Epilogue
Early September—Sebastian
“Anything I can get you?” I whisper to my wife before leaning down and dropping a kiss on her forehead.
She glances up at me from the hospital bed where she’s holding our sleeping daughter, her face lined with exhaustion from the hours of labor she went through to bring Emma into the world.
She’s a warrior. The strongest person I know.
“No, I’ve got everything I need.” She scoots over. “But maybe you could come sit here with us.”
I lower into the bed, wrapping an arm around her. “Want me to take her and put her in her bassinet so you can rest?”
She snuggles against me. “In a minute. I just want to hold her a little while longer. Did they all finally go home?”
“Yeah, after I promised to text pictures and let them know if we need anything. Madison and Hunter took my keys though.” She lifts her head. “Said they were going to stock our fridge and make sure the place was set up for us.”
“That was sweet of them, but I hope you told them they didn’t need to. That we’ve got everything taken care of.”
“I did, but you know our friends, they wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
She chuckles. “We’re so lucky to have them.”
“We are. My mum asked when she can come and see the baby.”
Sutton runs a finger down Emma’s face. “Maybe for the holidays?”
“That’s what I told her. Your sister texted …”
“Oh?”
“She wanted to see how you and the baby were doing, said she’s going to try and come visit this fall. I told her everything was fine. I hope that’s okay?”
“That’s perfect.”
After Sutton inherited all the money from her grandmother, she offered some of it to Anastasia, but she declined.
Apparently, Anastasia had hired her own lawyer who discovered that she was entitled to her trust fund now and not when she got married, like her father had been telling her for years.
As for Sutton’s father’s empire, let’s just say it’s lying in ruins. As it should be. Anders’s company bought most of the hotels for cheap, and Sutton’s younger brother is helping to run them. Thankfully, that apple fell far from the tree.
The Storm didn’t win the Cup. We lost in six games to Boston who went on to win it all.
I was disappointed but also relieved to have all the extra time to spend with Sutton over the off-season and to have extra time to get moved into our new house.
Maybe we’ll have better luck next season. Only time will tell.
“I love you. Both of you,” I whisper.
She looks up at me. “I love you too. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. Well, next to this little one.”
I lean down and brush my mouth against hers. “I’ll take being second place to our daughter.”
“That place might drop when we have more kids,” she says against my lips.
The thought of her round with our second child has me getting hard. “Tell me when and where.”
She giggles, jostling Emma who stirs but remains asleep. “Let’s get through the first year or two with this one before we talk about more.”
“Whatever you want, wife.” Sutton yawns. “Let me take her so you can rest.” She transfers our daughter to my arms.
“Wake me up when she’s ready to eat again.”
I glance over at the love of my life, whose eyes are closed, before focusing my attention back on my daughter.
I stand, tiptoeing over to the chair by the window, and carefully settle into it so as not to disturb my sleeping daughter in my arms. The exhaustion of the past twelve hours is catching up to me, but that doesn’t change how elated I am about the birth of my daughter.
I stare down at her. I know she’s not technically mine when it comes to her DNA, but that doesn’t matter to me.
It never has, and it never will.
She’s mine in all the ways it counts, and I plan to spend the rest of my life making sure she and her mother know how much they mean to me.
“Daddy loves you,” I whisper, gently kissing her forehead.
I am the luckiest man on the planet to get to call these two ladies mine.
Sutton
Whispers wake me, and I blink open my eyes to find Bash sitting in the chair by the window, Emma in his arms. I can’t hear exactly what he’s saying to her, but it’s clearly important based on the expression on his face.
I didn’t think I could love anyone more than I love him, but then Emma was born, and I can’t explain how much I love her. She’s my entire world.
“Mommy’s up,” Bash says, a little louder. “Sleep good?”
“As well as can be expected in a bed that isn’t my own …”
He stands and walks over to me before gently transferring our daughter, who is beginning to fuss, into my arms.
“I wanted to let you sleep more, but I think she’s hungry.”
“It’s okay.” With his help, I move my shirt and get Emma latched. It takes a few tries, and then she’s settled.
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to exclusively breastfeed, and I still don’t know. For right now, breastfeeding feels right and works for us, but that could change in a few days, weeks, or months, and when that time comes, we’ll figure it out.
He watches us for a few seconds before saying, “If you’re alright alone for a few minutes, I’m going to go find some food. Do you want anything?”
“We’ll be fine. Can you bring me back some fruit? If they have any.”
“You got it.” He drops a kiss on my cheek before walking out of the room.
I stare down at my tiny daughter as she eats.
“Mommy loves you, baby. Your daddy does too. And all your aunts, uncles, and cousins. I can’t wait to introduce you to your family.”
I guess happily ever afters really do exist in real life, because I most certainly am living one.
Thank you so much for reading Sebastian and Sutton’s story. If you enjoyed it, please consider leaving a rating/review on and/or Goodreads or Storygraph.
Want more of Sebastian & Sutton? Click here or scan the QR code below for a link to an extended epilogue.
Curious about Anders and Caroline's story? Their novella is Wishing For You and it's a New Year's Eve novella available now. Turn the page to read chapter 1.