Epilogue
MATTIE
I stretched and smiled. My body was sore in the most beautiful of ways. Quietly reminding me of the night before. I was tempted to lie back down on Dylan’s side of the bed and snuggle into the pillow he used that smelled like him, but we had a lot to do.
“Why are you awake, little girl?” he asked, walking in with a tray. I grinned at him. I loved it when he woke up playful like this. I knew that edge in his voice, and my thighs pressed together.
Daddy is in a mood.
He was also freaking hot.
I still couldn’t believe this was my life. Dylan was wearing navy boxer briefs and a smile. Every movement he made showed off the definition of every muscle throughout his body. He turned and set the tray on the top of our dresser that sat in front of our bed. And I couldn’t decide what sight I liked better. The front of him or the back. His muscular ass and back muscles clenched and flexed. Our eyes connected in the mirror that hung above the dresser. Oh yeah, Daddy was definitely in a mood.
An eyebrow rose on my face as I looked at him wondering what he was up to. He turned, his hand adjusting the ever-growing length that had started to tent his boxers.
“I was going to bring you breakfast in bed, but turns out daddy’s feeling hungry.”
“Hungry, huh?” I pressed my lips together.
It was our last semester. Graduation was only a couple of days away. We were not only living together but in the family athletics building. We qualified because about a month after I had confronted him about stalking me, he had tricked me into marrying him. Just kidding. Not really tricked. I was more than a willing party.
“Hungry,” he repeated. “Get comfortable, little girl,” he ordered, pointing towards the back of the bed. I scurried back and waited.
I loved when Dylan got in this mood, and he got in it a lot. But I had a feeling I knew why it had been happening what felt like more often.
We were about to graduate. The draft was only a couple of weeks away, and we both knew he would get picked up. After the amazing season they had and his stats, there was no way he wouldn’t.
But not knowing bothered him.
A lot of things were up in the air, and big changes were coming. But the biggest one was one he had no idea about. I was pregnant. The timing wasn’t great with everything being so up in the air around us, but Dylan and I were good. More than good. We were seriously solid and happy. His blue-green gaze ate me up as I waited. He crossed his arms over his chest, making his biceps even bigger.
“Is there anything you wanna tell me, shortcake?” I tilted my head. There was no way he could know. Is there?
“Like what, Daddy?” I asked softly, almost innocently, knowing how much he enjoyed it when I did it.
“Anything.” His knee touched the mattress, but he didn’t move any closer.
“I need you,” I moaned, giving him a little smile. His eyes dropped to my breasts and lower before returning.
“Oh, you’re going to get me, baby. That is a definite. But first, you need to tell daddy what this is.” He uncrossed his arms and reached behind him. My eyes widened at what he held in his hand, and automatically, I chewed on my lower lip before sitting up.
“Dylan––“
“Nu-uh.” He shook his head. I didn’t like that I couldn’t read what he was thinking or feeling. “Are you pregnant?” he asked, still holding the positive pregnancy test between his fingers. I licked my lips and tried to swallow.
The moment I confirmed it, our life was going to change again. Don’t get me wrong, I was excited about starting a family with Dylan. We talked about it all the time. I was just worried about the timing. But even with all the worries and plans up in the air, I knew everything would be okay.
“Yes,” I whispered. His other knee hit the bed. The mattress groaned beneath his weight. Dylan moved closer, and my thighs spread to give him space.
“Come here.” In one seriously swift move, he had me straddling him, my thighs over his, our chests pressed close.
“Are you mad?” I asked. His manly brows bunched.
“Why would you think I’m mad? I’ve wanted to knock you up since the first time I took you.” I bit the inside of my lip.
“You just look upset,” I shared quietly, and his eyes softened. Little lines formed on the edges before he shook his head.
“No, baby. I’m not upset. Not even close. I can’t believe this is our life. I’m so fucking happy. Honestly? I’m scared.”
“You? Scared?” I repeated, completely shocked. “You’re never scared of anything. Daddy never gets scared.”
“I am. I’m scared of how happy I am. How…” His voice cracked.
That’s when I saw it.
The emotion in his eyes. The unshed tears he was trying to hold back. My arms wrapped around him and my face rested on his shoulders.
“Everything is going to be okay,” I reassured him and felt a rough chuckle burst from him just as his own arms locked around me so tightly it was almost hard to breathe. Almost.
“Fuck yeah, it is! Jesus, shortcake. You just keep giving me more and more.” My man’s voice gruffed against the top of my head, and my own tears slid down my face. His hand slipped between us, and his open palm rested on my abdomen.
“I bred you,” his voice rumbled with masculine almost primal satisfaction.
“You did,” I whispered back. It was crazy. We had been together less than a year, and we were married and about to start a family. But instead of the freak-you-out kind of crazy, it was just plain crazy beautiful.
“Fuck, how the hell did I get so lucky?” he asked, almost to himself, and I just breathed in his scent. It was familiar and masculine, and there was nowhere in the world I’d rather be than with him. No one in the world who I’d ever want to share in everyday ins and outs of life with.
Just Dylan.
Things hadn’t changed between us. He was still obsessed with me. Following and watching, taking endless pictures on his secret black phone. But now I knew about it. I relished it. There wasn’t a day that passed when he didn’t tell me how he felt about me. How he couldn’t get enough of me. Of us.
“I love you, Dylan.”
“I love you, Mattie. I love you so damn much. I can’t believe this is our life.” He grinned, holding my face, and I laughed then sniffled. He wiped away the tears with the pads of his thumbs. “I love you so damn much, and I love our life and our little baby you’re growing for us. I swear I will do anything you need. I’ll be there. If I get drafted?—"
“When,” I corrected, pulling away and staring into his eyes. “ When you get drafted.”
“I’ll be there. No matter what.” I knew what he was saying. When he was drafted, there would be a lot of traveling and practices, and he’d be crazy busy. But I wasn’t worried. Dylan was a great partner and husband, and I knew in my heart that he would be a great dad.
“I know you will,” I whispered before his lips touched mine and everything around us faded. In that moment, it was just the two of us. There was no tray of food waiting for us or the fact we had to be on campus for some of the senior activities. Just us. And damn, if that wasn’t perfect on its own. Everything else was a beautiful extra.
Life was funny in a lot of ways.
It took you on highs and lows that in the moment, when you were living in them, you didn’t know how life could get any better or worse. Like a rollercoaster where you never knew what was coming and all you could do was either brace or let go.
But when you had someone by your side, someone who clicked with you and helped you and supported you to be a better version of yourself, always there to help you reach your dreams, it didn’t matter what was around the corner.
Because even in the bad times, as long as they had your back and you had theirs, life could be pretty amazing.
Just a little bit over year ago, I had stepped into a classroom, rushing in because I had been late after getting a flat tire. One I had no idea how the hell I would pay for to get a new one, not knowing that by getting there just at the right time, I would meet the love of my life.
A little over a year later, I was married, pregnant with my seriously handsome husband’s baby, and about to graduate. So much of our life was ahead of us, and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next!