Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 81113 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81113 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
It was the hottest thing I had possibly ever heard, and I came with a roaring sound in my ears.
I had never had that with anyone. Never felt like I was completing myself, completing her, when we had sex. If I hadn’t already known that Stevie was the one for me, then I would have known it in that moment.
We cleaned things up and then I held her in my arms, Stevie sliding into them automatically, like there was nowhere in the world that she would rather be. I knew there was nowhere in the world I would rather be in that moment, holding her.
For the first time in years, I felt content. Ever since Virginia had cheated on me, my life had been turned upside down. I hadn’t felt like I could relax, or even breathe properly. I had never been truly happy. I had felt like a shell of myself.
But now… now with my restaurant in a new and better direction, with things taking off, and with the woman that I loved impossibly in my arms… this was pure contentment. This was the kind of happiness that was settled into your bones, a comfortable happiness, one that wasn’t so much euphoric champagne bubbles as it was a warm blanket on a cold day.
I’d never thought that my heart could heal after what Virginia and Theo had done to me. But now I realized that I could actually feel not just romantic love again, but more of it, a deeper version of it, than I had ever felt before. I had loved Virginia. And I’d been happy with her up until she had cheated on me. I couldn’t deny that. But it wasn’t the same way that I felt with Stevie. I adored Stevie. I wanted to protect her, to take care of her, to have her in my life forever.
She was a part of me, and I would never let her go.
We lay there in comfortable silence for a while, until I thought that Stevie had fallen asleep. But at last she whispered, “Do you hope it’s a boy? Or a girl?”
“No. It doesn’t matter to me. All I want is a child that’s healthy.” I paused, grinning. “Although it wouldn’t hurt if the baby gets your good looks.”
Stevie laughed.
“A little mini version of the woman I love,” I murmured.
“You’re not so bad yourself,” Stevie teased.
“Are you… concerned that I’ll be too old to keep up?” I asked. I was in my forties, after all. By the time our child was in their twenties, I’d be past sixty. Most people were grandparents at that age.
“I’ll just buy you a walker the same time we get one for the baby,” Stevie said, still laughing.
“Oh, will you now?” I growled, skimming my hands down her sides where I knew she was ticklish.
Stevie gasped, pulling away. “Michael—”
I tickled her in earnest and she squealed, thrashing and laughing. “That’s…not playing fair!”
I laughed, kissing her slowly up her neck. Stevie’s laughter subsided, and she sighed happily. “You’re all that I’ve ever wanted,” she murmured.
I hummed against her neck. “You stole the words right out of my mouth,” I whispered. “Just like you steal my breath away.”
Stevie arched an eyebrow at me. “Anyone ever tell you that you’re really fucking cheesy when you - ”
I kissed her, and that stopped her teasing, stopped her from anything, for a long time.
Epilogue: Stevie
I had envisioned my wedding for years. And every time, I’d had the same groom waiting for me at the end of the aisle. But in all of my daydreams, all the different dresses I’d worn, the locations where we’d held it, and all the rest… I’d never imagined that I would be heavily pregnant.
Michael hadn’t wanted to wait to marry me. It had been only two months since we’d told Brooke, and then made it official and told everyone else, and so we’d kind of had to rush on the planning—but I didn’t care. I was touched that Michael didn’t care either. That he wanted us to officially be a family as soon as possible.
Everyone was so supportive. I had worried about my parents, and Andy, but once Michael and I explained, after a little bit of thinking about it… they said that they understood. And they all knew that Michael was a good person, that this wasn’t rushed because we didn’t know what we were doing but because we didn’t want to wait a second longer than we had to.
I double-checked my reflection in the mirror. I wasn’t always sure about how I looked, pregnant, I mean, but Michael always said I looked beautiful. I had to say, right now, I liked how I looked, with my hair all done up in curls and my wedding dress flowing like a ballgown.
Brooke poked her head in. “It’s time!”