Epilogue
ALEX
1 year later
“After Christmas, I need to look for a job,” Merry says, blowing into her morning coffee.
I drop my paper onto the breakfast bar. “You don’t need to work, Merry. You could take early retirement now you’ve resigned.”
She huffs out a small laugh. “And be your housekeeper. No thanks.” She turns towards Blanche who’s cooking breakfast. “No offence, Blanche, but I couldn’t do your job.”
“I’m not that bad to work for, am I?” My brow furrows, wondering if Merry’s right. I mean, Finn didn’t want to work for me either.
“I wouldn’t want to work for anyone else, sir,” Blanche says as she plates up my breakfast with a smile.
Merry places her mug on the counter. “Oh good, because we like having you around and now that I’m going to be living here permanently, I’d like to give you a raise.”
My lips curve upwards. “You’re giving my housekeeper a raise?”
“No, honey. You are.” Her smile widens while bringing her coffee back to her lips.
“Thank you, ma’am, but it’s really not?—“
“Already sorted, Blanche. You deserve it after everything you’ve done and I know cleaning up after my wife here isn’t easy.” I chuckle to myself as Merry narrows her eyes towards me. As much as I’d love Blanche not to be here right now so I could take my wife over the breakfast counter, I do love Blanche’s cooking. And her ironing skills are second to none. I wouldn’t trust Merry with my shirts.
“Thank you so much. I love working for both of you.” Blanche wipes her hands on her apron and walks out of the kitchen.
“You can’t look for a job yet, anyway.” I reach into my jacket pocket and retrieve an envelope and slide it across the counter.
Eyebrows pinched, Merry collects it. “What’s this?”
I can’t contain my smile. “It’s your Christmas present.”
She opens the envelope containing two plane tickets to Starlight Bay. Her eyes sparkle like they did the first time I took her there after remarrying. “We’re going back to where we had our second honeymoon?” Rising from her stool, she rounds the breakfast bar and throws her arms around me. “What about work?”
“I’ve closed the office for the holidays. Everyone’s getting two weeks off.” My hands slide under her silky robe and gather the fabric of her nightdress in my palm, needing to feel her skin against mine, even though I was inside her less than an hour ago. I squeeze the flesh of her ass under her lace knickers. “I thought it would be nice to recreate our honeymoon, don’t you think?”
Her lips curve into a smile. “Are you sure your back can take it?” Last time you needed an emergency chiropractor.”
“Don’t you worry about my back, honey. It’s your pussy you should be concerned about with what I have in store.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep. I’m not sure your dick can go the distance.” She presses her lips against mine, her warm mouth is everything I crave.
“What can I say, my dick gets overexcited, but I have backups this time.” A grin quirks my lips. “That’s present number two, but you’ll have to wait for that.”
“And all I’ve bought you for Christmas is a new tie.” Her lips pout. “You said we weren’t doing lavish gifts this year.”
I spin on the stool, widening my legs to fit her snugly between them as I squeeze her ass cheeks. “I have all the gifts I need right here.” I nuzzle into the valley of her breasts, the silky fabric of her nightdress soft against my face.
Her fingernails graze the back of my neck, sending a shiver down my spine that makes my dick twitch. “Do you think Blanche would notice if we went back to bed?”
I groan against her tits, resisting the urge to suck on her nipple. “She might not, but Finn will. He’s on his way over with Coral.” I nod over her shoulder towards the French doors with the view of the pool house.
Finn and Shelly have settled in nicely while their home is under construction. And it’s been great having them around, especially getting to see our grandchild everyday.
Merry’s eyes brighten before she spins around, rushing towards the doors. “Morning. How’s my beautiful baby?”
Finn chuckles as he enters the house, giving Merry a peck on her cheek. “I’m good, Mum.”
“I meant my precious little girl.” She holds her arms out to Coral. “Gimmie my granddaughter.”
Finn kisses Coral’s head and hands her over, along with a bottle. “You can feed her. I wanted to let Shelly have a lie-in this morning. She had a rough night.” He walks straight over to the buffet that Blanche has laid out, helping himself to his breakfast.
Merry cradles our six-month-old granddaughter, giving her the bottle as she walks around the kitchen.
I’ve never seen her this happy. When she told me she was quitting her job, I worried that a life here with me wouldn’t be enough for her, but I was wrong. This life looks good on her.
I was ready to give everything up for her, move across the ocean to support her dream of moving into the prime minister’s office at 10 Downing Street. But she said she has a different dream now. And if Finn, Shelly, and our granddaughter weren’t living in London with us, then she didn’t want it.
Finn drops onto the stool across from me with a moan from his lips as he bites into a bacon and egg roll. “I’ll miss Blanche’s cooking when our place is built.”
“You’re not too far away, you can always come over for breakfast on weekends.” My chest swells, ready to burst with love for my family. In my wildest dreams, I never thought life could be like this. Never thought I deserved it, let alone deserved to be with Merry.
“I might take you up on that, Dad.” Finn takes another bite of his breakfast. ”What are the plane tickets for?” He nods at Merry’s Christmas gift, still on the counter.
Merry strolls around the island with Coral in her arms. “Your Dad’s taking me away to Starlight Bay the day after Christmas.”
He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “Cool, I might ask Shelly if she fancies it.”
Merry’s face pales. I share the same dreaded look with my wife. As much as I love my son hanging out with us, I wasn’t planning on a family vacation.
“I thought Shelly was busy with the charity?” Merry says. I know she’s thinking the same thing I am. We have twenty years to make up for, not to mention a bunch of new toys to try out.
Finn shrugs. “She’s on top of everything now, Mum. Since you did all the finances.” He looks up at Merry. “Thanks for sorting that out by the way. I don’t know how Shelly would have managed to get the charity’s accounts done with the baby. She wishes she could hire you full time.”
“Funny you should say that, son.” I raise an eyebrow as I look at Merry. “Weren’t you just saying you wanted a job?”
“I can take on the financial aspect of the accounts for the turtle charity if Shelly needs the help. Part-time of course, because the rest of the time I’ll be babysitting this little one.” She lifts Coral onto her shoulder and rubs her back. The baby squirms in her arms a little.
“I’m sure she’d love you to have that role, Mum, but I’m not sure she can afford you.”
“I can do pro bono,” Merry says.
“Your mother will do anything to prevent her from cooking and cleaning.” I chuckle to myself, remembering that was never Merry’s strength. Especially since finding out Blanche helped with the casserole that night, as I learned when I visited England and asked Merry to cook it.
I hold my hands out. “Stop hogging our granddaughter and give her to me. She wants her papa.”
“All right, but she needs burping.” Merry hands her over and I rest Coral’s head on my shoulder. “There, there.”
She settles instantly as she always does with me. I rub her back, kissing her forehead. I’ve made some bad choices in the past, and it’s taken me the last twenty years to realise that at my age, time is currency, and I choose to spend it wisely with the people I love.
The swell in my chest grows, surrounded by a wonderful family. As I smile down at our newest addition, my chest overflowing with happiness, the milk in Coral’s belly regurgitates onto my shoulder, flowing down the lapel on my jacket.
I chuckle, wiping at the milk but not caring in the slightest.
Merry laughs beside me, using a kitchen towel to wipe up the mess. “Good thing you’ve got plenty of suits.”
“Good thing I’ve got you,” I reply, meeting her gaze with a smile that says everything we’ve been through was worth it for moments like these.
“You mean, Blanche. I’m not your housekeeper, remember.” There’s a sparkle in her eyes, the same one I fell in love with all those years ago, only now it feels stronger—like nothing can come between us this time around.
I wrap my arm around Merry’s waist and pull her close. “No, you’re my wife.”
She leans over and kisses my lips.
“Mum, Dad, do you have to?” Finn holds what remains of his breakfast roll. “I’m eating over here.”
Merry and I both smile as Coral’s tiny hand clutches at my shirt, her warmth grounding me in this perfect moment. Mess, laughter, and all.