I smile against his lips as our guests all clap and soon we’re walking back up the sand towards our house as husband and wife. He’s finally mine and the ring on his left hand will show everyone that he’s claimed, that he belongs to me.
We reach the steps and Cooper pulls me into his side, kissing the top of my head.
“I love you, Mrs. Thomas.”
“God, I love not being Harley Marley anymore.” I sigh.
He laughs as I lean up on my toes.
“I love you too, Mr. Thomas.” I say as I seal his mouth with mine.
Ten
Cooper
Five Years Later…
I parkmy car in the driveway before I head up the front path and inside. I can already hear my sons screaming and I laugh as they race past me, tiny airplanes clasped in their hands. They’re making the sounds and pretending to shoot each other down as they chase each other around the living room.
We had our twin boys, Kevin and Peter, three years ago. We had talked about having a big family but the pregnancy was hard on Harley and there were complications with the labor. She had to have an emergency c-section and I thought that I was going to lose all three of them. After that scare, we decided that two would be enough for us.
The twins keep us on our toes enough anyways and with the bakery and café both up and running now, we’re plenty busy. I retired from the police force once the twins were born. Harley worked so hard to get her business off the ground that we just decided to focus on the bakery and café. Turns out, I love being a stay at home dad.
Peyton got married only a month after we did and they ended up buying a house right down the road from us. Peyton and her husband had their own kids two and a half years ago and I know that everyone likes how close we are to each other. This way the other can couple can babysit for date nights and stuff. Plus, playdates are more convenient when you only have to walk down the street a couple of houses.
Peyton and Harley hired other chefs to help out over the last year or so. Everyone realized that we would need to hire more people to take care of everything. Both girls still work but their hours have gone down to a more manageable amount.
Today is our fifth wedding anniversary and Peyton and her husband have agreed to watch the kids for the night so that Harley and I can enjoy ourselves. I say hi to the kids and ask them to go grab their backpacks out of their room so that we can go to Auntie Peyton’s house. They both cheer before they run off.
I chuckle as I head towards our room in search of my wife. We’re headed to a hotel in Charleston and I hope that she’s finished packing because we need to leave soon. I push our door open and see Harley standing by the bed with her suitcase open on the bed. It looks almost full so I’m guessing that she’s close to being ready.
“All set, baby? Peyton will be here soon to pick up the boys.”
“Yeah, I just have to grab one more thing. It’s in my bedside drawer. Can you get it for me?”
I head over and open the drawer, grinning when I see what’s inside. I pick the handcuffs up with one finger as I walk over to my wife. She grins at me as I hold them out for her to take.
“You got big plans for these?” I whisper in her ear.
“You’ll see.” She says as her lips meet mine.