Epilogue

___________________

Alex

“DADDY, I TOLD JACOB he’s not my boyfriend because he pushed Eliza, so I don’t like him anymore. He said I was mean and now Caleb believes him and doesn’t want to be my boyfriend anymore.”

Four years old, and she was already so much like Rose it scared me.

“You don’t need any boyfriends, Kaitlyn…ever,” I said, as I pulled down her covers and she got into bed.

Her bottom lip protruded out, and she gazed up at me with her big brown eyes, tearing up. “But I have lots of boyfriends, Daddy. Does that mean Jayden can’t come over and play anymore?”

“No, Jayden is fine. You’re allowed to have friends who are boys just…” I stopped myself, realizing my version of a boyfriend was way different than her innocent version. She scooted under the blankets, and I placed them over her.

It was hard for me to believe that the six-and-a-half-pound little angel who was placed in my arms what seemed like not so long ago was growing up so fast. She was the perfect combination of Rose and me, stubbornness and all, and I wasn’t ashamed to admit she had me wrapped around her finger. Rose would tease me constantly over how I was turning her into that spoiled little daddy’s girl I once detested so much about her. But now that I was seeing things from a different perspective, it was so hard not to. We named her after three special women in both our lives. Kaitlyn was a combination of Rose’s aunt and mother’s names, and her middle name, Charlotte, was after my mother.

I was pretty much running my uncle’s magazine now that he was semi-retired and traveling the world with Rose’s aunt. Turned out Rose was right about the spark she saw between the two of them. Over the years they had become inseparable.

Rose and I bought a home in a suburb outside of the city in a quiet neighborhood—the perfect place to raise a family. Rose had finally opened that clothing boutique she always dreamed of owning, but instead of selling those high-end women’s fashion items she was once so crazy about she was peddling her latest obsession—kids clothes. I was so impressed with the way she juggled being a successful businesswoman, an awesome mother, and the best wife a guy could ever ask for. She had established such a reputable name for herself by always giving back and helping out the less fortunate by donating clothing and holding her annual children’s fashion show that raised thousands of dollars for underprivileged children. She was always volunteering for causes she was passionate about. I didn’t know where she found the energy, but she did, and I was so proud of her.

I took a seat on Kaitlyn’s bed as she rambled on.

“Mommy said when I turn five, I can have my birthday party at the place where we get our fingernails painted…and everyone can have pink nails. They have a princess chair there too. They let me sit in it when we get our toes painted.”

“Can I get my nails painted pink too?”

“No, silly, you’re a boy!” She giggled.

“Ah, well, how about if I get them painted blue?”

“Nope!” She shook her head. “Daddy, can you tell me a story?”

“Sure, which one should we read?” I dug through the basket of books on the side of her bed.

“I want you to tell me a story?”

“Hmm…what do you want to hear a story about?” I asked.

“A princess.” She smiled.

I nodded and moved next to her. “Okay, the name of this story is called The Prissy Princess.”

She looked up at me and grinned. “Is there a prince in this story too?”

“Oh, yeah, a very handsome prince. Like super handsome. That princess is a really lucky girl.”

“Is that so?” Rose stood in the doorway with a smirk on her face.

“Mommy! Come listen to the story Daddy’s gonna tell. It’s called…what’s it called again, Daddy?”

I tried my hardest to stifle my laughter before blurting out, “The Prissy Princess.”

Rose took a seat on the bed on the other side of Kaitlyn. “I think I actually heard this story before.”

“You did?” Kaitlyn’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Yup,” Rose replied. “And the prince, he wasn’t always so nice at first. He was a mean old dragon.”

Kaitlyn gasped. “He was? He was even mean to the princess?”

“Yes, he was,” Rose answered.

“Then I don’t like him very much.” Kaitlyn pouted.

I chuckled. “Hey, I thought this was my story.”

“Oh, sorry. Go ahead. I’ll tell you the story about the prince tomorrow night,” Rose said.

“What’s the name of the prince’s story?” Kaitlyn asked.

“The Pompous Prince,” Rose replied and then gasped. She grabbed Kaitlyn’s hand and placed it on her belly. “Did you feel that?”

Kaitlyn couldn’t contain her smile. “That’s my baby brother. He’s dancing again!” Kaitlyn giggled and moved her head to Rose’s belly. “I love you, baby,” she whispered.

Suddenly, the baby took precedence over the story as Kaitlyn rested her head on Rose’s stomach and smiled with each move her brother made. Two more months until I got to experience that unconditional love I never knew existed once again, and this time with a son.

“Daddy, feel the baby dancing!” Kaitlyn moved my hand to Rose’s stomach just as the baby did a somersault.

It amazed me how I once thought the most important thing in life was the adrenaline rush of going on a dangerous mission, and how I thought my life was over once that part of it was cut short. Now I realized everything that mattered most in this world was right within my reach, sitting beside me—Rose, Kaitlyn, and my unborn son. I had been blessed in so many ways, but my greatest blessing came on the day I met that Prissy Princess, who was finally able to work her magic and tame that mean old dragon.

The End