Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 29255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 146(@200wpm)___ 117(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 146(@200wpm)___ 117(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
He barks as he follows us, as if knowing today is special. I smile when we step outside. The sun feels good on my skin. Aiden and I haven't spent much time anywhere but locked in our room. He’s trying to fill the spare rooms of the house already.
We only left for a few visits to the city to see his family and for me to finish up with my dress. It was bittersweet having to let my clients go. Not because I’d wanted to, but the paparazzi didn't make walking a herd of dogs the easiest task to do. Luckily Aiden made sure someone could take over for me. I hated leaving clients hanging. I knew dog walking wasn’t my long-term career choice, but I still took my responsibility seriously. I followed through on my work and I was thankful that I had Aiden to help me do that.
“Judge Prescott and his wife are here.” Aiden tells me. I’m ready to be his wife. He told me Prescott was a friend and had a hand in getting the annulment taken care of quickly. He knew all too well what it was like to fall madly in love with a woman and do anything to make her yours. Even if that meant bending the rules to make it happen. He’d done it himself to claim his wife, who is now standing by his side to bear witness to our marriage.
We walk hand in hand down to the pond where the judge and his wife are waiting. The vows are short but sweet. Aiden is kissing me before the judge finishes his instructions. Somehow when I open my eyes I find myself in our bedroom, in the center of our bed.
I remember hating the house I grew up in. It was so far from the rest of the world—a giant mansion filled with pretty things but somehow still always felt empty. I felt alone in it even when Yana was there. She tried her best and gave me all she could, but there was always an ache for something else. At one time I thought maybe it was not having my parents’ love. Now I know it was an ache from not having the other half of my soul with me. Here, I know it will never be that way. I enjoy being away from the rest of the world because this home was filled with love. So much it could burst.
“You can stop trying so hard to knock me up. One of the rooms will be filled soon.” I tell him the thing I’ve been dying to tell him since Gia snuck me over a pregnancy test yesterday.
He closes his eyes for a moment, taking in what I’m telling him. I smile up at him and know he’s going to be a wonderful husband and dad to our baby.
“Love you so much, my heart,” he tells me, opening his eyes to stare down at me, eyes I know our baby is going to have somehow. I just know. Like I know I will always be his heart and he will always have mine.
Epilogue
Aiden
Five Years Later…
I click through my emails, making sure I have everything taken care so the rest of my day is free. My parents are over coming over tonight to watch the boys so I can take my wife out to dinner. I have a few surprises planned for our anniversary.
Most days after breakfast I take that small part of my day to work, double checking to make sure everything is running as it should be. I made sure I hired the best so I don't have to worry about the company every day as I once had. I’d been using it to get lost and avoid thinking about how lifeless of a life I’d been living before Caroline came into my world. It’s easy to make yourself busy so you don’t see what's staring you right in the face. I’d let myself get lost in other problems so I didn’t have to face the others. It was something I’d never let myself do again.
The only reason I keep the company going at this point is because maybe one day my children will want it. It isn't about the money. We’re set, but it could be a true family business if our children want that. Or they can choose to follow their own dreams. Either way, that door is open to them. I’ll make sure all doors are open to them and I’ll never stand in the path of one they want to walk through.
My own parents made their mistakes, but they have learned from them and we have all grown together. Time healed some of the wounds that lingered for years. In fact, while they might regret some of the choices they made, those choices not only set me on the path to my wife but they also taught me life lessons that will make me a better father.