Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 89224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
“Did you tell Winter you were asking me?” I place my hand against his chest and glance down at my ring before looking up at him once more.
“She knew. She wanted to send you on a scavenger hunt to find it on the beach.”
Laughing, I drop my forehead to rest under his chin. “I love you.”
“I know.” He kisses the top of my head, and I drag in a breath.
“Did you tell Hazel?” The question is whispered. Even if his ex and I have found a way to get along, our relationship is still filled with tension. She loves Miles, his brothers, and her daughter, so to her, I’m an outsider and might always be.
“She knows. She’s happy for us.”
That fills me with relief, and I tip my head back and look into his eyes. Before I knew him, really knew him, I thought I understood what being loved felt like. But now I realize I had no clue just how powerful that emotion really is. How it wraps you up safely when the world outside is scary, how it gives you strength when you’re feeling weak, or just how much peace there is in having a person who loves you despite your flaws. In him, and in Winter, I have experienced true love, and I will always be grateful for what they have given me, without them even knowing they were doing it.
8 years later
Miles
Fuck no.
I glance at Emma, who is beaming at Win as she walks down the stairs, and then I look at Hazel with the same fucking expression on her face. As I face Winter once more, I wonder how neither woman seems to understand that the dress my baby has on is too fucking short and exposes too goddamn much cleavage.
Taking my eyes off Win, I look at her date and ponder if his parents would miss him if he ended up buried in my back yard.
Probably, which sucks.
“You look like a princess,” Bella, my six-year-old daughter who looks just like her mom, breathes in awe while looking at her sister with wide eyes.
“Thanks Bell.” Win laughs, coming down the last two steps to take her date’s hand. Or she tries to, but Miles Jr.—who just turned four—takes the opportunity to step between them.
“Up,” he demands, reaching his little arms out toward her, and Win lifts him off his feet, wrapping him in a hug. She might love her little sister, but she adores her baby brother.
“I’ll be home in just a few hours,” she promises Miles Jr., kissing his cheek before placing him back on his feet.
I glance over at her date, who looks seriously disappointed by that news.
Good.
After photos are taken and the whole high-school crew shows up to take the limo Em ordered for the kids, I shut the front door behind Hazel, who came into town to help Win get ready for prom and share the moment with Em. Something she had to do because Win, when she was old enough to decide where she wanted to live, chose to stay with Em and I. That was a really difficult time for all of us but in the end, Hazel put her feelings aside and let Win choose for herself. I know it wasn’t easy for her, but she did it anyways because she loves our daughter and knew she was happy here with us, with all of her friends. After locking the door, I turn to face my wife and let out a breath as I take her in, where she’s standing with our other two babies at the bottom of the stairs in the house we bought when we found out she was pregnant with Bella.
And like always, I’m instantly overwhelmed by the amount of love I feel for her, for our family, and for this life we have built together. I couldn’t ask for a better partner or mother for our kids and there isn’t a day that has gone by where I have questioned my decision to put my reservations aside and take a chance on her or on us. Besides our kids she is the best thing that has ever happened to me. And because of her and our kids I know this world is a little brighter. She has given them and me so much love that we have no choice but to share that emotion with every living soul we come in contact with.
The End