Epilogue
Atlas
Three years later.
“Noah!” I yell. “Let’s go! We’re going to be late.” How have we gotten worse at this time management thing?
“It’s not my fault!” he yells down the stairs. I’m rushing around, grabbing his things for school, when a small body plows into my legs.
Reaching down, I grab Amelia and hold her against my chest. “What are you doing running around? Where’s Mama?” I kiss her cheeks and nibble on her neck, making her squeal.
Our daughter Amelia is two, and she definitely got her mother’s eyes. Amelia Violet was almost a Halloween baby but instead came a week late. For as much mischief as she gets into, you’d think she was born then instead of November.
“Sorry!” Cora rushes into the kitchen. “I was grabbing my bag for the library, and I turned around, then she was gone.” She laughs.
Pulling her into me, I kiss her quickly. I’ll never get tired of the way she melts against me every time. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first kiss of the day or the one right before bed, she always looks at me like I hung the moon.
“Gross,” Noah grunts as he enters the kitchen. “You guys are the worst.” He rolls his eyes. I thought we still had a bit of time before the preteen stages hit, but apparently, ten is close enough.
“If you think that’s gross, you should have seen—” Cora cuts me off with a warning glare.
Smirking, I set Amelia down, and she runs back to her mom, my wife. My wife. God, that never gets old.
I probably should have waited to have kids with Cora but fuck, I just needed to see her pregnant with my child. As luck would have it, we found out she was expecting a couple of months after our wedding.
The front door opens, and Matt walks in with Dane. “Please tell me you’re ready to go.”
“D!” Amelia wiggles out of Cora’s hold and rushes over to Noah’s best friend.
Noah nods, grabs his bag, and waves in departure.
“Bye, Noah. Behave,” I remind him, giving him a look. Lately, he’s been giving his teachers a bit of trouble, nothing major, but I really think it’s just his age. I know I was a shit at ten too.
Cora hugs Noah and stops to talk with Matt. It doesn’t bother me as much anymore. He’s got his girl, and Cora is so fucking locked down with me. I didn’t want to wait long to call her mine, so we got married a month after I proposed.
It was one of the best Christmases ever. Daniel knew I was proposing and kindly gave me the space to do it, just the two of us. I had already talked to Noah and gotten his permission.
“Does this mean you’re my dad now?”
“Is that what you want?”
He’s quiet for a minute, and it almost makes me fearful for his answer. “Would that be okay?” he says, not quite meeting my eyes.
Pulling him into a hug, I reassure him, “It’s better than okay.”
Dane detangles himself from Amelia, and I snatch up my tiny terror before she goes into full-blown tantrum mode.
For some reason, she really seems to love being around Noah and his friend, and even with their age gap, he takes it all in his stride.
Walking back toward the living room, I head toward the bookshelves that now hold more photos than actual books.
There are a few from our wedding day. I take Amelia with me every morning to show her the pictures.
“Look.” I point at one of the photos of me and my brothers. "Who’s this?” I ask, pointing at each one of the guys.
“Kash! Kash!” she squeals.
Shaking my head, I try to correct her. “No. Remember, Seth.” I point as I name them. “Rhett.” Then say, “Kash,” as I point to him last.
Shaking her head, Amelia looks me dead in the eye and smiles. “No. Kash.” She points.
“I don’t know why you bother.” Cora laughs behind me. The sound warms my chest, and the feeling spreads through my body. “Kash is always number one somehow.”
Sighing, I nod in agreement. “Who’s this?” I point to my favorite picture.
“Mama.” She smiles. “Mama pwetty.”
Cora smiles and takes Amelia from my arms. “Yes. Mama is very pretty, just like you,” I agree as she walks away with her.
I stare at the photo a moment longer. It was the first time we had dinner at Emma’s with Noah.
Over the last few years, we’ve added all sorts of memories, but I always come back to this one.
Emma saw what I felt and knew what it meant even before we fully understood.
The day we got married, Daniel walked Cora down the aisle, and I had Noah as my best man.
We got married under an arch of dahlias.
It wasn’t traditional, but because dahlias represent strength, resilience, and beauty, I was all about my Firefly having what she wanted.
Watching her walk down the aisle to me was one of the most important moments of my life, the other being when Amelia was born.
Cora was so brave as she brought our daughter into the world.
I’m man enough to admit that I cried when they handed me my daughter.
The perfect mix of Cora and me. Her blue eyes and my dark hair.
I’m going to have to homeschool her to keep all the boys away.
Seth has already offered the use of his workshop should I ever need it again.
At eight o’clock on the dot, the door opens again. I swear we need to start locking it. Emma walks in and walks straight past me. “Where’s my girls?”
“You mean my girls,” I correct her.
Waving me away, she shakes her head. “I said what I said. There they are!” she exclaims, walking over to grab Amelia from Cora.
“What am I, chopped liver?” I ask incredulously. I’m pretty sure Amelia is one of the most loved little kids. Noah is, too, but it feels like she’s the start of a new era for our family.
“No. Right now, you’re being a crybaby. Go get ready for the day, and we’ll see you guys later. Wave bye to Mommy and Daddy.” Emma kisses her cheek as Cora helps put her coat on.
“Bye, baby.” I kiss her cheek and tug her hat over her dark hair. “Be good for your Grandmas today.”
“She’ll be an angel.” Emma smiles at her, “You’ll be the perfect girl for Grandmas Emma and Willa, right?” she asks.
“Angel,” Amelia repeats.
“Yeah. Good luck with that, Mom.” I smile at her. “Love you, baby bug.” I kiss her cheek again and get one more inhale of her sweet smell. I never thought I could love anyone more than I love Cora, but our daughter definitely comes close.
“Bye, baby. Behave.” Cora kisses her other cheek and hugs Emma. As they close the door, Cora turns to me. “So.”
“So, what, Firefly?” I parrot back, pulling her into my arms.
“We need to talk,” she starts, looking up at me with her big blue eyes.
“Whatever it is, I didn’t do it, and if I did, I’m sorry and I’ll buy you flowers to make up for it.” I take her lips with mine, kissing her swiftly.
“Flowers aren’t going to cover this,” she scolds, pulling back with a sigh.
“Oh?” I quirk a brow. “What did I do?”
“More like what you didn’t do.” She pulls back and crosses her arms over her chest. Naturally, my eyes go straight to her breasts, but she shakes her head.
“Do you remember when we went away a month or two ago?” she asks with a tilt of her head. Boy, do I.
We went away for the weekend while Emma kept Amelia and Noah.
We hadn’t been away in a while, so I surprised Cora with a weekend at a cabin.
The only thing I packed for us was food and some bodywash.
Zero clothes were worn that weekend, except for the night I convinced her to wear a sexy little librarian outfit.
A wide grin splits my face at the memories.
I finally got her to silence me for ‘talking too loud in the library.’
“Oh, I see you remember exactly what I’m talking about.”
She shakes her head.
“What? It was a great weekend, and I refuse to apologize for any part of it, baby.” I yank her back into my arms. “What’s wrong, Firefly?”
“That’s just it.” She pulls a stick out from her back pocket and holds it up. “I guess maybe we weren’t as careful as we thought.”
I take the stick from her hand, and my heart beats wildly in my chest. The little box on the screen flashes at me, but it takes a moment for it to register.
Cora’s pregnant again? Holy shit. I thought my life was perfect with Noah and Amelia, but now we’re adding another baby to the mix? Stunned, I stare at the test.
“Don’t play with me, wife. Are you really pregnant?” I drop my hand down to her still flat stomach. “Is my baby in here again?”
Nodding, a big smile splits her face. “It sure is, Map Boy.”
Hauling her body to mine, I crash my lips to hers and devour her squeal of surprise. Lifting her, Cora wraps her legs around my waist, and I walk toward the stairs. And here I thought I’d have to get rid of her birth control pills on my own. I guess luck was on my side.
Bless you, naughty librarian fantasies, works every time.
“Atlas, wait. I have work soon.”
“Nope. You have work now, baby,” I correct her, nipping at her neck and kissing my way down her shoulder, basking in her giggles. Pushing open the door to our room, I groan when she grinds against me.
“It’s hardly work,” she playfully disagrees as I drop her down on our bed.
I look around our bedroom, and like every day, my eyes find the picture on my nightstand of Cora and me on the first night of our honeymoon.
I rented a beach house and drove for hours so she could stick her toes in the sand again.
We’re lying in bed, facing each other. Her hand is cradling my face, and my eyes are locked on hers.
It took a few times to get the pose she wanted right, but after laughing like maniacs, we finally got one. It was the start of a great honeymoon.
When I wasn’t buried in my wife, I was glaring at assholes who had the audacity to look her way when we were on the beach.
It made me feel better that Cora was scowling at women who apparently were gawking at me.
It didn’t matter if they looked at me. I only had eyes for my Firefly. Her light always draws me in.
Cora tosses her shirt off, and I pull mine over my head. I have to be at the shop in a few hours, and Cora should be leaving for work, but we have business to attend to first.
Dropping down over her body, I pull her as close against me as I can.
We’re already skin to skin, but it doesn’t feel like enough.
Soon her stomach will be round again with my baby, and the thought drives me crazy.
Ripping my lips from hers, I kiss and lick my way down her neck, stopping at the tattoo on her chest.
Over the last couple of years, she’s added a few, including a wedding band around her ring finger with my name in the center that matches mine, and a Chrysanthemum after Amelia was born, but my favorite has to be the one on her chest.
I trail my fingers across her soft skin to the compass above her heart. The words ‘Lux in tenebris mea’ rest at the bottom along with the date we got married and a blue ’N’ where the direction north lies. Her hands tangle in my hair, and she smiles as she pulls me down to her.
“Do you still mean it, Mrs. Nichols?” I whisper against her mouth.
Smiling, she strokes my face and nods. “In every way.”