Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 27288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
He pauses outside the nursery, kissing me softly, before he pushes open the door and flicks on the lights.
I gasp. “It’s ready?”
We’ve been working on the nursery since we found out we were expecting, but there always seems to be more to do. It’s becoming impossible to finish, so the last thing I expect to come home to is…this.
The nursery is decorated with a nature theme, a rug that’s made to look like a pond in the middle of the wooden floor, and animal decals on the walls. The crib—which was still in pieces from my disastrous attempt to put it together while Aidan was at work—is now perfectly assembled and waiting for a baby to snuggle into it.
“How did I get so lucky?” I murmur as I turn to my husband, hugging him.
Aidan strokes my hair back from my face and tilts my chin up, his eyes sparkling as they meet mine. “I’m the lucky one, sweetheart. Even luckier now that you’re giving me the greatest gift of all,” he says as he drops his hand to rest on my belly. “I meant what I said in my speech. Being your husband, being this little one’s dad is far better than any award I could ever receive. You’re all the prizes I need.”
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
AIDAN
Four Years Later
The sound of my wife’s musical laughter fills the lounge. She throws her head back, eyes bright as she shakes her head at me.
“She’s got you wrapped around her little finger,” Autumn tells me with a huge grin.
From the bouncer, our baby begins to fuss and I coo at him, pausing to scoop him up into my arms. Instantly, he settles, happy to be involved in the conversation.
“So does he,” Autumn adds with a loving smile.
“Please, Daddy!” Addie, our four-year-old, says from the middle of her pile of building blocks. She’s got her mother’s big, deep blue eyes that are impossible for me to say no to.
“Addie…” I begin, catching Autumn trying to contain her laughter again to the side. I bounce Adam in my arms, who’s cooing happily at his sister.
“I really want a kitten, Daddy!” my daughter says for the hundredth time, putting on her best puppy-dog face.
“I’ll think about it, darling,” I say. Autumn rolls her eyes good-naturedly, given that I’ve just proved her point.
“Right, enough talk about cats, it’s bedtime!” Autumn announces, reaching to haul our daughter out of her toy pile and into her arms. “Say goodnight to your brother and your daddy.”
“Night night!” Addie calls out, and I bend down to kiss her blonde head.
The mild chaos of the bedtime routine carries us away for the next half hour, and by the time both kids are sound asleep, I flop down onto the couch with a yawn. I love them more than I could ever describe, but my God, what do kids have against sleep? I love to nap, but these two fight it tooth and nail. I chuckle, warmth spreading in my chest. I wouldn’t change anything about our life for the world. I have my beautiful wife, my amazing kids, and everything I’ve ever wanted.
I’m the luckiest man alive.
Waiting for Autumn to return from Addie’s room, I scroll through my phone. Addie’s been asking for a kitten for the last few days, and saying no to my daughter is not my greatest skill. She’s the best little girl ever, obviously given that she takes after her mom so much. What my girls want, they get. Same goes for Adam, though at eleven months old, he hasn’t learned this fact quite yet.
I’ve just clicked on a photo of a little tabby cat when Autumn flops down on the sofa beside me. Immediately, I pull her closer to me so she’s sitting between my legs with her back to my chest. My cock wakes up instantly at her closeness, pressing into her back.
She laughs, turning to look at me over her shoulder. “Good to know you’re still into me after all this time.”
I narrow my eyes at her, tilting my hips so she can feel the full extent of how much I’m into her. “You’re the most beautiful, sexy, incredible, hot-as-fuck woman alive,” I tell her with total seriousness. “Always have been, always will be. One look at you and my cock is ready to go.”
Autumn smiles at me. “Even with the baby weight and the—”
“Do you want to be punished?” I interrupt before she can continue. I drop my phone so I can run my hand over her stomach, tugging up her shirt and running my fingers along her skin. “These stretch marks?” I say, finding the little silvery lines on her stomach. “This baby weight?” I echo her own words, running my hand along her lower tummy, which was our babies’ first home. “Fucking perfection, sweetheart. You carried our family in this incredible body, and seeing your stomach swollen with my babies?” I pause to groan, dipping my hand a little lower now. “So. Fucking. Hot.”