Page 61 of Finding Forever

Emotion swelled in my chest, momentarily suspending my response.

But my head was moving up and down as I watched him open the box and reveal a solitaire diamond that took my breath away.

Finally, the lock on my vocal box was undone, and I nearly shouted, “Yes!”

I remembered after I flung myself into his arms that we were in a public place. Thankfully, the customers at the tables nearby were all watching with supportive smiles. Mycah and Penny joined us on the floor, making it a group hug full of laughter and love. I couldn’t remember a time where my heart had felt this full or this whole. Everything I thought I’d never get a chance to experience was unfolding right before my eyes. And the man I loved and adored had just asked me to be his forever.

Nothing could compare to this moment. I was sure of it.

Epilogue

Three years later

North Beach was almost exactly as I remembered it. The salty air, the humbling humidity, and the beautiful shoreline were still in place. Happy memories assailed me from the second we got out of the car and I couldn’t think of a better place for us to spend our family vacation. But things were different this time around.

On the sand, a few feet away from the water, Penny and Mycah competed to build the best sandcastle while their two-year-old brother, Asher, supervised them. Asher’s conception had come as a complete surprise two months after Maverick and I made our family official. Not far from them, my mother and her boyfriend, Lucious, sat watching them.

My protruding belly was another thing that was different. I couldn’t see my feet, let alone the sand beneath them. Still, I knew this trip was just what I needed before we added our fourth child to our family. Another new family member for us all to spoil and love. And I was sure Maverick would spoil this baby rotten. Because that’s what he did for us on a daily basis.

Now that the kids were eight and nine, their interests had evolved. But Penny and Mycah were still thick as thieves and the best of friends most days. They butted heads from time to time, but that was to be expected as siblings grew older and got new friends.

It was still shocking to think of Mycah and Penny as siblings sometimes. After Maverick and I tied the knot, we’d moved into the new mansion he’d customized for us, and things had been going smoothly since then. I loved being his wife.

We made a good team and were giving Mycah and Penny all the love and light they deserved to just be kids. Victoria had fallen off the map after that meeting. We hadn’t heard from her once since she signed those papers and while that was what she agreed to, the first months had been hard on Penny.

Chris, on the other hand, was keeping up his end of the deal and sticking to his visits. Three years later, he hadn’t backslid. I believed the threat of losing out like Victoria had traumatized him in the right way. It was a shame that it had taken that to set him straight, but such was life.

Chris got remarried a year ago, but that was all I could say about that. I didn’t know the ins and outs of his new relationship. Even the little I knew had been learned against my will. Like, the fact that he didn’t know if his wife’s new baby was even his. The less I knew, the better. It wasn’t my mess to be involved in any way.

Work had been a breeze since I’d gone part time and Sera had put in her resignation. Apparently, she’d gone to Los Angeles to chase a new beginning. Or a man. The details were cloudy. There wasn’t a necessity for me to work, but I loved my job and it was a lot easier with the new dental hygienist Dr. Long had hired.

Maverick massaged sunscreen onto my belly as we observed the scene unfolding before us, and nothing but gratitude filled my heart to the point of overflow. We were the happy parents of three kids with another on the way. We were in for a treat and I couldn’t wait. The Hughes house had its special brand of chaos, and I was interested to see how each of them would adjust to the new baby.

All three of them had such distinctive personalities, and I knew they’d all form their own special bond with the little girl I was carrying. My first baby girl. I was overjoyed at the thought.

“They’re going to be worn out after dinner,” Maverick noted as he watched the kids going back and forth with their buckets to get water to help pack the sand.

“Good. If they’re sleeping, it means they won’t be fighting over who gets to control the radio again.”

My mother had the bright idea of gifting them a vintage radio with a dial. She’d presented it to them at the beginning of the trip and, for whatever reason, Mycah and Penny were fascinated by it.

Maverick laughed as we sat back in our beach chairs and enjoyed the lazy afternoon.

∞∞∞

“I told you they’d be knocked out,” Maverick boasted after returning from the children’s rooms. Mycah and Asher were sharing a room while Penny occupied a bedroom across from theirs.

“The dinner my mom made didn’t help,” I added with a chuckle. The kids loved my mother’s shepherd’s pie and had eaten their fill of it at dinner. A full belly and a bath had lulled them right to sleep. They hadn’t even touched the radio tonight, which was fine by me.

Now that we were alone, I smiled up at Maverick as he walked over and cupped my face.

“Sit with me on the terrace for a while?” he asked.

It was how we’d grown accustomed to spending our nights. No matter where we were. But especially at the beach. I followed his lead out to the spacious terrace and breathed in the night air as a sense of calm settled over me.

“What are you thinking?” Maverick asked, as he embraced me from behind. His strong arms encircled my expanded waist, his palms resting protectively against my belly. He rested his chin on my shoulder, waiting for my reply.

“I’m just reminiscing on how much has changed,” I shared. “And how much more things will change once our second daughter gets here.”

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