Total pages in book: 18
Estimated words: 17451 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 87(@200wpm)___ 70(@250wpm)___ 58(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 17451 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 87(@200wpm)___ 70(@250wpm)___ 58(@300wpm)
We’re cheesy. And we’re proud of it.
My husband walks onto the balcony, wearing a loose-fitting shirt that outlines his muscles anyway. His hair is brushed to the side, silver glistening in the sun.
“Hey, beautiful.”
He sweeps me into his arms, kissing me passionately. I almost let it carry me away. Almost let the word Daddy escape my lips. But if I said that, it’s game over. Neither of us will be able to stop.
“I’ve got something for you,” I murmur. “Something special.”
I hand him a book. Our hands brush as he takes it. Even now, electricity sparks between us.
He looks down at the cover. Tilts his head. “Hmm!” He raises one eyebrow. Realizing it’s not a book at all, he opens the flap revealing a plastic strip. He picks out the plastic strip, holds it up to eye-level and stares at the little window. Two lines?
“Positive?” he whispers. I nod. Then he raises his voice, eyes glistening. “Positive! We’re going to have a baby, Bella!”
He pulls me into his arms. Lifts me off my feet. Spins me around as our lips find each other and tears flow down our cheeks.
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
Alex
Eight Years Later
Luna giggles as I hug her to my chest. I smile, stroke my hand through her hair. “Quiet or they’ll find us.”
But she can’t stop laughing. Something about hide-and-seek always makes our four-year-old go nuts.
We’re crouched down behind a trellis, ripe grapes all around us. I can hear Jack laughing as he skips along the rows. “Mommy, come on!”
“They won’t find us, Daddy,” Luna insists.
“Only if we keep the giggle monster away,” I say, and that sets her off even more.
I bite down to try and stop a laugh from escaping me.
“Mommy, I hear something!”
That’s the thing with this place.
It’s where people come to find the thing they didn’t even know they were looking for. That special vintage. A tour to top off their holiday. The perfect snap for their social media.
Or the woman of their dreams. A woman who gave a mafia man two kids and is growing another in her perfect body. A woman who runs the vineyard while being a nationally recognized artist. A woman who is the best mother these glorious, charismatic, hilarious kids could ask for.
Jack leaps out, hands at his sides, laughing. People say he has my eyes. But whenever I look at him or Luna, I see Bella through and through.
“Got ya!” Jack laughs.
“Nope!” Luna ducks and runs away.
Jack giggles, chasing after her. “Hey, this is hide-and-seek, not tag!”
But he chases her anyway.
My heart floods with a fresh wave of love as I watch them.
Then my Bella walks around the corner and more love rushes in. No matter how much swells in me, there’s always room for more. And as I look at my wife, I know that my lust meter is never going to stop going up either.
Eight years has made her more beautiful. Curvier. More confident. She wears a summer dress that reminds me of the first time we met, hanging from her five-months pregnant body, her figure so full I almost lose it right here.
She smiles, reading me. Always reading. Always knowing.
“Later,” she murmurs, wrapping her arm around my waist.
“I love you so much,” I say, kissing the top of her head, breathing in her scent.
“I love you too. And this life we’ve built. More and more every day.”
The End