“I want you now,” I growl in her ear and pull back to watch her cheeks flush.
“I can’t believe you find me attractive right now. I haven’t washed my hair in three days and I’ve got bags under my eyes. Plus I’m still carrying all this extra baby weight.”
“I’ve never wanted you more,” I growl. “You’ve just given me more of your body to explore, to love. You’re so beautiful, August. You have no idea how you make me feel. I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you. I need you, August.”
She kisses me and I know she believes my words. She took a long time to truly believe that I love her exactly as she is, and sometimes she needs some reassurance, but that’s okay. I’ll never stop reassuring her. We have the rest of our lives together for me to teach her to love herself as much as I love her.
And I can’t wait for forever to begin.
Extended Epilogue
Ten years later…
August
I smile as I stand on the veranda, watching our children play in the garden. As of today, I’ve officially been a parent for ten years. Our eldest, Angel, is having a birthday party and all the kids from her class have been invited.
We live in California permanently now. For a while, we moved back and forth from Palma in the summer, but we soon realized that our roots are here now. Both Ethan and I found love in Palma and we had an amazing time there, but now, we have a new haven. The place where we’ve built our family. The place where our kids took their first steps and learned to ride their bikes. A place where they can spend Christmas with their grandfather and summers on the California beaches with their friends. Once upon a time, there were memories of pain here for Ethan.
Now it’s a place of happiness for him. For us both.
He joins me on the veranda with a beer in hand and wraps his arms around me. Since we found love together ten years ago, we’ve had four children, moved into this incredible house, been on some amazing vacations, and spent every waking hour together possible.
When I’m not looking after the kids, I do some translation work for his company, but ever since I had my first child, motherhood has been my full time job, my first priority. I love it so much, and it’s not like I need to bring in money. Ethan is our breadwinner and I don’t mind. Some might think that I’m lazy, but the truth is, work doesn’t interest me when I could be spending time with my family. I’m one of the lucky few who can choose to put family first, always.
And now I’ve got a fifth baby on the way. We found out a few days ago. We weren’t planning on having another baby, but I was so excited when I found out. I don’t mind that we got a little careless and now I’m pregnant. It’s a dream come true, we’ll be adding to our family yet again.
“Do you think we should wait until tomorrow to tell the kids?” Ethan asks with a smile. “We don’t want to detract from Angel’s big day.”
“Yeah, I think that’s best,” I reply. “She would hate for anyone to steal her limelight.”
Ethan laughs. “That’s true. Our little diva. How did we end up with such a little drama queen?”
“Oh, we spoil her, that’s why. We spoil them all. But I just can’t help it. I love them so much. I just want to give them the world.”
“You already have. You’re the most amazing mother in the world. And the most amazing wife.”
I nuzzle into Ethan’s chest. He always knows exactly what to say to me. I can barely believe we’ve been together for a full ten years. Some thought we wouldn’t last, but we proved them all wrong. I think even my dad thought we’d crash and burn, especially considering that he didn’t want us to be together in the first place.
But over the years, he’s grown to love us together. By the time we had our second child, I know he was fully invested in this family we were making together. Now that he’s a grandfather, he wants to be here all the time, getting involved in everything. He’s been standing at the grill all afternoon making burgers for the kids, and he loves it when his grandkids come to give him a fuss. Aside from being a dad, I think it’s given him the most joy he’s ever felt.
And now, seeing his daughter and his best friend married doesn’t seem like such a bad thing, I guess.
“You know this kid is going to turn our lives upside down, don’t you?” Ethan murmurs to me. “All those sleepless nights again. Trying to juggle the school runs with a newborn, running the business, taking the kids to their activities. It’s going to be wild.”