Bonus Chapter
IVY
The ocean is a lullaby outside the wide glass doors of the beach house. Sunlight spills across the living room, warm and golden, catching on toys scattered across the floor and the soft blanket draped over my lap.
Maya stirs first, rooting blindly until I guide her to my breast. Gabe and Lila are already asleep, curled together in the bassinet nearby, impossibly tiny and impossibly perfect.
My body aches, my hair’s a mess, but in this moment, I’ve never felt more complete.
The necklace Landon gave me rests cool against my skin, the compass glinting softly each time I shift. My whole world is here—small mouths, tiny fists, soft breaths.
And Chloe.
The papers were signed two weeks ago, the custody battle finally behind us. Macy didn’t fight—not really. She walked away, choosing distance and silence instead of motherhood, and it broke something in me to watch it happen.
But it gave Chloe to us—fully, legally, irrevocably. Ours.
The scandal Rhett and Hunter feared never came. The headlines moved on. The board didn’t implode.
There were whispers, yes, but we outlasted them. Together. And the panic that once felt so sharp is only a memory, softened by time and love and this little family we’ve built.
And then tiny footsteps patter across the floor.
Chloe toddles toward me, her curls bouncing, her crown from her birthday party still too big but perched stubbornly on her head. She stops at the edge of the blanket, eyes wide, and then she says it.
“Mama.”
Just one word.
My chest caves. Tears flood instantly, hot and unstoppable. I reach for her with my free arm, pulling her into my side, kissing her temple even as she giggles at the babies.
“Mama,” she says again, louder this time, proud of herself.
“Yes, baby,” I whisper through tears, kissing her soft curls. “Mama’s right here.”
Then the door opens behind us.
“Hey. I thought I heard noises,” Landon’s voice rumbles, warm and amused.
He steps inside, filling the space with his size, the late-afternoon sun gilding his broad shoulders. His tie is loosened, his sleeves rolled, and he carries the scent of salt air and cedar with him.
Chloe squeals, wriggling out of my arms. “Daddy!”
He crouches low, arms wide, and catches her as she barrels into him. His laugh is low, rich, vibrating through the room as he swings her up, crown tumbling sideways on her curls.
He kisses her cheek noisily, making her giggle until she hiccups.
“Daddy missed you,” he says, brushing her hair back, eyes soft in a way that still undoes me.
When she finally squirms to be set down, he crosses to me in three long strides. His hand cups my cheek, his thumb brushing away the tears I didn’t even realize were still falling.
“You okay?”
I nod, too full to speak, and glance at the bassinet. He follows my gaze, then bends to scoop Gabe up with a care that always makes my heart twist.
He settles the baby against his chest, one massive hand splayed protectively over a tiny back, rocking without even thinking.
“Perfect boy,” he murmurs, kissing Gabe’s downy head before lowering himself onto the sofa beside me. His arm curves over my shoulders, pulling me in until my temple rests against his collarbone.
Maya sighs against my breast, Lila stirs faintly, and Chloe climbs into his lap demanding another kiss.
I glance up at him, at the man who once fought so hard against wanting me, now sitting here with our children draped over him like they were always meant to be his. His eyes catch mine.
“We did it,” he says softly, almost in awe.
And he’s right. We did.
I have everything—love, family, home, and the future I never thought I could claim.
Absolutely everything.
The end. (For real.)
What to read next??? You’ll LOVE Twin Babies for the Silver Fox.
I just wanted one steamy night with the tattooed stranger who fed me the best tacos of my life.
But when I showed up for my new job… There he was.
My inked-up one-night stand is my new silver fox boss… and soon-to-be baby daddy.
Now we’re cooking side-by-side in his high-end mountain-town restaurant, pretending tacos never happened…
Pretending Knox Knightly, ex-NFL star turned culinary god, isn’t looking at me like he wants seconds.
But we said one night .
We said keep it professional .
This job is the opportunity of a lifetime. I can’t blow it.
And Knox? He wants a quiet life—no bad publicity, no drama.
But trouble seems to follow him… and I’m hiding a huge secret.
(Okay, technically it’s the size of a poppyseed right now. But still.)
The test results are in… it’s TWINS.
Start reading Twin Babies for the Silver Fox NOW!
Sneak peek chapter one…