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“Mommy, did you meet Daddy on the beach?”

“No, baby. I didn’t.”

“Did you meet him in a restaurant?”

“No.”

“Where then?”

Her curious brown eyes look up from her coloring book. She blinks at me with those long black eyelashes as she waits for me to answer. A series of life events flashes through my mind and I can’t even answer her. I look over at Trig for help. He just shrugs as if to say, you’re on your own. I take a deep breath and pace myself.

“I was staying at a hotel, and I fell really hard and hurt myself. I was in so much pain that I was yelling. I didn’t think anyone would ever come. I thought I might die laying there. That’s when Daddy rushed over and saved me. That’s it. That’s how we met.”

She looks at me wide eyed. I see the crayon in her hand fall to the table.

“Wow, you must have really hurt yourself. You should be more careful next time.”

She pushes her chair back and jumps down to the floor, but not before grabbing her coloring book and crayons. I look back to Trig who has his hand over his mouth.

“She’s a spitting image of you,” he says.

“She sure didn’t get my personality though. That’s all you. She’s too calm to be a three-year-old. She’s always handing out grown-people advice. It’s crazy. Last night she told a man at the grocery store to avert his eyes, because her mother was taken.”

Trig chuckles. “That’s my girl. She’s just looking out for you like I do.”

“Great. I get two watchdogs for the price of one.”

Trig walks up and snarls into my neck. I giggle and try to pull away.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said last night, and I think you’re right, maybe we should just do it.”

“Do it, as in get hitched?” he asks.

“Mya is getting older. She’s starting to ask a hell of a lot of questions. I feel bad for lying about half of the stuff I do. I want to make it legit. She can be part of the wedding. I really feel like I might be ready.” I pause. “Are you?” I ask nervously.

Trig rolls his eyes.

“Baby, I’ve been ready. I’ve been waiting on you.”

“I know. I just don’t want to be like my parents.”

He puts his hands on my shoulders.

“You’re nothing like them. Look at you. Look at Mya. You’re a great mom, and that little girl is happy. There’s no comparison. ”

I blow out a gust of air in an attempt to stop the mom waterworks that I can feel building up. Trig has managed to open up the tender part of me since I met him, and Mya, well she just tore a big-ass hole through my heart. I never knew I could love someone the way I love my daughter. When I found out I was pregnant, I cried for a week straight. I was terrified that I would ruin her. I didn’t think I could be a good mother, but the minute she was born, I couldn’t put her down. I barely let Trig hold the baby, that’s how much I was in love with her. Everything came natural and my goal as a new mom was to give her the best life possible. I would give her the one I never had growing up, and with the money we make from Krackle Photos, it wouldn’t be hard.

The business has been booming since we opened it three years ago. I’ve been focusing more on boudoir photos and my work can be seen in magazines, on book covers, and across the world. Trig likes simple photo shoots at gatherings, and together we kill it. We have jobs coming in left and right. Apparently, we’re the best around, and the people who hire us are primarily rich tourists that the locals suggest. The locals recommend us because Trig and I do a lot of charity work and community service. What better way to put some of that old blood money to good use, right? We made so much cash the first year from photo shoots that we took some illegal money and mixed it with some legit money and purchased a family home off the beach and a black Lexus SUV. Things couldn’t be better.

I’m stuck in thought when I feel something pulling on my hand. I look down to see Trig on one knee. I shake my head, because I’m not sure if what I’m seeing is happening.

“I don’t have a ring, but we can immediately take you down to the jeweler and get one.”

I clamp my lips in excitement.

“Will you marry me, and we can officially be Mr. and Mrs. Krackle?”

Suddenly Mya pokes her head in the kitchen door.

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