Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 29210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 146(@200wpm)___ 117(@250wpm)___ 97(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 146(@200wpm)___ 117(@250wpm)___ 97(@300wpm)
This tiny little being in my arms was a little bit of me and a little bit of the woman I was in love with more than life itself. Our story might not have been perfect, and there had been trials and tribulations along the way.
It had taken us a long damn time to get here, but I was finding out each and every day that having Leila in my life and having our beautiful baby girl in my arms was what I’d been born to do.
A husband. A father. The most supportive person in the world for both of them, who had their back always, and who stood up for them without a fault.
I stood and put Monica in the bassinet by the bed and just stared down at her for a moment, feeling my heart ache at how perfect she was. She had a full belly, wore a clean diaper, and wouldn’t get up for another couple hours. I tried to help as much as I could, so when Leila was done breastfeeding, I took over and let her go promptly back to sleep.
With one more lingering look at Monica, I moved to my side of the bed and slipped in next to my wife, wrapped my arm around her waist, and pulled her close.
I buried my nose in her hair and inhaled deeply. That scent—I was addicted to it. Leila’s aroma was unlike anything I’d ever smelled in my entire life. And I never got enough of it.
We’d gotten married in a small ceremony a month after finding out about her being pregnant. I wanted to give her a big, expensive wedding, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit having Leila as my wife in any way wasn’t perfect. We could have worn paper bags and gotten married by a dumpster, and it still would have been perfect to me.
And she’d felt the same way. Soulmate. That’s what she was to me.
Even all this time later, as I lay in bed next to the woman who I lived and breathed for, I didn’t want to sleep. Because sleeping meant I’d miss out on time with her.
She shifted slightly and rolled over so she was now facing me but still stayed asleep. I looked into her face, her features delicate, feminine. Leila looked relaxed, and I knew even in this unconscious state that she knew she’d always be looked after, that I’d always protect her and make sure she and the family we created were safe.
Because they were my world, my everything. And without that… I had nothing.
Epilogue Three
Devon
Five years later
Opening the front door after a long day at work, knowing what I was going to walk in on, that the house wouldn’t be clean, the kids would be crazy, and that things wouldn’t settle down until they were in bed, always had a smile on my face. It made me happy, because this was what I always wanted.
I always wanted this life with Leila, the hectic day-to-day activities that came with family life. And I got that and never wanted to let it go.
I opened the front door and tossed my keys into the little ceramic bowl on the entryway table, and everything in me took notice of one thing right away.
I didn’t hear anything.
There weren’t the screams of the kids fighting or the sound of something breaking, which was an everyday occurrence.
It was quiet, too quiet.
“Baby?” I called out for Leila. “Girls?” Still, I heard nothing. “Monica? Farrah?” Normally when I came home from the office, the girls were running toward me at full speed. Then I heard them giggling out back, and a smile covered my face, warmth filled me, and I felt exactly how I wanted to feel… like I was home.
I headed toward the backyard, pulled the door open, and immediately got sprayed with the hose. My shirt and slacks were soaked, and Monica was laughing her ass off as she pointed it at me again. “Monica, if you spray me again—” I didn’t have time to finish, because she got me right in the face. Farrah started shrieking in amusement, and I heard Leila chuckling under her breath. “Oh, that’s it!” I grinned and took off my shoes and socks then ran after the girls, chasing them around the yard. Monica dropped the hose, and I picked it up and started spraying them, my heart warming at the sound of their giggles.
After about five minutes of chasing the kids around, I finally surrendered and set up the sprinkler for them to run through. I went onto the deck and sat down, but just as Leila went to move past me, I snagged her around the waist and hauled her sweet ass right onto my lap. I then proceeded to hold her, to run my nose up the length of her neck, inhaling that scent I’d never get tired of.