Adam kneels in front of me, his expression filled with longing and love. His grip on my hands is urgent, like a drowning man clinging on for dear life. He’s looking up at me with utter devotion with such intensity it takes my breath away. When he speaks, I feel like I’m melting.

“I’m madly in love with you. From the second I saw you in the casino, doing that feisty little dance, I felt something come alive in me. From that moment on, I didn’t want to be without you. I wanted to spend every second with you because you enchant me. Everything about you captivates me. Now you’re telling me you’re going to be the mother of my child. I could never look away again. You’re the most mesmerizing woman I’ve ever met.”

I want to believe him, but every time Adam has had the chance to choose me, he hasn’t. Before I told him I was pregnant, he was talking about how desperately he wanted a child.

“Oh, Adam,” I say and let go a heavy breath. “I want to believe you love me. I love you, but how am I supposed to believe you? Would you have come here today if you hadn’t caught Alice again? Would you move to Illinois if it wasn’t for this baby?”

Adam looks saddened by my words. His eyebrows draw together tightly, and his eyes fill with sorrow. I want to brush back his dark hair from his face, but I don’t dare touch him. Not until I know what’s real. One touch is all it would take to have me back under his spell for good.

“You wouldn’t take my calls,” he says. “If you’d have listened to those voicemails, you would have known how much I’d been thinking of you. I care about you. I wanted you. I love only you. I thought by not returning my calls, you were saying you didn’t want me. Give me a chance to show you how much you mean to me.”

I look away, and he leans in with urgency. He takes my hands and draws me to my feet, letting our hands rest between us, fingers intertwined.

“We’ll be in Illinois. I’ll tell the whole world you’re mine. I will come with you to every appointment, every scan, every one of those classes where you sit on a big bouncy ball and breathe deeply. We’re in this together. I want more of what we had together. A lifetime more. I know there are many things I still must learn about you, and I want to discover them all. Right here, on your home turf. I want to see you kick ass running your business. I want to meet your mom. I’ll roll up my sleeves and take care of her, too. I’ll do double dates with Hannah and her man. I want to be a part of your life and not just a passing crush. I want something real and something that lasts.”

My eyes dart to the ring on the table. Adam picks it up and throws it in the trash can under my desk beneath the window.

“Believe me when I tell you this, Laura. I love you.”

He wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me toward him. I keep my face turned away, even as my body comes to rest close to him. He trails his other hand up the back of my neck. Goosebumps appear on my skin from his touch.

He pulls my face toward him and brushes my lips, with the gentlest, softest kiss.

I close my eyes and exhale slowly. I say nothing and keep my eyes shut.

He kisses me again, slightly harder, but still tender. He whispers, “I love you.”

I can feel the weight of his body pressed against me, and it feels like a missing part of the puzzle has slotted into place. I feel complete. He trails his lips down to my neck, just above my collarbone, and kisses me again.

I lift my arms and trail my hands through the hair at the back of his head.

Wrapping both arms around my waist, he pulls me to him in a single quick, tight motion. I begin to breathe faster.

“I should never have met Alice that day,” he says softly. “I should have called her and told her I’d fallen in love with someone else the day I met you.”

I press my hands against his chest and push him away, although it takes some effort to do it. There is longing in my eyes. The heavy rhythm of my breathing is giving me away. I want him too.

“Does Alice even know about me?”

“Alice is never going to be in our lives again.”

I cut him off sharply. “It matters to me if you were honest with her.”

“I told her we met, spent our time in Vegas together, married, and we hit the road. And I told her it wasn’t a mistake. I told her I love you.”

I step toward him again, holding onto the material of his t-shirt in two tight fists. I look up at him with desperate eyes.

“And if we were ever rocky?”

“We’d sit down and have an adult conversation.”

“And if you were in Vegas again?”

“I won’t be going on the road again. My place is with you.”

“And if you get bored of me?”

He takes my face in both hands and presses his lips down passionately over mine. “Impossible.”

I close my eyes to think. When I speak, my voice is hoarse.

“You should move to Illinois permanently.”

“Will you have me?”

“Let’s see where this thing goes.”

“I love you, Mrs. Taylor.”

I laugh when he uses my married name. It doesn’t make me angry anymore. Instead, I rise onto my tiptoes and kiss him on the lips. There is a fire in the way I press my lips up to his.

His hands caress my back and move down to my ass. He cups his hands underneath me and lifts me up into his arms. I wrap my legs around him and feel his body close to mine.

“Make love to me?” he asks.

“Yes,” I breathe out the word.

Our bodies collide into the wall, and he presses himself into me, his hands working their way underneath my shirt and into my bra, arriving at my breasts. He squeezes and rolls my nipples, causing me to go into overdrive with my libido.

He pushes his groin into me. I can feel how hard he is. I put my legs down to access the buckle on his pants, pulling them to the floor. I look into his eyes and drop down in front of him, my mouth watering for the feel of his cock in my mouth. I pull him free and lick the tip. I taste a little of him on my tongue, and I like it. I twirl my tongue around his head and suck on the end.

He pushes toward me, his hand holding me behind my head. I slide him into my mouth until he hits the back of my throat. I sense a gagging sensation, so I concentrate, and I open my throat, allowing it to push further back. I suck on him, caressing his balls with my fingertips.

I want to make him feel amazing like he did for me in Vegas.

He pushes into me, and I can feel him getting harder. I pull him out, sucking juices from him as I take a breath. I look up at him and take him in again, trying to capture all of him. I feel him moving against my throat muscles, and I relax. He jerks and pulls away from me, turning around and breathing deeply.

“Adam? What is it?”

“I don’t want to yet.”

He looks back at me, shaking his head and then lunges for me, scooping me up and carrying me to my bedroom. He drops me on the bed and sheds us both of our clothing. He leans into me, pushing my legs apart and dropping down on me. He pushes himself inside me and moves in and out, rubbing against the sensitive parts of me.

“You make me completely crazy,” he says. “I don’t want to end this, Laura. Stay with me. Be my wife. Have my child. Be mine forever.”

I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. My body shivers and all I can do is pull him closer to me. He wraps his arms around me and holds me tight. “I love you, Laura.”

“I love you too.” I choke back my tears and kiss his neck. “Make love to me, my husband.”

He looks at me with love in his eyes and moves slowly back and forth until our orgasms overwhelm us both, and he wraps me in his arms.

We fall asleep together, blissfully and peacefully, knowing there is no more uncertainty between us.

Seven months later, I’m about ready to pop. My huge, swollen stomach goes ahead of me wherever I waddle. My breasts are enormous, and I feel like I weigh five hundred pounds.

Adam still looks at me like I’m the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.

He’s been true to his word. He’s been at my side like glue through the whole pregnancy journey. He moved to Illinois within two weeks of me giving him the news. Just like that, he packed up his life to be with me.

No matter what doubts I might have had about Adam’s feelings for me, I always feel reassured when I remind myself how that was something he never did for Alice, even after twelve years.

Not that I need any more proof he loves me. It’s clear in everything he does. Like he promised, he’s become a part of my life. It’s like he was always there.

When I wake up in the morning, it’s often to breakfast in bed or the smell of bacon cooking downstairs. I’ve had a crazy craving for bacon ever since getting pregnant, and Adam has provided me with a never-ending supply. If the stores run out, he’d probably hunt down a pig himself to keep my craving satisfied.

We take long walks in the afternoon, either through the town or out in the country. Sometimes we end up at a little coffee shop or bistro and spend a couple of hours chatting away.

Every time we’re alone together, it feels like a first date.

Adam was right. There is still so much we didn’t know about each other. He fascinates me. Every time we talk, our conversation goes down a new path where I learn something different about him. Each discovery brings us closer together.

He meets my mom soon after moving to Illinois, and she’s thrilled when she finds out about the baby. It even seems to bring her out of her depression. The promise of a grandchild lifts her spirits. Instead of spending all her time cooped up indoors, she starts venturing out and coming back with gifts for the baby. When we find out we’re having a boy, we decide to name him Arthur, after my father. Mom is besotted with him already, even when he’s only a shadow on an ultrasound screen.

In a few days, he’ll be bursting into our world.

We’re as prepared as we can be. Adam and I found a duplex not too far from my mom and my offices. It has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. I know Adam could have afforded a mansion for us, but we both had the same dream in mind. All we want is a comfortable family life close to those we love.

Adam has put a considerable amount into a trust for when Arthur goes to college. There’s nothing he hasn’t done for our son. Our boy will want for nothing. When he’s a little older, Adam will go back to work, but he won’t go on the road again.

Vegas stayed strong in our minds. We didn’t talk about it for a while after all the drama in its wake, but it wasn’t long before the fondness of our memories wriggled their way back into conversation.

Within a few weeks, all my doubts had disappeared. Now I’m nine months along, and I know for sure we have nothing but a beautiful life ahead of us. Every day is like a dream.

Today is another wonderful day. The sun is shining, and there’s a warm breeze in the air. Adam and I walk hand in hand through the park, enjoying the pleasant weather and easy company.

I come to a stop when I feel Adam fall behind. There’s a tug at my hand. I turn around to find he’s dropped to one knee. My heart immediately flutters, and I smile widely for the proposal I know is coming.

Sure enough, Adam has a speech prepared.

“Laura, meeting you has turned my life upside down in the most incredible way. You are smart, driven, beautiful, and enchanting. You haven’t stopped captivating me from the moment we met. I want to spend the rest of my life under your spell.”

He holds up a ring box. I’m already nodding, the tears springing to my eyes when he pops open the box, and I draw back in surprise.

Inside the box is not a ring, but a cigarette lighter.

Adam sees my confusion and laughs. He pulls a wad of papers from his back pocket. I recognize the documents immediately. It’s the divorce papers we never submitted. Adam holds them up for me.

“Mrs. Taylor, will you stay my wife?”

Laughing, I take the lighter from its velvet case and spark the flame into life. I hold it up to the edge of the divorce papers and watch them burn, then curl. They go up in flames. Adam stands, drops them on the ground, and stamps out the fire.

He opens his arms, and I fall into them.

He hugs me tightly, kissing my face all over. “We’re going to have a real wedding,” he promises. “With all our friends and family. Your mom, Hannah, and the girls. I’m going to tell the world you’re my one and only. Now, and forever.”