‘No. No way. I love her dearly but we’d kill each other.’ He smiled. ‘I have a flat near Tower Bridge. Scared, were you?’
‘No. Just wondering if we had to live in England all year round. The weather is very different from what I’m used to.’
‘I’m sure I can think of ways to keep you warm. And Max and my grandmother will sort out their own lives.’ He smiled at her. ‘And together—’ he stressed the word ‘—we’ll decide the rest.’
She liked the sound of that. A lot. She remembered her presents and the little Christmas tree. Leaned up and kissed him. He tasted wonderful so she did it again.
He tilted his head. ‘Hmm. What was that for? Not that I’m complaining.’
She lifted the sleeve of her coat and jiggled her wrist at him. The little Orient Express bracelet tinkled and caught the light. ‘My gifts. They’re beautiful. Thank you.’ She looked at this tall and commanding man who had fought so hard for her. Had cared so much. ‘I’ve only got me to offer you.’
‘You are all I ever wanted for Christmas.’ He leaned in and their lips met and Kelsie softened and sighed into this gorgeous man she was not going to waste another minute not loving.
‘Merry Christmas, my love.’
He squeezed her in his arms and she felt surrounded by his love. It felt so right. He whispered in her hair, ‘Welcome home.’
EPILOGUE
IT WAS CHRISTMAS night one year later and Connor gently wiped the bead of sweat off Kelsie’s brow as she breathed out slowly and surely.
No strenuous grunting or breath-holding, just slow breath after slow breath in the right direction, and already he could see that soon their longed-for child would arrive. He glanced at the clock. Five minutes to twelve. He smiled to himself. Kelsie had said she’d thought their baby would wait until it could have a birthday of its own and it looked like she had been right. It was obviously an independent little munchkin like its mother.
‘I love you so much,’ he whispered, and Kelsie’s semi-focused gaze settled briefly and softly on his face before she closed her eyes again.
‘Me, too,’ she whispered back. There was no strain in her voice, just calm knowledge that all would happen as it should.
He’d watched her work with his nervous mothers over the last six months since they’d returned from Australia. They’d waited until all her women had birthed and then she’d been as eager as him to come back to live in England to spend time with Winsome and her new husband, Max, and prepare their own home overlooking the Thames for their new baby’s arrival.
He’d eased back from his research and spent more time working together with Kelsie in his fertility clinic, here at Saint Douglas’s, meeting the gap for clients who had been successful in conception but were terrified about their pregnancies and labours, and his new mothers had blossomed.
The beautiful births he’d been privileged to watch over had taken on a serene quality he’d never seen before, and the other midwives were absorbing what Kelsie had to teach them. It was like the two of them had been destined to heal childless couples—just as they had been destined to heal each other—and the joy that brought made each day a blessing.
But this was his and Kelsie’s birth, their own magic, and the wonder of the moment was upon them. He squeezed his wife’s hand, glanced at the clock and smiled again as his daughter arrived gently into the world.
One minute after midnight, and baby Winsome Kelsie Black opened her eyes and blinked up at her father, her mother and the brand-new world. Accidentally her little arm lifted and she waved.
Kelsie laughed. Caught his eye and blew him a kiss. Whispered, ‘I love you.’
And he whispered back, ‘I love you, too.’ He looked down at his family. His gorgeous wife, his gorgeous daughter, and the way his arm lay across them both.
He’d buy his daughter a present. And he knew the perfect thing. A train!
ISBN: 9781472003485
CHRISTMAS WITH HER EX
© Fiona McArthur 2013
First Published in Great Britain in 2013
Harlequin (UK) Limited
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