Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 27641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 138(@200wpm)___ 111(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 138(@200wpm)___ 111(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
We pull apart, and his forehead rests against mine. "You make me a better person, angel. Every single day, you surprise me, and I can't imagine my life without you in it. Now and always."
"Now and always," I echo, meaning every word of it.
He kisses me again, and the heat builds between us. His hands stroke and squeeze, and soon we lie back on the blanket, the candles burning out one by one as the stars shine brightly above.
EPILOGUE
DERRICK
One Year Later
Alot can happen in a year.
That's the thought that's been running through my mind recently. I'm not the same man I was twelve months ago. For the first time, I feel like I'm really living. I'm happier than I have any right to be, and it's all thanks to my angel.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" Alina laughs.
We're sitting on the porch, looking at the sunrise as we have our morning coffee. After she accepted my marriage proposal, we spent a little more time in Cape May. I wanted her to be sure she made the right decision, and I wanted to enjoy her before we told the world.
Alina, though, had other plans. She wanted to marry right away—the time apart made her utterly attached to my side, and I fucking love every second of it. I wanted to give my angel anything and everything she wanted, so we wed in Hawaii just two weeks after my proposal, with only a few friends and family present.
Our baby girl, Delaney, is barely a month old now and the best thing to happen to both of us.
"I'm just thinking about how far we've come," I answer. "How lucky I am."
She blushes, and I pull her onto my lap. She's addictingly soft, and her hips have widened a bit. It drives me fucking insane with desire.
"Oh yeah? What's got you feeling so sentimental this morning?"
"You. Everything."
Her laugh is like bells tinkling in the quiet morning. "Are you sure it's not just sleep deprivation talking?"
I grin and plant a kiss on her shoulder, nuzzling her. "I'm positive."
And it's the truth. Alina barely had time to start her new job at RenTech before she went on maternity leave, but I know she's anxious to get back to it. My sweet angel is a hard worker, and I'll support her in anything she wants to do, give her anything she desires.
"Well, Mr. Anders, we better get going. The day has only just begun, and there are still a lot of hours ahead of us."
Hours, days, and years, I think. An entire lifetime of each other ahead.
I watch as she rises from the patio loveseat, looking positively irresistible in the morning sunlight with her golden hair glowing. Only two more weeks until I can have her again just the way I want, and I can barely fucking wait.
Hiding my smile behind my coffee mug, I think about how that maternity leave might be starting all over again soon enough. I'll have to send Bruce an apology card in the mail.
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
ALINA
Fifteen Years Later
"Delaney! Austin! Get your brothers before they break something!"
From the top of my step ladder, I can only watch as my twin three-year-olds pull at one of the framed paintings I haven't managed to hang yet. From the other part of the building, Delaney, now 16, comes running to scoop them up, all three of them laughing. Austin lags behind, on his phone as usual.
We've got five days left until the grand re-opening of Sage and Salt, complete with the newly finished addition that I've been dreaming up for years—an art gallery all of my own.
Four years ago, I quit my job as a team lead at RenTech's graphic design department. The pay was excellent, and the job was fulfilling, but newly pregnant with the twins, I decided my time at the firm was over. A new adventure was calling.
After Delaney, Derrick managed to get me pregnant right away again with our middle child, Austin. Now, with the twins, we were a full house. Still, I wanted something of my own, which led to the brainchild that became the new and improved Sage and Salt—coffee shop and local art gallery.
Other artists from Cape May and the surrounding areas will be able to sell their creations here, and I will do the same, rekindling my love for the physical medium of painting over the digital that I had excelled in for so long.
Derrick, of course, is eager to help me bring my dreams into reality. He's been the perfect husband and father, and my business partner. Together, we have the perfect life.
"Do you want to go look at the rest of the place?" Derrick asks.
I jump, startled. "Derrick! When did you get here?"
He comes around to the front of the step ladder and offers his hand. I accept gratefully, stepping down from it. He's in a suit, and he looks as gorgeous as ever, especially since he's now got a bit of silver threaded through the hair at his temples. He kisses me gently, but as always, there's an underlying heat there that has never left. The kids all make noises of disgust from behind us, and I laugh.