Page 141 of From Us, Forever

“What?” I narrowed my eyes at him.

He scrubbed a hand over his face, laughing. “You,” he said, leaning in and stealing my lips in a long, hard kiss. “God, I love you. And yes, I know you didn’t cheat, Evelyn.” His gaze softened as he glanced at the bundle in my arms. “My uncle Stephen had blond hair. That exact shade.”

“Oh.” A sigh of relief whooshed through my body.

“Yeah.” He chuckled, offering a finger to our daughter, who curled it around her tiny fist, and tears rolled down my cheeks.

He smiled. “What do we call her?”

“How about Jaelyn Marie Jameson?” I asked softly. “It’s Jay and Evelyn together.”

“I love that.”

Jay tugging for my attention, brought me back to the present. He mouthed, “Help me” while gesturing to the sad little princess in my arms.

“Pony,” I mouthed back, and hope filled his eyes. He carefully handed Jasmine back to me, who was drooling over her tiny fist.

“Princess,” Jay mumbled, softly gripping Jaelyn by her shoulders. “Come here.”

“No, Daddy.” She pouted, shaking her head. “I’m mad at you.”

“I know, baby. How about I make it up to you? We’ll go see the ponies tomorrow. You can even pet your own.”

“Really?” she squealed, all her previous sadness disappearing. “We can really go and see the ponies tomorrow?”

“Yes.” He grinned, holding out his arm. “But only if you give Daddy a kiss.”

“Yay.” She jumped into his arms, kissing his cheek.

I shook my head at those two, about now I was used to this. Every single day, Jaelyn would do something to upset her daddy, and he would get mad. They would have an argument, she would cry, and Jay would bribe and coax his way out of it.

A gentle breeze swayed through the air as I held my baby close to me.

I once had no one, nothing in my name, yet now I had a family.

A family that I created out of nothing but love.

It was late evening by the time we retired back to the house. Cleaning up after five kids was no joke, but I enjoyed every second of it, and I knew it was going to get more crowded when our sixth one arrived.

No feeling in the world could compare to when my children called me mom and ran around the house with their little giggles, filling it up with joy.

I was running on no fuel by the time we put them all to bed. It was Jay’s turn to read bedtime stories to the girls, so I kissed my boys to sleep, tucking them into bed. No bedtime stories for them because, according to them, they were cringe.

I softly shut their door and padded through the hallway upstairs. Our home was big enough to fit us all and had a few extra rooms, but it wasn’t large enough to feel like a mansion with more empty space than people.

I didn’t want that.

I wanted our home to feel like home, cozy and full of love, and my man gave me exactly what I asked for.

I walked through the bookcase filled with copies of all the books that I published throughout the years. My first book became a massive hit within a year of publishing and also charted a few bestseller lists.

I definitely slowed down after learning I was pregnant with Elijah, but I still managed to publish four more. The creative spark still burned alive within me, and I was currently working on my sixth novel, but I was in no rush. I wanted to savor every moment of my life because Jay and my children were a lot more important to me than my job.

Jay and the boys were no longer active in the industry. They still released albums but didn’t go on tours or attend events or shows. They only decided on that a year ago—the boys wanted to focus their time on their families and still make music leisurely.

“And then the princess kissed the prince, and they lived happily ever after,” Jay’s soft storytelling voice hushed through the room. Just hearing his voice sent tingles through my body. His deep, velvety-rich singing voice only became more pronounced and deeper as he aged, and I loved hearing his voice, especially when he got lost in pleasure, grunting, and moaning when he made love to me.

I leaned against the doorframe of our daughter’s very pink room. Little Jasmine was already asleep in her crib—Jaelyn, as much as she wanted to be our only child, secretly requested that Jasmine stay with her until she was old enough to takecare of herself. She loved her sister even though she didn’t like to admit it.

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