Epilogue
EPILOGUE
TWO YEARS LATER
“Come on, ref! How the hell did you miss that call?” I yell, attempting to get up out of the chair, but my swollen belly makes it way harder than it should be. I give up, defeated by how normal things become so difficult when your uterus is invaded by an alien as some of the other girlfriends and wives in the box chuckle because they’re all used to me yelling during games.
In my defense, when a referee royally screws up a call, I’m going to yell at them, pregnant or not.
“Lia, you might want to calm down. Don’t let your blood pressure get too high,” Blake warns with a smile, and my attention snaps toward her.
“It’s the Super Bowl,” I say, as if that should just explain everything.
Chris is sitting on my other side, having jumped at the chance to come to the game. He hasn’t torn his eyes from the field, but is quietly watching, instead of acting like me .
Henry is at home with Penelope. Chris was awarded full custody after Sebastian’s private investigator discovered while tailing Allie that she was leaving Henry alone for hours during her weeks to have him to go out with her friends, and she was charged with child endangerment. It wasn’t how Chris wanted to win, but after learning how Allie was treating Henry without Chris around, we’re all relieved the mess is over.
Chris and Penelope have been living together with Henry in the house we used to rent since I’ve moved out, but I’m not actually sure when they got together. They couldn’t deny it anymore after I caught them kissing in my kitchen a few months ago, but I know Chris wants to take things slow, especially after the disaster his ex-wife caused when she picked Henry up last year from school. The school couldn’t keep Henry from her, since she is his biological mother, but Allie refused to give Henry back unless Bash and I paid her a stupid amount of money. Chris wanted to call the police to try to get the money back, but Sebastian said it was easier to let her keep it as long as she stayed away for good.
Blake rolls her eyes. “Okay? I know it’s a big game, but you’re also nine months pregnant, and your due date was three days ago. I told Bash not to let you come because your blood pressure is going to skyrocket whenever anything big happens.”
“Well, I guess it’s a good thing he doesn’t give me permission to do anything.”
“Oh, we know. Nothing can stop you once you put your mind to it,” Chris teases, smiling at me.
My attention is drawn back to the field when a linebacker gets around the offensive line to rush Sebastian. He has to drop back, and run the ball himself, again . So far the only points on the board are from field goals, and I’m tired of it.
The television in the corner does a close-up of Sebastian, and I can tell by the way he’s holding himself he’s pissed that they can’t string a few plays together.
I rest my hand on my stomach, feeling the baby press up right against my bladder. “Sorry, I have to pee again. Chris, can you please help me up?” I ask, nudging him. I hate that I have to ask for help getting up. I wish this baby would take pity on me, and just come out already. I’ve been having Braxton Hicks for the last few weeks, but every time we’ve gone to the hospital, I’m still at two centimeters dilated.
“Hm? Oh, yeah, of course,” Chris says, standing to help me to my feet.
“Thanks.” I smile appreciatively at him, accepting his help. I waddle a few steps, stealing another glance at the field when I feel liquid run down my leg. I turn back to look at Blake, who is shaking her head at me. “Did I just pee myself?”
“No, you didn’t pee yourself.” Chris snorts without looking, but I can’t see anything in front of me to check, but it definitely feels like I peed myself. His jaw drops when he looks away from the field to see what I’m talking about. “I think your water broke.”
“I told you not to get so excited, Thalia,” Blake sings, and it dawns on me.
I’m going into labor. Holy fucking shit, I’m going into labor, and Bash is down on the field. I take it back. I do not want this baby to come out yet. I am not ready to be a mother . I don’t want to poop myself when I give birth.
“No, you can’t start panicking, you’re going to be fine,” she continues, resting her hands on my shoulders as the entire box comes alive. Apparently to everyone in here, me giving birth is a much bigger deal than the Super Bowl. They need to check their priorities.
I reach into the pocket of my jacket for my phone, but it’s not there. “Shit, shit, shit. Does anyone see my phone?” A contraction that is definitely not Braxton Hicks anymore causes me to grit my teeth. I’m definitely panicking.
Chris shoves it into my hand, already pulling his car keys out of his front pocket. “We’re going to the hospital now.”
“No. I’m calling Owen first,” I say firmly, pressing his contact from my speed dial options. It rings a few times, and he sends me to voice mail. I look at him from where he stands on the sidelines, shoving his phone into his pocket. I call him again and this time he answers. Asshole.
“What, Thalia? I can’t exactly talk right now; this is the biggest game of the season!”
“I think I’m the only one in this box aware it’s the fucking Super Bowl besides Chris. Can I talk to Bash?”
“That’s funny. You can talk to your boyfriend after the game.” Owen laughs, clearly not understanding the urgency.
“Owen, I have a key to your house, and I will slowly murder you in your sleep if you don’t put him on the phone,” I snap impatiently as Chris’s eyes widen.
“We’re mid-game right now, can’t it wait until after?”
I rest my hand on my stomach, wishing the same thing. “No! It can’t wait, jerk! My water just broke.”
The cameras choose to do a quick scan of the coaches at that exact moment, and the look on Owen’s face is priceless. “Can’t you hold it in or something until after the game? Bash can’t leave. ”
“My baby is not an it , so no, I can’t just hold it in. Now would be a good time to fucking call Sebastian over so I can fucking talk to him.” I can’t believe he just said that, but Owen wisely does what I say this time. Bash is sitting on the bench while the defense is out there, no doubt running potential plays through his head. It’s not like I’m pulling him off the field.
I feel so many emotions right now that I don’t even know how I feel, but the second I hear Sebastian’s voice through the phone, tears immediately blur my vision. “Thalia? Are you okay? Is it the baby?” Stupid pregnancy hormones.
“I’m okay, well, not really okay. My water kind of just broke and—”
“Now?” he asks, startled, cutting me off. His helmet is off so you can see the reaction on his face on the television as the cameras zoom in on him and Owen. A coach pulling the quarterback over for a phone call mid-game in a Super Bowl is going to catch people’s attention. “I’ll be there in a second, I just need to—fuck, do we have everything we need?”
I wipe my cheeks quickly as he looks up at the box we’re in. “Yes, we have everything we need. The emergency bag is in my car with the car seat. Bash, I can’t believe I’m fucking saying this, but you need to stay. Chris and Blake are going to take me to the hospital, but this is everything you’ve worked for this year.”
“Lia, I don’t care if I’m meeting with the president right now! I’m coming with you because that is my kid you’re having.”
“Sebastian fucking Walker, sit your ass back down on that bench. You are going to make it in time. Labor takes for fucking ever, so go out there and win the game. I haven’t even had contractions yet.” A tiny lie, but who is it hurting?
We knew this was a possibility when we found out my due date was two days before the Super Bowl.
“Fuck,” he mumbles, running a hand over his face. “Okay, I love you and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“I love you too. Give the phone back to my idiot brother.”
“I’m an idiot,” Owen starts off with, and I’m just glad he knows it. “Your baby isn’t an it, and I’m sorry for calling it one.”
“Yeah, you are an idiot. Do me a favor and make sure he stays on the field.”
“You got it. Hey, tell Blake that I love her please.”
I want to roll my eyes because now isn’t the time for that, but it’s also sweet. “Okay.”
“Stop crying too. I can hear it in your voice. I can’t wait to meet my nephew.”
I start to walk toward the exit of the suit, another contraction making me falter as I grab the wall. “We don’t know if it’s going to be a boy or a girl. Try not to get your hopes up. Just make sure Bash gets to the hospital without getting sidetracked for interviews. I’m going to kill him and then you if he misses it.”
“So you can call the baby an it, but I can’t?” Owen snorts, and now I might just kill him regardless. “On that note, I’m going to go. Coaching duties call! Good luck!”
Owen was offered an assistant coaching job in the Panthers program so he could stay around the game he loves. In the offseason, he does freelance work with the company Blake works for, putting his engineering degree to use. While Owen might not admit it, he loves bossing his old teammates around. It fits him perfectly.
I groan as he hangs up, but I feel better after getting to talk to Bash. Maybe it’ll help light a fire under his ass and they’ll score some points.
~
Good news and bad news. The good news is they won. The bad news is I’m an overachiever at labor, almost completely dilated, and Sebastian still isn’t here. I’m trying not to stress out or panic because I know it can be bad for the baby, but I’m really starting to second-guess my decision to tell him to stay at the field.
Another strong contraction ripples through me, and I bite my lip to keep from yelling, but it really fucking hurts.
The door opens and I look up, hoping to see Bash, but my heart falls when I see the doctor instead. Blake grips my hand tightly, reading my mind. “He’ll be here.”
The doctor checks where I’m at, and I rest my head back against the pillows, already exhausted. Her eyes crinkle as she smiles behind her mask, the nurse helping her glove up. “I hope you’re ready to be a momma because it’s time to start pushing.”
“No, it can’t be. He isn’t here yet. I thought it was—” I gasp sharply, squeezing Blake’s hand until the contraction passes. “I thought labor was supposed to be this super long, drawn out thing. I’ve only been here for two hours.”
“It’s different with every woman. Most pray for a quick labor,” she says cheerfully.
I sob, shaking my head as I shut my eyes tightly. This isn’t happening. “I can’t do this. I can’t do this without him. ”
Blake’s delicate hand slips from my grasp as a different much larger, rougher hand takes its place. “Love, you don’t have to. I’m right here.”
Sebastian wipes the tears from my cheeks, revealing the ridiculous gown and cap he’s wearing. I can’t stop crying when he kisses my forehead. “You’re here,” I choke out as the doctor looks up at me expectantly.
“I need you to push now,” she instructs, and I nod, screaming as I do. Holy fuck, I’m never doing this again. Sebastian is fucking insane if he thinks we’re having more than one kid.
“You’re doing great, Lia,” Bash says soothingly, and I glare at him.
“This is your fault, next time you can give birth,” I grit out before being told to push again and again.
A sharp cry fills the room, and I sink into the pillows, refusing to let go of Sebastian’s hand as relief, exhaustion, and pain overwhelm my system. “Ten fingers and ten toes. Congratulations, you have a healthy baby girl.”
I smile happily, and Bash brushes my hair out of my face as they place her on my chest, covering us with a warm blanket. Sebastian cuts the umbilical cord, and they take our baby girl away to check her over, giving her an ankle bracelet for identification as I safely deliver the afterbirth.
She’s wrapped in a blanket when she’s passed back to me, her face squishy and adorable. She’s the most precious thing I’ve ever seen.
“She’s perfect,” Sebastian whispers.
“She’s everything. Our little Mirabelle.”
We agreed that if the baby was a girl, we would name her after Mimi. I wanted so badly for this to be a girl, but we decided to keep it a surprise .
I look at Sebastian, seeing nothing but love as he stares at her in awe. “We make really cute babies,” he says, and I adjust her in my arms.
“Do you want to hold her?”
He looks afraid for a moment, but he nods. A nurse still in the room helps transfer Mirabelle from my arms to his, and he cradles her carefully in his arms. I don’t think I’ve ever loved him more than I do in this moment.
Tears fill my eyes as I watch him hold her for the first time, and his widen when he sees them. “Thalia, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
I wipe my cheeks, laughing quietly because I feel ridiculous. “I’m okay. Just hormonal and tired, but so damn happy.”
“Marry me,” Sebastian says, and my jaw falls open.
“No.”
“I was going to ask you after the game. I had everything planned again. You can ask Blake and Owen.”
Bash has asked me twice in the last six months, and both times I’ve said no. I guessed he was going to ask again tonight, but I have a trick of my own up my sleeve.
“I know, but my answer is still no.”
Sebastian smiles and laughs incredulously. “God, Lia, can’t you cut a guy a break? I’m running out of ideas, and at this point I think you’re just saying no to prove you can.”
“You have me all figured out,” I tease, watching as he sways with Mirabelle in his arms, carefully supporting her tiny body. “Hey, Bash?”
“Do you want her back?”
Well, yes, I do, but that’s not it. “Marry me.”
His eyebrows scrunch up in confusion. “Did you really just tell me no, so you could ask me yourself? ”
I didn’t think it was possible for my smile to get any wider, but it does. “Absolutely.”
“Well, unlike you, I’m not going to say no to prove I can. Yes, Thalia. I’ll marry you.”
“I love you.”
Bash places Mirabelle back in my arms, kissing me sweetly. “I love you too.”
I look down at her adorable face, and I’m not surprised I love her more than anything already.
A nurse steps back into the room, smiling apologetically at us. “If it’s okay, I need to take her to be weighed and some other standard things.”
I don’t want to hand her over to some stranger yet, but I slowly nod. “But you’re going to bring her right back?”
“As soon as we’re done, I promise,” she says, taking Mirabelle gently from my arms. “You should try to get some rest. There won’t be time for sleep for a few months.”
Sebastian smiles at her. “Thank you.” Jokes on her, I never sleep anyway.
I rest my head into the pillows again, feeling my eyelids grow heavy. I’m so tired. Bash strokes my hair, and I smile as I shut my eyes. “Congratulations on your victory, but if you had missed Mirabelle’s birth, I would have fucking killed you.”
“I know. I did everything I could to get here in time. I wasn’t going to miss this.”
“You’re going to be the best dad,” I whisper tiredly, and his next sentence keeps the smile on my face even as my eyes start to shut out of exhaustion.
“ We’re going to be the best parents."
We belong to each other, and no one or anything is ever going to come between us.
He’s mine.
I’m his.
We’re not an almost.
We’re an always .
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I cannot believe this is out in the world.
I cried many times writing this book, feeling every single one of the raw emotions my characters did. Hell, I started writing this book crying, if I’m being honest. It was awful imagining Sebastian with someone other than Thalia, and it was my own doing!
My characters are not perfect. I do this on purpose because no one is perfect, so how I can write characters who are unflawed? Yet, at the end of the day, they both needed to grow individually so they could ultimately grow together.
I always planned on Sebastian and Thalia ending up together. I wanted Bash to have the family he’d always wanted, and I wanted Thalia to be able to love and be loved unconditionally.
I am filled with so much gratitude and love for everyone who gave my book and characters a chance.
I’d like to add a special thank you to the Paulsens for being the best hype squad an author could ask for. I appreciate your family endlessly.
Books and Moods, thank you for creating one of the most beautiful covers I have on my shelves. Your team is truly magnificent, and I could not shout louder about how amazing you are!
Paisley, thank you for making my book look as beautiful on the inside as it does on the outside. I appreciate your kindness and brilliant mind more than you could ever know.
Lastly, the biggest thank you to everyone who has given my book a chance. None of this is possible without you .
Don’t worry! You haven’t read the last of Thalia and Sebastian, however, the story will be shifting to a different focus in my next series. I am so happy to announce that I have started working on the Reckless Love series that will follow the lives of Thalia and Sebastian’s children! I have plenty more tricks up my sleeve that I can’t wait to share with you as we embark on this new journey .