Page 189 of The Young & the Sinner

Epilogue

Mason

Morning light filteredthrough the bedroom window, and I counted down to the minute Olivia would wake up in my arms.

She had to be tired.

Last night we stayed up with Emma until past three in the morning. Our baby girl was teething, and she was letting us know how uncomfortable she found the whole thing through the night.

I never thought I could love anyone more than I loved my wife. But I loved our little girl the moment I held her in my arms. I now knew what Max meant when he said he couldn’t let Olivia go since the day she was born.

I spent most of my youth resenting Max’s love for Olivia. Now, I was grateful he was there for her when I couldn’t be.

And that he was there for my baby girl.

Emma had Max wrapped around her little finger and she couldn’t even speak yet. I was sure Max would let her get away with murder.

And hell, I might be the same way, especially when she turned those big brown eyes my way.

Olivia’s eyes.

Emma was the spitting image of her mother, save for her smile. That was all mine. I think that was one of the many reasons Max loved her so much.

She reminded him of Olivia when she was little.

A little angel sent to keep the Kade men on their toes.

Olivia stirred in my arms just as the sun peeked through the curtains.

It was still early, considering how late we went to bed last night, and we were both functioning on only a few hours of sleep.

Her big brown eyes opened, still a little drowsy from sleep, but no less beautiful. She smiled and my breath caught. Even after all these years, she still affected me. I didn’t know what I would have done if she decided to never forgive me. To never come back to me.

With her in my arms, imagining life without her was an impossibility I never wanted to entertain. She was mine, for the rest of our days.

“Good morning, my love,” I said, my voice a little gruff from disuse.

“Morning, husband of mine.”

I smiled, leaning down to capture her lips with mine. We married two weeks after Olivia graduated from college. A month later, we found out she was pregnant with Emma.

Her pregnancy wasn’t easy. From the moment Emma made herself known, Olivia had experienced every kind of pregnancy symptom, from morning sickness to exhaustion and exotic cravings.

Then, we found out Olivia was at risk of going into preterm labor. And there wasn’t even a real cause for it. Her doctor had said that since Olivia was a premature baby herself, that had increased her chances of giving birth to a preterm baby—and that we weren’t to worry or stress about it, considering all the advanced medical technologies available to help aid in bringing our baby girl into the world.

But how could I not worry?

The statistics of complications during labor were staggering. I had no idea until I sat down and read up on the research.

And that had only fueled my fear.

I tightened my arms around Olivia just a little more from the memory.

I could have lost her. And I didn’t know what I would have done if that was the case.

“I love you,” I whispered into her ear. I knew she was smiling before I even looked at her. And sure enough, when I pulled back, there was a wide smile on her face, with enough power to bring me down to my knees.

“I love you,” she said, her voice and eyes soft. She still looked at me like I hung the moon, despite all of my past mistakes.

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