Hudson

Six months later…

Mari cradles Grey Hudson Sheffield in her arms. All seven pounds and eight ounces of him are swaddled in a white muslin blanket covered in baby giraffes, and he’s fast asleep, out cold with a full belly. She wears exhaustion like a rock star, exuberant and glowing despite a twenty-two-hour labor and two hours of pushing.

Sitting beside her, I can’t take my eyes off these two beautiful, tired souls.

“I can’t stop looking at him,” she says, her voice a gentle breeze. “Isn’t he perfect?”

“Yeah.” I place my hand over hers. “He really is.”

Alec is seated on the other side of the hospital bed, watching his newborn son sleep. He flew to Nebraska from Hong Kong a couple of weeks ago in anticipation of the birth, but Mari ended up going a week past her due date.

The three of us spent a lot of time catching up, talking about our hopes and dreams for the little guy.

I have to hand it to Alec. He completely proved me wrong about him. He’s really handling this situation better than I thought he would, and he’s going to start taking fewer international jobs so he can be around more.

Mari’s eyes flutter. She’s struggling to stay awake.

My phone lights up with a text from Mari’s friend Isabelle asking how everyone’s doing before letting us know she’s going back to bed. She FaceTime’d in for the birth, and she plans to visit as soon as the fanfare dies down and Mari is up for a house guest.

“We should let you both rest,” I say, scooping Grey from her arms and placing him in the bassinette.

Mari doesn’t fight it, she simply nods and lets her cheek fall to the pillow.

Alec and I sneak out of the room, heading toward the hospital cafeteria. We’re both in dire need of a good night’s rest, but neither of us want to leave those two just yet.

“Hey, man,” Alec says, stopping me halfway down the hall.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you,” he says, eyes earnest. “Thank you for taking care of them these last several months when I was gone. And thank you for accepting Grey the way you have. I can only hope to be half the man you are someday.”

“Give yourself more credit.” I lift my hand to his back, squeezing his shoulders. “You’ve done well. And we’re in this together. For life.”

“One big, happy family.” Alec chuckles and we turn the corner.

“The way it’s always been.”

* * *

Lying awake, I stare at the ceiling. Grey’s been home two weeks now, and his sleeping schedule is still pretty erratic. Alec left for a new gig in San Francisco yesterday, and Mari and I are still working out some kind of nighttime schedule that works for us both.

Living in Orchard Hill full time now has been quite the adjustment. Some nights it’s too quiet and isolated. Other nights it’s pure bliss and peaceful.

Grey’s tiny cry plays over the intercom and Mari instantly shuffles awake, scrambling to get out of bed.

Placing my arm across her, I say, “I’ll get it this time.”

“You sure?” she mutters, half asleep.

“Yeah. Go back to sleep.” Climbing out of bed, I trek into the nursery next door, scooping him out of his crib and lying him on the changing table. He’s wet. And probably hungry.

A small envelope rests at the center of the changing pad, with my name scribbled across it in Mari’s handwriting. Tucking it in the waistband of my sweats, I change little Grey before carrying him to the kitchen to fix a bottle.

Several minutes later, we’re situated in the rocking chair in the living room, a small Tiffany lamp splashing gentle stained glass colors on the wall behind us.

Pulling out the letter, I unfold the linen paper and give it a read.

Dear Mr. Rutherford,

I humbly request that you accept this as my pledge to love you now and forever, until the end of time. I have no intentions of ever stepping down from my position as the woman who’s insanely and hopelessly wild about you. I’ll do my best to ensure this is a smooth transition for our relationship, but I cannot promise to exercise self-restraint at all times in your presence because, truth be told, I find it impossible to keep my hands off you most of the time.

With fondness and gratitude,

Maribel Collins

“Your mother is cute, Grey,” I whisper, chuckling to myself as he downs his bottle in record time. I rock him for a moment, watching his eyes fuse shut as he settles into another several hours of sleep.

Having a newborn is sweet, delirious exhaustion, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

I trace my fingers down his perfect nose. Grey is the spitting image of Mari so far, and I don’t see a lot of Alec in there—at least not yet.

After a few moments and when I’m positive he’s down for the count, I rise slowly and carry him back to his crib.

Climbing back into bed with Mari a minute later, I find another envelope on my pillow. With help from the moonlight spilling in from the window above the bed, I quietly slide the letter out and begin to read it.

Hudson,

I will.

Mari

Mari rolls toward me, her full, delicious lips curling into a slow grin as she sits up on her elbow. Her eyes are heavy and her body wants to go back to sleep, but her heart wants me.

And the heart always wins.

“You will?” I lift my brows. A month ago, on a whim, I proposed to her. While she confirmed she was absolutely crazy about me and loved me to the end of the earth and back, she asked for more time. She said there was too much going on at once and she didn’t want to get caught up and move too fast.

“Yes, Hudson,” she says as I slide under the covers and pull her over top of me, my hands sliding up her sides. “I will marry you.”

AUTHOR’S NOTE: For a limited time, I’ve included two standalone bonus books that fit in with the theming of this book: BITTER RIVALS (a 100 page enemies-to-lovers novella that takes place in Montauk) and ARROGANT PLAYBOY (which is a full-length boss/employee romance).

As an added feature, I’ve also included an AMA (ask me anything) Q & A!

Enjoy!!

xoxo—

Winter

PS - Want to make sure you never miss a new release? Text RENSHAW to 24587. I’ll ONLY send a text when I have a new release. Nothing more, nothing less!