Her humour just added another layer to his joy. ‘I had no idea I could feel this…this happy. That love could feel like this. I want to love you and protect you, Katie. I want to give you the kind of strength you’ve given me. For ever and—’
The flow of his words stopped so abruptly that Rory’s mouth was still open. Kate’s hand was moving beneath his in a curious wave-like motion, and then he felt a vibration. The aftershock from the kick of a miniature foot.
A baby’s foot.
One of his babies.
The reality of it all hit him. The love. The knowledge that they were making a whole family, here.
It was huge. Wonderful. Poignant. Way too much to take in, let alone confine with any words that could be in ade quate.
KATE HAD BEEN SO WRONG.
She’d thought she was the only being who could appre ciate the wonder of the new life growing inside her, but she could see exactlywhat she was feeling reflected in Rory’s face.
And that magic was a kernel inside something even bigger. The new life that was their love for each other.
Rory loved her.
Kate had absolutely no doubt of the truth of it. She could see it so clearly. Something had been peeled away inside Rory, and what she could see in his eyes was new. Vulnerable. He was giving her a power that could hurt him very badly if she misused it—but how could she, when she was giving him exactly the same power?
They would cherish each other.
Keep each other strong.
They would be friends and lovers and parents. Maybe colleagues again, if Rory was drawn back to his old job—and Kate was sure he would be. The fear might always be there, and one day they would have to deal with its realisation, but they would get through it because they would be facing it together.
Not that there was any pressure. They had their whole lives ahead of them. Time enough for anything, so nothing was urgent. Or maybe something was…
How long had they been in here, oblivious to anything in the outside world?
‘What’s the time?’
Rory drew his hand reluctantly from her belly to check his watch. ‘Just after midnight.’ He smiled and leaned forward to kiss Kate. ‘Happy Christmas, my love.’
He kissed her again. So slowly and tenderly that Kate had to drag herself back to reality when contact broke. She had to try and remember what had seemed so urgent only minutes ago.
‘We need to get those presents under the tree. What if the children arrive home?’
Rory was already standing up. He held out his hands to help Kate to her feet.
‘Mission Santa.’ He grinned. ‘Go, go, go!’
They went.
THEY HAD TO STOP holding hands in order to ferry armloads of gifts up the stone steps, across the wide hallway of the lovely old house and into what had once been the drawing room, where a beautifully decorated tree stood by the fireplace, twinkling with every colour of the rainbow in its lights.
Again and again they made the trip, stacking the gifts until it looked like every child’s Christmas fantasy. And then they stood back to admire their handiwork.
Kate had called Mary Ballantyne on her mobile phone after leaving the stables, both to report the safe arrival of the foal and to check when she and the children were due to arrive.
It would be any minute now. Kate wanted to stay and see the look on the faces of those children before they were bundled into their own beds for what remained of this extraordinary night.
She had never been this happy. But why was Rory looking at her with a frown furrowing his brow?
‘What’s wrong?’
‘It’s Christmas Day. I don’t have a gift for you.’
Kate laughed. ‘Are you kidding?’ She stepped closer and stood on tiptoe, threading her arms around Rory’s neck, totally confident in her expectation that he would bend his head and kiss her.
‘You’ve given me your heart,’ she whispered. ‘It’s the most amazing gift I could ever receive.’
His head was moving. Slowly. His lips were curled up at the corners. ‘Could be a bit messy to wrap,’ he murmured.
Kate smiled mistily up at him. ‘I like the packaging just the way it is.’ She gave a tug to try and close the gap between their lips. ‘It’s you. It’s perfect.’
‘So it is.’ She could feel the movement of Rory’s lips against her own now. ‘So are you…’
Twins For Christmas Page 9