Page 54 of Laying His Claim
“Remember,” she was saying, “it’s all about proportions. Oil to vinegar; you have to get it right.”
“Are you trying to turn our son into a chef?”
The pair spun around to face him; delighted surprise written all over Jalissa’s face. “Of course. He’s got natural talent.”
Justin stepped closer and took Seb from his mother as the little boy twisted and held out his arms. Happily, cradling his son, no longer a baby, against his broad chest, Justin dropped a kiss on Seb’s forehead. A sense of completeness filled him, a feeling of warmth and welcome that fit perfectly with the domestic scenario. This was where he wanted to be. This was who he wanted, and intended to be with, for the rest of his life. His son and his wife-to-be were all he needed.
“What’s my son making for dinner?” he probed; so overwhelmed by the force of his emotions that he struggled to keep things light.
“Oh,” she said casually, “We’re keeping it easy at first. Young Padawan is making us a salad and mushroom omelets.”
“Perfect,” he said as he came to face her. “Everything…everythingis perfect.” His gaze never left Jalissa’s, and he delighted in seeing her flush at the full impact of his words. She carefully set down the vinaigrette she’d been whisking and wiped her hands on a kitchen towel.
“Justin–” she began.
“Yes, love?”
She lifted her eyes to his, and it was as if time had slowed. The only people in the universe were the three of them. “I remembered something.”
He held his breath at those fateful words. He’d been so afraid of her remembering, so scared of the harm it could do to the plans he’d made for their little family. But as far as he knew, all secrets were out now. Jalissa knew everything he’d hidden and had forgiven him for it. What else had she remembered? He waited while he held his breath.
“I love you,” she said.
“And I love you,” he assured, kissing her tenderly.
Jalissa shook her head emphatically, frustration in her expression. “No, no, you don’t understand. I loved youthen.Before all this…” she indicated their surroundings with a vague wave of the hand. “Before my accident, before the pregnancy. I loved you. I was just too scared to admit it. To myself, or to you.”
He smiled. That meant more to him than she could know.
“And I hurt you. I was cruel.” The guilt and pain in her voice were plain. “You wanted to marry me. To start a family with me and I—”
He cut her off with a soul-wrenching kiss. “Jalissa, my darling. That’s over. All of that… it’s over. I loved you then, but I love you even more now. I love who you’ve become, and I love whoI’vebecome because of you.”
They pressed against one another so closely that Seb, sandwiched between them, protested. Chuckling, Justin bent forward and set him down. Immediately, Seb got to his feet and toddled confidently toward the pantry cupboard, where he began removing cans of vegetables and stacking them into a tower. They watched proudly for a few moments as the tower grew. “Maybe not a chef,” Justin suggested. “Maybe an architect like his uncle Tyler?”
Jalissa slipped her arms around him, kissing him once, twice, then pressing her face against his chest, much as Seb had done. “It doesn’t matter. As long as he’s happy.”
“If he’s as happy as we are,” Justin told her fervently, “as happy as you have made me, then heaven has smiled on him.”
The kiss they shared grew deeper, speaking volumes of love, passion, tenderness, forgiveness and hope.
Epilogue
As the cork popped, champagne shot into the air in a stream of golden bubbles, and everyone cheered. More bottles followed, more frosty, fizzy deliciousness was poured into glasses and passed around.
Justin stood in front of the small but happy gathering, made up of family—and friends who had become family. “Five years,” he began. “They go by fast, don’t they, when you’re happy?” His eyes met Jalissa’s as she stood off to his left. He gestured to her, and she walked toward him, resplendent in a beautiful jeweled dress, her hair piled high and her braids held in place by glittering diamante clips.
She snuggled against him and accepted his light, loving kiss. Sebastian, now six, hated the idea of being out of the limelight, so he rushed out front to stand next to his mother, taking her hand.
“Those of you who were with us at the start of our journey know how far we’ve come, and how much we—especially Jalissa—have had to overcome. But with love, faith, hope and a lot of help from our friends, we’ve made it. Five happy, wonderful years of marriage, and all I can say is, we’ve only just begun.”
There was a spirited round of applause and the downing of a generous amount of bubbly. Justin looked out into the group, seeing his brother, Finn, and wife Kalilah, trying their best to comfort the youngest of their five children while their twins, now pre-teens, paid the proceedings no mind. They were busy teasing their teenage cousin Lili, who had a crush on their waiter.
A short way away, he saw Kaiya, who had been a tower of strength for Jalissa throughout all her troubles, and her husband, Tyler. The couple stood proudly next to Kaiya’s parents, who held Kaiya and Tyler’s youngest child, their four-year-old daughter, Dahlia. Old hurts forgiven.
Even though the older couple had caused both of their daughters incredible amounts of pain, everyone had worked hard over the years to find healing. Richard Anderson had finally apologized to his daughters for his interference in their lives after his eldest grandchild asked why he was mean.
Four years ago, he had given each of his daughters and their spouses controlling interest of the company. His daughters’ shares equaled sixty percent of the company while his sons-in-law’s shares equaled forty percent.
