Back In His Arms Read Free Page A

already.   “We should live here.”
    “That’s what Carla said,” Atreus told her.   He fed a piece of dumpling to Dios.   “But wouldn’t you miss Greece, Mama?”
    “Greece?”   Andria feigned confusion as she straightened her hat.   “What’s Greece?   Never heard of it.”    
    They all laughed.
    “Perhaps…”   Atreus considered.
    Once they had finished breakfast, Atreus guided Carla and Dios to a small motorboat.
    “This is my toy,” Atreus told Carla, “so you’ll have to permit me a little fun.”
    “Not too much fun, young man,” she said, wagging her finger at him as she pulled Dios onto her lap.
    Of course, she meant none of it.   She would have trusted him with her life in even the most dangerous of situations.
    The water was like rippling glass as they departed from the sandy shore.   As they moved deeper,   its color turned first into a beautiful aquamarine then into a crystal clear sapphire.   Carla held Dios tight and laughed as he screamed with delight at their increasing speed.  
    Atreus sat by the motor, guiding them and laughing along, looking so at peace with himself as they sped by countless sandy coves and vibrant green islands.   As Carla watched him she marveled at his magnificence; his bronze, muscular arms so rich in color against the white of the boat, his black hair blowing back in the wind and his eyes alive with love and life itself.   She knew she was exactly where she was meant to be.  
    “It’s just there,” he said, pointing to a tiny island a few hundred feet away.
    Carla turned to look.
    “Wow.”
    It was beautiful.   A white sand beach spanned the coastline with a tropical jungle springing up from behind it, complete with brightly blooming bushes and trees.   Gargantuan fronds swayed in the breeze as if beckoning them in.  
    Atreus steered the motorboat toward the shore and leapt out.
    “I feel like a new man,” he said, puffing his chest out as he took a deep breath of the salty air.   He helped Carla and Dios off the boat.   “Shall we explore?”
    “Absolutely,” said Carla.   “But can we sit for a little while, first?   I just want to take this all in.”
    “Of course, my love.”
    They slipped out of their shoes and sat down, sinking their feet into the sparkling beige sand.   Carla thought it was satisfyingly grainy, like an exfoliation.   And as they looked out at the sea, Dios playing happily with a large seashell, Atreus enveloped her in his arms and held her against his warm body.   It felt like perfection.
    “Atreus?”   she breathed as he fingered the white lace on the hem of her sundress; the dress, along with an entire wardrobe, that he had arranged to have delivered to the island while she was en route.
    “Yes, my darling?”
    She turned her gaze upward and gently ran the back of her hand along his stubbly cheek while gazing deep into his eyes.
    “I’m pregnant.”
    His expression turned to one of shock and delight.   He held her face in his hands and kissed her left cheek, then her right, then her forehead and finally her lips.
    “You’re wrong,” he said.
    “Sorry?”
    “ We’re pregnant,” he replied.   “We’re in this together, my love.”
    Carla snuggled back into his arms, her heart feeling warm and safe.   There, in his arms, on Redemption Island, she had found pure, unadulterated happiness for the first time.   It felt like her entire life, having been spent in dull grayscale, had suddenly burst into Technicolor.   She hoped with every fiber of her being that the color would never drain away.
    “We’re going to have a baby,” Atreus announced.
    “And Dios will be a big brother,” Carla said.
    “You hear that, buddy?” Atreus said, tickling his son under his chin.   Dios opened his mouth in a wide smile as he giggled, his cheeks full and his eyes bright.   Atreus scooped him up in a giant hug.   “You’re going to be a big brother!”
    They knew he did not understand but when