Marin

---

My hand covered my mouth, mostly so I wouldn’t cry and make a fool out of myself, but also because he’d totally shocked me. When he said he wanted me, I assumed it was back in his life, but not as his wife.

“Marin, I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you. Ever.”

He emphasized ever, so I knew what he was saying. I couldn’t breathe.

“I love you. If you want, I can play the I love you more than game.” It was the game he played with Kinsley. I wanted to laugh. I really did, but I was still trying to breathe.

“Jesus, are you okay over there? You’re scaring me.”

Then he went into action, got up, came over and kissed me. That’s when I grabbed his shirt, pulled him closer, and then broke free. I sucked in a lungful of air and said, “I love you too.” Then I kissed him again. “Do you really want to marry me?”

“Of course I do. That’s not something I’d ever joke about.” He kissed me this time.

“Okay, but can we take it slow. Like maybe get to know one another better?”

“Absolutely not.”

My jaw sagged. “What?”

“I am not ever going to risk losing you again. We’re eloping.”

“Are you serious?”

“Is this the face of a joking man?” he asked as he took his seat again.

He wasn’t kidding. “No.”

“Marin, we are in love, and as long as I live, I will never love another woman the way I love you. I can also promise you that you will never find anyone who will love you more than I do. We’ve already muddled through the crap, why do we need to wait?”

“I guess I’m worried you’ll decide you don’t want me or something.”

He leaned across the small table and took my chin between his thumb and finger. “That will never happen.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’ve missed you these past several weeks more than I ever thought possible. Life is completely and utterly miserable without you. And jacking off in the shower is a pitiful replacement for you.”

“Grey!” I jerked my head around to make sure no one heard him.

“It’s true. Sex with you is amazing. Can you deny that?”

“I can’t say. I’ve never had sex with me before.” I couldn’t stop a smirk from forming.

“Just for that, I’m going to make you pay.”

“How’s that?” I asked.

“You’ll see.”

“Oooh. I’m intrigued.”

He smirked. “Just wait. But hang on. You’re already talking about sex, therefore, you agree it’s amazing, right?”

“Oh, it is amazing. I can’t deny that.”

“Then what else?”

“If you ever have any trust issues before you fly crazy on me, talk to me.”

“Done.”

“And we’re a team.”

“Absolutely,” he agreed.

“What about more children?” I asked.

“I’ll do whatever you want. I’d have a dozen if you were agreeable to it, but somehow I don’t think that’s something you’re interested in.”

“No, not twelve, but I’d like two more.” After being with Kinsley and Aaron, I’d decided having kids was a lot more fun than I’d ever imagined.

“Done. Anything else?”

“And I’d like to work?”

“You can do whatever you want. If you want to stay at home, fine. If you want to work, fine. If you want to get a therapy dog, fine. All I want is your happiness.”

A warm glow took root in the pit of my stomach and began to grow, expanding to my chest. My lips stretched out in a humongous smile. “You really are serious?” I had to ask.

“Never been more serious. I’ll give you whatever you want, Marin. You already have my heart. The materialistic stuff is nothing when you don’t have love.”

I jumped out of the chair and almost knocked his over. He was getting to his feet, but I wasn’t making it very easy for him. Then my feet were off the ground, wrapping around his waist, as he swung me around in a circle, his hands on my hips.

“Yes,” I said.

“Yes, to what?”

“To eloping.”

He set me down. “When?”

“When can your parents keep the kids and when can you take the time off?”

“Good questions. Let’s get those ironed out and then we’ll plan. But there is something I need to do first.”

“What’s that?”

“You’ll see. Let’s go home.”

I grabbed his arm. “What are we going to tell Kinsley?”

“Nothing yet. But are you coming back to the house to live?”

“Yes. I still have a few things there anyway. I just need to pack what’s at my parents.”

“Let’s get that now. I’m not in the mood to wait.”

“You really are impatient, you know.”

“So I’ve been told.”

We went to my parents and while we were there, Dad and Grey disappeared while I went to my room to pack real fast. Mom came in to help and I relayed what was going on.

“Marin, you’re sure about everything?”

“Yeah, Mom, I am.”

“I knew you two would work things out. I’m so happy for you.”

I didn’t tell her everything. I decided to wait until the kids were told. That would only be fair.

Grey carried my bag out and we left. When we arrived at his house, his mom was one gigantic grin.

“Trish called, so I already know. Thank God, you two finally came to your senses.” Kinsley was in the other room, so she spoke freely. I only shrugged.

I’m glad to be back. I missed the kids so much. All of a sudden, a whirl of motion slammed into my legs.

“Marnie! I missed you!”

“I missed you too, short stuff.”

We hugged for a good long time and then all decided to go out for spaghetti and meatballs.

“Aaron can get lasagna. It’s mushy enough for him,” Kinsley said.

“Yes, it is,” I agreed.

Aaron was a solid red mess before dinner was over, but he didn’t mind. He never minded when he was a mess. I was glad they invented baby wipes. I went through half a container.

“Paige, what did you do when your kids were little?”

“I didn’t feed them lasagna,” she laughed. “But I went through a lot of dirty bibs and towels. And diapers. We had disposables, but they weren’t as good as what you have now. Well, when Hudson and Pearson were born they were, but not Grey. We used cloth ones for him.”

“Ugh. How did you do that? That must’ve been a lot of work.”

“Oh, it was. But I didn’t know any different,” she said. “He used to have to wear rubber pants over the diaper.”

Kinsley thought that was so funny she wouldn’t stop laughing. Then we all laughed too because the idea was so ludicrous.

“Daddy wore rubber panties.” Her giggles were contagious.

“I bet that was a sight,” Grey said.

After dinner, Grey suggested we all go get ice cream, but Aaron was asleep in his carrier, so Paige and Rick went and picked some up for us and brought it to the house while I put Aaron to bed. I was nuzzling his neck, inhaling his sweet baby scent when Grey walked in.

“You want two, huh?”

“Yeah. This kid is so precious. I never thought about having any until him. He melts my heart every time I look at him. And then I look at Kinsley and see how much fun they are at that age and I know I want them.”

“I’ll be happy to provide you with the means.”

“I’ll be happy to let you.”

He kissed me and desire raged between us.

“Grey, we can’t. Kinsley is downstairs with your parents.”

“Right. Let’s go.”

When we got back downstairs, Grey looked at me and said, “I think we should tell Kinsley.”

“Tonight?”

“No use waiting.”

“What about our parents?”

“Kinsley should know first. She’s the most important one, other than the two of us.”

For some reason, I was suddenly nervous. What if she didn’t want me as her step-mom. What if she threw a tantrum?

“What is it?”

“What if she resents me?”

“You don’t honestly think that, do you?”

“I don’t know what to think.”

He took my hand and said, “Come with me.”

She was watching TV and Grey said, “Hey, polka dot, Marin and I have something we need to talk to you about.” He turned off the TV and she looked at us expectantly. “You know how I kiss Marin sometimes?”

Kinsley started kissing the air and laughing. “Like this?”

“Yes, like that. Well, we love each other very much and we want to get married.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that Marin will be my wife and I’ll be her husband.”

She scrunched up her mouth. “Is that like a mommy?”

“Not exactly. Your mommy is with the angels and will always be with the angels. But Marin will be my wife now. She’ll be what’s called a step-mommy, but you can still call her Marnie if you want.”

“Can I call her Marniemom?”

“You can. Is that what you want to call her?”

Kinsley looked at me and laughed. “Yeah. I like that. Marniemom.” Then she frowned again.

“What is it, honey?” Grey asked.

“Will Mommy get mad at me cuz I’m calling Marnie, Marniemom?”

Grey picked her up and sat down on the couch with her on his lap. “Mommy would never get mad at you for that. Remember, Mommy’s an angel now and angels only want what’s best for you.”

“Really?” She was looking at me when she asked that.

I answered, “Your daddy is right. Angels look out for you and your mommy would never get mad at you for that.”

“Then I’ll call you Marniemom for now.”

“That’s a deal.” And I high-fived her.

When Paige and Rick walked in the back door, Kinsley ran up to them and hollered, “I’m gonna have a Marniemom. I’m gonna have a Marniemom.” Then she ran around in a circle.

“What on earth?” Paige asked.

“What she’s saying is, we’re going to get married,” Grey said.

“Oh my gosh!” Paige set the bag of ice cream on the counter and rushed up to me to hug me. “Thank God! I prayed over this one.”

“You sound like you never pray, Mom.”

“You know what I mean, son. When’s the wedding?”

“We haven’t decided yet, but my parents don’t know yet.”

“Um, I sort of asked your father when we were there earlier tonight.”

“You did?” I said, shocked. I didn’t think he would ever do that.

“Of course I did. I didn’t want our mothers chasing me down and killing me later.”

That got a good laugh out of Paige.

“What did my dad say?” I asked.

“I won’t be repeating that,” Grey said. “But, Mom, we’re eloping.”

“Grey, you can’t do that to Marin. She’s never had a wedding nor has her mother. Every girl deserves a wedding. Trish will be devastated if you elope.”

I hadn’t given that a thought. One look at Grey and I could tell the decision was mine.

“Let’s talk about this later,” I said.

And we did. After the hottest sex I had in weeks and after coming several times.

“My mom was right. You deserve your special day. I won’t take that away from you. In my heart, you’re already mine, so I’ll leave it up to you.”

“Can I talk to my mom? I just don’t want there to be any regrets.”

Paige had been right after all. An elopement would kill Mom.

“Oh, honey. My only child eloping? At least consider a destination wedding.”

“Okay, Mom. Let me talk with Grey. Or better yet, why don’t you all come over and we’ll talk about it? Then I don’t feel like I’m going back and forth.”

So, the following weekend, my parents, his, and the two of us had a chat. Everyone agreed to a small wedding. But that turned into a guest list of over four hundred. In the end, we decided on a destination wedding.

Our destination was Paris, the city of love. We were to be married at the hotel Le Bristol with a reception to follow. The hotel was in the heart of Paris, just steps from the Champs-Elysées and the Louvre. It would take place in early October, only six weeks from now, which meant I was in overdrive on getting a dress. Kinsley was my only bridesmaid, and she would throw white rose petals as I walked down the short aisle.

The moms were planning everything for the wedding and reception, leaving Grey and I to handle the marriage licenses. We had our passports and everything necessary for travel from our trip to Vienna, so we were set. After the wedding weekend, our parents were taking the children off to Disneyland Paris and Grey and I would be honeymooning all over France for two luxurious weeks.

Mom and I were leaving the store after my final dress fitting, which I was happy to say was a smashing success. I walked out the door and crashed right into Damien and Dawn. Needless to say, all of us were equally stunned.

“Well, hello Marin. Are you still a nanny?” Dawn asked, snidely.

Mom, not waiting for my reply, jumped in to answer. “No, she isn’t. She was just getting fitted for her wedding gown. We are all jetting off to Paris next week for the big event. Marin won’t be working much anymore, Dawn. What about you? Where are you working these days?” Mom, who was by no means a snob, looked down her nose at Dawn and I had to hold back a laugh.

“Paris? As in France?” Dawn asked.

“Yes, unless it’s relocated to Italy,” Mom answered. I snickered. “Marin is marrying a cardiologist.

Dawn’s eyeballs almost rolled out. “Nice.” She didn’t mean it.

“Congratulations. I’m happy for you,” Damien said.

“Thanks. Come on, Mom. We have lots of things we need to do before we leave.”

“That’s right, dear. You have to pick up your trousseau.”

My trousseau. Oh my God, she really overdid with that. “Nice seeing you two.” I wiggled my fingers as we left.

As we got further away, I said, “Mom. My trousseau? What the hell. Who even says that anymore?”

“I know. I couldn’t help it. Those jerks deserved it. I had to rub it in.” I could only shake my head.

The week arrived, our bags were packed, and all eight of us boarded the flight to Europe. This time, Grey and I held hands as we did, Aaron on Grey’s back, Kinsley holding Paige’s hand. We took up a chunk of the business class cabin, and the flight attendants were excited to hear we were traveling to Paris to get married.

“She’s gonna be my Marniemom,” Kinsley announced.

“She is?” one of them asked.

I had to explain the name thing. They brought out special gifts for the kids—coloring books, and since Aaron was too young, they gave him a stuffed animal. Kinsley wanted one too and they were happy to hand one over.

“Do you realize we haven’t even known each other a year?” I asked Grey.

“I do. But when you know, you know. I’m not eighteen, or twenty. I know what I want in life, and it’s you.”

“I’m not even thirty. Tell me I shouldn’t be scared.”

He cupped my face and kissed me. “Don’t ever be afraid. I have your heart in my hands and I’m the best when it comes to hearts.”

“Daddy’s kissing Marniemom,” Kinsley announced.

“She’s spying on us,” I said.

Grey was frowning.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Do you have doubts about us?”

“I love you. So, the answer is no. I’m just insecure about the minimal amount of time we’ve spent together,” I said.

“I’m not. At all.”

“I keep thinking about my last relationship.”

Grey took my hand. “And you told me that it was never good like what we have. Stop doubting yourself.”

“I’m really insecure, aren’t I?”

“Yes, and I can’t figure it out. You have everything at your fingertips. And I’m going to give you the world. It’s only begun, Marin. Just promise me we don’t need to have this conversation again and that I’ll see you walk down the aisle in five days.”

“I promise.”

And I kept that promise. When our wedding day dawned, all my hesitation vanished, and it was as though I had breathed fresh air into my lungs. My head had cleared and oddly, I felt like my life began that day. Marin McLain had been reborn.