Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 71246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
“I know I don’t have to do anything. You’ve made that clear to me many times, and I’m grateful you let me make my own choices, but, Lex, I wanted to do it.” She grins back, making my heart skip a beat. “And you know what I want to do now?”
“What’s that?” I ask, cupping her cheek and bringing her lips to mine.
“I want to go eat the biggest piece of cake I can fit on my plate.”
“Yeah, and then what?” I whisper against her lips, ready to kiss her.
She shrugs. “Live happily ever after?”
“Oh, we’ll do that, baby, and so much more,” I say, pressing my lips firmly against hers, sealing the words with a kiss. The best thing to ever happen to me was Jude, and I’ll spend the rest of my life proving it to her.
Epilogue
JUDE
One Year Later
I shield my eyes from the sun, letting the salty wind whip my hair around. We’re on a family trip, and Lex is off with Seb and Rem, digging for clams. Jules and Lily and I sunbathe ourselves while we watch Maggie and Kayla make sandcastles. Lily’s newest, Bailey, is fast asleep on her chest, and mine is fast asleep in his carrier.
It is a beautiful day to be outdoors, and I admire the blue sky that matches the blue of my swimsuit and the blue of the ocean.
Lady Loo is sniffing and digging all along the grass line and occasionally takes running romps through the shallow water and foam. She looks free and happier than ever, and I realize my little family and our new nest is good for her. Her cracks are starting to fill in, and she’s beginning to trust and relax again.
As am I.
The warm sun beats down on me, and I feel lazy. I don’t even want to read my book. Vacations are meant to recharge and restore you, and I’m doing just that.
“Whatcha thinking about, Jude?”
I turn to Lily and smile, seeing her eyes still closed and blissful over motherhood.
“I was marveling at how much I was against marriage and babies and even men a year ago, and now here I am, happily married with a baby. What a fool I was.”
Jules shoves up on one elbow. “It’s not foolish, you know. Not given what you had been through as a child. How you survived with so much strength and grace astounds all of us. You single-handedly took down a power broker and the worst of all sorts of villains, simply by going out and getting laid. Running directly toward, that marriage, baby, and man that you resisted. That is the epitome of bravery and intuition.”
“Yeah, babe,” Lily chimes in, “you earned every bit of the beautiful life you have.”
“Awww, you girls are sweet! Lex makes it easy, trust me.”
“A cuddly new baby doesn’t hurt.” Lily laughs, patting Bailey’s bottom.
I laugh with them, feeling like the luckiest girl in the world. And that my husband and baby are the most perfect.
After a bit, we head in to get the kids out of the sun and put them down for a nap.
The men champion their hard-won clams and try to herald us with tales of glory and battle until we shush them and threaten to take away their beer if they wake the kids.
I take Logan into our bedroom and carefully transfer him into the crib.
Lex comes up behind me and circles my waist as we look down at our sweet little boy.
“Is he not the most perfect child in the universe?”
“That he is, little momma, that he is.” His voice has a rich timbre quality to it, and I feel his heart pressing around me, squeezing me tight and reminding me that I’m his.
“You know what he needs, don’t you?”
I look up at Lex and respond, “What is that?”
“He needs brothers.”
I chuckle. “Oh, does he now?”
“Yep. And a new fort. And a future plan. And…and…and…”
“Why don’t you take your ‘ands’ and spread them all over my body?” I suggest with a wink.
“Oh, yeah? It’s like that, is it?”
“It is if you hurry up and get started before the little man wakes up.”
We chuckle as we kiss, and he guides me, walking us backward, to the bed.
Bumping against the mattress, he turns me around, and the urgency flares up like flickering flames between us. We cannot seem to move fast enough, but we have to be quiet. Not just for Logan but because the walls might be thin, and everyone would hear.
“Lex, I need you,” I whisper.
He growls and strips off my clothes, not even bothering with his own.
Suddenly his hands and mouth are everywhere.