their children.
“Duh, Mom. I can do math.” Kylee bit her lip. “But what I want to know, I guess, is . . . did you regret it?”
Angela’s chest burned, and not from the exertion of jogging. “I used to think so. Not having you—I love you and can’t imagine my life without you. But getting married because we were pregnant . . . I used to regret that, I think.”
“Why?” Kylee’s face seemed purely inquisitive, not devastated as Angela had anticipated.
“I think I saw marriage and motherhood as cages I was forced into. I didn’t see that I had another option.” Angela put one foot in front of the other. “But there were other choices—I could have had an abortion or placed you for adoption. For a long time I didn’t recognize that I’d actually made a choice.”
“So what made you decide to keep me and marry Dad?”
“From that first ultrasound, I knew you were alive and that you belonged with me. And I loved your dad. It might not have been my plan, but that day I married him, I got what I’d always craved: a family. Funny, because becoming a doctor and continuing down my predetermined course would have likely led to a lonely life, like the one my aunt had.”
Kylee grew quiet for several minutes. They turned the last corner before reaching their house, and she stopped. “Thanks for telling me, Mom. That reveals so much to me about who you are and who Dad was.” She folded herself into Angela’s embrace.
“Oh, sweet girl.” Angela kissed the top of her daughter’s head and thanked God for a gift she’d never asked for, but had needed all the same.
They headed toward home. When they were a few houses away, Kylee turned to Angela. “So, remember those good vibes we just shared, okay, Mom? And don’t be too mad at me.” Then she raced toward the house.
What in the world?
Angela followed fast, approaching the front door—and halted so suddenly she nearly tripped.
There on the stoop, Kylee embraced a man and quickly scooted inside.
The man rotated to face Angela, and her heart skittered to a stop. Simon King was as handsome as ever in a plaid button-up rolled to his elbows and jeans, blue TOMS on his feet. And he still took her breath away.
She continued up the walkway, their eyes connected the whole time, until she joined him on the top step. His grin brought with him all the sunshine and laughter she remembered from her time in New Zealand. Because despite all the rain, the brilliance was most memorable.
“What are you doing here?” The question came out weak, choked.
“Eh, I was in the neighborhood.”
She pushed his shoulder slightly. “You’re about nine thousand miles from home and you just happened to be in my neighborhood?”
His silly grin sobered, and the corners of his eyes creased as he studied her. “I’m sorry I showed up unannounced—though I did have a little help knowing when to arrive and whether my visit might be welcomed.”
“Kylee?”
“And Eva. Hope you don’t mind. But I couldn’t stand not knowing anymore.”
Angela gulped. “Knowing what?”
“If you’re as mad about me as I am you.” He ran his knuckles together. How adorably nervous of him. “I never thought I’d love anyone again, but then you came into my life. You’re more than just a story to me, Angela Jamison. You’re the story. A page-turner. The only problem is that I’ve reached the end of the manuscript, and I’m desperate to know the ending. But if you don’t know it yet, that’s all right. I’ll wait till you’re sure.”
He loved her. After all she’d done, after the pain she’d caused him, he still loved her. He’d come all this way to show her how much and was willing to give her space to thrive if she needed it.
He’d so not been part of her plans—but then again, the best things in her life hadn’t either.
She pushed past the lump in her throat to speak. “I still don’t know how things will work between us since we live in completely different corners of the world, but I can’t ignore it anymore.” Time for the full truth, whatever the cost. “As much as it scares me, I love you too.”
Placing his hands around her waist, Simon tugged her close. “That’s the best news I’ve had all day. All year, really.” He leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose. “And about that long distance . . . well, I can