Five years later
Mason Carlisle slammed into the hospital waiting room. He was wearing green scrubs and a huge grin on his handsome face. Lia entwined her fingers through her husband’s and they both surged to their feet along with the rest of the room. Heavily pregnant Daff had to be assisted by Spencer. She was expecting their second child, a girl, to go with their beautiful three-year-old son, Connor.
“It’s a girl,” Mason announced proudly, his eyes gleaming with tears. He and Daisy had chosen to wait until after he completed his degree and they moved back to Riversend before starting their family, and this was their first addition. Neither had wanted to know the sex of their baby, but Lia had known it would be a girl. She’d always known their first child would be a girl. She squeezed Sam’s hand smugly, and he laughed quietly beneath his breath.
“Daisy’s fine. God, she was so amazing,” Mason continued, self-consciously scrubbing a hand over his wet cheeks. “We’re naming the baby Primrose.”
“Ha, told you it wouldn’t be Delphinium!” Sam muttered triumphantly. “You owe me breakfast in bed tomorrow morning. Along with my other B of choice for dessert.” She shot him a scandalized look before wildly scanning the room to be sure nobody else had heard his words. Thankfully they were all too focused on congratulating Mason.
“Primrose?” Lia repeated, a little disgusted. “Oh gosh, oh no . . . this means Pansy’s next, followed by Poppy,” she continued in dismay, and Sam laughed out loud this time.
“You’re fucking crazy, but I love you,” he said, dragging her close for a kiss. He led her to Mason, and they both hugged and congratulated him before asking if they could see Daisy. Mason nodded, he had his phone to his ear and was telling Charlie the good news. The twenty-year-old was currently in her second year at college in Cape Town. She was studying marine biology, and her brothers could not stop bragging about her to anyone who would listen.
“Come on, let’s go check out this kid,” Sam said, tugging Lia toward the door, and she sighed in exasperation.
“Sam,” she said, then repeated it more loudly when he continued forward. “Sam!”
“What?”
“Forgetting something, are we?” she asked pointedly, and he stared at her blankly before his face cleared and he grinned sheepishly.
“God, sorry!” he apologized and picked up one of the little baby seats from the plastic hospital chairs, while Lia got the other one.
“Forget the babies again, Sam?” her father asked. It was becoming a standing joke in the family. Sam was an amazing father, he loved the twins to bits, but after six weeks, it was still hard for him to remember that it wasn’t just him and Lia anymore. They’d only been married for three and a half years—Lia had insisted on a long engagement while they figured out their careers and living arrangements.
They had spent a fair amount of time between his place in London and Daisy’s little house in Riversend during that first year. Aisha had been happy for their preschool arrangement to continue more sporadically until Lia and Sam finally settled into a regular routine. Sam had spent the year setting up the South African division of Brand Executive Protection Services, which he now ran from his office at their home in Riversend. Sam had people and systems in place on the ground to ensure he still delivered top-notch service, but he was happy to only travel a few times a year.
The rest of the time he spent on or in the water. He and Mason had collaborated on a house, not too far from the Carlisles’ houses, for Sam and Lia. And while helping with the build, Sam had discovered a talent for carpentry, a hobby that was becoming a side business as more people took interest in his dramatic, beautiful pieces of bespoke furniture.
Lia, in the meantime, had continued slogging toward her degree and was now a qualified full-time teacher at the preschool, where she had been teaching for the last three years. It was the happiest and most rewarding work of her life.
Life had been wonderful, but a year ago, while they were making love, Sam had told Lia he wanted to make a baby. She smiled at the memory. They’d discussed it afterward and decided the time was right. The twins were conceived less than two months later.
Trevor, the gentlest dog in the world, was an awesome big brother to little Sophie and Noah. The dog was still Sam’s constant shadow, but he loved the entire family, canines, kids, and all. They couldn’t have asked for a better dog. Even Sam’s mother—whom Lia happily called Mimsy, despite his protests—adored Trevor, and suffice it to say, she was a tough lady to please. The woman had been an irregular visitor over the last five years when she wasn’t happily partying all over Europe. But she was usually content to visit for weeks at a time, just long enough to drive everybody mad. She had been present for the twins’ birth and had stayed for a week afterward before leaving again, content to adore them from afar.
“Daddy’s going to handcuff himself to your seat from now on, okay?” Sam cooed to Noah, who was watching him through narrowed eyes, the infant on the verge of falling asleep. “I promise I won’t forget you again.”
Lia laughed. He always felt so guilty after one of his little lapses.
“You’ll get used to them,” she comforted, wrapping her free arm around his waist as they followed the crowd to the viewing room, with Mason proudly leading the way. Sam dropped a kiss on top of her head and stopped, allowing the rest of the family to pass them until they were the only ones in the hospital corridor. Lia looked up at him questioningly.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing at all. Everything is perfect. I just love you, Dahlia Brand,” he said, his heart in his eyes. His gaze dropped to the babies before drifting back up to hers. “I love all of you. You make me so fucking happy.”