Chapter Ten
Natalie sat on the bench outside the house in Kilderry. She had been in Ireland for almost two weeks now, and it occurred to her to wonder if anyone was ever going to show up and ask her to leave. She knew it would have been far better, far more sensible to return to the States, but heartsick and wild, Kilderry was the only place she could stand to go. She still knew all the codes to enter the property, and so she had simply...
She refused to say “come home,” but that's what it felt like.
Truth be told, she had been in a daze ever since leaving London. If she thought too hard about what she had done or about Nathan himself, she would start to cry again, and right now, she couldn't stand to do that. Instead, she passed her days like a ghost haunting the house. She walked when she was restless, but otherwise she simply stayed indoors.
She had no idea what was going to happen to her.
Well.
She knew one thing, but that was too much to even think about consciously.
After another sleepless night, she sat outdoors to watch the sunrise. The sky lightened from black to indigo, from indigo to pewter, and slowly the pewter turned pearly, letting in the pink and orange and finally the blue.
I can still think that it's beautiful, she thought, slightly surprised at herself. My God, but it is so beautiful.
The drive was set slightly below the house, so it was easy to see when a sleek, dark car made its way up the drive. Natalie wondered calmly if someone had finally come to turn her away. She thought it would be someone she didn't know, a lawyer perhaps to tell her that her contract with Nathan was at an end.
She hadn't known that Nathan would come himself, and her calm deserted her as soon as he stepped out of the car.
Of course, she had thought of what she might say to him, but now she was left utterly without words. She rose from the bench, her only thought in fleeing.
"Don't you dare!"
Nathan's voice cracked across the dawn like a whip, and as she turned, it gave him enough time to vault up the walkway. She thought he meant to grab her by the arm, but instead he dragged her into his arms in a rough embrace. God, but her body was traitorous. It clamored for him, and instead of struggling away, she only clung to him harder, hot tears streaming down her face.
"Why, why the hell would you do this to us, why did you run?" Nathan said, and there was a broken sound in his voice she had never heard before. He pulled back just enough to cup her face in his hands, and to her shock, she saw that the last two weeks had been hard on him. There was at least a few nights’ worth of ungroomed beard on his face, and there were dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept.
"Nathan," she said softly, but he shook his head.
"No, it's not going to be that easy. You got the last word with that letter, and now you're going to listen to me."
She nearly sobbed. She didn't know how much of this she could take.
"You lied to me," she whispered, and he shook his head.
"Believe me, you made me wonder," he said. "I never even knew that Melissa was pregnant. If I would have known, never in a million years would I... Well. Listen to me, Natalie. Listen.
"I chased Melissa all the way to Greece to get the truth. I would have been here a goddamn week ago if I hadn't done that. But you were right, and I had to be sure. Believe me, when I figured it out, I was pissed."
"Figured what out?"
Nathan smiled thinly. "She cheated on me, and then she married the man she cheated on me with. It took a week to get a prenatal paternity test. Melissa isn’t bearing my child."
She stared at him for a moment, her mouth slightly open with surprise. Could it be that she had...
"Oh my God," she whispered, her hands flying to her mouth. "Oh my God, Nathan, I am so sorry, oh God, please forgive me..."
She couldn't stop herself from bursting into fresh tears, and he wrapped his arms around her as she cried out what felt like a month's worth of stress and fear.
"I didn't know what to think," she said through sobs. "I heard all of those women talking, and then I didn't know if you meant to keep me around. I mean, I know you cared, but..."
"But you never heard what I thought of you. How I felt. Is that right?"
She nodded miserably, and she uttered a soft sound of sadness as he drew away, seating her on the bench. She couldn't argue with him if he wanted to leave her, if he was ready to be done with her...
She blinked as she realized that he was going down on one knee. "Nathan?"
"I am so sorry I was never clear with you, not even when I knew myself. I kept the knowledge to myself, and perhaps if I had been a little more honest, I wouldn't have had to chase you across the country. By the way, will you promise never to run from me again? If you feel like this again, will you give me the chance to defend myself?"
She flinched. "Oh Nathan, yes, of course."
"Good. Then, Natalie, I love you. Will you marry me?"
He opened a velvet box with a ring displayed prominently within. At the center was a glimmering diamond surrounded by what she knew were tsavorite garnets. She only had a moment to look at them, however, before she knocked his hand aside and threw herself into his arms. Even as she laughed with joy, she was crying again.
"I love you, I love you, I want you, I love you, Nathan, I do, I will!"
He laughed hoarsely, dragging her into his arms and holding her so tight she thought he might never let go.
"Don't cry, my love," he whispered. "I'll spend the rest of our lives making you laugh..."
"I'm afraid you might be getting more tears in the future," she said, smiling through her sobs. "I seem to be one of those pregnant women who cries a lot."
He stared at her for a moment, and she nodded. Then he laughed even louder before dropping his head down into a kiss that was filled with promises, with love, with tomorrow...and with children.