Page 136 of The Secret

“I know I come as a package deal, so I’m not going to ask you to move in with me again. When you’re ready, you say the word and I’ll have movers organized. I’ll wait as long as you need because I know it’ll happen. Iamgoing to marry you and wearegoing to spend forever together, building our little family.”

I sat back on my haunches, keeping hold of her hand with mine, waiting until she was ready to say something, anything.

She turned her body to face mine, squeezing her fingers around mine. “I’ve never not loved you, you know. I’ve never not wanted you. I just wanted to give us a chance atmore, make us the strongest we could be.”

I kissed her knuckles that were linked with mine. “I know.”

“Murray, I love you so much. I think I’ve loved you since the first day I saw you. I know I’ve wanted you since that first day, and I know I’ll always want you. Thank you for giving me this time, and for giving us a chance.” She moved to the edge of her chair, her chin tipping down and meeting me for a kiss. “When you’re ready to ask me to marry you, I’ll say yes. And we’ll add to our family of you, me, Bell, and Barc.”

Fireworks went off; Catherine Wheels spinning in my chest, rockets and fountains and poppers exploding inside me until I thought I might burst.

She was the love of my life, and one day, she was going to be my wife, the mother of my children, the current one of which we had an overnight pass for.

We had a month to make up for.

She went back to her burger, side eyeing me as she read my mind, “Come on, eat up. We’re going in for round two. We have one night to ourselves and then we need to get back to our girl. I’ve missed her too.”

Our girl. I smirked, stealing a fry as I reached across the table for mine.

We’d need all the energy we could get.

I wasn’t planning to sleep.

Epilogue

Murray

Nine months later.

I crept back into bed, making sure I didn’t disturb the birthday girl sound asleep next to me. I’d been up for an hour getting everything ready, ensuring today would be perfect. Heart shaped balloons were floating all over the apartment for Valentine’s Day, but our bedroom was decorated for a birthday. Two birthdays.

I silently placed the paper and coffee on her side of our bed, knowing she would be waking up very soon.

Our bed. Not my bed.Ourbed.

Four months after we’d returned from DC, she’d moved in. During that time, we’d kept up our dates, each one different, each one including very active sleepovers. We hadn’t seen each other every day, but the days we did we made the most of. Sometimes it included our family of four, and sometimes it was just the two of us. Gradually, the dates became more frequent, and the day we realized she had more stuff here than at her apartment was the day she stopped going back.

We hired a new nanny, but she only worked three days a week, and nights were ours where we cherished our routine of Bell’s bath and bedtime, followed by a dinner she cooked or I ordered in.

“Mama Ma Ma Mama!” Our daughter’s very vocal demands for her mother’s attention echoed over the monitor, right on schedule.

I rolled over and kissed Kit’s stirring form, “Happy Birthday, darling. I’ll get her. There’s coffee on the nightstand waiting for you.”

I found Bell standing in her crib, smiling with her hands outstretched as I walked in and opened the blinds. “Happy Birthday, little girl. Let’s get you dressed and give mummy enough time to find what we’ve left her shall we?”

“Dada!” she agreed.

I lifted her out, removing her sleepsuit and diaper, letting her wander around naked while I fixed her bottle and gathered up the birthday outfit Kit had picked out for her, the first of many. This afternoon we were having a little birthday party for Bell - if eight kids and thirteen adults, including my parents, Kit’s parents, Payton and the boys, was little.

Everyone was due to arrive at three p.m. sharp, which gave us plenty of time for the rest of the morning, which I’d planned for a much more exclusive group; me, Kit, Bell, and Barclay.

I finished dressing Bell and handed her the cooling bottle of milk, which she carried through with both hands, waddling alongside Barclay who rarely left her side, propping her up when she toppled over. She’d only been walking a few weeks, and he’d been next to her for every step.

I stopped us all by the door for our bedroom, watching Kit as she stared down at the crossword, her entire body still.

“You started it without me,” I said softly. “You want to read one out?”

She glanced up, tears streaming down her face. “Together forever. Fourteen letters.”

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