Page 70 of Motivating Mira
I nodded.
“Good because it’s been killing me not to do this.” He swept me up in his arms, and planted his mouth on mine, kissing me like I was everything. And I kissed him back because hewasmy everything.
When we finally parted, I whispered, “Thank you for being the most patient Daddy a girl could ever ask for.”
Epilogue
Mira
A horn honked, two people yelled, a cyclist and a cabbie, and sirens rang out in the distance, but it was still early. New York would get a lot louder soon. The view though. Now that was something.
I sat on our tiny balcony looking over the city and it was everything I expected New York to be. And I wasn’t letting it go to waste even though I should be sleeping or at least getting ready. Instead, barefoot and in nothing but a long-sleeve shirt and flannel pajama bottoms, I used my stick of charcoal to sketch the early dawn skyline.
“Just having fun or is this one going to make it to canvas?”
“Good morning,” I said keeping my eyes on the strokes of the charcoal.
“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”
I turned, my eyes settling on the love of my life. Wes was leaning against the sliding door. His hair was rumpled and his face still sleep-lined. But he’d thrown on a Henley and pajama pants even though he always slept naked, and I suddenly had the urge to turn the page in my pad and start sketching him exactlyas he was. Sleepy, sexy, and looking at me with so much love it felt palpable. I pushed aside the desire and set down my piece of charcoal and pad on the tiny table.
“This one’s just because, but I think if it turns out, I might give it to my grandmother.”
Wes’s brows rose in surprise, but he didn’t say anything, just stepped out onto the balcony with me.
“She got me here.”
“No, she didn’t. You did. Your paintings did. She just happened to show the right person your work.”
“You’re right.” And he was. “I got me here. With a little nudge in the right direction.” I smiled as he ran his hand over my hair and down my back. And when he sat in the chair next to me, I saw the peace I felt reflected in his stare. “I just need another few minutes. Do I still have time?”
He looked over his shoulder back into our Airbnb. “It’s not even six. You’ve got time.”
“I couldn’t help myself.”
“Take your time. You’re not always going to have the freedom to drop everything you’re doing and paint, you know.” He reached over and touched my still flat belly. Our baby was just a little blueberry inside my uterus, but they were already loved so much. “Just make sure to save some of the very limited energy you have to help me finish picking the rest of the décor for the house.”
I ran my fingers down his forearm until my hand covered his on my abdomen. “Worth it. And of course, I will. I can’t leave you to decorate... not after you?—”
He covered my mouth with his palm. “Shh, let’s not bring that up again. Interior decorators everywhere signed a petition to make sure I’m not even allowed near a throw pillow without supervision.”
Our new house was in Butte but we were still living at Rawhide until it was ready. And the Ranch would continue to be a staple in our life, even if our scenes were beyond tame now that I was pregnant. We loved the Ranch, seeing our friends, and watching scenes. It was also my favorite place to paint, and I loved spending mornings by the lake with my easel and brushes.
“Oh, you were asleep early last night so I didn’t get to tell you. Marni won’t be coming with us to the zoo today.”
It was my turn to raise a brow. “Why not?”
“She said she’d rather hang out with her dad until your show starts.”
My brow rose higher. “She chose to hang out with Jesse over us? That’s a new development.” Even though Jesse and Marni’s relationship had been smooth since Wes had left them, Marni still played favorites when it came to Wes.
“And they don’t even have plans. They’re going to wing it.”
“Which means it wasn’t the activity that she chose but actually her dad.”
Wes nodded. “Yup.” He grinned and it was authentic, too. Which meant my man, my Daddy, had finally accepted they no longer needed him as a buffer, and he was happy for them.
“I’m proud of you.”
