She swallowed hard, blinking under the intensity of his brown gaze. “I don’t know.”

“Why don’t you know?”

“You choose,” she countered, unable to answer his question.

He was silent a moment, his gaze searching hers. “There’s something between us that’s stopping you. Is it the age difference?”

“No! I’ve told you a dozen times that I don’t care about our ages.” Truth.

“Then what is it?”

“Do you want kids?” she blurted. Her lips pressed into a tight line. She’d said it. The one little anomalous piece that couldn’t find its proper position in the puzzle of their lives was now out in the open. It hung between them, heavy and dense. A turning point.

Mason took a half step back. “Do you?” His brows furrowed.

She felt raw and exposed under his scrutiny.

“I don’t know,” she whispered as her brain shot into fifth gear and her fears tumbled from her tongue. “You’ve said you’re done with kids, and I’m scared that Jayne’s weaknesses will be passed to my child, and I don’t know if I’m cut out to be a mother, and what if one of us dies on the job and—”

He yanked her close, wrapping his arms around her and pressing his face into her hair. “I want whatever you want. Forget what I’ve said in the past. All that matters is that we move forward together. We’ve got a lifetime to figure it out.”

I almost lost you.

She burrowed into his chest. “But I don’t know what I want and it’s not fair to you—”

“I know what’s fair,” he said. “I’d love to share a child that’s a blend of me and you, but I also believe we can be happy if it’s just the two of us. We don’t have to decide right this minute. It’s something for us to explore together.”

She pulled back, studying his brown eyes for honesty.

Pure truth stared back at her.

“After we’re married.” He raised a brow at her.

She owed him a wedding decision.

Decisions on children could wait; they’d find the answer together.

The silent burden lifted from her shoulders, and her doubts vanished. Her vision filled with a crystal-clear picture of the two of them exchanging vows. “I want a summer wedding at the winery.” She couldn’t speak fast enough. “I know it’s farther away, but I want to see blue sky and smell fresh flowers . . . and for the sun to shine on us as we say our vows.”

His face lit up. “Done. It sounds perfect.”

Contentment filled her heart.

She couldn’t wait.