Epilogue
Skylar - two years later
“Ready, precious?” Hudson’s words curled my toes.
I snuggled my arms around his waist, breathing in his warm scent. “I don’t think I’ll ever be.”
He grinned down at me, one arm wrapping around my shoulders and enveloping me. “I think this little man has something else to say about it.” He grinned broadly as our son toddled a few steps closer to us, his chubby little body decked out in leather motorcycle boots, dark jeans, and a black onesie featuring a little skull wearing a bandanna across the forehead.
Hudson had picked up that little outfit in honor of our little man’s first ride on the motorcycle with Daddy. Just around the yard, but still, it was a big moment.
“Don’t you just want to snuggle with Mama on the porch and watch Daddy ride, Blake?” I scooped our darling little boy into my arms and smooched on his cheeks.
“He’s done enough snuggling. This guy was born to ride.” Hudson lifted Blake out of my arms, peppering him with kisses of his own. Seeing the two of them together was without a doubt the greatest gift I’d been given.
We’d both gotten the surprise of our life with this one. Just a few months after I left the wedding with Hudson, I’d missed my period, and in true Hudson form, he’d taken it all in stride. Shrugged and given me that devastatingly charming grin before hopping on his bike to go buy me a pregnancy test. We waited together in the tiny bathroom of my home, already overcrowded with all of his man-stuff. Then tears of complete joy had burned in my eyes when Hudson had held up the little white stick. Two pink lines.
If things with Hudson had been good before then, they were incredible after he found out I was carrying his baby. To say I was doted on for nine months straight was the understatement of the century. Hudson took care of the people he loved; he proved that to me and to Blake every single day.
“Ready to roll, big guy?” Hudson jostled Blake on his hip as our son reached out to the gleaming black Harley that was now a permanent fixture in my driveway. Ever since that kid could crawl, he was drawn to the big bike, and I couldn’t blame him. I loved it too. It was the bike we’d shared our first kiss on and where we were the first moment Hudson’s hands had caressed my skin. That bike was as much a part of our relationship as we were.
Hudson slung one leg over the bike, keeping our son firmly locked in one arm. The engine turned on, the soft purr coming to life as my son’s eyes grew to the size of saucers. A huge grin followed, and if there’d been any doubt before now, it was obvious he was just like his daddy. I grinned proudly as Hudson slowly backed the bike out of the driveway, one eye on Blake’s reaction the entire time.
He didn’t have to worry; Blake was already shrieking and clapping with anticipation.
Once Hudson cleared the bumper of my car, he turned the handlebars and eased off into the grass of our front lawn. I laughed and waved at them as Blake’s eyes followed me then whipped around to see where they were headed. Blake was the definition of joyful, and both of them were the definition of love. My heart was full to the brim with those two men. They would always have my heart, and there wasn’t a day that went by when I wasn’t thankful for them.
I glanced around, taking in my small house and reflecting on how my life had changed so much in two short years.
All of our firsts had happened here. So living here, bringing our son home to this house—something felt eternally right about it.
When I’d hopped on Hudson’s bike with him and left the wedding, we’d only gone back to the city for a few days. I’d called out of work, and as soon as Hudson crossed the threshold of his spacious city-view apartment, he began the process of moving his entire business to my small hometown upstate.
There hadn’t even been a decision to be made. He was sick of the city life, he said. He’d found everything he wanted in small-town living. He’d said his clients would follow him, and they had. And the entire move had seemed to work out for the better as he’d been able to find more space at a cheaper rent for his shop. Hudson had been able to use the extra income to hire a few more talented artists to take the custom paint business to another level.
And boy had he. The business was making so much money at this point that he didn’t even have to work as much. He was spending more and more time at home with Blake and me.
And that was a good thing, because our family was rapidly expanding.
After we’d found out Blake was coming, Hudson had dropped to one knee that very night, slipping an elegant ring on my finger that he’d already purchased. I loved wearing his ring. I loved being his. I even wanted to share his name, but before we could stop to plan a wedding, I was six months pregnant, and in no way did I want to stuff myself into a wedding dress. Hudson had crooned into my neck that he’d marry me naked, but I still wasn’t ready.
And so we waited until our mini man was born. But raising the little guy was a full-time job. I struggled with recovering, feeling exhausted and run-down constantly, and so I’d kept pushing the wedding. Hudson was patient, as always. I think, in all reality, it didn’t even matter to him because he knew I was his and he was mine. We belonged to each other, and to prove it, he’d already started wearing a simple titanium wedding band to match my engagement ring.
We were in love, we were a deliriously happy family, but the timing for a wedding still wasn’t right. Maybe deep down we wondered what our wedding would look like. Would our families really come together to celebrate our engagement? Did it even matter what they thought? And did we really want them there?
My dad had always been incredibly accepting of Hudson and me, never once judging us or our decisions. But Hudson’s mother held a different view. And so we carried on, happy to make no formal decision and just live and feel, moment to moment.
The subject had come up again this spring when I’d started to feel depleted, emotional, and then another missed period.
Our second baby was on the way, my belly protruding at this very moment, five months along as we waited for our family to expand. Hudson had bent down on his knee again that night, tears glimmering in his deep eyes as he cupped my belly with his large palms. “Marry me, precious. Take my name.”
“I will,” I’d sworn, stroking my fingers through his messy hair. “Not yet, but I promise, soon.”
His lips had turned up, placing a delicate kiss on the center of my abdomen. “Stubborn woman.”
I grinned, thinking if I had a penny for every time he’d said that over the last few years… “Think about it.” He stood, and I wrapped my arms around him. “The kids will be old enough that they can be there and understand, share it with us.”
“Hell if I’m waiting that long.” He nipped at my lips, a growl vibrating from his throat.
“We’ve waited this long, Hudson. If we do it now, I want it to be perfect. And right now, I wouldn’t feel perfect.”
“You’re always perfect, precious. Every day spent with you is more perfect than the last.” His hands cupped my face, lips tracing the angles of my cheeks.
“I love you, Hudson.”
“Love you back, Sky.” His words lit trails of fire through my heart.
I heard the rev of the engine coming back around the house, smiling as the two men in my life appeared.
“How was it?” I grinned. “He looks happy.”
Hudson pulled the bike to a stop, planting a kiss on our son’s red head before setting him down on the grass. Blake immediately burst into tears and lifted his hands straight in the air, begging to be picked up by his daddy. “Guess he wants to go on.”
“He’s a daredevil. Runs in the blood, I think.” I placed a kiss on Hudson’s cheek. He pulled our son into his arms, cuddling him close and then pulling me into him, whispering an endless array of I love yous into my neck.
My life was full, my heart overflowed, all thanks to a stranger who’d stolen my heart and soul one unforgettable night.