Bonus Epilogue
A wet dog nose pressed into my ear followed by a sloppy lick on the cheek wakes me up abruptly. Remington’s deep laughter comes from somewhere nearby, and I reach over finding his side of the bed cool and empty.
“Good boy, Ash,” Remington says.
I reluctantly pull myself from the last tether of sleep holding me down, open my eyes, and see the most handsome man filling our bedroom doorway.
Remington’s smile is as blinding as the sun that is just starting to blaze into our room through the balcony doors.
In his hands is a tray filled with the most delicious smelling breakfast, coffee for him, and tea for me.
“Mmmm,” I say. “This is a really nice surprise to wake up to. You and the breakfast, I mean. Ash’s nose in my ear, not so much.” I glance over at our very proud dog, goofy tongue floppy out the side of his mouth like usual.
“Well, to be fair, I asked him to go wake you up and he did an excellent job following directions. He was number one in his obedience classes for a reason.” Remington freaking winks at me as he walks to our bed.
Did I mention that he’s also shirtless? Blond hair perfectly mussed, muscles and every tattoo on full display . . . I think he’s trying to kill me before the day even starts.
He sets the tray between us, picks up a freshly sliced strawberry off of the huge pile of French toast, and offers it to me.
I open my mouth and gladly let him feed it to me, moaning as the tart berry runs over my taste buds.
Our eyes locked on each other, licking the juice from his fingertips, Remington says, “Happy first wedding anniversary, Mrs. LeBlanc.”
Grinning, I lean in and kiss him. “Happy anniversary, Mr. LeBlanc. It’s been one of the best years of my entire life.”
“Mine, too, baby.” He cups my face, gently running his thumb across my jaw, my scar, and then down my neck.
“What is the plan for today?” I ask, sinking back into the pillows.
“Well, this.” He motions to the perfect breakfast he made us. “Then I was thinking we could take a shower together. Later we are going to pick up Gino’s and go to Eagle Point to watch the sunset.”
“Shower together, huh?” I say with a raised eyebrow.
“Yup, all about water conservation around here.” He smirks. “After we shower I have a surprise for you here though.”
“Ohh! Do I get a hint?” I fold my hands hopefully.
“Absolutely not.” He puts a forkful of scrambled eggs in his mouth, eyes filled with mischief.
“Well I guess we better hurry this along then,” I say, taking a big bite of my own French toast, holding back a smile while Remington laughs at me.
We in fact did not hurry anything along—
We made slow, passionate love in bed after finishing our breakfast. It was intimate and sweet.
Then we got in the shower together and Remington took me against our glass-tiled wall.
It was rough, commanding, and powerful. Raw.
All sides of ourselves connected, free, open, and loved to perfection within each other’s embrace.
Now we are standing in our spacious living room where Remington is tying a blindfold around my eyes.
“This is fun, but I think I am a bit too sore to go another round right now, Remington,” I tease him.
Rumbling into my neck, he says, “Don’t tempt me, baby. You and I both know you could take it.” He smacks my ass, making me yelp, then laces his fingers through my hand, leading me through our house.
Rebuilding from the ground up after the fire was a lot of work, more emotional than I think either of us expected it to be, but also really exciting. Now we are living in a house that has everything we could possibly want with plenty of room to grow our family.
“Where are we going?” I ask, feeling the fresh air hit me as we step outside.
“Patience, beautiful. Almost there. Watch your step.” Remington leads me off of our deck and into the unfinished backyard.
Charles and Remington have been working on the landscaping and hardscaping to make the yard a nice place to have company and enjoy ourselves.
Renee promised me she would help me with a small cut-flower garden.
I do not have her green thumb, but I appreciate that she is teaching me and we can share in a love of flowers.
Remington twists my body into the position he wants, then wraps his strong arms around my stomach. “I love you so much, Lainey. Happy anniversary.”
He pulls off my blindfold and I blink quickly, adjusting to the bright sunlight. There in front of us, in the empty dirt space that will eventually be my garden, is a singular plant—a beautiful, large peony plant, bursting with life. Deep green leaves and gorgeous pink flowers.
Spinning in his arms, I take Remington’s smooth face in my hands, kiss him, and look into his glimmering, honey-colored eyes. “It’s so beautiful. Thank you.”
“It’s our own legacy flowers, baby. Every year my dad gets Mom the new roses, right? So I thought since peonies are your favorite flower, we could carry on the tradition, but in our own way.” He bites down on his lip and runs his hand through his sandy hair nervously.
“This is the most incredible gift you could have given me today, Remington. You never stop surprising me with how thoughtful you are.” I kiss his wedding band.
“You do a good job at surprising me, too. I’m not sure a little plant can top Ash.” He hugs me to his chest.
“I mean, this is our first anniversary, and it’s traditionally supposed to be paper gifts. I technically made mine for you. Here.” I reach into the back pocket of my jeans and give him an envelope. “It’s really kind of for both of us.” I smile up at him.
Carefully, Remington tears open the pale lavender envelope, slipping out the folded paper. His brow wrinkles in confusion as he takes a moment to realize what he’s holding.
“Surprise,” I whisper.
“We’re pregnant?” Remington traces a finger lightly over the black-and-white sonogram image, showing the tiny bean shape that is our baby.
“Yes. I went for my yearly exam last week, remember? They always make you take a pregnancy test, just in case. I was not expecting it to be positive. Dr. Barrett squeezed me in for an ultrasound since I didn’t know how far along I could be.
My periods have been really irregular ever since we had my IUD taken out.
” I fidget with my wedding band and engagement ring as I explain my appointment to my husband.
Suddenly I am swooped off of my feet and Remington’s lips are on mine, drowning me in an adoring kiss. I feel swept away in emotion and happiness. His strong arms holding me and our growing baby, a place that will always be a safe haven for the both of us.
“I take it back. This is the best surprise of my life,” Remington admits as he wipes tears from his eyes. “I’m so fucking happy, baby.” Dropping to his knees, right in the dirt, he kisses my stomach. “Hello, sweet pea,” he says reverently.
I run my hands through Remington’s hair as he continues to kiss my stomach and talk to our baby—my heart exploding, surrounded by flowers and the precious threads of forever being grown right here from the deepest roots of love.
The End.