Ava pretended to punch his arm. ‘Stop. I don’t want to think about it. Having you here helped a lot, too. If you hadn’t been here, I’d have been terrified the babies would need more than I could give them.’

He laughed at that. Ava terrified? He seriously doubted that could happen. But at least he’d been useful. ‘Thank you.’

Ava was still chewing over the problem. ‘I don’t know. I think she’d get a lot of help from Denise in finding support and assistance to study, too. She has a long-term goal for helping remote pregnant women, not just Jessamine. I’ve read about the Inuit women, where a system of local maternity support showed better outcomes for births at home, so I’m sure it could work here too.’

He leaned in and kissed her. ‘Absolutely.’ Then he kissed her again and stepped back to re-tuck her hand into his arm.

‘I’m ranting again,’ she said with a sheepish smile.

‘You do it beautifully. If enough people feel the way you do, things will change. But I’m more selfish and wonder if I can entice the desert midwife to hurry a little faster across to my hotel room.’

He felt the tension ease out of her and she touched his cheek. When their eyes met, her expression grew teasing.

Tonight. I’ll tell her tonight, he thought. The declarations were threatening to burst from him.

Chapter Thirteen

Ava

What an afternoon she’d had. And now this. She was mad. Intoxicated. The man just had to waggle his finger and she was there, ready to follow him to his bed and kiss him all over. She’d planned to drive him out to the viewing places to see the first sunset, but they’d never get out of his bed once they got to his room.

As they turned left through the greenery and gravel paths between the buildings, she couldn’t wait to be wrapped securely in his arms. To know without a doubt that they were together again.

He gestured for her to precede him up the stairs to the second floor. They would have the best views up here. My extravagant hero, she thought just a little smugly. Her heart pounded with the need to get him alone. Her heart also pounded because he’d walked her faster than her legs normally walked and she cast a sideways glance at his determined face. He was a man on a mission, apparently. Her mouth struggled to stay straight.