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"She seemed to take the news pretty well."
Amy looked up to meet Adam's green eyes at his words. They were in his hotel room after the show, eating a late room service meal. Mandy had been picked up by Linda to return home hours earlier.
She shrugged. Honestly, she had little idea of how to react to their daughter's reaction. Amanda was only six, so she probably didn't fully understand by a large margin.
"I guess you're right," the redhead said, but her mind was so distracted. Matt would be returning within a day, and she was worried and upset. She kept her head down, picking at her food.
"Babe..." the tall blond man said gently. "... hey."
Amy looked up to meet his eyes, which were gentle and filled with tenderness. Jesus... To her, it seemed that if anyone were to witness them together, and take notice of the look in those emerald orbs, the extent of his true feelings for her would be well more than evident. It sent ripples shivering up her spine. Never once in the five years she'd been with Matt had she detected even the slightest similarity in his eyes. It made her weak in the knees. She sighed and raised a hand to her brow.
"I'm sorry, Adam," she said. "It's just that I'm a bit stressed out, what with Matt returning soon, and..." She raised her gaze to meet his eyes again and hoped she would be able to keep her emotions in check. It was no easy task, however. "... and I don't want this between us to end. I love you."
The tall blond man smiled easily. His heart swelled with love for this woman. She was actually scared of what they'd just started ending so quickly. But he was not going to let that happen - not by a longshot. He believed in his heart that everything happened for a reason. He'd gotten Amy pregnant all those years ago on the one night they'd slept together, and there was a reason they'd met up again after so long of being apart. He believed it all boiled down to fate - he and Amy belonged together. He, Amy and Mandy - they were destined to be a family.
"I love you, too," he said, his gaze drinking her in languidly. He reached across the small table to grasp her hand, his long fingers interlacing with hers. "And this-" He gestured with his free hand. "-us... it's not gonna end - at all. This is only the beginning. Do you honestly think I would just give you up after waiting so many years to have you again?"
A somewhat bashful smile touched the redhead's lips as she shook her head in answer to his question.
The blond man released her hand as he pushed back from the table. He reached for her again, and she allowed him to lead her to the bed, where they sat on its edge.
"Not gonna happen," Adam assured her, meaning the two of them splitting up. He hooked a finger under her chin, tipping her head up. She bit her lip, her hazel eyes swimming with deep emotion. "I'm only sorry I wasn't there for you... I... I wish I'd been around for Mandy's birth."
The redhead shook her head.
"That was *my* fault," she said guiltily. If only she'd never gone to Mexico...
"I wish I could have been there for you - *with* you," he went on. "But you had someone there for the birth, right?"
Amy lowered her eyes as she slowly shook her head.
"N-no," she admitted, and a knife twisted in the blond man's heart.
"You mean you were all alone? Oh, Ames..."
"She came a few days early," she explained. "My mom was going to be there as my coach, but..."
"Baby..." he crooned. He pulled her against him, his embrace tight as he imagined how difficult their daughter's birth must have been for her. Damn it, she'd been all alone - and probably frightened as hell. "God, I wish I'd been there for you. I... I missed out on my daughter's birth, and... her first words... her first steps... first smile..." He shook his head as he met her eyes again. "... I just wish I'd have been there."
The redhead blinked with emotion, her throat constricted. How very and truly and deeply she loved this man. For the thousandth time, she wondered what might have happened had she never gone off to Mexico.
Adam wrapped his arms around her, drawing her against him, and she rested her head on his strong shoulder. His hands were soft and gentle in her hair, and then he spoke to her again. His words came straight from his heart.
"Amy, I want to marry you."
"Wh-what?" She pulled out of his embrace abruptly as she gaped at him, shocked. Had she heard him correctly? "You... you..."
"I love you so much, Ames... I want to marry you, and..."
She felt tears finally pricking behind her eyelids. She was at a complete loss for words.
"... I want us - the three of us - to be a real family," he continued. "Damn it, but I often wonder what might have happened if we hadn't been separated six years ago."
"I... So do I!" she exclaimed. Her heart was positively bursting with excitement... and love.
Adam shook his head, sorrow on his face as he ran a hand through his long blond hair.
"I know I keep saying this, but damn it, I wish I'd been there for Mandy's birth."
"It's okay," she said with a soft smile, her right hand snaking up to cup his cheek. Their gazes met, her breath nearly lost at his handsomeness. "You're here *now*... And we can always have another baby - or babies."
His heart soaring with the most intense, pure love, the blond man dipped his head to capture
her lips in a deeply passionate kiss.