I looked up as James nodded. "I like it too."
“Christmas was a good time for us,” James said.
I laughed.
He grinned. “We did get married then.”
He wasn’t wrong.
Once we were alone, the emotion I had seen in his eyes when he first looked at Hope shone again, but this time, it was directed at me.
He leaned over, kissing me on the temple. "I love you so much, Reyna. Thank you for giving me a life."
I reached up with my free hand to take his. "Thank you for giving me mine.”
The moment was surreal. It was a dream come true, a dream I didn’t even know I wanted.
It wasn't long after that Amelia and Max arrived and gushed over our beautiful babies. Flowers arrived from the company and members of the board. Somehow, even my mother had heard and sent flowers. With two new babies, I needed to rethink my relationship with my mother. I wasn't going to let her dictate my life or take advantage of my husband or hurt my children, but I believed that deep down, she was capable of being a good grandmother.
At some point in the afternoon, I fell asleep, and when I awoke, James was sitting in the chair in the hospital room with a baby in each arm. His gaze went back and forth between each of them, his expression filled with love and amazement. I wished I had my phone so I could take a picture of this beautiful moment.
His gaze lifted, and when he saw me, he smiled and stood. He brought the babies to me, handing me one. He held the other as he sat on the edge of the bed.
"You created two miracles, Reyna."
I smiled up at him. "Wecreated miracles."
For a moment, he watched me, and I wondered what was going on in his mind.
"I know we said that even though our marriage started as fake, it didn’t taint our current marriage."
I tensed, not sure where he was going with this.
He took my hand, pulling it over his heart. "Will you marry me again? I want to say the vow all over again, only mean them. I need to say them again for you and the kids.”
My heart melted for this wonderful man. "I like that idea."
He nodded. "I'm not saying that what we have now is no good, because it is—”
I squeezed his hand. "I know." The truth was, I understood what he meant. I too had a desire to go through the ritual.
"I was thinking we could do it on our anniversary. I know that's a few months away, but we could really do it up. And by then, the kids will be big enough that they could be a part of it.”
I wasn’t sure how much a four-month-old baby could do at a wedding, but I loved the sentiment. How lucky was I to have a man like this? The love he had for us radiated from his very essence.
"I like that idea too. You're full of good ideas, James."
He grinned. "And here you thought getting fake married to me would go horribly wrong."
I laughed. "You sure showed me."
He leaned over to kiss me. “And I’ll continue to show you every day... three hundred and sixty-five days a year.”
EPILOGUE
Reyna
Three hundred and sixty-five days ago, I stood next to James in front of a minister, wondering if I'd lost my mind. I’d married a man I barely knew for no other reason than I had no goal or purpose in my life.