Page 65 of The Mistress Deal

I sat back in a chair outside and looked around my brother’s backyard, quietly watching my family interacting around me. A slight smile formed on my lips as I thought about how well everything was going for all of us.

I was so proud of my brother Liam, who had become the perfect father, doting on his little girl in every way possible. He hadn’t gambled at all the whole time his daughter had been alive. She had given him the biggest reason to quit and get himself together and he refused to let her down.

Violet had finished her job in Africa and was now living back in Australia. She was her usual bossy self and I could see her standing beside the barbecue trying to tell Sam and Neil that they were cooking everything all wrong and that they should just give her the tongs and let her do it all herself.

A very pregnant Charlotte was sitting in a chair beside me laughing at her beautiful two-year-old daughter Erin, who was trying to show her father and a very amused uncle how good she was at dancing to her own version of ‘Swan Lake’.

It was quite an involved dance that required both men’s full attention. Of course, they were both captivated in a way only an adorable little girl knows how to do.

When the dance was over, Nathan came to sit by my side. He looked down at my arms holding his perfect one-month-old son. He smiled lovingly down at the two of us and I couldn’t imagine our life being any better than it had been for the last two years.

“That daughter of yours is a true performer,” Nathan smiled at Charlotte, watching Erin twirl around the backyard family birthday party they had thrown for her second birthday.

“She sure is. I think this one here will be a dancer as well, it’s been kicking me all day,” Charlotte said fondly as she rubbed her stomach. She paused and listened. “I can hear someone knocking on the front door, it must be your parents, Rose, they said their plane would get in before lunch,” Charlotte continued as she stood up.

“I’ll go answer the door, don’t get up,” Nathan offered, jumping to his feet.

“No, no, stay here and watch the performance. I’ve seen it before,” she replied, while winking at them as Erin danced past.

Nathan sat back down and I handed him our son, Elliot. Nathan smiled down at the small child he held in his massive hands and planted a kiss lightly on his little forehead. He told me every day that he still couldn’t believe he had a son.

“Are you having a good time?” I asked as Nathan settled back in his chair with the baby tucked snuggly in the crook of his arm.

“Rose, I have had a good time since the day you agreed to marry me. I cannot imagine my life being any better than it is now,” Nathan replied.

I knew that Nathan felt relaxed and at peace with his life. He no longer felt the anger that once consumed every part of him. He had hired someone at work to help him out so he could spend more time with his family and he’d learnt to trust and love me in a way he thought he would never be able to do again.

“So you have no regrets about committing yourself to me for the rest of your life?” I asked smiling as I leaned in closer to rest my head on his shoulder. I knew the answer already, but loved to hear him say it to me every single day.

“Not a single one, angel. You and Elliot are my life and I don’t regret a single thing.”

I leaned up and kissed my husband softly on his lips. “I’m glad you feel that way, because we both feel the same way about you.”

---