Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 46733 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46733 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
Seb toddles, three years of pure glee on his face, taking his brother’s direction.
As my hand comes to rest on my belly, I think of the life growing there, another brother or sister for my wonderful children.
Loki walks around the kitchen island, sitting in a pool of sunlight coming in through the window. His beard has turned gray lately, but he still has the best puppy dog eyes in the business. Our other dog, Maxwell – a calm loving Golden Retriever – lies in the sun, watching Seb and Jamie work.
Leaning down, I scratch Loki on the head, then stand as I hear Banner coming down the stairs.
As he walks through the door, Jeneva laughs again.
Banner pauses in the doorway, wearing a T-shirt and shorts, his body as taut as it was the day we met, a light silver beard on his cheeks, his eyes as intense.
As the years go on, he only gets more handsome, more mine, and I only become more certain I made the right decision choosing this man.
“What?” I murmur when he just stares.
He shakes his head slowly, smiling. “It’s just…I’m the luckiest man alive.”
I walk around the island, wrapping my arms around him and looking up. He stares down intensely, with pride in his eyes…pride like when I gained my degree, took over the shelter, and started taking on private clients.
It’s the pride that drives me forward every day, and I know it’s the same for him.
“I know that,” I tease.
“I imagined this,” he whispers, kissing the top of my head, pausing to inhale my scent as he often does. “Back at the island…coming down the stairs, our kids laughing. It seemed so far away then. But it’s happening now, and it’s our life. I mean it, Brooke. I’m the luckiest man who’s ever lived.”
“I love you,” I say. “So what else happened in this fantasy?”
“I fried some bacon, and you sliced some fresh bread.”
“Well… we haven’t got any bacon or fresh bread. But I can make some scrambled eggs?”
He grins, leans down, and kisses my cheek. “That sounds perfect.”
“It doesn’t ruin your fantasy?”
Banner smiles. “You’re the fantasy. The kids. This life….”
“Daddy, Daddy,” Jeneva sings as she comes toddling over, her arms spread for a hug.
I step back, my heart warmer than the island sun, warmer than the waves on the beach, or the soft golden sand, as I watch my husband lift my daughter off her feet.