We land in Bermuda that same night on a dark runway in Damian’s private plane. Damian surprised me by inviting Melina and Alec, who by some miracle are still dating, even though Melina usually cycles through boyfriends as often as most people change clothes. Angie came along too. There’s even a man I’ve never seen before--he’s about my height with a kind face and a mustache. My best guess puts him in his mid forties, and judging by the way he and Angie keep stealing glances at each other, I’m thinking Angie brought along a romantic partner too.

I smile to myself when I realize how important she has become to me over the past few weeks. I would’ve looked down on the idea of a nanny, because I thought it was just an excuse to neglect the kids, but I used to spend more time cleaning, cooking, and keeping up the house than I did focusing on Dean. Angie being here has given me so much more quality time with Dean than I ever could’ve had before, and it means I can sneak out of the house during his naps and at night without fear that he’ll wake up while I’m gone, because I know Angie is there.

It’s been perfect, like just about everything else since Damian came back into my life.

Damian insisted on a strict dress code of bathing suits for the flight, so we all look ready to go for a beach party as we descend the stairs from the plane. Angie, Melina, and myself all wear cover-ups over our swimsuits, while Damian, Alec, and Dean opted for board shorts and no shirts. I’m having trouble deciding between admiring how adorable Dean looks wearing a matching shorts to Damian’s with his little belly hanging over the waistband, or at how sinfully good Damian looks with his sculpted body on display. I eventually decide there’s no problem in enjoying both.

Damian ushers us all into a limo, which takes us on a half-hour ride before we have to switch vehicles to a small convoy of jeeps that can handle a little bit rougher terrain. He has professional drivers taking us through relatively dense forests that the drivers must know well, because it looks like we’re driving straight into trees half the time, only to turn at the last second and take a hidden path.

We eventually break free of the trees to a view I never thought I’d actually see with my own eyes. It’s lit by starlight instead of a blazing afternoon sun like in the postcard, but I’d know the scene anywhere. It’s my beach. The beach I’ve spent half my adult life fantasizing about visiting, like coming here would somehow be a remedy for all that was wrong in my life. The irony is I only managed to make it here when my life is already fixed--when it’s already perfect.

I squint down at the beach and notice tiki torches and some cloth tents set up a distance from the water. I also see a dozen or more people mulling about down there. I turn to Damian with a confused expression.

Except he’s not standing. He’s kneeling in front of me with both his hands raised up toward me. He’s holding a diamond ring that catches the distant light of the torches and bounces it back in every color imaginable.

Everyone is standing around us in a semi-circle, watching with smiling faces, but they are just a blur to me right now. An engagement ring?

“Will you marry me?” he asks. Then he lowers his voice until only I can hear it. “Remember the consequences if you displease me.” Damian winks.

My eyes well with tears of happiness. I fall down to my knees, forgetting the ring and hugging him so tight I don’t know how he keeps from dropping it. I’m laughing and crying like a complete idiot, but I don’t care.

“Well?” he asks after I’ve calmed down a little. “You’re kind of leaving me hanging here.”

“Yes,” I say, taking his face in both my hands and kissing him. “Yes. A million times. Yes.”

He slides the ring on my finger and grins at the sight of it. “Good. Because I would’ve had to explain to everyone down there why the wedding ceremony was canceled, and I brought them a long way to see this.”

I frown in confusion. “Wedding ceremony? Isn’t there usually the whole planning thing and--”

“Usually,” he says. “But I couldn’t wait. I’m sorry. I want it all. And I want it now.”

I bite my lip, looking toward what I now realize is the place I’m going to get married. It’s perfect.

“You’re lucky I’m not one of those girls who spent her whole life fantasizing about my wedding,” I say.

“Not lucky,” he says. “I just did my research. I asked Melina. She said you always dreaded having to plan your own wedding because you hate making decisions. She said you also never cared much for traditional weddings with big dresses and suits and ties. What was it you said? It seems so stuck up and stuffy?”

I glare at Melina, who is studying the top of a nearby tree innocently.

“You knew?” I ask her.

She reluctantly looks back toward me. “Only for a few days. He made me promise not to say a word.”

I shake my head, but I’m smiling. “Traitor.”

“Well, they’re all waiting for us,” says Damian.

We all make our way down the somewhat steep slope of grass that eventually turns into pure white sand. I kick off my shoes so I can feel it between my toes.

“I’ve never felt sand this soft,” I say.

Damian kicks his own shoes off and nods in approval. “Wow. Yeah.”

Dean takes two steps before he face plants into the sand and sits up with a grumpy look on his face.

“This is so past his bedtime,” I say with a laugh. “Are you sleepy, Deanie?”

“No,” he says firmly. “Daddy. Hold,” he stands up, reaching for Damian and yawns.

My heartbeat quickens when I realize he just called Damian daddy for the first time. I’ve spent some time with him trying to explain to him that Damian is his father, but at Dean’s age, it can sometimes be hard to tell what’s sinking in and what isn’t. I wanted it to be a surprise for Damian, who thought we were still waiting for the right time to tell Dean. As far as I was concerned, the right time was right away, because I couldn’t wait.

Damian kneels down and wraps his arms around Dean. At first, I think it’s a trick of the light when I see something catch the light and slide down Damian’s cheek as he squeezes his eyes shut and hugs Dean, but it’s no trick. I feel my own eyes watering and I move in to hug both of them. My little family.

And my little family is going to keep growing if Damian has his way. Not that I’m complaining. Not in the slightest.