Epilogue
Three years later…
“Dada, a monster.”
The hot sun beat down on Grey, sweat trickling over his spine as he held his hands in claws and growled, “Rawr.”
Young screams filled the hot, tropical air when Grey chased after the two-year-old fraternal twins, one boy, Mason, one girl, Madison, both his. He looked toward where they ran. To their mother.
With green mountains off in the distance, Evie stood near the deep teal-colored ocean, wearing a polka dot tankini with black bottoms. Her arms were open, waiting to save the twins, but they didn’t stand a chance. Grey grinned and punched forward, getting to the children first, scooping them up in his arms.
They both screeched, and he pulled them in close, pretending to eat them, and their high-pitched screams made him laugh harder. With a final kiss on both of their heads, he placed them down, and they ran to Evie.
She smiled brightly as they plowed into her, and she hugged them tightly.
In that moment, all Grey noticed was her face. That look of happiness right there was the one he’d sought to see time and time again over the years. Christ, how he loved this woman. How much meaning she’d given to his life.
Hearing a loud laugh behind him, he glanced over his shoulder, finding Maddox sitting in the sand with his four-year-old girl, Sofia, making sand castles. Joss sat next to them, keeping a close eye on their one-year-old boy, Benjamin, who was banging a shovel against the dirt.
Beside them, soaking in the sun in a lounge chair lay his mother, along with her newest husband, a retired multi-millionaire stockbroker out of New York, Warren Ellison. They were sharing cocktails and laughs. And it’d been some time since his mother had genuinely seemed this happy.
The Maui air was good for all of them.
With that thought passing through his mind, Grey’s gaze fell on his and Evie’s five-bedroom, beachfront house directly on Baby Beach in Lahaina. Stone met dark wood and led to large windows. The house had been built to both blend into the elements and to show off the scenery while inside. With the sandy beach protected by the exposed stretch of reef, the shallow water was perfect for the children. The peacefulness and landscape made this property a given when they’d been looking for the perfect vacation spot.
Grey thought back over the years, realizing how different things were now than they had been when he first met Evie. Even more so, priorities had shifted when children came along. At first, it had been a gradual change, only travelling on weekends and the odd week vacation. Now every winter, they spent as much time as they could in Maui, and less in Seattle.
Both being business owners, Grey and Evie could work remotely, hiring others to handle their jobs in their absence, scheduling meetings every two weeks so they could travel home for a day or two, while Anne cared for the children here in Maui. Life had become more about living, less about working.
Grey had all that he wanted and more.
As laughter once again filled the air, he turned and faced Evie, finding the children running back near the water where their buckets and shovels were waiting for them. While he stayed aware of the kids, he saw Evie approaching, smiling softly at him, the wind waving her damp hair around her face.
He vividly remembered when she’d walked into his office that very first day and changed him as a man. And as she reached him now, he knew without a doubt he wouldn’t change one thing about his past. Not their two-month dating relationship before he declared himself a pro and leveled up with a quick proposal. Not him moving into her house. Not even their shotgun wedding three months later.
When Evie stopped in front of him, and he stared into her pretty eyes, she smiled. “You’ve got that look.”
He took one of her hands. “What look?”
“That look like you’re thinking about something.”
“I am thinking about something,” he said, brushing his knuckles across her soft cheek. “I’m thinking about you.”
She leaned into his touch and gave him that smile that warmed parts of him that only she had ever touched. He pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on top of her head, and he watched their children scooping up sand into their pails before they ran over to Maddox, helping build the sand castle.
“We’re doing a good job with them,” Evie said, leaning back to stare up at him. “They’re happy, aren’t they?”
“Of course, they are.” He smiled down at her. “They have the best mother.”
Her eyes lightened, the sun making the skin on her face sparkle with the sunscreen. “They’ve got a very charming father, too, who totally knows how to get lucky.”
She stood on her tiptoes, sliding her hands up to his neck, bringing his face to hers. He ran his palms across the small of her back, and she stepped in close as he sealed his mouth over hers. He took charge of the kiss, cupping her face, angling her head to deepen the embrace.
When her tongue slid across his and heat swelled inside him, he chuckled against her mouth. “Better be careful, angel. We have an audience.”
She pulled him closer, demanding more of his mouth.
“Momma kissing Dada.”
Evie broke away with a laugh. “And there’s the bucket of cold water.”
Two tiny bodies shoved themselves into the space between Evie and him, and Grey glanced down at them. “Uh-oh, I think I heard something. What’s that?” Big, wide, blue eyes greeted him, as he added, “I think the monster’s coming back.”
“Oh, no,” Evie said, grinning down at them, and taking each of their hands. “Run, my darlings, run. Our lives depend on it.”
Screams erupted in the air again as the twins ran forward, with Evie in the middle.
Grey roared, “Feed me!” With his toes digging into the sand, he ran forward, and as he did, he looked from his family to the grin on his mother’s face to a chuckling Maddox and Joss, and he smiled.
Life was good.
Damn good.