He edged away from her, and their gazes met and held. The promise between them was more potent than anything she had ever known. She didn’t need words to recognize what was in his heart; his feelings were all there for her to read in his eyes.

Sam bent toward her, and her dark eyes shimmered with an aching need for his love, a need that was echoed in his own heart. Her parted lips offered him an invitation he couldn’t ignore.

This was the man she loved, the man who had filled her life with purpose and realized her dreams. He’d helped her to conquer her fears, laying the groundwork to destroy one after another with unlimited patience. He had gently proved to her that there wasn’t anything they couldn’t face together, nothing the force of their love couldn’t overcome.

“Oh Sam,” she murmured, not wanting him to stop but knowing he had to. “The baby…”

He nodded and straightened, although his hands continued to grip her shoulders. The sight of Marjorie holding Shelley, knowing that someday she would be cradling their own baby, burned through him with the effectiveness of a hot knife. He felt weak with desire, weak and yet so powerful.

“Was that Shelley I heard?” Betty asked as she came into the small bedroom. If she noticed Marjorie’s tears, or the fact that Sam was on the floor beside her and the baby, she didn’t comment. “Thanks for getting her up for me,” she said smoothly, and reached for her daughter.

With some reluctance, Marjorie surrendered the infant. “She’s a wonderful baby.”

“I’m convinced she gets that easygoing disposition from her mother,” Betty said with a cheerful smile.

Bernie coughed in the background. “What about her old man?”

“And her father,” Betty amended, and shared a secret smile, a wordless disclaimer, with Marjorie.

Marjorie managed to smother a laugh. When she stood, Sam slipped his arm around her waist and gently hugged her. “Do you think it’d be considered impolite to eat and run?” he whispered, so she alone could hear.

“Not if we’re not too obvious,” she said after a moment. As much as she liked Bernie and Betty, there were so many things she wanted to tell Sam, so much she yearned to share.

“It’s selfish, I know, but I want to be alone with you,” he added, after their hosts had taken the baby and headed into the other room.

Marjorie wanted it, too, and her gaze told him so.

“Soon,” he promised.

“Soon,” she agreed.

By the time they returned to the living room, Bernie had finished barbecuing the steaks. They all worked together, and within a few minutes the picnic table on the Millers’ newly finished deck was set. The salads, potato chips, and other dishes were brought out.