Page 111 of Deceitful Oath

“You did it!” Rafael congratulates me, pressing a sloppy kiss to my lips.

“I did, didn’t I?” I say dreamily, letting my eyes drift shut. “Broken leg and all,” I mumble.

“Here she is!” the nurse says happily, jolting me awake again. She places the tiny bundle that is my daughter on my chest, right against my skin.

I look down in a bleary way, blinking to correct my focus, and see a shock of dark hair that looks just like Rafael’s. I reach up with trembling hands and hold my baby, a grin breaking out across my face. I feel the first tears slipping down my cheeks.

I have tried and failed at so many things throughout my life. I have had bad luck, been in terrible spots and the wrong place all the time, but right now, I have done the most perfect, beautiful, spectacular thing in the right way.

“She’s beautiful, baby,” Rafael says to me, his voice sounding thick with tears as he places a hand on our child’s sticky, dark hair.

“She looks like her handsome daddy,” I say softly, cuddling her closer to me.

“She can look like me, but she has to have your good heart,” he says back, his voice firm.

I look up at the man who I unwittingly fell in love with, who I met under false pretenses, and who has exposed me to significant amounts of danger throughout our short relationship. I realize that I wouldn’t trade any of the bad moments or rough patches in our history though, because they brought us here, to this perfect moment, to creating this perfect little life.

“I tried to let you be born in a purple swimming pool covered in dolphins,” I tell little Eve, “but daddy is absolutely no fun and you had to meet the world in this smelly hospital room. Sorry your mommy is so clumsy.”

“Thank you for listening to me for once,” Rafael says to me. I glance up and see that he’s smiling at me and that tears are slipping down his cheeks.

“You’re welcome,” I reply. “But I am definitely having the next one in that damn kiddie pool.”

Extended Epilogue

Rafael

I stare at Lux as she clumps down the aisle in her beautiful white princess dress. Her walking boot isn’t making her move very gracefully toward me, but that’s all right. There’s something entirely fitting about Lux getting married to me in a cast.

Two surgeries later, her ankle is healing well, but the boot is still a must according to her surgeon. I had asked her if she wanted to delay the wedding, but she said no, that she was tired of missing out on the wedding of her dreams.

I feel tears standing in my eyes as I look at her beautiful face, framed by the soft violet waves of her hair. There’s glitter everywhere and the underskirt of her dress is a pale purple to match her hair.

I can’t think of too many men who would happily sign up for Lux’s idea of a fancy wedding, but I think she looks more beautiful than she ever has. The colorful wedding décor just makes her stand out even more, like a beacon of light against the shocks of bright, pastel colors.

“Hello, orange grove sprite,” I tease her as she steps up beside me. I help her balance for a moment as she settles her booted foot properly under the layers of her frothy dress.

“Hi Wolfie,” she says, beaming at me with love shining out of her eyes.

“All set?” Enzo asks us.

I look sidelong at my right-hand man, who graciously went out and got ordained, just so he could marry us for the revised and much more fitting version of our wedding.

“You ready?” I ask Lux, lifting one brow at her.

She shifts a little on her feet and nods eagerly. “Long past ready. Let’s get this show on the road.”

Enzo chuckles and clears his throat, starting to work his way through the not-so-traditional wedding ceremony that he cooked up for us. I listen to his words about commitment and kindness to one another, and I grin at Lux.

She and her best male friend clearly took extreme liberties with the traditional marriage ceremony, which was more about the wife obeying the husband and less about happiness and love. And I’m so glad that they did.

“Do you want to kiss the bride?” Enzo says, and I look away from Lux, blinking a little. That isn’t how the vows usually go.

“Umm…yes,” I say in some confusion, looking back at Lux. “Always.”

Enzo turns to Lux. “Do you want to kiss the groom?”

She gives me a blinding smile. “Oh, yes, please,” she says, her voice filled with heat.

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