Chapter 33
CHAPTER 33
A lex
“No, we’re not okay apart.” A soft smile crossed her lips. “I love you, too, Alex.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “Are you sure?”
“All the heartbreak, loneliness, tears, and anger aren’t for nothing. All of that is because I’m in love with you. I wouldn’t still be experiencing all of them if I weren’t.”
I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight, burying my face in her beautiful hair.
“Please let me make everything up to you. Let me show you the man I really am.”
She broke our embrace and stared into my eyes. “I like the man you are, but if there’s an upgraded version of you, I say bring it on.” She grinned.
“God, I’ve missed you so much.” I leaned my forehead against hers.
“I’ve missed you more.” Our lips met.
I broke our kiss and stroked her cheek with my thumb. “I’m so sorry.”
“Stop apologizing. I forgive you. Let’s put it all behind us and start over.” She smiled.
“In that case. Hi, I’m Alex Harbor, and I think you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life.” I extended my hand.
“It’s nice to meet you, Alex. I’m Hannah James, and you are the sexiest man I have ever seen.” She shook my hand. “Would it be too forward of me to ask you to take me to your bedroom?”
“Would it be too forward of me to shout hell yes?” I grinned.
“Not at all.” She laughed.
I stood up, swooped her in my arms, and carried her into the house and up the stairs to my bedroom, where we made love almost all night.
“I hope you know you’re not leaving this bed,” I said as my arm around her tightened.
“No worries. I didn’t plan on it.” Her lips pressed against my chest. “Oh my gosh, I didn’t tell you.” She lifted her head. “My mom and Antonio are engaged and moving to Harbor Falls.”
“Wow. Really?” I smiled. “That’s great news. How do you feel about it?”
“I’m happy they’re getting married. My mom said she’s happy to help at the flower shop.”
“Ah. Judging by the look on your face, you don’t seem to like that idea.”
“It’s not that I don’t like—shit, who am I kidding? I hate the idea. I love my mother, but sometimes she can be overbearing, and I’m not sure how working together all day will work.”
“She’s your mom, and she wants to help. Look at it this way. Once her grandchild is born, she’ll be too occupied with her to give your flower shop a second thought.”
“Oh! You’re right.” Hannah grinned. “Adalyn and Colin will need her and Antonio to babysit while they work.”
“See. Feel better now?”
“I always feel better when I’m with you.” She leaned in and kissed my lips.
We’d finally closed our eyes and fell asleep around three a.m. My eyes flew open when I heard the creaking of the door.
“Dad? Hannah!” Lucy exclaimed.
“What are you doing home so early?” I quickly sat up and made sure the sheet was covering our naked bodies.
“It’s ten o’clock. Juliette’s mom dropped all of us off.”
“Hey, Lucy.” Hannah gave a small wave from under the covers.
“What’s going on here?” Lucy cocked her head.
I wasn’t pretending anymore. Things were changing around here, and I would make sure she knew it.
“Hannah and I are together as a couple, and she will be sleeping in this bed a lot. She’ll be here all the time and practically living with us. If you have a problem with that, then I’m sorry.”
“Okay.” She shrugged. “I don’t have a problem with it.” A smile crossed her lips. “I’ll go downstairs and make the coffee. Hurry and get up so we can all have breakfast together.” She shut the door.
“What’s wrong with her?” I looked at Hannah.
“Nothing.” She laughed. “She’s happy we’re happy.”
“You heard the kid. Let’s hurry and get up so we can have breakfast together.” I rolled on top of her and kissed her lips.
Two Months Later
I came home from the office to find my entire kitchen covered with flowers.
“Wow. What’s happening in here?” I smiled, setting my briefcase down.
“Have you forgotten that my mother’s wedding is tomorrow in your backyard?” Hannah smirked.
“No. I haven’t forgotten.” I walked over and kissed her.
“Hey, Dad.” Lucy strolled in.
“Hi, sweetheart.” I kissed the top of her head.
“What do you think of all the flowers? Aren’t they beautiful?” Lucy asked.
“They certainly are.”
“They’re only staying here until tomorrow morning and then moving to the backyard, where I will need your help.”
“You know I’ll help you with anything.” I wrapped my arms around her.
Later that night, while we were upstairs getting ready for bed, I pulled a blue velvet box from my nightstand drawer.
“I have something for you.”
“You do?” Hannah smiled, climbing on the bed.
“Close your eyes and hold out your hand.”
“Okay.” The smile never left her face as she closed her eyes.
I placed the box in her hand. “Okay. You can open your eyes.”
She smiled as she lifted the lid and saw the beautiful diamond earrings.
“Alex, these are gorgeous. Thank you. You didn’t have to buy me anything.”
“Actually, I did, and let me tell you why. Typically, a boyfriend or husband gives their girlfriends and or wives flowers as a simple gesture that they’re thinking about them. But see, my girlfriend happens to own a flower shop and is sick of flowers by the time she gets home, so I have to be creative. Instead of me giving you flowers to remind you how much I love you and think about you, you will get expensive jewelry.”
“Well, if you insist.” She grinned. “But seriously. These are gorgeous, and I can’t wait to put them in tomorrow. They’ll go perfectly with my dress. Thank you.” She cupped my face in her hands and kissed me.
“You’re welcome, sweetheart. I love you. I don’t want you to doubt that.”
“You don’t have to give me expensive gifts to show me, Alex.”
“I know I don’t. I want to.” I brought my hand up to her cheek. “Let me spoil you.”
“Okay. Who am I to complain when my sexy boyfriend wants to give me diamonds.”
“That’s right. You’re a queen, and a queen has a lot of jewelry.”
“I like the way you think, Mr. Harbor. Now, I’m going to give you a little something to remind you how much I love you.” She hooked her fingers around the waistband of my underwear, slowly pulled them down, and wrapped her lips around my hard cock.
Five Months Later
H annah
I walked down to the beach and watched as Alex and Lucy swam in the ocean. My life and heart were full, and I couldn’t be happier. I had a wonderful, kind, and sexy man who loved me, a young girl whom I loved as my own, a thriving business, plenty of friends, and a beautiful home. I never thought in a million years that my life would turn out the way it had. Love really does blossom in the quaint town of Harbor Falls.
“Hey, get in here!” Alex shouted.
“Yeah. Come on, Hannah. Come in with us!”
“I’m good. You two keep swimming. I’ll sit and watch you.”
Suddenly, Alex emerged from the water. I became nervous as I stared at his muscular body as he approached me.
“No, Alex. I mean it!” I put my hands up.
“Come on, baby. You have your bathing suit on.” He picked me up.
“I don’t want to go in the ocean!” I kicked and screamed.
“Sure you do.” A handsome smile crossed his lips.
He carried me into the water and out to where Lucy was. We played around, laughed, and had a good time. Alex showed both of us what to do if a rip current came in.
“I’m hungry,” Lucy said.
“Me too.” I smiled, wrapping my arms and legs around Alex’s back. “You can carry me back to shore.”
“It would be my pleasure. What do you ladies feel like for lunch? I can grill us some hot dogs.”
“Nobody wants hot dogs, Dad,” Lucy said.
“Yeah, Dad. Nobody wants hot dogs,” I said.
“Fine. We’ll go to the Seaside.”
“Sounds good to me.” Lucy grinned.
We got out of the water, and I jumped off Alex’s back, reaching down and picking up my phone from the blanket in the sand. I noticed I had a missed call from Colin and a voice message. Pressing the button, I listened to it.
“OH MY GOD! That was Colin. We have to get to the hospital. Adalyn’s in labor! Everyone hurry up and get changed!”
We ran up the stairs and quickly changed out of our bathing suits. Climbing into Alex’s SUV, he raced to get us there.
“Hi, my sister is in labor. Her name is Adalyn Young.”
“She’s up on the 2 nd floor in the Labor and Delivery Unit. Ring the buzzer, and they’ll let you in and take you to her.”
“Thank you. Come on.” I turned to Alex and Lucy.
When we reached Adalyn’s room, I rushed in and grabbed her hand.
“How are you?”
“I just got an epidural, so I’m really good.” Adalyn grinned. “Thanks for coming.”
“You look great for a woman in labor.” Alex smiled as he kissed her cheek. “How are you holding up, Colin?”
“I’m good. Just anxiously waiting for the arrival of our daughter.” Colin grinned.
Luis and Alfred walked into the room.
“Addy, darling. What is going on? Where is that baby?”
“Still inside me, Luis.”
“Well, push her out already. I can’t wait to meet the little princess.”
Alex and Colin took Lucy to the cafeteria for a bite to eat.
“Where’s Mom?” I asked.
“She and Antonio are on their way. Remember, they had that day trip with their new friends in Charleston?”
“Oh yeah. That’s right. I hope she gets here in time,” I said.
Time had passed, and it had already been three hours before I knew it. The doctor told us that it was time for Addy to push and to wait in the waiting room.
“You got this, sister.” I squeezed her hand. “You got this.”
“I know. You’ll get to meet your niece really soon.”
I leaned over, kissed her forehead, and we left the room.
“Did she have the baby?!” My mother rushed into the waiting room.
“Not yet, Mom. Anytime now,” I said.
“Thank God. If I would have missed the birth of my grandchild, I don’t know what I would have done.”
“What would you have done if you still lived in New York?” I asked.
“You know that baby is why we moved here,” she said.
“I thought it was because I lived here.” I pouted.
“That too, darling.” She patted my cheek.
About an hour later, Colin walked in with tears in his eyes.
“She’s here and she’s gorgeous.” He beamed with excitement.
We all congratulated him with hugs and kisses. Walking into Adalyn’s room, I stopped and stared at her, holding her newborn baby. Tears filled my eyes because a baby had been something she wanted for such a long time, and now, she was finally a mother.
“Come meet your niece.” Adalyn smiled.
“She’s beautiful, Addy.” Tears streamed down my face. “Hi, sweetheart.” I reached out and touched her little hand.
“Excuse me?” Luis said. “Have you named the child yet, or will you two keep it a secret until she’s five?”
“Luis, stop it.” Adalyn laughed. “I’d like you all to meet Ellery Grace Young, weighing in at six pounds seven ounces.”
“I love that name. Hi, Ellery. It’s your Auntie Hannah.”
After swooning over the baby, we left to give Adalyn and Colin time alone with their daughter.
“Isn’t she beautiful?” I asked Alex as we climbed into the car.
“She really is.” He smiled.
“Tomorrow, I’m going to send my delivery guy to the hospital with a truckload of flowers for them.”
“Why don’t you just take them to their house so Colin doesn’t have to load all those flowers in his car with Adalyn and the baby?”
“Good idea. See, this is why I love you. You’re the more sensible one.” I smiled, kissing his cheek.