Epilogue
One year later
“Hurry up now or we’ll be late. We don’t want to miss the grand reopening of Grandma Lou’s.
Do I look okay?” Bethany eyed her pink dress in the hallway mirror.
She wanted to look professional but also embody their new line of healthy bakery products.
But it was hard to find a maternity dress that covered the ready-to-pop mountain that was her stomach and still looked pretty.
Hank smiled from the recliner, stretching his hands behind his head. “Like a dream come true.”
“You always say that.” She fastened the pink pearl earrings he’d given her as a gift on their wedding night nine months ago. They’d gotten married in a quiet ceremony in Hawaii with just their families and close friends present, but had a larger reception for everyone else when they’d arrived home.
He stood and came toward her, and as usual, she felt a little thrill to think he was her husband.
His hands came down on her shoulders, and he pulled her against his hard frame so they both looked in the mirror together.
“I say it because it’s real. You are my dream come true, Mrs. Haverill, and don’t you ever forget it. ”
He splayed his hand across her stomach, and they both felt as the baby kicked.
“Did you feel that?” She placed her hands over his.
“I did,” he breathed against her neck. “Our child will be a fighter like her mother.”
She turned in his arms. “He’ll be a Greek god. After all, this is your child.”
He smiled, revealing a dimple. “How do you know it’s a boy?”
“I don’t. I just picture a little boy who looks like you.”
“You know you’ve made me the happiest man alive?”
“Yes, but I’ll never grow tired of hearing you say it.”
“Then I won’t. Ever.” He held out his arm. “Are you ready, princess?”
“Yes,” she said, and took his arm. “I am.”
“Then let’s climb into the royal chariot.”
Normally, he drove, but tonight was a special occasion, so he’d called for the limo. After months of renovations, they would celebrate the updates to the building and announce some exciting changes to Grandma Lou’s menu with much public fanfare and some national news coverage.
A few minutes later, the limo was at the restaurant’s front door, but Hank asked her to wait until he could escort her to the entrance.
Camera crews lined the sidewalk. A large gold ribbon with “celebration” written in block letters covered the doorway.
He held out a hand and flashed her his confident smile. “Showtime.”
Although she would never get used to the cameras and paparazzi that followed them around snapping photos, Hank was in his element.
He looked dapper in a pair of gray slim-fitting slacks, shiny black boots, and a white short-sleeve dress shirt that showed off his biceps.
Bethany was content to hold his arm and let him deal with all the questions.
Elizabeth stood near the entrance with Travis and Rosie. And there were her helpers, Sean, Liam, and Declan, looking classy in the khakis and dress shirts she’d bought them for the occasion. “Hello, boys, you’re looking good,” she said.
They grinned and elbowed each other in the ribs.
“Hank, Bethany,” Elizabeth interrupted. “We’re all set inside.”
Rosie gave Bethany a hug. “Nervous?”
She nodded. “A little.”
Travis patted her shoulder. “Don’t be. You’ll do great. Here, I think you’ll be needing these.” He handed Bethany a large pair of scissors.
“Don’t you want to do the honors?”
“I wouldn’t even think about it. You did most of the work.” Travis winked. “Tell you what, you cut the ribbon, and Rosie and I will watch to make sure it’s done right. Deal?”
Bethany rolled her eyes. “Oh, all right. But you should know better than to irritate a pregnant woman.”
“Get ready. Looks like you’re on.”
Susan Winchester, the reporter from Channel Ten, greeted them, microphone in hand.
“Hank, you and Bethany spent months, not to mention lots of cash, to make improvements to this historic building for all the tenants. Now Grandma Lou’s is set to provide Clevelanders with even more food options.
Tell us, what’s so special about the new menu? ”
He paused on the steps and turned to face the camera.
“My wife is incredibly talented. She knows locals love their baked goods. But I know many fitness buffs can’t enjoy them on a daily basis because of the calories and sugar.
Besides improvements to the building, we’re unveiling a new line of products that everyone can enjoy, without adding inches to their waistline. ”
“That’s fantastic. What are you calling it?”
“Food of Gods. Take it from me, even the gods never tasted bakery items this good, and good for you.”
“Hank,” another reporter called out from the crowd, “congratulations on the new Robin Hood movie and opening your own production studio. Are you excited to become a father?”
“I’m thrilled.”
“You’ve said in the past that your own father wasn’t much involved in your formative years. Are you worried at all if you’ll make a good father?”
Hank hesitated, and because Bethany was holding his arm, she felt his muscles tighten. Why did reporters always ask needling questions? “Hank will make a terrific father,” she said and turned to Susan Winchester. “Are you ready, Susan? We have a ribbon to cut.”
“We’re rolling.”
“Okay, Cleveland,” Bethany said. “Welcome to the newly renovated historic Parker building.” She clipped the ribbon amid cheers from the crowd.
“C’mon inside and help yourself to free samples,” Travis said.
The baby lurched in her belly and a stabbing pain shot through her lower back. “Oh, my goodness. Hank! I . . . I think it’s time.”
“Now, Beth?” His eyes looked a bit wild.
“Yes.” She nodded, as another pain gripped her. “Now.”
“What are we waiting for? Out of our way.” He motioned to the line of reporters. “My wife’s having a baby.”
Bethany was too busy counting breaths and fighting the stabbing pains to pay any more attention to what was happening around her.
The next hour was a painful blur. By the time they arrived at the hospital and were escorted to a room, her contractions were close together, and the nurse said it wouldn’t be long.
The reporters tailed them but were kept outside, thank goodness.
Then the nurse set up an IV, and the anesthesiologist showed up to give her an epidural, and her doctor arrived and told her to push. And then . . .
And then there was a loud wail.
“It’s a girl,” the doctor said.
The nurse swaddled the baby in a blanket, and Bethany caught a glimpse of the most beautiful little face she had ever seen.
“A girl?”
“She’s got her mother’s lungs,” Hank said, squeezing her hand. Tears rolled down his face. “She looks like you.”
“Congratulations, you have a daughter. Would you like to hold her?”
“Yes,” she said. “Yes, please.”
And then the baby was wrapped in a pink blanket, and Bethany stared into a precious pair of blue eyes—blue like Hank’s.
The nurses and doctors left them to get acquainted.
“Do you want to hold her?”
Hank shook his head. “I don’t want to hurt her.”
“You won’t, Hank.”
He held out his arms, and she laid the tiny bundle in his hands. He cradled the baby to his chest. “What shall we call her?”
“I don’t know. All I ever thought of are boy names.”
“I have a suggestion. What do you think of Stella? It means star.”
“That’s beautiful, Hank. I love it. And for a middle name, how about Katherine, after your mother . . . Hank?”
He didn’t answer, Bethany realized, because he was too choked up.
“What’s the matter, Hank? Are you worried about being a father?”
“Nah, it’s not that.” He gazed at her over the top of little Stella’s head, his heart in his eyes. “I just realized another wish I made has come true.”
“To have a baby?”
“To have a family.”
And that, Bethany thought, was more than enough dream-come-true for both of them.
THE END