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“If I planned this out right, our new weekend spot,” I said.

“What does that mean?” she asked.

“I thought you said we were going to the beach?” Hunter asked.

“What if I told you that you guys had your own beach now?” I asked.

“Ryan?” Emma asked. “What did you do?”

“That’s going to be the motto for the rest of our lives, isn’t it?” I asked with a grin.

“My own beach?” Zoey asked. “Does that mean I’m the queen of it?”

I chuckled as I rolled down the windows, taking in the luscious salted air around us.

The drive to Big Sur was relaxing. Winding. I took it slowly as the kinds gawked out the window. Even Emma was taken by its beauty, and that didn’t happen often. She was so preoccupied with getting things set up for the triplets that she’d stopped taking in the beauty of the life around her. The views from the windows in our home and the stolen moments in the shower when I pressed her against it and devoured her for breakfast.

Hopefully, this place would give us some of our privacy and wonder back.

“Whoa! Look at that!” Benjamin exclaimed.

“Is that… a house?” Emma asked.

“I’d like to think of it more as a beachfront condo,” I said.

“It has three stories!” Emma exclaimed.

“Whoops?” I asked.

“Ryan! Ryan! What is that?” Zoey asked.

“That, my queen, is our beach,” I said.

“If you keep calling her that, it’s going to go to her head,” Emma said.

“You say that as if it hasn’t already,” I said with a smile.

The house rose up from the cliffside as the waves crashed below. The newly-paved road that led us straight into the driveway rode like a dream under the all-weather tires of our new family car. The kids were jumping around and squealing and Emma was absolutely speechless. The three-story beach house boasted of beautiful oceanfront views from every bedroom, a bathroom to go with each bedroom, a massive living room, a massive playroom, a state-of-the-art kitchen, and all of the wonderful trimmings our life at the apartment had.

Only this place sat on a private beach we now owned outright.

“Can I go swimming?” Hunter asked.

“Is all of this ours?” Benjamin asked.

“You have to ask the queen before swimming,” Zoey said.

Emma rolled her eyes and giggled as I pulled us into the garage.

“Come on, guys,” I said. “Let’s go take a look at our newest addition.”

“You talk about it like it’s a child,” Emma said.

“And when I’m done, we’ll have six different places. One for each child to take over once we’re gone,” I said

Emma looked over at me with shock in her eyes and I reached for her hand.

“Taking care of my family doesn’t just mean taking care of them now. You’ve been running around our home trying to fix it up, but I’ve been planning for the long term. Each of the kids have college accounts as well as trust funds to be passed down to them. I finalized all of the paperwork about a month ago. We’ve got the apartment, which will be gifted to Benjamin, and this beach house, which I believe will be Zoey’s. I’m working on getting a modest two-story cabin built in the wooded area of Washington State and filled with books to pass on to Hunter, and when the personalities of our triplets’ blossom, I’ll know what to do for them.”


Tags: Nicole Elliot Romance