Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
The second we walk in, Sophia, Layla, Bailey, and Phoebe are on the sleeping babies like white on rice. I find Camden, Braxton, Felix, and Easton watching football and drop onto the couch with a tired groan.
“It gets easier,” Camden says with a smile.
“It better,” I say back with a laugh. “I feel like I haven’t slept in a month.” The sound of Nina crying catches my attention, and then Kendall walks in, holding her in her arms. My sweet baby’s eyes meet mine, and I sigh, knowing every hour without sleep is worth it. Kendall sits next to me, laying her head on my shoulder, and I situate Nina between my thighs, where she loves to lay.
“Where’s Morgan?” I ask, turning my head to kiss her temple. “He’s still sleeping, so Mom put him in the guest room.” She pulls the baby monitor out of her pocket and sets it on the table. “Would you mind keeping Nina so I can help with dinner?”
“Baby, you’re supposed to be taking it easy.” A few weeks before her due date, the babies went into distress and were delivered via C-section. They came out perfect and only had to be in the NICU for a few days, but because of the surgery, the doctor told Kendall not to do any strenuous activity for six weeks. Spoiler alert: she hasn’t been following those orders at all.
“I will. Promise.” She leans over and kisses my cheek, then scoops the monitor back up and takes off before I can argue.
With Nina sleeping safely between my legs, I close my eyes, needing a few minutes of rest. I don’t know how long I’m asleep, but when I wake up, Nina is no longer between my legs, and Gage is standing in front of me. His hair is the same as it was the last time I saw him—chin length and curly—but that’s the only thing that’s the same. Unlike the last time I looked into his lifeless eyes, they’re clear and lucid. His skin is no longer pale and pasty, and even through the shirt he’s wearing, I can tell he’s muscular and fit. He’s been working out.
“Am I dreaming?” I ask groggily.
Gage chuckles. “As sweet as it is that you apparently dream about me… Nah, it’s me, in the flesh.”
I glance around but don’t find anyone else in the room but Gage and me. “Where’s everyone?”
“Giving us a minute.” Gage sits on the couch next to me. “I wanted to say I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have stayed gone as long as I did, but I needed time.”
“What made you come back?”
“Your wife.” He grins. “Congrats, by the way. Finally got the girl.”
“Kendall?”
“Yeah, she came and saw me. Told me it was time to come home. Brought Kaylee as backup.”
Fuck, I love that woman. “So where’ve you been? Why’d you stay away for so long?”
Gage drops back against the couch and turns his head to face me. “Where do I even begin?”
“How about at the beginning?”
EPILOGUE
KENDALL
Four Months Later
My eyes pop open and I glance around, not hearing a single sound. There should be sounds. With five-and-a-half-month-old twins, there are always sounds. And then it hits me… My parents kept Nina and Morgan overnight so Declan and I could have a night to ourselves.
“About damn time you woke up,” Declan says, kissing his way up the inside of my thigh. “I was wondering if I was going to have to fuck you awake.”
After dropping the twins off with my parents, Declan took me out for dinner and dancing. Since I hadn’t had any alcohol for the past year, I passed out on the way home from the club, and Declan carried me inside, putting me to bed.
“I wouldn’t be opposed,” I say with a shrug.
With a light chuckle, he grabs the Polaroid camera I bought him for Christmas—since he always says he wishes he could take pictures without worrying about our phones being hacked—and takes a picture of me, shaking it until it appears.
“Fuck, you’re so damn perfect,” he murmurs. Since I purchased the camera for him, he takes daily pictures of us and puts them into a photo album I also got for him. I often catch him flipping through it, and as much as I want to be embarrassed that my husband has an entire album filled with naked images of us—well, mostly me—I love that he can’t get enough of me.
After setting the picture and camera back on the nightstand, he places another kiss on my flesh, making my nipples harden from his touch.
Grabbing his shirt, I pull him up, so we’re face-to-face, not giving a shit about morning breath. When you’re raising two babies, you have to find time to be together, and in order to do that, you have to throw any and all perfect scenarios straight out the window.