I grinned, leaning in to kiss her again. “I wouldn’t have it any other way, to be honest. I’ll spend the rest of my life serving the three of you if that’s what you want. This, right here,” I motioned to her and the babies, “this is my whole damn world. And I’m going to hold on tight and never let go.”
She smiled at me, tilting her chin toward me as she puckered for another kiss.
“I love you.”
“I adore you.”
Carolina
Two years later
“This is so cool!”Owen leaned forward, holding Dallas in his lap as he looked out the top window of the double-decker bus.
“I don’t know who is more excited, him or the kids.” I smiled at Arizona as I twisted in my seat to see her.
“This is old news now.” She waved her hand playfully before winking at me as she reached out and squeezed my arm. “I’m so glad you guys were able to come out.”
“I still can’t believe you live in England, and your hubby is some big sports star.” My eyes flicked to Malcolm, who was seated beside her, hat on and sunglasses covering his face as if that would hide his identity.
“It is a bit surreal that it’s been two and a half years since Italy.” She leaned back against him, and he kissed the top of her head.
“It’s a bit surreal that in two and a half years, this is what our lives look like,” Dakota interjected, nodding to the collection of children all gaggling at the front of the bus. Mine, hers, Georgia’s, and Arizona’s.
“Thanks again for arranging this, Malcolm. It means a lot to us.” Georgia leaned away from her husband, Hunter, to join the conversation.
“You’re my sisters now, as much as you’re Ari’s. We wanted you all to come.”
“Must’ve cost a fortune, though,” I muttered.
Owen and I were doing good. His construction business was flourishing and had expanded into Pleasant Lake, giving him lots of new clients—like Hunter. But unlike Dakota and Arizona, our husbands weren’t totally loaded. Just comfortably so, enough that I still felt weird taking the gift even when it was offered without strings.
“Stop fretting about it. He gets a discount anyway since the airline sponsors the team.” Arizona patted my arm, and Dakota let out a bark of a laugh.
“Stop fretting about it,” she mimicked her older sister. “You sound so posh like you’re trying to have an accent.”
“Well, I do live in England now.” She flicked her hair over her shoulder and laughed.
“You’re still Arizona, the hot-mess express—right, Malcolm? She hasn’t gotten too big for her britches?” Georgia asked with a playful grin, something that two years ago would’ve seemed impossible for our stuck-up eldest sister.
“Oh, no, not at all. This morning she tripped over a box I told her was right behind her.”
We all cracked up laughing as the bus dinged and announced the next stop. Malcolm stood, calling attention to all the toddlers wrangled at the front of the bus.
“This is us. Everyone grab a big person partner. We’re heading down the stairs in a moment.”
The bus lurched to a stop, and Malcolm steered everyone onto the sidewalk, looking over the collection of tots and strollers that now lined the busy London streets.
“Is this … Wembley Stadium?” Hunter looked up at the stadium we were stopped in front of and marveled.
“It is. I know a guy,” Malcolm grinned before tilting his head, motioning for everyone to follow. Owen fell into step beside me, sliding his hand into mine and entwining our fingers as we approached the stadium.
He leaned in, brushing his lips against my ear as he whispered. “I’ve asked Arizona and Malcolm if they can watch the kids for a few days while we head over to Paris for that long-overdue honeymoon.”
“What?” I stopped walking, turning to look at him in surprise. “You did?” My mind immediately rebelled at the idea of asking my sister for yet another favor, but then … Paris.
“Yeah, and I booked the train tickets this morning.” He held out his phone to show me the confirmation. “We leave tomorrow for three days. We’re staying in the 17th Arrondissement. Our hotel room overlooks the Eiffel Tower. I’ve planned everything, food, activities, the sex.” He wriggled his eyebrows at me, making me laugh.
“You planned the sex?”