Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 58600 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 293(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58600 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 293(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
Holding my daughter, I take a selfie with the sea in the background.
Tori: We can’t wait to see you, and we’re both very proud of you for working so hard. I love you.
I sit down, clutching my daughter to my chest, feeling so much love flow between us; sometimes, it feels unreal. That’s a common theme in this new, bright, wonderful life of mine. I tried so hard to talk my way out of this happiness, letting the ingrained doubt and distrust misshape me.
But in the end, love found a way.
“I know that look,” Cleo says.
“One hundred percent,” Lily agrees. “Do you want me to hold the little Cupid so you can get your poetry book?”
I laugh. “You know me too well…”
EPILOGUE
ALEX
Ten Years Later
Itype, sitting beside Piper’s bed because she had a nightmare. Our daughter is now sleeping with the blanket pulled up around her chin, but I don’t want to leave her just yet.
Alex: I loved you the moment I laid eyes on you. It wasn’t the first text, the first kiss, or even the first time we spoke, my perfect poet. It was the first time I LOOKED at you. I knew, right then, that you were the woman for me. I knew my search was over. Maybe part of me even knew you might stubbornly try to pretend you didn’t feel it, too, but love was already in my heart. I couldn’t ignore it. I knew there was no going back, and I’d never want to. I can’t wait to celebrate our anniversary tomorrow. I love you.
I set my phone down, smiling when Cadence pokes her head into the bedroom.
“Is she okay, Daddy? I heard yelling.”
“She had a nightmare.”
“Can I sit with you?”
“Come here, angel.”
She smiles and walks across the room, smiling at the baby monitor resting on Piper’s bedside table. Our third child, Theo, is sleeping soundly in his crib.
“It’s going to be awesome when Mommy’s home tomorrow,” Cadence says.
I smile. “It’s going to be the best.”
“I’m so proud of her.”
I wrap my arm around my daughter and pull her in for a hug. “Me too…”
Tori has spent ten years perfecting her craft while being the best mom these kids could ask for. She’s progressed to the point where she can give lessons around the country, sharing her love for poetry.
The phone buzzes. It’s my woman.
Tori: Your text just brought a tear to my eye, my perfect protector. I love and miss you and the babies so much. I can’t wait for tomorrow. I’m going to give our babies a big kiss and then put on that dress you like, you know, the red one with the Valentine’s theme.
A moment later, a message comes through in the same thread. It’s from Elliot, who’s currently at college studying architecture.
Elliot: Uh, guys, you know this is the group chat, right?
Julian shoots a message not long after.
Julian: I don’t even send my wife messages like this, bro, and our honeymoon was only a couple of weeks ago. You’re making us grumpy men look bad!
Monica texts, her profile photo showing a selfie of her and Gray, the man she met when I hired him as security detail a lifetime ago when all that Damien crap was going down. They’ve been happily married for seven years.
Monica: Yeah…
Monica: This is very sweet, but maybe ease up on the spice.
Lily: Amen to that.
Lily’s photo shows her, her husband, and their five children.
Cleo: The spice I can take. But the romance? Please, I just ate.
Lily: Says the late bloomer who just got engaged.
Cleo: If you use the F word, I’m leaving this chat.
Lily: Fate, fate, fate…
Cleo: Just be thankful Alex and Tori post so many cute pictures of baby Theo here. Or I’d be gone, for real.
Tori sends me a text in our private thread.
Tori: Oops.
Alex: Laugh out loud, right?
Tori: Ha! I just spit out my coffee.
“Daddy, can I read you my poem?” Cadence asks.
I put my phone away, smiling at my daughter. “Sure you can, sweetie.”
THE END