But with Eva beside me—head on my shoulder, hand down my pants—there is nowhere on earth I’d rather be.
No one I’d rather be with.
THE ENDEpilogueEvaEdward woke with a groan.
He was warm. Well slept.
He was also very aroused. And there was something tight and hot wrapped around his cock.
Opening his eyes, he watched as his wife—naked, her belly swollen—sank slowly onto his manhood, her hands on his chest, thighs spread on either side of his hips. Recently they’d both consented to waking the other with carnal attentions if the mood struck.
It appeared his wife was in quite the mood today.
He did not mind it. Not one bit.
“Good morning,” she murmured, beginning to move.
He reached up and palmed her breast. It was larger than normal on account of her pregnancy, and filled his hand quite nicely.
“Morning, love,” he said.
Sophie grinned at the endearment, making his heart clench.
“I love you,” she replied, leaning down for a kiss.
“I love you, too,” he murmured, licking his tongue into her mouth while at the same time reaching for her sex. He played with her there, making her pant.
It had been quite the journey to get to this place where he freely admitted his affection. His adoration. But Sophie had showed him many things. How lovely it was to wake up in her bed, for one thing.
For another, she showed him love wasn’t the awful, fearful game he’d believed it to be.
She showed him love was indeed freedom and fresh air. Indecency and swoons.
Speaking of—Sophie came with a small shout, legs shaking as she collapsed on top of him.
“I do believe I’ve evened the score,” he said, pressing his lips to the crown of her head.
“Oh? How so?”
“You’re the one swooning this time.”
She smiled. Ah, that smile. “And you’re the one catching me.”
Edward wrapped his arms around her. They spent the remainder of the day in bed. Swooning and sweating and loving.
A happy ending if there ever was one.* * *“Pink or purple?” Bryce asks.
I pretend to ponder this for a minute, tapping a finger against my chin. “Hm. How about pink today?”
“Good choice.” She passes me the pink Sharpie. “You’ve been using the purple a lot, and daddy says change can be a good thing. It helps you grow. Can I help you sign again?”
“Of course. I think I’ve forgotten how to do it without you.” I hold out my arms, and Bryce climbs onto my lap. She rests her little hands on the nearest stack of my second book, Southern Comforts. “What else did Daddy say?”
“Bless his heart, Miss Eva, he says a lot of things. This morning I heard him in the bathroom telling you about a tonga.”
“A tonga?”
“Yeah. I think it’s a kind of Band-aid, because he said he was going to rip it off you. You gave him permission to do it, so I guess it’s okay.”
I bite back a laugh. Ford and I were convinced Bryce was asleep when we were fooling around in the bathroom this morning—Ford was teasing me about my thong. She may have just turned five, but she’s still got a fun little habit of joining us in bed on the weekends or when we’re traveling. We’ve had to be very careful about when and where we get naked.
“Consent is very important,” I say. “But that’s a conversation for another day.”
The three of us are back in Charleston after a two week, twelve stop book tour (!) to celebrate the release of Southern Comforts. When my publisher sent me the finalized schedule, I knew right away I wanted Bryce and Ford to be with me for as much of it as they could. Lucky bastards that we are, we were able to turn the tour into a family trip of sorts with stops in Austin, Asheville, the Tennessee mountains, and New York City, among other awesome cities.
My readers absolutely adore getting to meet the people who have inspired my family-friendly recipes over the past year. So do my sponsors; I’ve picked up a handful of really great ones, mostly kid and family related companies. No doubt thanks to Ford and Bryce’s regular appearances on my blog—they’re the people I cook for the most, my first taste testers, my quality control—so readers feel a personal connection to them.
And yeah. Doesn’t hurt that Bryce is so damn cute, and Ford is so damn good looking. Dressed in his book tour uniform of jeans and a crisp button down—sleeves rolled up so he can show off his tattoos—he’s made a lot of women do a lot of blushing. Myself included.
Today we’re back in Charleston for the last stop of the tour. When Luke and Gracie offered to let us host the signing at the barn, it was a no brainer.
“What better place to host it than the spot where the whole thing began?” Ford said, giving me a wink.