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Her confusion triples when I open the door to reveal the enormous, high-ceilinged, totally empty penthouse apartment. Her brows are drawn together as she walks slowly through the apartment as if she expects furniture to spawn at any moment. Now she’s asking a million questions, but I ignore all of them, taking her by the hand and pulling her towards the patio with the view of the sea.
When I slide the glass doors open, Haley gasps, eyes going wide as she takes in first the view. And second, the hundreds of tropical flowers I ordered to fill the patio with, making it into a paradise for my woman. Just a taste of the life we will live, if she will have me.
“Hugh, this is–” Haley freezes when she turns to face me, the sun glinting off her shimmering dark hair.
I sink down to one knee and take the black velvet box from my pocket. Haley’s hands fly to her mouth as I open it, and the diamond engagement ring sparkles as it reflects the sky and water.
“Haley Lyons, I have a confession to make. This isn’t a hotel or a quick vacation. This is our new home…the start of our new life. The life I want to live with the woman I’m in love with. Will you marry me?”
She falls to her knees in front of me, throwing her arms around my neck and tearfully crying out, “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you!”
I barely have time to slide the ring onto her finger as she kisses me furiously, her little hands holding my face as she does so. Between kisses, Haley whispers, “I love you, Hugh. I love you.”
She doesn’t give me much more time to speak, then, but I don’t need it. We don’t need words, Haley and I. All we need is each other.
EPILOGUE
HALEY
One Year Later
“You can put her down, you know.”
Hugh paces the floor of the apartment, our newborn daughter, Hannah, held so carefully in his arms. I gave birth just a week ago, and not only does Hugh believe I shouldn’t walk a single step, but he also seems to think that Hannah needs to be held every minute of her life.
“I want her to know that her daddy is always here,” Hugh tells me, and I roll my eyes, even as fierce love for the two of them fills my heart. There could be no better man to be a father to little Hannah.
“Oh, something tells me she knows, Hugh,” I giggle, watching my husband look adoringly down at our daughter before reluctantly laying the sleeping baby in her bassinet. Right next to our bed, of course.
After Hugh proposed, everything seemed to move in fast forward. We were married in a month, and I was probably pregnant within two. The move to LA went quicker than I expected since Hugh sold his Seattle house and all the furniture in one fell swoop. He let me decorate the new penthouse, buying all new things and having them installed before we even moved in.
I’m still taking online classes and working short shifts at a family-owned bookstore, much to Hugh’s chagrin, until I have my degree and can open my own. Well, I was working until I got too pregnant to move through the stacks. I’m in no hurry to go back, but I do miss the smell of the books. At least a little.
Hugh is thriving at his new job, and his hours are shorter, too. We spend our days making love, exploring the city, and just reveling in the perfect life we’ve created. Nothing could be better than this. Nothing. Especially now that sweet little Hannah is here.
Hugh settles on the bed next to me, peeking at the baby one more time before he finally relaxes. Pulling me against him, he kisses the top of my head, and I melt against his warm body. It’s so nice to be home from the hospital, surrounded by everything that I love.
I’ve almost drifted off to sleep when I hear him murmur, “I want more.”
I open one eye to look at him. “More what?”
I snort a laugh, taken off guard. “Goodness, Hugh, give me a minute to rest, why don’t you?”
I feel his breath against my neck as he chuckles. “Yeah, yeah. When you’re ready, though, I’m going to put another baby in you right away.”
We won’t be able to have sex for months yet, but his words still make me shiver. I’ll have to seriously think about having another kid as soon as possible, but the process of getting pregnant…that I thoroughly enjoy.
“Maybe,” I acquiesce. “I’ll have to ask my doctor.”
Hugh plants a kiss on my jaw and then my mouth before telling me, “You just did. I say yes.”
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
HUGH
Ten Years Later
Haley is glowing as she, Hannah, and our younger twin daughters, Helena and Harriet, all hold on to the oversized scissors and cut the ribbon for the grand opening of her bookstore. Finally, my wife is getting what she’s always dreamed of, and I couldn’t be more proud of her.
