AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I can’t take my eyes off her.
I thank everyone for coming as the music starts back up and the party starts in earnest, our loved ones mingling and laughing around us. Lacey leans against my side, and I wrap my arms around her, one hand resting over hers on the bump.
“Just a month left,” she says with a huge smile, making my heart skip a beat.
“I can’t wait,” I say honestly, beyond excited to meet our child.
Someone taps me on the shoulder, forcing me to look away from my wife. I have to do a double take when I see who’s there waiting to talk to me, confusion furrowing my brow. Lacey’s gaze follows mine, and her lips part in surprise.
“Edward?” she asks as we both stare at my brother.
I haven’t seen him in months. Lacey told me repeatedly that she’d be happy for me to try to repair my relationship with him, but I had no desire to try to make nice with the guy who hurt my girl so badly. He was the one who needed to apologize, and I’ve been waiting for him to realize that.
“I hope it’s okay that I’m here,” my brother says, a little sheepishly.
“That depends,” I say sternly, unsure of how to feel about him being here. It’s been years since his fuck up, and I want to believe that he’s a better person now, but I can’t just move past what happened, even if Lacey’s willing to. Not without so much as a conversation. “Are you here to insult my wife again?”
Edward looks genuinely guilty. “I’ve regretted everything since it happened,” he admits with a shrug. “I know apologizing won’t fix it all, but I’m sorry. To both of you. I’ve done a lot of reassessing in the last couple of years. Grown up a lot. Changed.”
I raise my brows at him. “You have?”
He nods, seeming utterly genuine. “I promise,” he says. “I get it if you don’t want me in your lives. I understand, and I’ll respect that. But I’d be grateful for another chance, to start again. I miss my brother, and I don’t want to miss my niece or nephew growing up, too.”
The mention of the baby softens both Lacey and me. I sigh, running a hand down my face, and watch my wife’s face turn sympathetic.
“I’d like that,” Lacey says before I can get a thought together myself. “If you’re serious about being a better person now, it’s only fair we give you a chance to prove it. We’ve all grown a lot, and I left any anger I had about things behind a long time ago.”
I nod in agreement but narrow my eyes at my brother all the same. “She’s right,” I say because Lacey is almost always right about these things. “But I swear to fuck, Eddie, if you ever hurt my wife again, if you so much as look at her wrong, brother or not, I will ensure you never see either of us or our children again. Do you understand?”
Honestly, he should be glad I haven’t threatened his life, but what can I say? Lacey has made me a better person, too. Her empathy has worn off on me a bit.
“You have every right to murder me,” Edward says, and I can’t help but grin. “I promise, I’ll prove that I’ve grown. Thank you, both of you, for not just throwing me out on sight.”
I shrug, still smiling. “Eh, I was tempted.”
The comment earns me an elbow in the side from my wife, and we laugh.
As the night goes on, and my brother keeps his promise of being a sensible man and not the asshole he used to be, I can’t stop smiling. Shit, my grumpy reputation is gonna be crushed.
Still, with my wife at my side and our baby in her belly, I can’t bring myself to be mad about it.
I have everything I’ve ever wanted, and the future is fucking golden.
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
LACEY
Five Years Later
“Evan! Theo! Don’t throw the sand!” Levi shouts. Our two boys immediately stopped their antics and abandoned the sandbox in favor of the climbing frame. My husband chuckles, sitting back down beside me on the bench.
“Pretty sure Evan’s eaten more sand than actual food,” I comment jokingly, gesturing to the remains of our lunch on the table behind us. We’ve been at the zoo all day and have just paused for lunch and a break at the kids’ play area by the restaurant. I’m happy to rest my feet for a bit, groaning at the way my soles ache from all the walking.
“Those boys would be right at home with the animals here,” Levi says, love in his teasing words. He’s the best dad ever, and it melts my heart. Our kids love him, and he loves them endlessly. It’s the best.
I can’t stop the grin on my face as I watch our two kids clamber and run and squeal, playing and enjoying themselves. My hand wanders to my stomach, not rounded yet, but then again I’m only a few weeks along. I glance sideways at Levi, unable to keep the news to myself a second longer when I see the utter adoration in his eyes as he watches our sons play.
“Well, as much as they’d probably love to live with the monkeys, they love snacks too much to survive on vegetables and leaves all the time.” I laugh, loving the way my husband’s green eyes crinkle when he smiles. “But we are going to have to sort out a bigger car for our little pack of wild animals.”
