The click of the camera sounded over and over again. I did my best to make sure the smile stayed plastered on my face, but by the time we reached the second hour of the photo session, I was getting to my limits of endurance.

“How you holding up?” asked Justin through a camera smile, his eyes flicking over to me.

“I can handle maybe—maybe—another five minutes.”

“Same here,” he said.

I glanced down at the kids. William was in Justin’s lap and dressed in an adorable onesie. He cooed happily, apparently loving the attention of the photo crew that surrounded us on the set. Faye, on the other hand, seemed about over it.

“No camera!” she said, pointing to the crew, a cranky expression on her face.

The crew laughed.

“Don’t worry, kiddo,” said the lead photographer. “We’re about done.”

I let out a sigh of relief. When Justin had asked if I minded if the family posed for some shots for one of his new lines, I said “sure” without a second thought. But now that I was in the middle of it, I was beginning to realize how difficult simply posing for pictures was. It gave me a new appreciation for models.

“These are the best photographers in the city,” said Justin. “Think about how nice these shots will look on our mantel.”

“True, true,” I said.

The photographers took a few more shots.

“And that’s that!” called out the lead. “Awesome, awesome stuff, guys.”

I let my body relax as I took a sigh of relief. The crew began chatting among themselves, and I stretched out my arms and legs.

“I don’t know about you,” said Justin. “But I’m starving.”

“Same,” I said. “I bet the kids are too.”

“How about this,” he said. “I go over the pictures with the photographers, and after that we grab some lunch nearby.”

“Perfect.”

“Because I want you ready for this evening.”

Now I was curious.

“Why?” I asked. “What’s going on this evening?”

“Something special I have planned for the family,” he said with a sly grin. “You’ll have to wait and see.” With that, Justin stood up. “Keep an eye on the little guys,” he said. “I’ll be back in a few.”

I watched Justin stroll confidently across the set toward the photographers. He was dressed in a sharp business-casual outfit and looking good as ever.

My eyes lingered on him as he had a back-and-forth with the photographers, all of them gathered around a large computer monitor as they went through the shots.

Justin had changed since we had William. He was still a hard worker, but now there wasn’t even a trace of burnout in him. He was energetic and cheerful, always eager to start his day.

I’d found myself wondering what it was. After all, most new parents had less energy, rather than more.

Then it had occurred to me that being a family man had been exactly what Justin needed. He wasn’t making clothes for some hypothetical family now. He had skin in the game, as they say.

“Okay,” he said, coming back over to us and scooping up William. “Ready to eat?”

“So ready.”

The four of us left his office tower and made our way back to our neighborhood. Once there, we stopped at a cute, casual diner where we enjoyed a nice light lunch of sandwiches.

As we stepped back into the penthouse an hour or so later, in I noticed that there was a box on the kitchen table. It was brown and wrapped with a lavender-colored bow.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Some snacks,” he said. “A baker friend of mine just opened up a new place, and he sent me over some goodies. Thought they’d be nice for our little field trip.

“Sounds perfect to me,” I said.

William in one arm, I approached the box and opened up. Inside were all sorts of goodies, from cupcakes to cookies to macaroons and everything in between.

“You know,” I said. “This is the wrong message to send if you want me to lose the last bit of my baby weight.”

Justin shot me a confused expression.

“What baby weight?” he asked. “You look like a million bucks.”

I waved my hand in an “oh, you” gesture. “Nice of you to say, but I know you’re just being nice.”

Faye seated on the couch, Justin stepped over to me and wrapped his arms around my body.

God, I never got tired of being in his embrace. It was magic, the effect he had on me. I closed my eyes and savored his touch, his smell—everything about him.

“I never say things that aren’t true,” he said. He kissed me softly on the cheek, the slight dusting of stubble on his gorgeous face tickling me just right. “Okay,” he said. “Are you ready for our trip?”

“You have to tell me where we’re going first,” I said. “The suspense is too much.”

“Fine, fine,” he said. “We’re taking the limo up to the Hamptons for the weekend. Because I…may have made a slightly unnecessary purchase.”

“Wait, what? What kind of unnecessary purchase?”

“Well, you know I love my penthouse—our penthouse,” he said. “But sometimes it’s nice to get out of the city. Then I thought about that trip we took up to the vineyard months back. I did a little looking around and saw that there just so happened to be a very lovely house for sale right nearby.”

“Wait a second—you bought a house?!”

I was beyond shocked. He said it like he had picked up a new pair of shoes on the way home from work.

“Not yet,” he said. “I put down a deposit, and the realtor is letting me take it for a spin for a month. Nothing’s final yet. If you hate it, I won’t go through with the sale. But something tells me you’re going to be a fan.”

“Okay,” I said, suddenly very intrigued. “I’ll give it a shot.”

“It’s all I ask,” he said. “But we’re in walking distance of the duck wine vineyard—so, there’s that.”

“You’re making this sound awfully tempting.”

“It’s what I do,” he said, flashing me that winning smile of his.

Then he glanced away, shifting his weight from one foot to the next.

“And…there might be another surprise.”

“Let’s hear it,” I said.

“You know how you said you’ve been missing your work friends since you decided to become a stay-at-home mom?”

“Yeah,” I said, curious as to where he was going with this.

“I may have invited all of them to the house tonight.”

“What?”

“Yep. Julia, your work friends, your parents. And there will be some of my friends too—maybe some pretty famous ones.”

“It sounds like there’s going to be a party tonight,” I said, intrigued.

“Quite possibly.”

I wanted to be a little miffed that he’d done all this without asking me, but I couldn’t find it in myself. It all sounded so nice. And he was right—I loved staying home with the kids, but I did miss Julia and all the rest of my friends.

“So,” he said, clasping his hands together. “Get your things ready, and we can head out. Everyone’s already on their way. I took care of transportation and food and drinks and all that. All you have to do is show up and be your gorgeous self.”

I stepped up to him, got on my tiptoes, and planted a kiss on his lips.

“I love you,” I said.

“And I love you. But I’d love you more if I was showing you off to everyone.”

I gave him one more smile before rushing to the bedroom and packing my things.

Before too long I was ready, my heart beating in anticipation. Justin was in the living room with the kids, the box of baked goods tucked under his arm.

“Limo’s waiting for us,” he said.

“What, no helicopter?” I asked jokingly.

“I thought about it, but then I realized it might scare the poop out of little William here.”

“Good call,” I said.

“Shall we?”

“We shall.”

We were soon loaded up and on our way. The sun had begun to dip low in the sky, and I watched the lights of the city’s towers twinkle on as we drove. It was all so beautiful and perfect, and I had the best family I could ask for with which to share it.

I snuggled up to William and Faye in the back of the car, playing with them and otherwise keeping them busy during the drive out to Long Island. It took a couple of hours, but we soon arrived.

“There it is,” said Justin. “Our Long Island getaway—if you want it, that is. The call’s yours to make.”

I gasped at the house. It was a beautiful blue-and-white colonial-style building, three stories and situated on a large tract of land near the beach. Dozens of cars were parked out front, and lights inside were on—the party was underway.

“I love it,” I said. “It’s perfect.”

“Glad to hear it,” he said. “And like I told you, duck wine’s only a five-minute drive away. Or a stroll through the vineyard.”

I pulled him close for another kiss. I couldn’t believe it—a year ago I was a struggling single mom, and now here I was with the man of my dreams and two beautiful children.

We parked in the middle of the large, half-circle driveway. The chauffeur helped us out and brought our bags to the door. Justin invited him in to enjoy the food, and he was happy to accept.

“Ready?” Justin asked.

“Ready,” I said.

He opened the door revealing the beautiful interior of the house, the place packed with friends and family. They all turned their attention to me, happy smiles on their faces.

Well, I should say that they turned their attention to Faye and William. I had a feeling those two were going to be the real stars of the evening.

Justin and I made our way around the party, chatting and drinking and having a good time. Everyone was there. Mom and Dad were in good health and happy as always to see the kids, as was Justin’s glamorous mother. Julia was there with her husband and Melanie—Julia with a new baby bump of her own.

Justin gave me the grand tour of the house, and I fell more in love with it with each room that he showed me.

After an hour or so, Justin took me aside.

“What do you think?” he asked.

“About the house? I think it’s a keeper.”

“And…how do you feel about everything else?”

“You mean my life with you?” I asked. “It’s amazing. You’ve made me the happiest woman.”

He smiled.

“Mind if I show you the beach?”

“I’d love it.”

We found William and Faye, and Justin spread the word that he and I and the kids were going to get some air.

He led me to the back porch, the quiet of the night replacing the bustle of the party as soon as he shut the door behind us.

The beach was just gorgeous. The moon was full, silver light rippling on the waves. The sand was soft, and Justin and I couldn’t resist taking off our shoes and digging our toes into it as we made our way to the shore.

“Let’s sit down here,” he said, gesturing to a log overturned in the sand.

We did, and for a time we watched the waves softly crash into the sand. It was quiet and magical. Even Faye and William were speechless.

“Heather, I can’t begin to tell you how much I love my life with you,” he said. “You’ve made me so happy that I sometimes feel like my heart might burst. And more than that, you’ve given me these two wonderful children.”

Tears welled in my eyes. I didn’t know what to say.

“But you and I both know that there’s something missing from all this. And it’s time I fixed that. So…I might’ve lied before—there might be one more surprise.”

He reached into his pocket and removed a small black box. With a flick of his wrist, he opened it, revealing a gorgeous diamond ring.

“Heather Moore, will you—”

I couldn’t even wait for him to finish.

“Yes!” I shouted out, leaning forward and planting a kiss on his lips.

Tears streamed down my face as he slipped the ring on my finger.

“Now everything’s perfect,” Justin said. “And I can’t wait to start this new chapter of life with you as my wife. I love you, baby.”

“And I love you so much.”

I leaned forward and kissed him again.

“But…” I said. I flicked my head toward the house.

“Time to share the news?” he asked with a grin.

“My thoughts exactly.”

We hopped up and started back toward the house. The kids laughed with happiness, and I held them close. Justin took my hand and kissed my cheek softly.

I had everything I’d ever wanted. A perfect love, for my children and my husband-to-be.

I leaned over to kiss Justin, but right as I was about to touch my lips to his, the phone in his pocket buzzed.

“Go ahead,” I said.

“Sorry,” he said, taking out his phone.

He glanced at the screen and chuckled.

“What?” I asked.

“It’s Andrew,” he said. “You ready for season two?”