Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 100294 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100294 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
“Tomorrow.” He kisses my jaw, my throat, the hollow above my collarbone. “We have all night. I have plans for you.”
I smile, feeling the secret I’ve been holding bubble up, impossible to hold anymore. “I have plans for you too,” I tell him.
“Yeah?” He pulls back, his eyes dark and soft, his hands gentle on my waist. My overbearing teddy bear husband. “What kind of plans?”
I take his hand, the one with the gold band that matches mine, and press it flat against my stomach. A secret that’s half him and half me and entirely ours.
“You’re going to be a dad,” I say.
He goes completely still; the playful hunger vanishes from his face, replaced by awe, fragile, terrified, and beautiful. I cover his hand with my own.
“Madeline,” he whispers my name. “I thought—”
“You’ve waited long enough.” I said years ago that we’d wait a few years after college to start trying, but as we neared the end of college and our wedding approached, I knew I also wanted it now.
“Buttercup—” I cup his cheek. He stares at me for a long moment, pressing his mouth to mine hard and desperately, his hands framing my face. “This is perfect. You’re perfect. We’re—” He stops, pressing his forehead to mine, his breathing ragged. “A baby. We’re having a baby.”
“We’re having a baby.” I say it again so he knows it’s real. “Hey,” I whisper. “You okay?”
“I’m better than okay.” He catches my hand, kissing my palm, my wrist, and the inside of my elbow. “It’s everything. You’re everything. You and this baby. This life you gave me when I didn’t deserve it.”
“Luke, you deserved it,” I tell him, pulling him close. “You deserve all of it.” I’ll spend my life proving that to him.
He carries me over to the bed, treating me like I’m made of glass.
“I love you,” he whispers against my hair, his hand spread wide against my stomach, holding our future. “I love you so much.”
“I know.” I smile up at him. I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. “I love you, too.”
Outside, the party continues. Inside, we begin another chapter of our lives with a million more to come.
Epilogue
LUKE
Many Years Later
The house is finally quiet. A rare thing around here these days, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I never could’ve imagined my life would be this way. I know it wouldn’t be without Madeline.
I close the door to our youngest son’s room as softly as I can, holding my breath until I’m sure none of them are stirring. Not that it matters. In the middle of the night, they always switch beds, ending up all together. We don’t fight it.
I love how close they are, and I don’t want them to lose that. I hate the years my brother and I lost, but we’ve made up for it over time.
Three kids under five, and I’ve learned to move like a damn ninja instead of a grizzly bear. Especially when I want to find my wife for some alone time.
I head downstairs but not before I give Miss Poppin a scratch on her furry head. I got her a few days after we’d gotten our own place. She always sleeps in the hallway on the bench, having eyes on all doors. I loosen my tie but stop dead in my tracks when I hit the kitchen.
Madeline’s at the sink, her back to me, wearing one of my old practice jerseys and nothing else. Her hair’s falling out of the messy bun she put it in this morning, and she’s humming something under her breath while she washes dishes. The counters are covered with the evidence of her day—crayon drawings, and half-eaten sandwiches.
The woman is always going. I have to slow her down a lot of times, but I know this is what makes her happy, and I love doing whatever makes my wife smile at me.
“Hey,” I say, leaning against the doorframe.
She turns, smiling that smile that still stops my heart. “Hey, yourself. They down?”
“Out cold,” I tell her. I’d worn them out on the wild ice in our back yard. When we got this place, I knew it had to have a pond. Some of Madeline’s favorite memories are of her father going out and finding wild ice and skating together.
“Good.” She dries her hands, but she doesn’t move toward me. She leans back against the counter instead, and the jersey rides up her thighs. “Because I’m done sharing you today, Locke.”
I push off the doorframe, crossing the kitchen in three strides. “Is that so?”
“Mm-hmm.” She tilts her head back as I get close, her eyes darkening. “All day it’s been kids and neighbors and Mommy-and-me class and then your agent calling. I want my husband.”
“You got me. Always.” I cage her in, hands on the counter on either side of her hips. I don’t give a fuck where I am or what I’m doing. If my wife needs me, I’m there. God fucking knows she is for everyone else. I love that I’m her place to fall. “What do you want to do with me? Besides picking this house back up after I put you to bed.”