Epilogue
MEMPHIS
“ K eep them closed,” I tell her as I lead her to the sidewalk in front of the house.
“If I fall, Memphis, I swear to God…”
“You won’t fall. I promise. We’re almost there.” I place her in the center of the sidewalk. “Okay, open them,” I say, watching as her eyes open and take in the finished house before us. Her mouth drops open, and the corners turn up into a big smile.
“This is…beautiful. I can’t believe you did this all alone!”
I shrug. “Well, Dad helped some. You want to check it out?”
She nods. “Yes, of course.” Her hand moves to her belly, supporting her growing stomach as I take her hand and lead her toward the front door.
The front of the house has been bricked over, and the overgrown bushes have been taken out and replaced with new life. There are scrubs, rosebushes, flowers, and vines that have already started to take over.
I open the front door, and she steps into the newly redone living room. “The hardwood is original, and it runs throughout the house.”
“I love the color we picked for the walls,” she says, running her hand over the light peach-colored wall.
“The big picture window looks perfect there. It’s like it was there all along.” She goes to stand in front of it, looking out.
“Come check out the kitchen,” I say, taking her hand and pulling her to the left.
The kitchen has been completely torn out and replaced. All new tiles adorn the floor, countertops, and backsplash. There’s an island in the center, and it’s full of brand-new appliances, all matching the country theme. In the corner is a big round table that I built from scratch.
“Through here is our bedroom.” I open the door in the kitchen to reveal our master suite. The bedroom is bigger than most, with a walk-in closet and private deck. There’s a master bath with a walk-in tiled shower with the old claw foot tub that was originally in the house, and a big closet to hold plenty of towels and anything else that needs to be stored.
“This is all so perfect, Memphis.” She reaches for me, but I know if she gets those arms around me, I won’t let go until we’re both naked and breathless on the floor, so I dodge her reach.
“Come on. Let me show you the kids’ rooms.”
“Kids?” she asks, arching a brow. “There’s only one in here, you know?”
I laugh. “I know, but soon enough, that one will be out, and we’ll be working on another.” I lead her back through the kitchen and living room and into the nursery. I open the door to reveal the freshly painted blue walls. The dark-colored hardwood floor is also in this room, but I found a big blue rug to place in the center, which warms the room up a bit. Already set up is the crib, changing table, dresser, and rocking chair. There are small toys and baby items around the room, but my favorite part is the picture I found of her and me back in high school. I had it framed and hung over the baby’s crib.
She takes in the room with wide eyes. They land on the picture last. Tears fill her eyes as she walks closer, examining the picture more closely. “Where did you find that old picture?”
“I found it in my stuff when I was packing up my old room at Mom’s. You remember that day?”
She nods as she wipes the tears from her cheeks. “That was the day that you asked me to prom. You got the whole band to play ‘Hanging By A Moment’ by Lifehouse.”
I smile as I remember how hard I had to work to get the band to do me that favor during their practice on the football field.
She reaches for me, and this time, I close the distance between us, pressing my mouth to hers as I pull her to my chest. We kiss for a moment before I feel the baby kicking between us. I pull back slightly, looking down at her big belly between us.
“He’s already staking his claim on you,” I joke.
She smiles as she looks down. She takes my hand and puts it on her belly where the baby is kicking. “He’s kicking for you. He likes when you make me happy.”
“Well, then I plan to make you the happiest woman alive till the day I die,” I say, pulling her back and kissing her harder and faster, needing to feel her against me. As her tongue dances with mine, I can’t help but feel the overwhelming happiness bubbling inside me. I finally have everything I ever wanted. And all it took was for me to come back home.
I have the love of my life. We’re going to be getting married soon, and we have the perfect house to welcome our growing family. Baby number one is already on the way, and we have plenty of time to make numbers two, three, four, and five, or as many as she’ll let me make.
My father has finally retired and left the garage to me full-time. While she’s still working at the vet’s office, she’s taking business classes to set up her future for anything she wants to do as the kids grow up and prepare to leave us. I’m finally getting my happy ending, but we’re nowhere near an ending. This is only the beginning of us, the beginning of an epic love story that I can’t wait to tell our children and grandchildren.
I pick her up against me and carry her back to our bedroom, which doesn’t yet have a bed. I lay her down gently on the floor and crawl over her body. “I love you, Jade Karma Seymour,” I whisper as I pick up her foot to take off her shoe.
She smiles down at me, her blue eyes level with mine. “I love you, too, Memphis Alan Styles.”
I roll my eyes at her using my middle name and drop the shoe onto the floor at my side before moving to the other. “And we love you, Xander Alan Styles,” I say, bending down to press a kiss to her stomach. The baby kicks and I pull away as she giggles loudly.
“We’re finally here, baby,” I whisper as I lower myself down to her, pressing a kiss to her neck.
She turns her head, exposing more of her throat to me. “It’s only the beginning,” she whispers, bringing her lips to mine.