Epilogue
Ten months later…
The rhythmic, gentle crash of the ocean waves against the shore was the only sound competing with the soft breathing of the little miracle resting against my chest.
I stretched my legs out on the beach towel, letting the warm sand dig into my toes. A soft ocean breeze swept over us, but I kept the light swaddle blanket tucked securely around our baby, protecting those delicate, fresh-to-the-world features from the afternoon sun.
I couldn't help but smile to myself. I had asked Azari for six months to transition out of my firm, set up my new business, and get my life in order so we could build a foundation. But God clearly had a sense of humor. Damn.
Barely two weeks after I packed my bags and said goodbye to Port Isle, my body started acting up.
What I thought was just post-vacation fatigue turned out to be a positive test. That whole six-month timeline went straight out the window, replaced by fast-tracked moving plans, nursery prep, and morning sickness.
I remembered standing in the bathroom that morning, staring at those two dark lines with my hands trembling so violently I almost dropped the stick.
All my carefully laid-out schedules, my plans, my structured corporate mindset.
It all shattered in an instant. I had been terrified to tell him, terrified he’d think I trapped him or that it was too much too fast.
I couldn't have been more wrong.
Through every single second of the chaos, Azari never blinked.
He stepped up as my protector, my provider, and my steady anchor from the moment I handed him that positive test. He pulled me into his arms, kissed away my nervous tears, and took charge.
When morning sickness had me weak, he was right there with ginger tea and wet cloths for my forehead.
When my feet swelled up near the end, he rubbed them until I fell asleep.
He spent endless nights putting together the nursery, hand-building the crib, and making sure my business launch went off without a hitch from home so I wouldn't stress.
A pair of warm, strong arms wrapped around my waist from behind, and a familiar set of lips pressed a lingering kiss against my temple.
“Baby sleep?” Azari’s deep, rumbling voice asked in my ear, sending that same warm flutter through my chest that it always did.
“Out cold,” I whispered, leaning back against his broad, solid chest. “The ocean breeze knocked him right out.”
Azari chuckled softly, his thumb gently brushing across our newborn’s tiny, squishy cheek.
He leaned over my shoulder, staring down at our baby Ashton with so much awe and tender devotion that it made my eyes sting with sweet tears.
The man who was supposed to be my ’six-months-from-now’ plan had jumped straight into full-time dad mode, rubbing my back through labor, setting up the crib, and pampering me like royalty through all nine months.
“Told you taking a trip back to Port Isle was a good idea,” he said, shifting his gaze to meet mine.
That intense, magnetic glint in his eyes hadn't faded one bit since the day in his room on the island. “You’ve been working so hard balancing the new business and bringing Ashton into the world. You needed a breather.”
“I’m at complete peace,” I admitted, placing my hand over his on my lap. “When I asked you for space back on the island, I had no idea our life was about to flip upside down so fast. But looking at us right now… I wouldn’t change a single second of it.”
Azari grinned, taking my chin between his thumb and forefinger and leaning in to press a tender, lingering kiss to my lips. The taste of sea salt and pure contentment lingered between us, grounding me in a way I hadn't known was possible months ago.
“Told you I had you, love,” he whispered against my mouth when he pulled back. “We might’ve skipped damn near every step, but somehow we still ended up exactly where we were supposed to be.”
I giggled softly, being careful not to disturb Ashton, nestled safely between us. I smiled as I looked down at our sleeping little boy. “Crazy how one vacation changed everything.”
“Nah,” Azari corrected softly. “One drink changed everything.”
My brows furrowed.
He chuckled and nodded toward Noir, the beach bar that sat just down the shoreline. Even from here I could make out the familiar sign.
“If you hadn't walked up to that bar looking all fine and confused, trying to figure out what to order, we probably wouldn't be sitting here right now.”
I laughed. “Don't remind me. That damn rum punch had me on my ass.”
He grinned. “Best drink you ever ordered.”
I smirked. “You only say that because you kept buying me another one.”
“No,” he said, his eyes locking onto mine. “Because meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
The smile slipped from my face as I looked at him. He slowly stood before reaching into the pocket of his linen shorts.
“Azari...”
He held one finger up. “Lemme finish.”
Before I could say another word, he lowered himself onto one knee in the warm sand.
My breath caught. “Oh my God...”
“You remember telling me you didn't know how to let somebody in?” he asked quietly. “You spent so much of your life taking care of everybody else that somewhere along the way, you forgot you deserved somebody to take care of you.”
My eyes instantly filled with tears.
“You came to Port Isle looking for peace.” His smile softened. “But I found my forever.”
He opened the small velvet box. Inside sat the most beautiful oval-cut diamond I'd ever seen, catching the afternoon sun until it sparkled like the ocean behind him.
“Indira Jones... my favorite vacation turned into my favorite life.”
A tear slipped down my cheek.
“You gave me a son.”
Another tear followed.
“You gave me purpose bigger than money, property, or business.” His voice cracked, making my own chest tighten. “So let me spend the rest of my life giving all of that back to you.”
He glanced down at Ashton before smiling again.
“And maybe one day we'll tell Ashton that all of this happened because his mama ordered one rum punch too many.”
I laughed through my tears as Azari held the ring out to me.
“So... what do you say, love?”
I didn't even let him finish. “Yes.” The word burst from me before I could stop it. “Yes. Yes, Azari.”
He slipped the ring onto my finger before standing and pulling me carefully into his arms so we wouldn't wake our son. His lips found mine, and the same butterflies I'd felt the first time he kissed me at Port Isle fluttered through my chest all over again.
When we finally pulled apart, he rested his forehead against mine.
“So... you still think that rum punch was a bad choice?”
I looked down at the sleeping little boy between us, then back at the gorgeous man wearing the biggest smile I'd ever seen.
I smiled. “Nah.”
I glanced toward Noir one last time. “But it did give me everything I never knew I was praying for.”
The waves rolled onto the shore as the sun dipped lower over Port Isle.
One vacation. One rum punch. One island. One unforgettable love.
And now...
One forever.
The end.