Epilogue
EPILOGUE
Two years later...
E VE HAD A lot of sympathy for Nonna Maria these days. Astrid and her four children had left yesterday and she was still sweeping sand out of the kitchen.
“He needs a top-up before he goes to bed,” Dom said, coming in with Oliver.
Their three-month-old son was pushing one little arm against Dom’s shoulder. The other fist was in his mouth. He was gumming it vigorously, but he squawked when he caught sight of her.
“He had a really big diaper and a really big burp, then he turned into a lamprey when he found the skin on my arm. I’ll finish that.” He took the broom as she took the baby.
“Are you having a growth spurt?” she asked her son as she rubbed her nose to his. She was drowning in so much love for him, and the husband who watched her with such an indulgent look on his face, it was silly.
The September evening was mild and the sky was painted every shade from gold to rose to indigo. She stepped outside to sit on the swing and kick it into motion while she nursed. Oliver got down to business straightaway, but he was ready for bed so his eyelids began to droop very quickly.
She breathed the fresh air, soaking up this perfect moment because they were heading back to New York in a few days and even though she was technically on maternity leave, she was still very involved with all the structural changes Dom and Nico were implementing.
“It’s our anniversary tomorrow,” she said when Dom sat down and stretched his arm behind her.
“You keep saying you have baby brain, but you do know it’s not April, don’t you? There were tulips in the park when we had our photos done, remember?”
How could she forget? Their wedding reception had turned into five hundred guests witnessing them renew their vows. She’d worn an extravagant gown as Romeo had walked her down the aisle. Her mother had shed happy tears in the front row and Maya had been in seventh heaven as the flower girl. Even Ingrid had said a few kind words when all the toasts were made, right before they cut into the five-tiered cake.
The feud was over and everyone had turned out to celebrate that fact.
“Not our third anniversary,” she chided him. “Our second. Our first was Budapest...”
“Oh. Now I’m embarrassed.” He showed her an empty hand. “I didn’t get you anything to mark the occasion.”
“You can make it up to me once he’s down for the night.”
“Oh?” A slow smile crept across his lip and his voice dipped into that sexy one that made her tingle all over. “How do you suggest I do that?”
“I was thinking we could play ‘stranded on a tropical island.’”
“Evie Blackwood,” he said in a mock outrage. “You are a woman after my own heart, aren’t you?”
“I thought it was already mine?”
“It absolutely is,” he assured her warmly as he nuzzled his lips into her neck.
If you couldn’t put down Marrying the Enemy then why not dive into these dramatic other stories by Dani Collins?
A Baby to Make Her His Bride
Awakened on Her Royal Wedding Night
The Baby His Secretary Carries
The Secret of Their Billion-Dollar Baby
Her Billion-Dollar Bump
Available now!
Keep reading for an excerpt from Bride Under Contract by Carol Marinelli.