Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 45217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
“It’s a noble, good thing,” Jamie says firmly. “Markus, it’s a privileged position to be able to turn your nose up at making money. I may be a writer, but I’m a working-class man. I’ve spent my life around working-class people. We have a chance to build generational wealth for our family. What sort of man would I be if I didn’t capitalize on that?”
“And we’ll need to start building real soon.”
I rest my hand on my belly, my heartbeat fluttering.
“Wait…” Jamie turns and stares down at me, dashingly handsome in his suit. “Are you saying…”
I nod. We stare at each other, into each other.
The studio melts away. It’s just us.
“Pregnant,” he whispers.
“Yes!”
Jamie leaps to his feet, cheering, punches the air, then pulls me into his arms. Even Marcus is laughing as he announces we’ll take a short break and be right back.
EPILOGUE
ONE YEAR LATER
Jamie
“I’m always going to look out for her,” Zack says, sitting at Elizabeth’s bedside, “and all my nieces and nephews. You’ll see.”
I exchange a look with Lucy. She stands just above the crib, her hand resting on her belly as if she misses the bump. It’s so easy to imagine her as she was walking down the aisle, angelic and beautiful and sexy all at once. Now, she’s wearing one of my T-shirts, her eyes tired, her hair messy around her shoulders, and she still looks perfect. She still gets my whole body and soul thrumming and aching each time I look at her. Her maternal love exudes from every single pore.
We smile as only we can, husband and wife. It’s a strange, beautiful, unique connection we share, bonding us every moment.
“I know you will, Zack,” I tell him.
Zack’s been staying with us for eight months. He was the ring bearer at the wedding. Day by day, he puts his time with his dad behind him. He’s doing well at school, getting Bs in some stuff and Ds in others, but he’s there. He’s trying. He’s becoming a normal kid. He grins over at me, his hand reaching into the crib.
“She’s holding my finger. I think she likes me.”
Lucy beams. “Of course she does. You’re her big bro.”
“I’m going to protect her like you protected Kylie.”
He stares at me in that way of his, seeming far too mature. He’ll always have those marks from growing up so fast, just like I did. It’s impossible to get rid of them completely. I know what he means, so I don’t correct him. I don’t tell him he’ll never need to protect her quite like that. They’re never going to suffer how I did, how Lucy did.
Lucy walks over, falling into my embrace. I wrap my arm around her and inhale the scent of her hair, all that hard mom work, all the passion and love bubbling out of her.
“Look what we did,” she whispers, cuddling close. “Look at the love we made happen.”
My whole heart fills up. We’re selling enough books to commit to a long-term home. Zack is safe. Elizabeth is the cutest baby ever. Kylie and Kyle are here on the East Coast. Nobody’s in danger.
Life is perfect in the world of Mr. and Mrs. Williams.
EPILOGUE
TEN YEARS LATER
Zack
“Is college fun?” Lizzy asks, balancing on her skateboard at the top of the ramp.
I grin from the other side of the ramp, popping a kickflip and then dropping in. “It’s pretty cool. Everybody’s nice. I like engineering. It’s like skateboarding. Do it right, and everything fits.”
I stop on her side of the ramp, stepping off my board. We’re at the back of the yard. This is the second house. I remember the first one, back before Jamie made it big time as an author, and big sis went into full-beast mode with her editing.
Across the yard, I can see Kelly, Samantha, and little Isaac playing in the pool. Past them, Lucy sits in the sun, gently rocking Michael’s mobile crib back and forth under the shade of an umbrella. Big bro—or big bro-in-law—is showing off his outdoor gym to Tommy and Sebastian.
I turn at the sound of metal on plastic. It’s Kyle, grinding along the rail on his Rollerblades, grinning over at us before he drops in and then leaps out of the ramp backward.
“What’s up?” he says. “Dropped in yet, Lizzy?”
Lizzy shudders. She looks so much like Lucy, right down to how she smiles and rolls her eyes when she’s nervous.
“Not yet,” she says.
I reach over and gently tap her on the helmet. “You’ve got this, I promise. Here. Hold on to my arm first.”
“Uh, okay.”
“Weight forward. We’ll do a practice one. Let me lift you up after you’ve dropped in. Don’t let your legs run away.”
“Okay, okay.”
She takes a deep breath and then ducks her head, laughing as I scoop her off her feet.
“See,” I say. “Now imagine that, but you keep going.”