Epilogue
Lover for Life
Ruby
Five years later
I’ve been calling for them for five minutes. It’s lunch time. Dax goes down for a nap soon. If I miss that window, the rest of the day is shot.
But they’re not coming, which shouldn’t surprise me. I don’t know why I think today will be different than most other days.
When Payne walked into his office this morning, he didn’t shut the doors.
The boys know what that means. Daddy is working, but he’s also open game to any hijinks they feel like getting into.
Gage is four and a natural born leader. Dax turns two next month.
He’s his brother’s shadow. The thought of Gage going to kindergarten makes me want to fall to my knees and weep.
Time is a thief. Payne and I will never get enough of our family.
The giggles, screams, and laughter are the happiest noises this house has ever heard. Gage is almost as old as Payne and me when we met in this very house. To see our boys run the same halls, play in the same areas, and cause the same ruckus we did fills my heart on a daily basis.
When I come around the corner, I’m stopped by the sight in front of me.
Payne sits at his desk pecking on his keyboard with one hand because the other is holding Dax securely on his shoulders where he sits.
Dax’s little legs are flapping and kicking, and he’s holding onto Payne’s thick hair.
Gage sits under Payne’s desk arranging his action figures and making shooting noises he’s perfected so well.
I cross my arms and lean against the doorjamb to take in the chaos I love so much. “Looks like you’re getting a lot done in here.”
Payne looks from his screen to me and smirks. “It’s a good thing I’ve hired two more asset managers to lighten my load. Answering email is about all I can do when the team comes in to help.”
“The productivity is flowing.” I enter the dark wooden office that hasn’t changed a bit unless you count the baskets of toys and children’s books that have taken over the bottom shelf of every bookcase.
It took a while, but I finally convinced Payne to move past his plan to bulldoze the room down.
We did exactly what we needed to do—we made it his.
And we’ve done it over and over and over.
So much so, I have news for him.
I pluck Dax off Payne’s shoulders and blow on his neck before I set him on his feet. “Grandma Tallie and Sadie are waiting for you to eat lunch with them. Run, run, run!”
Gage crawls out from under the desk. “Okay, but don’t move my toys. I’ll be back!”
“Be back!” Dax echoes.
They both run out of the office—bare feet on marble and little voices filling the house.
I take this rare moment during the day to have Payne to myself and perch my ass in his lap, wrap my arms around his neck, and tuck my feet up.
“I just talked to Grandma. Blake has the night off from the manor. They’re coming for dinner tonight. ”
“We should eat outside. It’s too nice to sit in the house.”
“I agree. I made you lunch too. Do you want me to bring it to you so you can get some real work done?”
He tucks me into his groin and chest and plants a hand on my ass when he kisses me. “No. I want to sit like this for as long as we can.”
I trace a fingertip down his square jawline. “I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to sit like this.”
“You have somewhere to be this afternoon?”
I shake my head. “I’m not talking about today. I’m talking about the next nine months.”
His grip on me tightens and his expression intensifies. “Seriously?”
A small smile touches my lips. “I would never joke about that. I just peed on the stick. I’m not sure it’s ever come back positive this fast. When we say fuck it, we don’t mess around.”
His expression morphs into a cocky, gratified smile. “My sperm is killing it at this family thing.”
I swat his chest playfully. “Hello? I had something to do with it too.”
He cups the back of my head and pulls me in for a deep, long kiss. When he finally lets me up for air, the cocky is wiped off his face. “Life is fucking good, Ruby Lu. Sweeter than I ever thought I’d have. I love you so much.”
He’s right.
We defied the odds and fought every roadblock.
The little boy who promised to be my best friend turned into my lover for life. The little girl in me with ratty hair and stained clothes will forever and always be obsessed with Payne Deacon.