Page 67 of Our Broken Pieces

A laugh that finally,finally, came from deep in my soul.

Epilogue

Mystic – (One Year Later)~

As always, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and I knew.

Gage was here.

I smiled, and without turning around, I asked, “What are you doing here?”

His deep voice reached my ears at the same time as his arms wrapped around my body. “Was hoping to take you to lunch,” he replied as he peppered kisses along the curve of my neck.

I turned around in his arms and my arms were already securing their place around his shoulders. “And, of course, I’m starving,” I joked.

Gage’s eyes darted towards the obstruction that made it hard to hold each other close these days. “You’re eating for two,” he replied. “I’d be worried if you weren’t hungry all the time.”

I untangled myself from my husband, so he could love on my stomach. He did it every time we met up. Dropping on his haunches, he kissed my belly before standing back up. “Mom’s going to be in Chicago next week,” he said. “She asked if she could stay with us a couple of days.” He grinned. “I think the farther along you get, the more frantic she becomes.”

Gage and I had gotten married the same week we had professed our love for one another. Four months later, I became pregnant and I was eight months along. His mother had been thrilled and Alaric had been over the moon. When I had told him I was pregnant, he only mentioned mending fences with my parents and sister once before I shut that idea down. I no longer held the level of resentment I had for them before, however, nothing was more important than my family with Gage. I couldn’t or wouldn’t risk the chance that they would, intentionally or intentionally, badmouthed Gage in front of our child. Alaric thought they deserved a chance, but I just wasn’t ready. Maybe, one day, I would be. Maybe not.

“Do you think she’s going to eventually move to Chicago?”

“I think as soon as the divorce is finalized, she might,” he answered.

The same week Gage and I had gotten married, Maureen Evans had gone back home to California, confronted Quintin, and had moved out of their house. Quintin had begged and pleaded and had even offered to go to counseling for his sex addiction issues, but Maureen hadn’t been swayed. She said there might have been enough love left in her to forgive and help him, but there wasn’t enough love in her to forgive the damage he had done to Gage. She had promised him an amicable parting if he didn’t fight her on it. It had taken Quintin three months before he had finally given up. We had all been kind of surprised by his resistance. After all, how could a man who loved his wife, the way he claimed to, cheat on her like that? But in his own weird way, I supposed he did. But even with the mutual dissolution of their marriage, they had a lot of assets and years of marriage under their belts. There was a lot to sort out.

“I can’t see her leaving her patients,” I replied.

Gage shrugged a shoulder. “I think once the baby comes, she might not be able to help herself.”

“And your dad?”

“Will have nothing to do with my child,” he insisted, his voice firm and absolute. “If Mom wants to share pictures or whatever, I won’t deny her that. But he’ll never be welcomed around my family.” He hated talking about his dad, so he changed subjects. “So, what about lunch?”

“Let me text Rowan,” I told him, reaching across my desk to grab my phone. “She was supposed to meet me for lunch in about half hour.” I continued to work for CI, and I had been honest with Lorcan about not being completely certain if I was going to come back after maternity leave, but until the decision was made, I worked my ass off for the man.

“I can ask Lorcan to join us, if you want,” he offered.

My teeth started nibbling my lower lip. “I don’t know, Gage,” I told him. “Last week I caught them in the hallway hissing at each other.”

Gage laughed. “Hissing?”

“I walked up just in time to hear Rowan telling him she’d be damned if she was going to let him taint her godchild. To which he said he’d be damned if he was going to let her tarnish his godchild.”

“Text her and I’ll text him,” Gage grinned. “We could use the entertainment.”

As I texted Rowan and Gage texted Lorcan, I realized that I really did have it all. When, once, I believed I’d never find a man who was going to love me for me, I found a man whose love transcended everything I ever imagined it could be.

I was in love with the man of my dreams.

But more importantly?

I was in love with the man of my nightmares.

The End.