“What about the boy?”
“He and his family had moved away by then. Dad contacted them, of course. But they wanted nothing to do with me or the baby and were only too happy to sign the adoption papers.” She shrugged. “It was just as well. Tommy had no more business raising a baby than I did.”
“I remember Joanne saying they arranged for a private adoption through their lawyer.”
Annalise nodded. “Dad met with Joanne and Paul and had them carefully vetted.”
He eyed her curiously. “You never considered keeping Isabella?”
He’d asked the wrong question. Her chin wobbled for an instant before she firmed it. “I wanted to keep her with all my heart . Idreamed about it every night. But I was sixteen when I got pregnant. I’d just turned seventeen when I had her.” The confession escaped so soft he barely caught it. “It was the most difficult decision Dad ever made. He’d been a teenage father himself, and he felt he’d done such a poor job of it, it wouldn’t be fair to repeat the cycle for another generation. He was right . Icouldn’t be selfish.”
“Sweetheart—”
She shook her head, cutting him off, but tears overflowed. “I… I had to choose the best option for Isabella, not for me. So I hid my pregnancy until the school year ended and went to stay with my aunt until after Isabella was born. Every summer after that I’d go and stay with her and remember. Celebrate… and mourn.”
He tightened his hold on her, her words tearing him apart. “I’m so sorry.”
“I never knew who adopted her, but Dad kept track and would reassure me she was safe and doing well.”
Understanding dawned. “Until the plane crash.”
“Yes. When it hit the news, the media reported that everyone onboard perished . Iwalked in while Dad was listening to the announcement. He was bawling. He tried to keep it from me, but I figured out why he was so upset.”
“I gather you read I’d taken custody of your daughter.”
She nodded against his chest. “And that you were having a hard time keeping a nanny. It seemed the perfect opportunity. I’d apply and see if I could do anything to help with the transition . Iplanned to stay just a short time. Neither of you were supposed to discover the truth . Ididn’t even intend to tell my father I’d taken the job. But then…”
“Then?”
Her sigh rippled through her and into him. “I took one look at her and fell head over heels . Iwould have stuck to my original plan if it weren’t for one other problem.”
He stiffened. “What problem?” he managed toask.
She lifted her head and looked at him, her heart in her eyes. “I fell in love with you. One minute I was building a world for you and Isabella, and the next you became my world.”
The inner coldness cracked, splitting apart like chunks of icebergs beneath a spring thaw. He didn’t resist any longer. He lowered his head and kissed her. The kiss shouldn’t have been any different from all the other ones they’d shared. But it was. He didn’t know if the absence of secrets made the difference or the fact they’d both allowed the last bastions of their defenses to fall. Maybe the fact they’d confessed their love altered theelemental nature of the embrace. Whatever the cause, he knew he’d remember this moment for the rest of his life. Remember the heat and the generosity, the certainty and the passion. Most of all, an awareness filled him, an awareness that he’d finally come home. That he’d found what he’d spent most his life searching for and now held her safely in hisarms.
“Come home now,” he urged. “We’re lost without you.”
“I thought I was lost.”
He forked his hands deep into her hair, allowing the curls to bind them together. “The three of us ultimately found each other. That’s all that matters now.”
He took her mouth in a lingering kiss, sinking into the softness and the warmth. If they’d been anywhere else, he’d have fallen into the nearest bed and spent the next twenty-four hours making her his in every possible sense of the word. Reluctantly, he drewback.
“I never realized how empty my life was until you filled it up,” hesaid.
Her smile grew radiant, incandescent. “Let’s go home.”
Robert eyed them closely as they left the boat. Whatever he saw must have satisfied him because he simply smiled in satisfaction. “I’d appreciate having an opportunity to get to know my granddaughter,” he addressed Jack. “If you’re willing.”
“Anytime,” he said and meantit.
The drive to Lover’s Folly seemed endless. But they finally arrived. It felt like weeks since he’d last had his wife at home, instead of mere hours. They walked hand in hand from the garage across the backyard. The kitchen door flew open anda half dozen rambunctious puppies spilled out, yipping and squabbling as they came, with Madam close on their heels.
Behind them, Isabella appeared in the doorway and cut loose with a shriek to end all shrieks. She took off at a flat run and arrowed straight for Annalise. His wife released his hand and knelt, cushioning Isabella’s landing in a loving embrace.
“Hello, Baby Belle,” Annalise greeted her daughter with a tearful laugh.
Isabella twined her twig-thin arms around Annalise’s neck and buried her face in the soft crook between neck and shoulder. Jack found he had to swallow hard at the sight. Isabella pulled back and spared him a brief, nervous glance. He gave an encouraging nod, praying for a miracle. And then it happened.
With a shy look, Isabella said, “Hi, Mommy.”
