Epilogue, Hot Girls Fight Back, Vol. 2

Epilogue

LACI

Six months had passed since the night Luke and I ruined each other for anyone else.

He’d met Jennifer and Emma over spring break.

I made sure they knew how important Luke was in my life but not to go planning a wedding quite yet.

I’d had one marriage go bad, and I wanted Luke to be sure this was it for him.

He’d never married or had kids, and this would be asking a lot of a man to become part of a ready-made family.

We’d been dating, for lack of a better word, since the first night we had sex in his pub.

Every chance we got to be together, we took.

It was like we were desperately trying to make up for lost time.

I wasn’t complaining, but I also knew it wasn’t exactly sustainable.

The last few times we got together, we’d both fallen asleep on the couch as we watched a movie at my house.

Clothes still on, and we only woke up when the phone rang the next morning.

But today was different. We were having a party at the house for my girls with some of their friends to celebrate the end of their first year of college. Both Luke and I would have our friends over too as it was the first time we would be seen as an official couple.

But damn if history wasn’t repeating itself. Only this time, it was with the right guy, but the timing sucked.

I looked down at the double lines and let out a laugh and a weird hiccup.

Pregnant. I was thirty-seven. I had two adult daughters. Two daughters I had made sure were on birth control from the age of sixteen, and here I was—knocked up—again.

But there was one big difference from the last time I found out I was pregnant. I was head over heels in love with Luke. I just had no idea how he was going to feel about having a baby with me.

Jeez, could I handle going through all the sleepless nights, diaper changes, and fifth-grade math again?

“Laci? You in there, babe?” Luke rattled the door handle. “Sweetheart, people are starting to show up and—”

I unlocked the bathroom door and shoved the stick with two little pink lines in front of his face. “I’m pregnant.” I burst into tears.

Luke took the stick from me and wrapped his arms around me as I blubbered into my hands. I couldn’t make eye contact. I wouldn’t be able to handle seeing disappointment in his face.

When he merely held me and rubbed my back without saying anything, I took a few deep breaths and forced myself to stop crying. I looked up and found him staring back at me with a goofy smile on his face.

“Two lines, Luke. I thought we’d been so careful. I’m sorry—”

“Babe. I know.”

“…things have been so hectic at work and the girls, and I lost track of my period. I think I’m a couple of months along, but I’ll have to go to the doctor to verify. And we never talked about kids or—”

“Laci, slow down. I know, and I’m happy. Really happy. You’ve been a bit more tired and complaining about some achiness, so I kinda hoped you were, but I googled some stuff, and believe me, I’d kept track of that time of the month, so—”

My jaw dropped open, and I stared at the man I’d fallen in love with, telling me he’d googled stuff and knew I was pregnant before I did? What the… “Wait, wait, wait a minute. You suspected I was pregnant but never brought it up, and…and you want this baby? You’re not mad?”

Luke shook his head, and it was then I noticed his eyes had welled up.

“Babe, I know we didn’t talk about kids.

Please don’t worry. I want this baby. I never saw myself with a kid, but hell, with you, I do.

I love you so damn much. I was going to give this to you last month, but then I started to suspect a couple weeks ago you might be pregnant, so I waited until you figured it out. ”

In a daze, I watched as Luke pulled a tiny box out of his back pocket and held it out for me. He looked so funny holding it and the pregnancy test in the other hand. “Is that what I think it is?” Tears began pooling in my eyes, and I quickly wiped them away before they could fall.

He set the stick down on the counter, opened the box, took out the ring, and grabbed my hand. “Marry me, Laci. I love you. I love Jennifer and Emma, and I’ll even put up with Kevin as long as I can be with you and our child.”

“Yes! I love you, Luke.” I started crying again as he pulled me in close and kissed me deep. The sound of the door shutting and the click of the lock broke through my fog of happiness.

“What are you doing? We need to go tell the girls and—”

“Later. Much later. Right now, all I want is the sound of you coming and screaming my name.” Luke lifted my arms and took my top off, and made quick work of my bra.

He took my tender breasts in his hands and placed soft kisses on each one before pinching my nipples until I groaned.

He dropped to his knees, pulled down my capri’s, my panties, and kissed and licked me—everything and everyone else forgotten.

I sighed. “Oh, Mr. Hart, you do know exactly what I like.”

“Babe, I have twenty years to make up for.”

Epilogue

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