 101 of Loss and Damages
I can never be near Jemma and not want to kiss her, and it’s the same now, even if we’re talking about what amounts to the rest of our lives. I brush my lips against hers, and she whimpers. “Hear me out before you say anything, okay?”
She stiffens, but she nods. “Okay.”
“I know you don’t want to leave your grandma’s cottage. I thought maybe we could build something bigger, but you don’t want to, and that’s okay. But you know the cottage is too small. Maybe your grandma and grandpa made it work, but you and I are busy people with responsibilities and large families, and I’m hoping you haven’t changed your mind about one day having my babies.”
“I still want to,” she says, rubbing her belly.
“Good. Then, I wanted to ask if you would be willing to add on to your cottage.”
She blinks. “Add on. You mean, build more rooms?”
“Yes. I called the city and asked them to send me the boundaries to your property. Jemma, your cottage and gallery are on a lot of land. Maybe you don’t realize how much land is yours. Zoning would have no problem granting us a permit to add a few more rooms. We can add a bedroom downstairs so when we do have a baby, the nursery is close to ours, and enlarge the kitchen and living room. Then, if you’re agreeable, we can add a second floor. I’d like to have an office so I can be home with you more. Even if you’re working in the gallery, I like being here. And since we’d already be building, we can add a couple more bedrooms, an extra bathroom, maybe a sitting room. That way when Jeremy, Tara, and Maya drive out, they don’t have to go home if they don’t want. We can’t letNonnastay too often, or she’ll move in—”
Jemma smiles.
“But I think she wouldn’t turn down the offer to come out every now and then, and once you do get pregnant, you might find she’s a help around the house and after the baby’s born. She’s had a lot of practice, and our child would be safe with her.”
A tear clings to her eyelashes. “I thought you were getting tired of me, of being in this little town.”
“I love you, Jemma. I love Hollow Lake and the peace I’m finding here. You said once that Leo found joy in the flowers and bees, the storms and rainbows, and the wind rustling through the trees. I don’t have to be an artist to appreciate those things, and I’m learning to find myself in the ducks that swim in the lake and watching the dragonflies flutter their wings. When I asked you to marry me, I knew what I was getting. Having wine and cheesecake on your porch has turned into my second favorite time of the day. Do you know what the first is?”
“No,” she says, but she’s tamping back a smile. Things will be okay now.
“Waking up to you. I want to do that, for the rest of my life. I want it all, sweetheart. I just need an office.”
She cuddles into me, and this time I let her, wrapping my arms around her.
We sit like that for a long while, and I don’t know how many minutes have gone by when she lifts her head. “I don’t mind if we add to the cottage, Dominic. It only makes sense, and I’m sorry I didn’t think of it. I should have talked to you, and I’m sorry I was hiding. I didn’t want to hear you were thinking about leaving me.”
“This is still new to us, and if you’re a little bit scared, don’t be ashamed. I am, too. When something feels too good to be true, it usually is, but this time, it was meant to be.”
“Since we’re adding rooms, can we build a deck too? Attach it to the sitting room? I love the porch, but a different view fromtime to time would be nice. And maybe a little more privacy to do naughty things outside?”
I chuckle. “Sweetheart, we don’t have to wait until we build a deck.” I stand with her in my arms and carry her outside. Today the temperatures are mild, not cold enough to deter me from ravaging my fiancée in the backyard. “Afterward, let’s go visit Edgar. We haven’t seen him in a while, and he’ll want to hear our news.” I never thought I would ever be making plans to talk to a crow, but I wouldn’t change it for all the money in the world. I had it, once upon a time, but that didn’t give me the happily ever after that I have now, building a life with Jemma.
She wraps her arms around my neck. “Yes, let’s.”
I lay her down in the grass behind the cottage, and no one but the birds and squirrels will witness the love we share. She gives herself easily, holding nothing back, as she always does, knowing that with every kiss and brush of her hand she’s mending my heart.
Leo found comfort here, in the quiet beauty of this little town, in the peace on Jemma’s porch, and so have I. Knowing he wanted me to have this, I say a prayer of thanks.
I thought Leo and I were worlds apart, different in every way. But we were more alike than I imagined, and I will always be grateful that Jemma saw it too.