Epilogue
OLIVER
What do you think, little starlet?” I cooed, holding the blonde-haired toddler in my arms. “Should we go see Mommy?”
She giggled, clapping her hands.
It was Tessa’s last day of filming before she was taking a long, extended break, heading back to Portland.
She was starring in a rom-com with one of those heart-throb actors, and I would have been jealous, except for the way her eyes lit up every time we visited her on set.
I knew she had never had eyes for anyone else.
Avery Harper-Graham was the light of my life. Both of our lives.
I tugged on a little blond pigtail, marveling at how everything had turned out.
The pregnancy wasn’t exactly planned, though we’d both wanted it.
Thankfully, she’d been wrapping up on a project and had only had to film during her first trimester.
Between my job as a software developer and Tessa’s flourishing acting career, we could afford a house in two places.
Being in Portland, people didn’t usually recognize her on the street, not like they did in LA.
And it was home, as much as anywhere with Tessa was home.
The best part of my job, especially since I'd gone remote when I moved to California to be with her, was how flexible my hours could be.
Because I got to stay home and watch our daughter grow up.
She was eighteen months now, with blonde hair with the slightest hint of red, green eyes, and a whole lot of freckles.
The perfect combination of both of us. I’d dressed her in a little pastel sundress that was covered in stars. My little starlet.
Heading out to the car, I buckled Avery into her car seat before heading towards the set where they were filming. I loved getting to watch her act, to see her in her element, so fucking beautiful it was hard to breathe.
“Mama!” Avery cheered from the backseat as we pulled up. She was used to our routine, going to visit Tessa as she finished filming each day. We’d catch the last few takes before they wrapped up, and then I got to take both of my girls home.
“Yes, baby girl, we’re going to go see mommy.” A grin spread over my face.
I showed my pass to the security guard and was waved onto the set. Pulling Avery out of the car and smoothing out her dress, I kissed the top of her head.
And there she was. My wife. Light of my life. All mine.
Avery wiggled in my arms, and I put her down, letting her toddle over to her mom, who was talking to her co-star. “Mommy!” Tessa lit up as our daughter wrapped herself around her legs before she picked Avery up and lifted her into the air.
“Hi, baby,” she said, tugging Avery’s dress down.
I nodded at her coworker, who said a quick hello before heading off somewhere else on set.
Once we were alone, I pulled her into my arms. “Hey, Hollywood,” I said with a grin.
“Hi,” she murmured.
Dipping my head down, I pressed a kiss to my wife’s lips.
“How’s your day?”
“Better now.” She buried her nose in our daughter’s hair, inhaling. “It’s always better with my two favorite people.”
I could agree with that. “So, are you done for the day?”
She interlaced her fingers with mine. “Almost. I think there’s just one more shot the director wanted to get. And then I’m all yours.”
“Mmm.” I rested my forehead against hers, turning so Avery was in the middle of us. “I always like the sound of that. Mine. Can’t wait to take my girls home.”
Tessa’s face lit up. I knew she was excited to be back in Portland with her brother and their kids. There was nothing better than watching them all grow up together. Noelle and I had been close as cousins, but our kids would be even closer. I loved that.
“Can I tell you a secret?” Tessa whispered in my ear, her arm wrapped around my waist as I held her tight with one arm, the other holding Avery to my hip.
“Hm?”
“I’m pregnant.”
My heart stopped. “You are?”
She nodded. “I took a test this morning but didn’t want to tell you until we could celebrate.”
Taking Avery from her arms, I kissed her softly. “Go finish your work, and then we will, baby.”
“I love you,” she whispered against my lips.
Fuck, but I loved her. And as Avery and I watched Tessa work, all of the emotions running through her, all I could think was that I was so damn lucky that this was my life. That she was mine. That they were mine.
Forever.