Epilogue
Five years later
I wandered outside to the back porch after getting everything ready for bath time. The ocean waves crashed against the shore, and the loves of my life played in the sand.
This was happiness. Pure and utter bliss.
I leaned against the column on our back deck in complete contentment. Everything I’d ever wanted, I had—a family.
“Daddy! Daddy! Hold me!” Adaline stood in the sand and reached up to Garrick, who held our five-month-old son, Mason. “Daddy! Daddy! I want to hold Mason!”
My ever-energetic child, who didn’t stop until she fell asleep.
It was hard to believe I had two children. Two. At one point in my life, the possibility of even one had seemed like a distant, impossible dream. After Adaline had been born, we didn’t bother to take preventive measures to not have another baby. And for a while, we never gave it another thought—until just over a year ago. I never dreamed I would be able to check off having two children from my bucket list.
Our lists never stopped growing, and we actively worked on crossing off our items.
We’d thought we would only have one. And we were beyond over the moon with our one blessing. But now we had two miracles. The doctor said my uterus was completely shot when I had Mason, so I’d had a partial hysterectomy to avoid future complications.
Garrick sat in the sand. “Come hop in your daddy’s lap, Addie.”
She scrambled into his lap, her bathing suit covered in sand. “My turn! My turn!”
Mason’s wide eyes took it all in. When he saw his sister, he moved his little arms quicker. Oh, how my children loved each other.
I took a few steps closer, listening to Garrick talk to Adaline. “Remember, you have to have strong arms like your mommy taught you.”
“I am super strong. Mommy made me eat broccoli at lunch. It’s so gross, but I ate it to hold Mason.”
I saw Garrick shake with laughter. Truly, he was an amazing father—patient, with unconditional love. And we were his first priority in everything. The once-workaholic had turned into a complete family man. Most days he left the office by three to be home with his children and me.
Adaline kissed Mason’s cheek. “He’s so cute, Daddy. I wish you would let me put my doll dresses on him.”
Mason flailed his arms and made spit bubbles. “He’s not a doll, Addie.”
“But Mommy changes his clothes all the time. Can I put makeup on him?”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
Twisting her head around, Addie gave Garrick a determined look. “Mommy showed me a picture where Aunt Kourtney and Aunt Melissa dressed you up as a girl.”
I took off my sandals and stepped into the sand, deciding to save Garrick. “Hey there. What are my favorite people doing?”
Garrick caught my eyes, and I knew what he was thinking. I pressed my lips together. Adaline had found the picture in one of the albums Suzette brought over to show her. And now she was obsessed with doing the same to Mason. My poor little boy would no doubt be tormented by his older sister through childhood. And they would love each other for it like I loved my brother.
“Mommy, Mommy! Look! I’m holding Mason with strong arms like you taught me.”
Crouching, I touched Adaline’s cheek. “I’m so proud of you. Mason has the best big sister in the world.”
Her chest puffed out a little. “That’s what all my Gammas said, too.”
Our parents had different names picked out to be called—Nanna, Grandma, and Gigi. About six months ago, Adaline had declared that everyone was now Gamma and Grandpa to make it easier.
“Well, they told you the truth. And if you eat your vegetables every day, you’ll be an even better sister.” Her nose scrunched up with distaste at my answer. “Are you ready for bath time?”
She jutted out her lip. “Can I build one sand castle? Please!”
“Five minutes.”
“Daddy, take Mason. I only have five minutes to build the bestest sand castle.” Grunting, she tried to lift him.
“Okay, sweetheart. Stay where your buckets are. No wandering off.”
Leaning down, she kissed Garrick on the cheek. “Okay, Daddy. I won’t worry you.”
And my heart melted a million times. Adaline went back to her buckets and shovel not three feet away. I touched Mason’s cheek. “Hey, my sweet boy. I’ll feed you in just a minute when we go inside.”
His little chubby arms flailed about. I turned to Garrick, who looked at me with absolute love and adoration. Leaning in, he whispered, “I think retribution is in order once the kids are asleep.”
I licked my lips. “What did you have in mind?”
“You’ll see. Patience is a wonderful thing.”
The anticipation would be worth the wait.
Addie squealed as she dumped water from a bucket into her moat. Garrick looked me in the eye and said, “Thank you for giving me the life I never imagined. I have the most beautiful daughter and son because of you, sweetheart.”
“It’s you who saved me and gave me the life I never dreamed possible.”
We stared into each other’s eyes. Oh so slowly, he leaned over to kiss me. Right before our lips met, he whispered against them, “And I’ll never stop making every dream that I can come true.”
The End
Stay tuned for Kurt and Sawyer’s story in Tempting Perfection.
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