Epilogue
Olivia Brooke Cassidy, named to honor both her fathers, was christened in the tiny stone church on the banks of the Greek island where Piper Harrington had been christened a year before. The party had continued into the wee hours of the morning, though Leah and Brooks had escorted the guest of honor back to the yacht not too long after the ceremony. Little ones needed to be in bed at a proper time.
And it was her parents’ honeymoon after all.
A strange one, maybe. Leah was sure most couples didn’t take all their closest friends with them on their honeymoons. But they’d wanted to go back to where they’d first met. And it seemed a good idea to start a new tradition with the christenings. Well, a second tradition. They had another one going with the prenups. Brooks had insisted they sign Kiersten’s version the second time around. Well, the preliminary version that simply stated that anything she says goes. Kiersten keeps adding to it. Leah protested, but Brooks wouldn’t take no for an answer. Stubborn fool.
The christenings were a tradition Leah was much happier to follow. Now with Cole and Kiersten’s baby and Leah and Brooks’s baby newly christened at the little church, it felt well on its way. Especially since there might be another little one to be christened before too long.
Leah handed Kiersten a towel and a glass of ice water with mint leaves.
“Thanks,” Kiersten said gratefully, sipping on the cool water. “I don’t know why I’m getting seasick this time. I’ve always done fine before.”
Leah raised an eyebrow. “Unless you’re not seasick this time. You could be pregnant.”
Kiersten’s eyes widened. “Oh God.”
Leah laughed. “You might want to get that checked when we get home.”
Kiersten nodded. Then she laughed, too. “Well, I did want to have more kids. I was planning on putting a little more space between them. But I’ll hold off the panicking until I find out for sure.”
The ladies settled against the chaise longues and sipped on their drinks, waving as their men occasionally sped by the boat on their jet skis. A particularly rambunctious round of laughter drew their attention to where Brooks bobbed up and down in the water. Marcus reached out a hand and helped drag him back over to his jet ski, both men laughing and slapping each other’s backs.
“So how’s that all working out?” Kiersten asked, nodding at the two of them.
“Pretty well, actually.”
“Brooks was okay with you giving Livy Marcus’s last name?”
“Surprisingly, yes. Though he couldn’t really argue that one.”
“When is Marcus leaving again?”
“Next week. His new Hong Kong office opens soon so he’ll be gone for a while this time. We’ll keep him updated, send pictures, that kind of thing. And he’ll get visitation when he’s in town. He wants to know her, and be a part of her life. But with his job… It’s easier for us to have full custody. He’s going to stay based in Hong Kong, permanently.”
“Yikes.”
“And he signed papers giving Brooks guardianship if anything happens to both of us. None of us wanted there to be any problem with him maintaining custody if something ever happened. And since we don’t need child support or anything like that he’s going to set aside money every month into a college fund for Livy. He wants to be able to contribute to her life in some way.”
“He sounds like a really great guy.”
Leah nodded again. “Livy is lucky to have two such amazing dads.”
“Yes she is,” Kiersten said. “Now you just need to get started on giving her some siblings.”
Leah laughed. “I’d love nothing more. Though I’d prefer to have Livy out of diapers first.”
Kiersten snorted. “Amen.”
Leah excused herself for a minute. The men had brought the jet skis in a few minutes before but Brooks hadn’t reappeared yet. She wandered to the back of the boat and stopped short at the sight that met her eyes. Brooks sat on the deck cross-legged with the baby in his lap. He was pointing out the various interesting things on the shoreline. The baby didn’t know what he was pointing out of course. But she gurgled contentedly, waving her little fists as he spoke to her. Brooks looked up and saw her watching them and beckoned her over with a smile. She sat down beside him, leaning in for a kiss.
“Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t want to interrupt. But you two looked like you were having so much fun, I couldn’t resist.”
He kissed her again. “Joining in the party, huh? What happened to my strict schoolteacher? I thought marriage wasn’t supposed to be fun.”
“Maybe you’ve changed my mind. I don’t think marriage to you could be anything but fun.”
“And that’s a good thing?”
She kissed his cheek and wrapped her arms around him, cuddling into him. “Absolutely. I’m serious enough for the both of us. I definitely needed some fun in my life.”
“I’m happy I can be of service.”
She laughed and kissed his shoulder before reaching out to take Livy’s little hand.
“And by the way,” Brooks said, resting his cheek against her head, “you are never an interruption. I’m always happiest when I have both my girls at my side.”
“Then I guess it’s a good thing you’ll always have us.”
He wrapped his arm around her waist to draw her closer. “A very, very good thing.”
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