Page 143 of Rinkmates

Mavie rases her hands, clearly crying for me.

“What did Granny do this time?” I tease, reaching out to take Mavie into my arms. She settles against my chest, her cries subsiding as I gently bounce her.

I look at her flushed chubby cheeks, those black curls that peek out from beneath a tiny blue hat that matches her adorable dress.

Eszter rolls her eyes, a playful smile on her lips. “Oh please. You know she loves me.”

I chuckle, she does. “We all do.”

Who couldn’t love Eszter? She quickly became like a mother to me too. Her kindness and empathy are so genuine that she even manages to break through Rosalie’s tough exterior. And she saved me from all of Oscar’s babies. Liora transformed our home into a lush haven, and since Oscar has thrived into the largest plant I’ve ever seen, she’s cultivated even more plantsfrom him. Ezter collected all the new plants and gave them to her friends and colleagues as gifts. Thank fuck.

I press a soft kiss to Mavie’s forehead. At a year old, she’s already got us all wrapped around her tiny finger. Rory sidles up beside me, his gaze fixed on his baby sister.

“She’s hungry,” he says, a hint of concern in his voice.

“I got this, bud,” I say. He’s been nothing but protective since she got here. I never thought I’d be good at this, but hey, I’ve never dropped the baby!

The curtain rustles, and Liora emerges, a smile on her face. She looks breathtaking, the glow of a woman who knows she’s exactly where she’s meant to be. She makes her way over to us, pressing a tender kiss to Rory’s forehead, then Mavie’s, before finally meeting my lips with her own.

“Show me that tattoo,” I murmur in between dodging Mavie’s playful little punches. She’s a daddy’s girl through and through and doesn’t like it when I kiss Mommy. But I’m a man obsessed. I could never stop.

Liora extends her wrist, revealing the freshly inked dates—our wedding day and Mavie’s birthday—etched in delicate script alongside the other milestones that have shaped her life. They managed to make it look like a heart and it’s lovely. Complete. I trace my finger over the raised skin, marveling at the incredible woman I get to call my wife.

“It’s amazing. I love you,” I whisper.

“I love you too. More than you could ever know.”

I kiss her again. And as if on cue, Mavie cries and Rory cringes, saying, “Ew. You guys are gross.”

Liora smiles up at me and I couldn’t be a happier man.

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