Page 122 of Designs on You

And here came the tears again, because she believed him. She slid off the sofa and sat on the floor with him, sliding her hands into the softness of his hair. “I’m in this, too. Forever. I’m sorry I said the things I said. I didn’t want you to have any regrets.”

His gaze was so filled with love she was overwhelmed. “I could never regret loving you, Natalie.”

Her heart felt like exploding. She felt so much she couldn’t take a breath, and yet she did. “I love you, Eugene.”

She lifted her lips to his, and he met her lips. That kiss, so powerful and passionate, mended the break that had torn them apart. With Eugene’s arms around her, his body against hers, she felt whole again. She was right where she belonged.

He pulled away. “You are mine.”

She smiled. “And you are mine.”

She climbed onto his lap and swept his hair away from his face. “I’m so sorry. I screwed up, and I’m sorry I hurt you.”

He ran his hand up and down her arm. “It’s okay. You can spend the rest of your life making it up to me.” He finished with a grin.

“That sounds like a very good plan.” She kissed him again, and before long they were rolling around on the living room rug, and she was so happy to be in his arms again she could explode from pure joy.

But then her phone rang. She was going to ignore it, but she couldn’t because of the kids. She got up and grabbed her phone, her stomach dropping when she saw it was Sean on FaceTime. He still had the kids so her first thought was that one of them was sick or hurt.

“Sean,” she said after she punched the button.

It wasn’t Sean, it was Cammie, who excitedly told her she had lost a tooth this morning at breakfast, so they talked about how she was going to put it under her pillow tonight. Seeing her daughter’s sparkling smile gave her so much joy.

“I miss you, sweet pea,” she said. “Oh, and Eugene’s here. Do you want to say hi?”

“Yes.”

“Hey, punkin,” Eugene said as he looked over Natalie’s shoulder. “Let’s see that smile.”

Cammie smiled. “I lost a tooth, Eugene.”

“I see that. Good job. Before long you’ll have a pretty new tooth to take its place.”

They talked for a while, and then Cammie said she had to go, so they hung up.

“She was excited,” Eugene said, leaning against the kitchen island.

“Yeah. She loves losing those baby teeth.” She laid her hand against his chest. “Sorry about the interruption.”

“Hey.” He wrapped his hands around hers. “Our lives are always going to have these interruptions. We have kids.”

Tears sprang fresh at “We have kids.” “I love you, Eugene. Let’s go build that life together.”

He smiled at her, and she saw her forever in that smile. “Yeah,let’s.”