EPILOGUE

TEN YEARS LATER

 

Hearing my husband walk through the door, I smile wide and turn to greet him.

“Hey, baby. Sorry I’m late. I had a few emergencies at the practice. Is everyone here?”

Every month we have a get-together with the whole family, alternating between London and here.

I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him. He’s been working a lot more lately, ever since he lost one of his doctors. We miss him dearly when he’s gone but understand his practice means a lot to him.

It’s very rare I get to have a minute to devour my husband without being interrupted, so I take pleasure in our moment of peace, kissing him like there’s no tomorrow.

He pulls away, a smirk on his gorgeous lips as he looks down at me, his eyes soft. “What was that for? Not that I’m complaining.”

I shrug, pressing against him. “I just missed you.”

His eyes sadden. “I’ve missed you guys too. I’ve finally got interviews lined up, so the late days shouldn’t continue for much longer.”

I nod. “Okay.”

“Are we alone?” He smirks, looking around the kitchen for one of our monkeys.

I inwardly roll my eyes. “They’re in the garden with everyone else.”

“They won’t miss us for five minutes,” he tells me, running his hands down to my ass, squeezing me. I grin and press harder against him. “Maybe we could―”

“Aunt Pagan, I think you should come outside,” Cece says, biting her bottom lip. At fourteen, she’s grown into a beautiful woman, very much like her mum with her head always stuck in a book. And her putting one down to come get me can only mean one thing.

My twin boys have done something—again.

“What did they do?” Drake and I say simultaneously. At six years old, they’re little terrors.

She grins, looking at both of us before shrugging. “They changed Granddad’s password, spent a fortune with Uncle Sid’s bank card and are in the middle of tricking Daddy into eating one of their cupcakes.” She scrunches her face adorably. “He really should learn.”

I glance at Drake, both of us wearing ‘oh fuck’ expressions before we race for the back door.

We both make it outside in time to see Dean open his mouth to take a bite.

“No!” I scream, while Drake just starts laughing.

Dean pauses but doesn’t heed my warning. He takes a bite before choking and then gagging when worms start falling out.

Disgusting.

And now I know why they were so quiet when I was baking them.

I gag, looking away as he spits the bite on the floor.

My twins, Calvin and Reece, are mini Adas. Before she sadly passed away last year, she taught the monkeys everything she knew. Literally. They’re terrors in their own right, but once they were old enough to get technical, and learn more stuff, they became destructible.

“Boys!” Dean yells, throwing the cupcake across the garden. “Why would you do that? It had sprinkles on it.”

Lola laughs, shaking her head at her husband. I don’t blame her. He really should’ve learned after they made him drink laxative―a stash Ada left with them, amongst other things―to not take anything from them, especially if they’re willingly giving it to you.

“Calvin and Reece Donovan, get your behinds here right now,” I snap, using my best firm mum voice.

“But Mum,” they whine.

“Nope, I’m not having any of it. I’ve told you not to play jokes on people.”

“No you didn’t,” Calvin says.

“You said to not play pranks on the girls,” Reece finishes, saying ‘girls’ like he swallowed something sour.

“What?” the men in my family shout at once, looking like they want to throttle me.

I step back, shrugging sheepishly. “It didn’t seem fair. Plus, they cut their sister’s hair while she was asleep.”

“Baby,” Drake murmurs, stepping up behind me.

“I can’t believe you’d do this to your own twin,” Sid snaps. “And you owe me three hundred pounds. I don’t even know what they’ve subscribed to or spent it on either. I just know my bank is missing freaking money and that it was them.”

I turn to my boys, scowling. “What did you do?”

They look at each other before nodding and turning back to me. “We bought you a Mother’s Day present.”

My heart melts at my sweet boys, and I have to stop myself from smiling. “And what did you get me?”

“With my money?” Sid growls.

“It’s a surprise,” Reece says, the most confident of the two, so I turn to Calvin and stare him down. “Don’t do it, Cal.”

“I won’t buy you any more Smarties if you don’t tell me. Like ever. Not even after school.” I keep my face firm, but all I want to do is laugh at the sweat dripping off his forehead and the anxious look he keeps sending his brother.

“She’s bluffing. She wouldn’t do that to us. Remember, she thinks we’re cute,” Reece says, holding his brother’s arm.

“And I’ll remove your telly,” Drake butts in, probably annoyed he has to give money back—again.

They really are too clever for their own good.

“But—”

“No buts. Tell us now. You have three seconds,” I warn them. “One, two―”

“We bought you the new Xbox,” Calvin blurts out.

Reece groans, throwing his hands up. “Way to go, loser.”

An Xbox, really?

Drake chuckles behind me, but I don’t find it amusing. The boys asked for one for Christmas. We said no after they downloaded a virus onto Brooke’s computer. Then they asked again for their birthday, and once again we said no. They sank my dad’s boat in the lake after we told them not to go on it. Thank God they were wearing life jackets. I was going out of my mind, along with everyone else.

“You two are grounded for two weeks. No park after school, and no treats for a week. And you’ll be sending the Xbox back whenever it arrives.”

“But it’s already paid for,” Calvin argues, and I give him a look that shuts him up. “Okay, whatever.”

“I’m sorry, Sid.”

His lips twitch, looking to the boys. “Is it the Xbox five?”

They nod, grinning madly. “Yeah, it has these 3D features and you can―”

“That’s cool,” Sid interrupts before looking at me. “When it gets here, let me know. I’ve been wanting one for a while.”

“Can we go on it?” two extremely excited boys ask in unison.

Sid pretends to think about it for a second. “Um, no.”

“But―”

“Just give up, boys,” Drake chuckles.

I look around the garden, noting Adaline isn’t with everyone or with Cece, who she usually shadows.

“Where’s your sister?” I ask my boys, who look so much like their father. They’re going to be heartbreakers when they’re older. Either that or they’re going to be imprisoned for disrupting the peace. But Adaline, she’s all me: blonde hair and ocean-coloured eyes.

Reece scrunches his face up but mumbles, “She’s in her stupid den.”

“Yeah, she wouldn’t let us in,” Calvin grumbles, crossing his arms over his chest.

I roll my eyes and tell everyone I’ll be back in a minute so I can go look for her.

Adaline, who we named after Ada, is seven. When Drake asked me to marry him after not even a year of living together, we started trying for a baby. But sadly, it didn’t happen. We tried everything the doctors told us to, but the disappointment each month was gut-wrenching. We decided to wait a year so we could adopt, but then a miracle happened. The minute we stopped trying, I fell pregnant with my darling daughter. The day we found out was the happiest of our lives. She’s our baby miracle.

She’s also the best behaved, an angel to have around with two boisterous boys wreaking havoc.

Looking up at her tree house, I don’t see her. “Adaline?” I call, shielding my eyes.

She doesn’t answer and I begin to panic, hoping she hasn’t run off. The girl follows butterflies without watching where she’s going. She could be anywhere.

“Mummy, Mummy!” her sweet, soothing voice calls out for me and I relax.

I see her running from the back of the garden where all the overgrown bushes and trees are. We’re saving up to let the boys have their fort there. They would’ve had it by now if it weren’t for all the damages they cause to other people’s property and our own.

“Hey, sweetheart. Where have you been?” Her hair, hands, and clothes are covered in dirt, yet she still looks adorably beautiful. “And what is that you’ve got?”

“Isn’t she beautiful?”

“Oh my, is that a kitten?” I ask when she gets closer.

She nods, running a hand over the dirt-caked animal. “Yes. I found her in a bush, stuck in one of the holes the boys dug.” Her eyes narrow when she mentions her brothers, no doubt willing to give them an earful over them digging holes.

“Oh no. Let’s have a look.” I take the kitten from her and check her over. Apart from being a little underweight, she doesn’t seem to be hurt. It’s hard to tell if she’s grey or white with the amount of dirt on her, but she does have the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. She’s beautiful.

“Can we keep her?”

Oh no!

“Um, I don’t think that’s a good idea. She could belong to someone else.”

“They don’t deserve her. I’ll look after her and protect her. Not like them,” she pouts, still stroking the kitten.

I really should talk to Drake about this, but the look on my daughter’s face has me giving in. She never asks for anything, never complains, and always goes with the flow where the boys are concerned.

“Okay, but―”

She squeals loudly, startling me and the kitten, then jumps at me, wrapping her arms around my neck. “Thank you, thank you! I love you. I promise to take good care of her. I can’t wait to show Nanny and Cece.”

“Baby, you’re getting dirt all over Mummy,” Drake chuckles. I rise from my kneeling position and paste on my best smile. He shakes his head. “I heard. I guess we have our first pet.”

“We really should’ve gotten one before we had the boys,” I remind him, something we were talking about before I fell pregnant.

He shakes his head and walks over to his daughter, picking her up. “How are you, love bug?”

“I’m really good,” she beams. She’s a daddy’s girl through and through. “I’ve got a new kitten. She’s going to be so loved.”

“I bet she will. Now why don’t you go wash up, then ask Aunt Gabriella to get a towel for the kitten to keep her warm.”

Adaline looks from her father to the kitten and back again, nodding solemnly. “I will. I promise. I love you, Daddy.”

“I love you too, bug.”

She kisses his cheek before wiggling to get down, carefully taking the kitten from my hands.

“Be careful,” I warn. She nods and rushes off, then turns back.

“Thank you, Mummy. I love you so much. You’re the best mummy in the whole wide world.”

“I love you too.” I kiss her dirty forehead, chuckling as I watch her run back to the house, her excitement infectious.

“You spoil her,” Drake says, wrapping his arms around me from behind.

I scoff. “You do too, mister.”

He laughs, kissing my neck. “It’s the best thing to do in this world—spoil my girls.”

I melt against him, placing my hands over his covering my stomach. “You do. You’ve given us everything, more than we could ever imagine,” I whisper, emotion clogging my throat.

“You’re wrong,” he tells me huskily.

“About?”

“It’s you who gave me everything. I love you. I love you more every day and will continue to until the day I die.”

Tears spring to my eyes and I grip him tighter. “Drake.”

“It’s true, baby. You’ve given me more than I could ever hope for. You make me happy, so fucking happy. We have three—okay, we have one amazing kid. The jury’s still out on the other two, but we’ve got them. Every day I count my blessings, and I’ll always, always be indebted to you. You’ve completed my life like no other woman ever could. I love you.”

A tear falls and I turn, wrapping my arms around his neck. “We were born to be together, Drake. You don’t owe me anything. You never have and never will. You love me more than any girl could wish to be loved, and I love you more than I could ever love anyone. It’s us. It’s our happily ever after.”

“Happily ever after,” he whispers against my lips.

I press them against his, needing to taste him.

Forever will never be long enough, but I can live with happily ever after with him.

For as long as we both shall live.