Epilogue
6 MONTHS LATER
MATT
The first time Isla and I made love, I didn’t think it could get any better.
Then the second time, I thought, This is it. This is the most magical thing in the world.
But each time just gets better. More intimate. More meaningful.
And now I’m not just making love to the most incredible woman I’ve ever met, I’m making love to my wife.
My wife . It’s been five months and I still can’t quite wrap my head around it.
Not just my wife, but the mother of my child.
I don’t know what I did to get this lucky, but I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to prove I deserve it.
And I feel especially lucky with my gorgeous wife stretched out naked on the bed in front of me, her skin warm and satiny soft beneath my lips. I feel lucky as I kiss my way down her belly, across the faint lines she wears proudly. And as her eyes meet mine, desire darkening them to a deep indigo, I feel even luckier still.
My gaze devours her hungrily as I lift my head from between her thighs, memorizing each perfect detail. The flush on her cheeks and her kiss-swollen mouth. Her rosy-tipped breasts drawn into taut peaks. The smattering of freckles on her chest and shoulders from our daily walks around the B and A property. And her hands clutching the sheets, her wedding band still a shining gold and the diamond in her engagement ring throwing sparkles around the room.
“Are you staring at me again?” Isla’s lips tilt up into a teasing smile. “Don’t you get tired of it?”
“Never.” I lean down again to press a kiss to the little tattoo on her hip. “I’ll never get tired of looking at my beautiful wife.”
Her smile expands. “I’ll never get tired of looking at my sexy husband, either.”
“Is it weird I still like hearing that? Your husband?”
“If it is, then I’m weird, too. Because I love hearing you call me your wife.”
When we got married, it wasn’t the elaborate wedding I’d offered Isla, jetting off to a tropical locale or reserving a luxury resort for all our family and friends. But she wanted something simple. Something we could do right away. As Isla said a week after I proposed, “I’m not going to change my mind. I want to be married to you more than anything. So I don’t see the point in waiting.”
So we did it here, in the Blade and Arrow barn, with all our friends and family in attendance. We had thousands of sparkly lights and fireworks courtesy of Erik, our HAZMAT expert, and Dante and Sarah volunteered to prepare all the food. Rory came from Vermont, Isla’s mother from New Hampshire, and in an unexpected surprise, Levi was even able to make it.
It was perfect. And Isla was right. We didn’t need fancy or expensive when everything we wanted was right here at home.
Still holding Isla’s gaze, I trail a line of kisses from her hip to the junction of her thighs. “Do you know what else I love?”
As I find her little bud and flick it with my tongue, her hips jerk towards me. Slightly breathlessly, she asks, “What?”
I spread her legs wider and drape them over my shoulders. Then I kiss her velvety skin, flushed and slick with excitement. With one finger, I slowly slide into her welcoming heat, loving the feel of her muscles clutching at me. “I love tasting how sweet you are. Seeing your face as you fly over the edge. And knowing I’m the one giving you pleasure.”
Her breath hitches as I plunge my finger deeper. “Matt.”
I use my tongue and fingers to draw out her arousal, stroking and caressing and rolling her sensitive bundle of nerves between my lips just the way she loves. A second finger joins the first, moving slowly at first, then faster.
“Matt. That’s so?—”
But she swallows her words when I curl my fingers so they hit that spot inside her, the spot she told me she thought was a myth until I proved her wrong.
Instead, Isla lets out a low moan and her thigh muscles quiver. Her hips thrust towards me, instinctively seeking more. And I’m more than happy to oblige.
As Isla writhes beneath me, she makes these sexy sounds—half moan, half whimper—that bring me close to the edge myself.
I’m aching to be inside her, the need verging on pain. But that’s not what this is about right now. Not when Isla’s less than two months past giving birth. Yes, the doctor said it was safe, but I’d rather err on the side of caution.
And anyway, I can wait. We have a lifetime to spend together.
On an exhale, Isla breathes, “I’m so close. But you… Do you want to?—”
“Not yet,” I reply. “This is about making you feel good.”
With that said, I lower my head again.
But she grabs my shoulder, stopping me. “I want to make you feel good, too, Matt.”
“You don’t have to. This is more than enough.”
Isla levers herself onto her elbows and pins me with a stubborn look. “No. It’s not. You’ve been incredible. But I want this. To see you finish, too.”
I stare at her for a second, contemplating. “Okay.” I give her a little smirk. “If you insist.”
Her voice firms. “I do.”
As if I could ever tell the woman I love no. Especially not with something like this.
So I lift Isla on top of me, turning her so we can both bring each other pleasure.
But it’s more than that. It’s ecstasy.
I’ll always love being inside Isla the best, feeling her inner walls clutching at me; those perfect moments when we’re joined as one. But this is pretty damn incredible, too.
I make sure Isla finishes first, as I always will. And as she does, I hold myself back long enough to watch her. To see her head arch back and her eyes flutter shut. To see the flush build higher in her cheeks. To see her muscles go tight as the absolute bliss takes over, her body reacting on instinct.
Only then do I let myself go. In the last seconds before I rocket into space, I pull back enough to release on her stomach and not in her mouth, finding an odd sort of satisfaction seeing my mark on her skin.
Collapsing onto the mattress beside her, I cup Isla’s cheek and cover her lips with mine. When we break apart, she gazes at me with eyes half-hooded and glazed with desire. “I love you, Matt.” She pauses. Smiles. “My husband.”
My heart swells even more, moving on towards infinity. “And I love you, too. My wife.” I kiss her again. “Mrs. Cross.”
She grins. “I love that. It has such a nice ring to it. Isla Cross. And?—”
But she’s interrupted by a loud cry. It’s insistent. Almost indignant.
Isla sits up immediately and starts to get out of bed. “I’d better get her.”
I gently push her back down. “No, you stay. I’ll go.”
“She’s probably hungry, though.”
“Probably,” I agree. “But I can change Dove’s diaper. And we have some bottles ready, so I can feed her while you take a shower. Unless you want to do it?”
Her expression softens. “No, you can go. She loves spending time with her dad.”
Oh .
Her dad.
That’s another thing I’ll never get tired of hearing.
Dad.
I always hoped for a life like this. But the reality is so much more than I could have dreamed.
And I never imagined myself being this happy.
As Dove lets out another cry—her irritated why aren’t you feeding me yet one—I jump out of bed and lean down to give Isla a soft kiss on her forehead. “I love spending time with her, too.”
“Go, then.” She smiles at me. “I’ll take a quick shower. And then I’ll take over so you can get ready. We should probably head out to the barn pretty soon, anyway.”
I glance at the clock. “You’re right. Everyone should be getting here shortly. And you don’t want to be late for your own party.”
“ Our party,” Isla calls after me as I head towards the nursery. “It’s a party to celebrate all the babies and their parents. And you’re Dove’s dad. So it’s a party for you, too.”
When we walk into the barn an hour and a half later, after two outfit changes—Dove’s, not mine or Isla’s—almost everyone is already here. I’m holding Dove while Isla carries two gift bags, one for Jade and Niall’s little boy, Declan, who was born just two weeks after Dove, and the other for Xavier and Lucy’s baby, who’s due in August.
Originally, we had planned on having a baby shower before Dove came, but things got pretty crazy with some of our cases and there never seemed to be a time when everyone could come. Isla was the one who suggested the idea of having a party afterward instead, explaining, “We can buy all the baby stuff, Matt. I’m not worried about that. I just want to celebrate with our friends. So whenever they can all be there, that’s when I want to have it.”
So two months later, here we are.
With Niall and Jade and their new baby. And Xavier and a glowing Lucy, who both look absolutely thrilled to be expecting.
Not just the parents and parents-to-be, but our friends and family, as well.
Over by all the games, Cole and Leo are playing a cutthroat game of cornhole against Erik and Hawk, while Dante and Rhiannon cheer them on. Maya and Georgia are sitting on one of the couches watching as they play with their little ones.
My old teammate, Enzo, and his fiancée, Winter, are playing with Rambo, tossing a stuffed baby rattle for him to fetch.
Sarah is over in the kitchen with Blythe and Hope, setting out fresh platters of sandwiches and appetizers. Squirrel and Calder are hovering nearby, eyeing the food hopefully and trying to snatch a mini taco or slice of bruschetta while Sarah laughingly warns them away. “Let me get everything on the plates,” she scolds them, “before you devour everything.”
Niall is walking around with little Declan in his arms, the proudest I’ve ever seen him. And by his side is Jade, who’s beaming all over, her gaze never leaving her husband and baby.
Rory is here, too, sitting beside Isla’s mother on another couch, and from the little spurts of conversation I can hear, she’s talking about some of the dogs at her shelter. Though the barn is a buzz of noise, during a lull, Isla’s mother laughs and says, “I think I might have to come to Bliss and adopt that one.”
For a second, as I scan the barn, I don’t see the last person I’m searching for.
Then a moment later, from behind us, there’s a loud, “Hey! Where’s my favorite niece?”
Turning, I spot Levi jogging across the lawn in our direction, a duffel bag still slung over his shoulder. His hair looks like it hasn’t been brushed in days and his clothes are definitely more wrinkled than normal.
He comes up to us and gives Isla a quick hug and a kiss on her cheek. “Hey, Isla. Sorry I’m late. My flight got delayed, so then I missed the connecting one, and it ended up being a whole shit show?—”
A beat later, his cheeks flush. “Sorry. I know, I shouldn’t talk like that in front of the baby.”
Isla grins at him. “It’s fine, Levi. I don’t think Dove knows what you’re talking about yet. Maybe once she’s talking, we’ll worry about what we say around her.”
Levi flashes me a that’s not what you said look. Defensively, I say, “I read that babies can pick up language when they’re still in utero. And using good vocabulary around them can help them developmentally. So it just makes sense to use more advanced words around her.”
With an arched brow, Levi says, “Okay, then. What should I say instead of shitshow?”
I think for a second. “Misadventure. Catastrophe. Calamity. Debacle.”
There’s silence for a second. Then Levi and Isla burst out laughing. He claps me on the shoulder and pulls me in for a hug. “Just like I thought. You’re going to be a great dad.”
Isla looks over at me with a soft expression. “He is a great dad.”
Dove opens her eyes and makes the cutest little cooing sound I’ve ever heard. Her violet eyes lock on mine. She reaches her pudgy hand up and touches my chin, brushing her tiny fingers across my stubble.
My heart melts for approximately the thousandth time since she was born.
Levi gives Dove an affectionate smile. “Looks like the cutest niece in the world has you wrapped around her finger.”
“Maybe,” I admit. Although when she wants to start dating, say, when she’s thirty or so, that might be a different story.
His attention turning to Isla, Levi says, “I realized I never asked before. But what made you decide on the name Dove?”
“I always loved the symbolism,” Isla explains. “Doves mean peace and freedom. And when I was a kid, that was all I wanted. They also stand for hope. So I loved the bird because of that. And when I thought about the perfect name for a little girl, Dove seemed perfect.”
I kiss Isla’s cheek. “It is perfect.”
She looks up at me, love and joy lighting her features. “I think so.” After a brief pause, she adds, “Though, if we have another one, and it’s a boy, we’re definitely naming him Eagle.”
Oh.
Another baby?
“I mean,” Isla quickly adds, “not that I’m saying we will?—”
“I think Dove would love a little brother or sister one day.” I carefully gather Isla into my arms, kissing her on the forehead. “And I would love that, too.”
“Oh, Matt.” Isla beams at me. “I love you so much.”
“Isles.” My heart has never felt this light. This happy. This full. “I love you, too.”