Vi grins up at me prettily, her long ponytail gleaming in the sun that finds us through the trees.
揝o what do I get the man who has everything??
I look into her beautiful eyes and my voice goes soft.
揂 little girl would be really cool. Don抰 have one of those yet.?
Violet抯 breath catches in her throat.
揂nother boy would be awesome too,?I continue. 揟hey抮e always fun.?
Violet抯 voice is airy when she speaks, her gaze tender.
揅onnor . . . is that your way of telling me you want to have a baby with me??
揑t really, really is.?I press a kiss to her lips and repeat her own words back to her. 揙ne would be amazing, two would be even better.?
揙h my God!?Excitement flushes on her face and she lifts her arms to wrap them around my neck.
But I抦 not nearly done yet.
I sink down to my knee梠ne bended knee梐nd reach into my pocket for the small velvet box I picked up from Zinke Jewelers last week.
揑 was hoping we抎 be married when the first one gets here . . . but that抯 up to you.?
I open the box, revealing the round cut, two carat diamond set high in a platinum band.
It抯 simple and flawless梛ust like her.
Tears swell in Vi抯 eyes as she gazes at the ring. The sight of them makes my chest tighten and my throat narrow.
揑 love you, Violet. Whatever life has in store for us, I want to share every day of it with you. Will you marry me??
The brightest smile surges across her lips.
揂re you kidding me?? Yes!! Yes, I抣l marry you!
And she tackles me條ike a linebacker in love梜nocking me to my back and following me down.
The dirt from the trail rises up around us, floating on the air, and sparkling in the sunlight like golden pixie dust.
It抯 kind of pretty. Or maybe I抦 just that deliriously fucking happy.
Because Violet is kissing me . . . and she said yes.
She wipes at the tears in her eyes and then I take her hand and slide the ring on her finger. Her chest shudders with emotion as she gazes down at her hand.
揑抦 so happy, Connor. I never knew life could be this happy.?
I kiss her again, holding her close, promising with everything that I am and everything I抣l be, 揑t抯 only going to get better from here.?
EPILOGUE ONE
Violet
One year later
Mrs. Connor Daniels. Mrs. Dr. Connor Daniels.
Violet Daniels.
God, I love my name.
We were married in June, on a sunny Saturday at the historical white chapel in Allaire State Park. We were able to put the wedding together in under two months, because neither Connor nor I wanted to wait.
Everyone was there梠ur friends and family梞y LWW girls came in from New York and Darren got a weekend leave so he抎 be there to walk me down the aisle. Aaron, Brayden, and Spencer looked dapper and adorable in their matching tuxedos and both my sisters were my maids of honor梬earing summery, strapless lavender gowns.
We held the reception in the glass enclosure of the Ridgewood Country Club. The food was amazing; the music was fun桟onnor specifically requested that the DJ play MC Hammer just for me. We cut the cake and fed each other teasingly. Chrissy caught my bouquet and Timmy snagged the garter. And Connor and I danced our first dance as husband and wife to our song, 揅hances Are.?
We spent an unforgettable, weeklong honeymoon at an overwater resort in Bora Bora.
And every single moment was more than I抎 imagined梞ore than I ever dreamed it would be.
I still kind of can抰 believe it.
My pregnancy on the other hand . . . that I believe. My stomach is simply too massive not to.
And it抯 been extra-large from the very beginning. Three months after the wedding, at my eight-week ultrasound, we found out why.
I still remember the way Connor held my hand as my OB, Natasha Ferrini, ran the sonogram wand over my slick abdomen. How he squinted at the fluttering blobs on the screen.
Blobs with an s.
Plural.
揑s that . . . ,?he抎 started to ask.
揟wo heartbeats??Natasha answered. 揧es. Yes, it is. Sometimes the way the fetuses lay on top of each other makes it difficult to detect multiple heartbeats on the Doppler. But you抳e definitely got a two-for-one deal happening梱ou抮e having twins. Congratulations.?
When Connor told me he was studly all those months ago, he wasn抰 messing around.
Now, four months later, I抦 even bigger. Girthier. I realize this happens in pregnancy but it seems kind of ridiculous now.
The other day I had on light-green shorts and a royal-blue top and Spencer said I looked like a globe.
Out of the mouths of babes . . .
揑抦 so huge.?
Connor is propped against our headboard beside me in our bed, reading a medical journal on his iPad.
揧ou抮e not huge, you抮e pregnant.?
揑抦 hugely pregnant.?I shift around, trying to find a position that doesn抰 cause battery acid to flow up my throat. 揑抦 ginormous.?
I know he knows I抦 at the large end of normal, even for twins梑ut he抣l never admit it.
揧ou抮e probably retaining water.?
揑抦 retaining an ocean.?
I turn on my side and reach around to massage my spine that feels like it抯 caving in.
Connor watches me, his brow scrunching.
揗aybe you should go on maternity leave now.?
揑抦 only six months along桰 can抰 go on maternity leave at six months梩he other nurses will never let me live it down.?
Nurses are a hardcore, resilient breed.
揝ix is enough,?Connor argues. 揋rowing two new people is hard work.?
He sets his iPad aside and moves down the bed on his knees, pushing away the covers and taking my foot in his strong hands梤ubbing and massaging my aching arch and swollen ankle.
I moan long and low, because these days him going down on my feet feels almost as sublime as him going down on me.
揟hink about it,?he whispers like a seductive devil. 揧ou can stay home, put your feet up anytime you want. You can snack and take naps in the middle of the day.?
揧ou抮e a bad person,?I moan. 揝o manipulative. But don抰 stop doing that.?
A chuckle rumbles from his chest.
揑 just want to take care of you, baby. That抯 why I抦 here. Let me take care of you, Violet.?
A thought occurs to me and I brace up on my elbows, meeting my husband抯 dark eyes across the mammoth expanse of my body.
揂m I bigger than Stacey was with the boys at six months??
I realize that Stacey never carried twins梑ut pregnancy is not exactly conducive to rational thinking.
Connor抯 fingers pause for just a moment.
揑抦 not touching that question with a ten-foot fucking pole.?
揥hy not??
揃ecause I抦 not an idiot.?
I inhale sharply, my lips forming a shocked O.
Connor stares at my lips梡robably imagining sliding something between them梑ecause he抯 a filthy, fabulous, dirty man.
揟hat抯 a yes! That means I am bigger than Stacey was! If I wasn抰， you抎 say so!?
And yes, wetness surges to my eyeballs. Stupid frigging hormones.
揘o, I wouldn抰，？Connor says simply. 揃ecause then you抎 ask why I can picture what my ex-wife抯 body looked like over a decade ago.?
He moves to the other foot.
And I pout.
揑 look like Mount Vesuvius in human form. Like a sperm whale on the beach. A giant weeble-wobble . . . ?
揂ll right, that抯 it.?Connor sets my foot on the bed and leans over me, his eyes glinting and his gorgeous corded arms caging me in in a stern, sexy way that makes my heart race.
揑 happen to think you look hot pregnant. You抮e having my kids梩wo of them梩hat抯 a huge turn-on. I would spend all day fucking you if I could.?