“You drove here,” I murmur proudly, seeing him with his car.

It’s not a question, but Henry still nods as he stands to his full height. “I did. I drove a lot today.” He’s holding the cane, but I can tell he’s trying to stand on his own as much as possible.

For me.

“I’ll leave you to it,” Ferdinand says, giving me a knowing wink as he passes me on his way out.

After Phillip’s valet dropped me off at Hanover Palace, I had met him. We’d only seen each other in passing before, such as in those horrible hours just after Henry’s wreck. I hadn’t spoken to him much then, but he invited me into the palace. We sat at a table in the breakfast nook, easily chatting while his maid kept refilling our cups with hot tea. I think she may be a little obsessed with it, actually.

Ferdinand and I hadn’t talked about heavy stuff. He mainly talked to me about their childhood here. Happy times. I got a glimpse into Henry’s life as a child. How he used to play with toy cars and was fearless climbing trees.

The building blocks of the man who is to be the father of my child.

And he’s standing here in front of me. I hope he’ll give me the chance to get to know him better, to build a home for our child, like the one he grew up in.

The door closes behind Ferdinand, leaving the two of us alone.

“I hope you called him Ferdie,” Henry says, pointing to the door through which his older brother left. “He loves it when people call him that.”

Despite myself—despite everything that happened today—I burst out laughing. It’s a full-bellied laugh, one that makes me bend over laughing, clutching at my middle. The emotion is nice, especially after such turmoil earlier today.

Then the pregnancy hormones hit, and I start bawling.

“Hey,” Henry says, coming up to me. He hesitates only for a moment before he embraces me, putting my head on his shoulder. “Hey, it’s all right.”

“I’m so sorry, Henry,” I cry. “I’m so sorry, I asked you to leave.”

I hear his voice catch in his throat, and his arms tighten around me. “No,” he murmurs softly. “No, I’m sorry about what I did today. I just saw him and I—”

“He was being an asshole,” I say. “He’s my ex-boyfriend, and he just showed up here.”

“You don’t have to explain it to me,” he whispers.

I pull back and look at him. “I do. I broke up with Dominic before I came to Dubreva, because I think I was always going to take the job. And he never felt right to me, because…” I fumble for words, “because he’s not you.”

Henry stills, watching me intently before a slow, wondrous smile comes to his face. “Did you just say that you’re taking the job?”

I laugh and nod. “Yes,” I tell him. “I accepted it last night. I was going to tell you during lunch, but then—”

He presses his lips to mine, both gentle and impassioned, as if worried that I’m going to disappear. His arms enclose me in his embrace, warm and safe. I realize then that I had never thought of Henry as being safe before—he’d always been that wild one in my head, the unattainable man that would break my heart. Now, comparing him to Dominic, I realize that Dominic had been expected.

And Henry is anything but.

I run my fingers through his hair, grabbing fistfuls of it to pull him to me. I don’t want him to ever leave. I don’t want him to ever let go.

“You’re staying,” he murmurs softly, repeating it like a prayer. “You’re staying.”

I nod. “Yes,” I promise him. “I’m staying.”

He presses his forehead up against mine. “I love you. So goddamn much.”

I smile at him. “I love you, too.”

His fingers ghost up my back and I shiver breathlessly. A low, wicked smile comes to his face as he looks me in the eye. “I want to bend you over the hood of the Ferrari, and show you how much I do love you.”

My breath hitches in my throat. “Please.”

“But,” he whispers softly, looking down between us. “I’m not sure about the baby.” He splays his hands against my belly. Where our baby is growing. A hope for new beginnings.

I grin at him and kiss him, nibbling softly on his bottom lip. “In my first trimester, I can do pretty much anything. I’m more worried about your leg, because I can be a bit rough.”

Our eyes connect and I see the heat ignite his eyes. His mouth curves up into a smile. “Is that a challenge, my lady?”

My stomach is full of butterflies. “Yes.”

He growls then, crashing his lips against mine as one hand kneads my tender breast. I gasp against his lips as I undo his belt, unzip his trousers, and…

“Turn around,” he orders roughly. I grin at him, knowing that we’re about to fulfill his fantasy.

I turn around as he untucks his shirt and pulls out his length. I almost gasp in anticipation at seeing it again.

“I guess we don’t need to worry about birth control,” I purr as I look back over my shoulder at him.

A wry, amazed grin spreads across his lips. “No, I guess we don’t. Now, bend over.”

I’m about to protest that I still have all my clothes on when he kisses me while lifting up the skirt of my dress. I gasp as he pulls aside the crotch of my panties and enters me, all the way to the hilt. I cry out in ecstasy, and he pulls out halfway, allowing me to stretch around him.

“Oh, god, I missed you,” he says. “I thought when you walked out that morning that I’d never see you again. That I’d lost you forever. When you are the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“Show me, then,” I murmur. I brace myself against the hood of the car. “Show me how much you missed me.”

He gives me a sly gaze, as if amazed, and then says, “As my lady commands.”

He enters me again, fully, and I cry out hoarsely. He doesn’t relent, as he slides in and out, building up the tension in my belly, the release that I need to let go. He has one hand gripping my hip while the other hand holds fast to my shoulder, guiding himself inside me.

All I can do is hold onto the car as he drives himself into me, our pelvises bumping against each other. I missed this too. Our bodies knew that we are perfect for each other even before our hearts did.

“You are mine,” he groans. “Mine.”

That nearly sends me over the edge, and as if sensing it, he helps me arch my back towards him, his hand cupping my jaw. He kisses my neck just as my orgasm explodes from within me and I cry out. He comes seconds later, calling out my name as his fingers dig into my flesh.

We stay like that for a few heartbeats, heaving deep breaths from exertion. Finally, he’s the one to break the silence.

“Now before I can mess this up by saying something stupid,” he whispers, “I want to take you to a big, warm bed, and make love to you again. Slower. And possibly again and again until you get sick of me.”

I chuckle. “That all seems fine to me. Except, I don’t ever see me getting sick of you.”

He gives me a triumphant smile. “Then we should get going, huh?”

* * *

Hours later, after making love and exploring each other’s bodies, we lay in the giant bed back at my suite at the Palais Dubrevs, the sheets all spread out around us. Henry’s head is on my chest, watching the rise and fall of my belly as I breathe, marveling at our child there. His fingertips trace the outline of my growing baby bump, which I know will get far bigger as the weeks go on.

“Do you think we’re having a boy?” he asks. “Or a girl?”

I shift slightly. “I know for now, we’re having a prune. That’s the size of the baby right now.”

He glances back at me, wonder in his eyes. “A prune.” He smirks. “I like it.”

I laugh and he kisses me again. He slides a finger inside me and whispers to me, “What are you going to do about the job, my lady?”

“I already told you.”

“Tell me again.”

I bite my lip, teasing him, but he finds that sweet spot and I cry out, arching against the bed. He grins, satisfied.

I manage to both laugh and breathe as I look back at him. “I’m taking the job. So long as you’re here with me.”

His look is sincere as he watches me. “I promise,” he says, “I’ll be here forever with you.”

“You still owe me a trip to Australia though,” I tease.

He raises an eyebrow. “Give it a bit,” he promises. He puts his hand on my stomach. “I’ll take all of us to Australia.”