EPILOGUE
ONE YEAR LATER…
Nate and I had bought a family home just outside the city. We split our time between there and the penthouse. We wanted to escape city life and found a dainty village where cobblestones lined the streets, the cottages neatly in a row and the roads were super quiet. Scrap that, the whole area was quiet!
We had a pub, post office and a handful of local shops, a hairdressers and beauty salon, all located by a beautiful church. Everything was old England style, everywhere we looked there were plenty of rose bushes growing, fields that would burst with sunflowers in summer and hills and woodlands as far as the eye could reach. It was something out of a fairytale.
Everyone was welcoming and we knew the whole village. We had only been here a couple months, but we decided to move here full time, as the penthouse wasn't really a family home and we weren't allowed pets in the luxury apartments.
Nate still commuted into the city for work. He was now the CEO of the law firm and talk of them expanding up North was on the books. Business was thriving for me too, I met clients all over the country, but mainly worked from home in my little home office. I never thought the business would be as big as it was right now; I had a rented office in Kensington, London with a manager and several employers underneath me. I visited once a week to get the intel and make sure things were running efficiently.
This meant that money was good, we had family holidays that included everyone from both sides. We even gifted my Dad his own Porsche as he loved Nate’s one so much. Everything was perfect.
“Haley, come to Mama!” I called, holding my arms out and sitting on the floor. She ran as fast as her little legs could before she leaped into my arms. “Good girl,” I praised as I stroked her head. Our puppy roamed the house, we were paw parents! She completed us for now.
We did want a baby at a later date but with work and just enjoying each other, we decided to press pause for a few years. Haley kept me company when Nate had to work away from home or stay somewhere overnight. But when he came home, it was everything. Nate and I would walk Haley every evening and our favourite was on a Sunday, after a visit to the local pub for a Sunday roast. We called Sunday ‘Family time’, where it was tradition that neither of us would be working, and it would be our day to just be home. This was home.
It was Saturday, my scheduled ‘Ivy’ meet up once a month had resumed. Only this time it was more of a double date thing, which seemed to be the new tradition. It was our turn to host dinner for our family. I was super excited to have them here. Nate returned from the store with grocery bags, as he picked up things for dinner on his half day at the office.
Haley ran around at my feet, excitedly, before going to annoy Nate. He picked her up, snuggled into her and rubbed her belly, his usual routine, before he came up behind me to greet me. Snaking his arms around my waist and kissing me on the cheek as I leaned into him.
“Hey my beautiful wife,” he said. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention we got married too. We got married in that beautiful old English church in this village. Which was part of the reason we wanted to move here. We checked out lots of wedding venues and this was perfect. We fell in love with the town. Our wedding was just a small ceremony. My parents, Ivy and Jude. We didn’t need or want anyone else, it was just us.
“Hello, husband.” He buried his face into my neck, inhaling my scent that brought him comfort, and pulled me closer to him. I couldn’t get used to this new title for him but I loved it. “How was the trip to the office?” I asked as I tried to focus on washing the dishes whilst in his grip.
“Boring! I just wanted to be home with you!” He chuckled, his warm breath tickling me. The rumble of his voice in my ear sent shivers down my spine. Since we moved and got married, Nate wanted to be home as much as possible, he said that even though he enjoyed work, he enjoyed being with me more.
“What have you done with old Nate? The man I married is finding work boring... oh my.” I sighed, teasing him with a hint of attitude.
“You better watch that tone, Mrs Dalton,” he growled, kissing the sweet spot on my neck making me squeal. “You will be punished for that.”
“Oh, is that so?” I asked him, smirking. I turned in his arms to face him, wrapping my arms around his neck. I looked into those big, brown, beautiful eyes, getting lost, watching them sparkle as he looked into mine.
“Mhm,” he nodded before pressing a gentle kiss to my lips. I deepened the kiss, pulling him closer to me. The spark continued to ignite between us, and our sex was still incredible, as if each time was the first time. He still made me feel like the first time I met him. “Mrs Gigi Dalton… I still can't get used to saying that,” he confessed, “I love it.”
My new name rolling off his tongue still did things to me, especially when he was seducing me. He kissed along my jaw and to my neck and I moaned at the contact.
“I love it too," I melted in his hands as he held me up, he kissed me harder and lifted me onto the kitchen island as I wrapped my legs around his waist. He lifted my t-shirt over my head allowing it to fall to the floor and kissed over my collarbone. I leaned back on the counter as he kissed down my stomach and to the waistband of my leggings. His hand caressing me over the fabric, my hips lifting towards him, granting him permission to take me right now, in the kitchen, on this sunny afternoon.
Ding dong; the doorbell interrupted us, bringing us both back to reality. He pulled back frustrated and helped me to sit back up.
“The one day my sister decided to be on time!” Nate moaned and I chuckled. He gave my cheek a small peck before he helped me down and handed my t-shirt to pop back on. “We will continue this later,” he said, promisingly, running a thumb and finger over his plumped lips, as he disappeared to answer the door.
I ran out the kitchen and straight for Ivy, after Nate hugged her, she hugged me even tighter. Nate pulled Jude in for a bromance hug before taking the car seat from him. Jude pulled me in for a hug next.
“Well, you’ve lost your baby for the day,” I smiled, as I watched Nate take her from the car seat and cradle her small delicate body in his large frame.
“It’s okay, I’ll fight him later.” She joked as she watched Nate doting on her daughter. “How is my sister?” She asked, she always called me her sister since she found out me and Nate were together.
“I'm good, how are you, mummy?” I asked her, seeing her exhausted but loving life.
“Good, but tired. Caroline cries a lot, but so do I,” she shrugged, laughing it off as Jude came back with a glass of wine for her and me. “But I wouldn't change her for the world."
She glanced over at her with so much adoration on her face. I leaned my head against hers and we watched Nate coo over his niece.
Since Caroline was born, Nate has been obsessed with her, every time we see her Nate always takes her and wants to give Ivy some time with me. I even catch him having conversations with her as he rocks her to sleep. Telling her stories about Ivy and me, about his Mum Carol, or even just what he envisions for our future. I knew when the time came, Nate would be the most amazing Dad.
It’s weird to think that this was everything I dreamed of when I first met him and how it was slowly coming true. That the universe had already planned this out. From that one night in Barcelona where I never thought I'd see him ever again, to him being my best friend’s older brother, a one to a trillion chance out of all of earth's population. From him being afraid of commitment to being the most committed man I’d ever seen. I had the stars to thank, I had the universe to be forever grateful to because I never imagined my life to be like. Everything was perfect. Just like a romance novel.