She looked at him, puzzled.
He wondered if his heart had ever beat so hard or so fast. He wondered if he"d ever had as much at stake. "Let me remind you. You asked what would happen when I decided Alix was doing well enough to throw you out of her life again."
She glanced down at the custody papers in her hands. "I still don"t understand what you meant... why you ..."
"I gave you unconditional joint custody. Any schedule you want, any way you want."
"Aren"t you afraid I"ll take her away from you somehow? You aren"t worried that maybe my parents will use this against you to sue for custody again?"
"Your parents. Well, they"re the unknown in all this. They"re a risk," he admitted. One he"d struggled with long and hard all week.
But he"d accused Chelsie of wanting his ready-made family and then walked away instead of accepting her word, instead of believing she loved him separate and apart from Alix. He"d hurt her so deeply he still saw it in her expression every time they were together.
Her shadowed eyes haunted his dreams. She was the last person he"d ever hurt intentionally. He saw only one way to make amends and hopefully a.s.sure their future. The only means he had to convince her of his trust was to offer the one thing he"d accused her of wanting more than him. His niece.
He couldn"t think of another way to bring them together, except to risk everything. He knelt down and stared into her eyes. "Listen to me. I love you. I want to marry you and be a real family. But if you can"t see beyond my mistakes, I understand. I"ll accept any type of shared custody arrangement you want. I"ll ...
She cut him off by throwing her arms around his neck and toppling them both to the floor. "I take it this arrangement works for you?" he asked, out of breath but still needing to hear the words.
"I"m overwhelmed," she said. "You"d do that for me?"
"Love you? Yes. Marry you? Yes."
"Share custody of Alix even if I said no to your proposal," Chelsie said softy.
"In a heartbeat." Although right now he was fairly certain his own heart had stopped.
She blinked against moist eyes. "Can you move?"
"Your point?" he asked. Because if she didn"t answer him soon, he might not make it another minute.
"You"re not going anywhere, Griff, and neither am I." Chelsie looked down at the man she loved, the man who had risked his emotional nightmare to give her what he believed she needed. What he failed to realize was the depth of that love. "You didn"t need to do this. I believed you when you said you trusted me. It"s just that I can"t give you all you deserve. The family you want, a child of your own ..."
He grasped her cheeks in both hands, forcing her to look him in the eye. "Your words, Chelsie. Not mine. I said more children. Our children."
She swallowed hard and tried again. "Are you sure?"
"Sure that I love you? Yes. Sure that I want to spend the rest of my life with you? Yes to that, too."
"Sure that you can accept not having children of your own?" She asked because she had to be sure. More importantly, he had to be sure.
His eyes never left Chelsie"s face. "I already have all that I want. And you"re right. I do want more kids." His fingertips brushed at the tear on her cheek. "So why wouldn"t I love any child you and I decided to adopt?"
"Adopt?"
"We both love Alix as if she were our own. As long as any other children are ours to raise and love together, why would I want more?"
Her throat hurt from holding back tears. "Are you sure?"
"That again?" he asked with a grin. He pulled her down onto the floor with him until his arms encircled her, squeezing her so tight she couldn"t help but be certain. "I"m sure," he whispered. "Are you?"
Beyond words, Chelsie merely nodded. She had all she ever wanted and more than she"d ever dreamed.
"Now that we"ve got that settled, we can plan ahead."
She lay her head on his shoulder and felt his strength. He"d be there for her always. She laughed. "Okay, let"s plan," she agreed.
"For starters, I guess it"s a good thing you sublet your apartment after all."
She feigned a loud gasp and propped herself up to look at the face she adored. "But what about that town house I rented?"
Panic flared in his eyes, causing her to shake her head in laughter and denial. "Gotcha," Chelsie said with a grin, grateful for the love and the laughter she had found.
"That you do," he whispered.
She wrapped her arms around him, thankful she"d been given so much.
"I don"t plan on ever letting you go."
She smiled. "Who asked you to?"
"No more doubts? Because from now on we share everything, good and bad."
Chelsie smiled. "I"ll share my life with you, Griff. All you had to do was ask."
Also by Carly Phillips.
The Right Choice (Kindle) (Nook) (Smashwords).
The story of a woman who makes her living as an advice columnist-never realizing she needs a reality check of her own. Convinced that happiness lies along the route she"s carefully mapped out for herself...
Solitary Man (Kindle) (Nook) (Smashwords).
For the first time in her career, attorney Chelsie Russell wants to lose a case. Representing her parents in the custody battle over their two-year-old granddaughter, Alix, has been a mistake...
Midnight Angel (Kindle) (Nook) (Smashwords).
You never forget your first love. High school sweethearts, Dylan North and Holly Evans believed their future together was a done deal. But right after graduation, Dylan took off, leaving nothing behind except a hastily written note and Holly"s broken heart. Ten years later...
And be sure to visit Carly at her website: Works by Carly Phillips.
The Serendipity Series.
coming in June, 2012.
Karma.
Serendipity 2011.
Destiny 2011.
The Lucky Series.
The Hot Zone Series.
and more ... visit www.carlyphillips.com for details and links to buy!.
About the Author.
Carly Phillips is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of over 30 romance novels with contemporary characters and plotlines that today"s readers identify with and enjoy. Carly is a stay at home mom of 2 daughters (now almost old enough to read her books!), one soft coated wheaten terrier and a brand new Havanese puppy. She"s a Twitter and Internet junkie and is always around to interact with her readers. More information on Carly can be found at www.carlyphillips.com..
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