Chapter 25
ALEX
They went back down to the car, both a little giddy, and climbed in. Then Alex turned to Grace.
“About home… I know we’ve only just reconciled. I know this is a lot. But it would mean everything to me if you and the babies would move in with me.”
Grace glanced at him. “We haven’t even been on a proper date, you know.”
“Well, we went on that one date.”
“The one where you got me pregnant?”
“That one.”
“True.” Grace grinned. “Okay. I suppose that one date is enough of a basis for us to move in together. Given that it did lead to pregnancy and all.”
“Really?” Alex’s heart lifted. “Do you mean that?”
“Of course.” She grinned at him. “We’ll have to get everything from my apartment eventually, but it does make sense for us to live together. You can wake up with the babies at night if needed. And it’ll be much harder for you to run off if I’m already in your house.”
Alex winced, but she laughed softly and punched his bicep.
“I’m joking. We have to be able to joke about this, or we’re no better than Patrick.”
“I still can’t believe he was behind everything.” Alex shook his head. “I knew he was a bad dude, but I kind of didn’t think he was smart enough to orchestrate something like this.”
“I should have guessed.” Grace shook her head too. “I feel silly for not figuring it out. The offer to help me with the lawsuit was just too convenient. And he knew too much about me being fired—stuff that probably wasn’t public knowledge.”
“It doesn’t matter now,” Alex said gently, taking her hand. “We’ve spent enough time letting that fool dictate the terms of our lives. It’s time to make our own choices now.”
“And the first choice is moving in together,” Grace added.
“That would be my preference,” Alex agreed.
“Then let’s go. I think I remember where your apartment is. I’ll need a tour, though. I’ve only seen parts of it.”
They drove through San Valentino to Alex’s apartment.
Again, the drive was spent sneaking smiles at each other.
Grace parked outside, and they headed upstairs, where Alex showed Grace through the house.
She’d already seen the living room, where they’d met once to talk about baby furniture, and the bedroom, where they’d met once to make the babies in question, but the other rooms were brand new to her.
He showed her the kitchen, the spare bedrooms, the study, and the home gym.
When they passed his bedroom, her eyes landed on something sitting on one of the side tables.
“Is that the duck you gave me?”
Alex followed her gaze to the small rubber duck. He grinned. “It is.”
“And now it’s here.” Grace glanced at him. “Why?”
“Well, you didn’t take it with you when you left, so I took it.” Alex paused. “I think I wanted to remind myself of the good times we shared. Even when everything seemed to be going wrong, I didn’t want to forget that.”
“I like that.” Grace nudged his shoulder with her own. “You’re a sentimental guy, aren’t you?”
“Maybe a little.”
“Good. I hope I get to see more of that.”
They continued down the hallway to the next bedroom.
“I thought this could be a nursery,” Alex said, opening the door. It was a bright, sunlit room with plenty of space for two cribs and lots of baby toys.
“It’s beautiful.” Grace leaned in the doorway, smiling distantly. Then she turned to him. “But we spent so much time on the other nursery.”
“We can do it all again,” Alex said.
“Hey, I’m coming up on six months pregnant.” Grace smoothed her hand over the curve of her baby bump. “You can do it all again. I’ll be watching from a comfortable chair with a box of mints and a mug of tea.”
“Fair enough,” Alex agreed. “And then I’ll give you a foot rub and make you some dinner.”
Grace grinned. “I’m definitely starting to feel like I made the right call here by moving in with you. How long will the pampering continue?”
“For the rest of our lives, if I have any say,” Alex said.
Grace’s cheeks flushed, and she met his eyes. “Is that so?”
“It is. Now, come on. I have more rooms to show you.”
“More? How big is this house?”
Her question was answered when Alex showed her the formal dining room, the family room, the storage room, and the balcony. They ended there, standing by the railing and looking down at the city of San Valentino in the soft late afternoon light.
“You have too many rooms,” Grace said.
“Maybe,” Alex agreed. “But they’ll come in handy now. We can have a playroom for the kids, home offices for both of us, and separate rooms for the twins once they’re old enough.”
Grace smiled and leaned against the railing to look up at him. “We might need to redecorate a little, though. Your apartment looks like a bachelor lives here. Or a monk.”
“A monk?”
“You have no stuff,” Grace said.
“True.” Alex laughed. “I hardly lived here, so I never needed a lot.”
“You do now.” Grace turned to look inside at the living room through the sliding glass doors. “I think you need some posters, a couch that isn’t so white, maybe a coffee table…” She glanced at him. “Are you regretting asking me to move in yet?”
“Never,” Alex said. He moved a little closer and took her hand. “This is the best decision I’ve made in a long time. I should have asked you to move in with me the moment I met you.”
“When you came to introduce yourself to me at the office and I was your new employee?” Grace asked, laughing.
“Yes.”
“I would have said no.”
“That would have been smart. But I can’t imagine a life without you.”
She squeezed his hand. “And as long as you keep this up, you’ll never have to.”
“Good.” Alex looked down at her. “You’re such an amazing person, Grace. I’m sorry again that I didn’t recognize that sooner. I should have trusted you.”
“You should have,” Grace said plainly. “But you get another chance now. Just one more.” She looked up at him with serious green eyes. “Make the most of it.”
“I will. And I’d like to start by kissing you again.”
“Good plan.”
Alex leaned in, kissing her gently yet thoroughly.
They were both a little tentative at first, with all the history between them, but any apprehension quickly gave way to passion.
Alex ran his fingers up and down Grace’s back, making her shiver, and she kissed his neck.
He captured her lips with his own again, gently pressing her against the railing.
The kiss deepened as Grace wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him closer.
Warmth gathered in Alex’s stomach. Kissing Grace felt so very right, as though she were the part of his life that had been missing all along. He never wanted to do anything other than kiss her, long and slow and deep, for the rest of his life. For the rest of their lives.
And then Grace pulled away. Her lips were pink, her eyes bright, and her cheeks flushed.
“Alex,” she whispered.
“Yes?”
“Should we go to the bedroom?”
Alex didn’t need to be asked twice. Although Grace was pregnant now, he lifted her into his arms as easily as he had the first time and carried her to his bedroom.
Their bedroom, now. For a long, lovely while, the two of them got to know each other again, physically and emotionally.
It was everything Alex had dreamed of. It was more.
Afterwards, they lay in each other’s arms, dozing and talking about their many, many plans for the future. Alex held Grace tight, sure that life would never get any more perfect than this. Sure that he never wanted this moment to end.
Finally, Grace was his, and he was hers. Alex had the family he’d never dared to let himself dream of, the belonging that had always seemed out of reach. Everything was as it was meant to be.