“I love you,” I whisper.
Bailey smiles with tears in her eyes threatening to break free and whispers, “In this life and the next.”
At those words, I know all her doubts and fears are gone, and that we’re going to grow old and gray together, and we’re going to do it loving each other with no reservations.
The minister says a few quick phrases about love, faithfulness, and respect before we say our I do’s. We keep our vows short and straightforward. I didn’t want to waste too much time as I have a crucial matter to get to. Just as the minister is about to declare us husband and wife, he turns to Hunter who steps forward with Logan.
“I understand you have some things to address, Mr. McKnight?’ he questions.
“I do.” I look back to Bailey, and I can tell she is worrying herself sick. Silly woman. “It’s okay, baby,” I reassure her as I press a light kiss to her forehead.
“Bailey, when I said I would love, protect, and take care of you and Logan as a family, I meant every word. So, if you accept, I would like to adopt Logan as my son and have you officially on paper as his legal mother.” I wait, holding my breath, and hope she isn’t going to get upset and walk off. Maybe I should have spoken to her first. I don’t have to wait long until she throws herself into my arms and begins to cry.
“Baby, please don’t cry. I’m sorry. If you don’t want to, I don’t have to adopt Logan. It’s okay. Please don’t cry, you’re killing me,” I beg her as I hold her tight in my arms.
“Yes, yes, I want that,” she says between her sobs.
Shit, she fucking gave me a heart attack for a second. I push back a bit and kiss her lips and then bend down to be at eye level with Logan.
“Hey, bud, so what do you think of me adopting you?’ He looks at me very seriously, and that kind of has me sweating a bit.
“Does that mean my mom won’t be my mom anymore?” he questions, his voice a bit wobbly.
That is not good. Shit!
“No, no, bud. Absolutely not. Your mom will always be your mom. What this means is that I’ll be legally your family, like your mom, if you want me.” I wait patiently while he thinks seriously about this. Fuck, I think I just fucked my own wedding up.
“That means I’ll have your last name, too, right?” he says hopefully.
“Yeah, bud. You’ll have my last name, too.” I chuckle nervously.
“Umm… Does that also mean that you’re my dad now?” He sucks in a big breath and holds it while waiting on my response.
Well, shit. I was not expecting that. A grown man or not, I feel the tears stinging, on the verge of breaking free, as this precious little boy waits for me to answer if I want to be his dad. Like I ever had a choice. He owned my heart the same day he and his mom entered my life.
“If that’s what you want, bud, then yes. It means I’m your dad.” I choke on the emotion clogging my throat.
“Yes! I want you to be my dad with my mom!” He jumps into my arms, and I hug him tightly while standing back up with him in my arms. Bailey and I sign all the legal documents stating we are now officially husband and wife, and that Logan is now our legitimate child.
“May I introduce to you all, the McKnight family!” the minister shouts while everyone cheers our congratulations and Zeus runs up and down the rose petal path barking his excitement.
“Mrs. McKnight, I love you. In this life and the next,” I whisper against her lips.
“Mr. McKnight, I love you. In this life and the next,” she whispers back but presses her lips harder against mine.
“Dad, can you put me down?” I look back at Logan and feel my chest explode at hearing him calling me Dad for the first time. Shit, that’s a heavy feeling. I kiss his chubby cheek before putting him down on his feet while his mom and I watch him run after Zeus toward the house where everyone is now gathering.
“The perfect view. You have not only made me the happiest woman in this universe but you have also given Logan what he so desperately needs. A dad who loves him unconditionally,” Bailey whispers while leaning her head against my shoulder. I kiss her forehead and take in all that’s around us.
Travis, wherever you are, thank you for guiding them to me.
“Get in here, you two!” Hunter shouts from the opening of the back door.
“We’ll be right there!” I yell back, then I pull out my phone and search for a specific song in my playlist and place it on a nearby chair and turn to my wife. Damn, that’s a great fucking feeling.
“Mrs. McKnight, may I have this dance?’ I reach out my hand to her. She giggles, and I swear, as cheesy as it sounds, it really is music to my ears.
“I’d love to, Mr. McKnight.” I pull her as close as our bodies allow and rest my forehead against hers as she slips her arms around my neck and mine go around her slim figure while the soft sounds of Jason Aldean’s “You Make It Easy” wrap around us.
“I would never peg you for a country man, but this song really is perfect,” she whispers against my lips.
“You told me once your mom loved country music. I wanted you to have a piece of her here with you on our special day,” I whisper back and press a feather-light kiss against her lips.
“I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I promise, Gavin, I will love you for the rest of my life and do everything to make you happy, just like you do Logan and me.” Tears run down her cheeks and I kiss them away. This woman has no clue that I’m the lucky one. I guess this is what it really is to have someone love you unconditionally, and you, them.
“In this life and the next, beautiful. I love you forever.” I crash my lips against hers, and when she opens, I waste no time in taking what’s now legally mine.
“Lover-birds! Let’s party! You have a lifetime to suck faces!” Ash yells out this time. We pull back and laugh.
“Let’s go celebrate, Mrs. McKnight.”
She gives me that smile that brightens up her whole entire face, and then we make our way to our home and to our family.
Epilogue
Gavin
Two years later
“Babe! Logan!” I call out into the house as I walk in through the garage door. I’m met with silence, and the panic in the pit of my stomach roars to life. When I went by the bakery, Ash told me that Bailey went home early since she wasn’t feeling well.
Since the grand opening of Sweet Things, nearly over a year ago, Bailey has been working nonstop. Just five minutes from my shop, there was an abandoned shop at the corner that had been closed for years, and the building was just sitting there, empty. The town was planning on demolishing it when Bailey and Ash decided to take the plunge and open up their own bakery. It’s been going strong for nearly over a year now, and let me tell you, the people in town, I included, are loving having a place where they can have some delicious homemade pastries, bread, fancy lattes and her mom’s famous jams. What I don’t love is my woman working herself to the bone to ensure that everything is always in order. Another thing I learned real quick about Bailey is that she is a really hard worker and doesn’t know when to let her employees take over, even knowing they are very well capable of working without her there.
Which brings me to today. The fact that Bailey went home not feeling well worried me, but what really freaked me out was that when I went to pick up Logan at school, his teacher had said Bailey picked him up earlier that afternoon. When I tried calling her, her phone went right to voicemail. Now, usually, that wouldn’t freak me out too much, as Bailey is a disaster with her phone. For one, she never knows where the damn thing is. Second, when she does know where it is, it never has any charge left. But right now that shit has me a second away from calling Uncle Marcus and getting a search party out looking for my wife and kid.
Just as I’m about to pull out my phone, Zeus comes running into the kitchen to greet me. Okay, I found one member of the family.
“Hey, boy. Where is everybody?’ I give him a head rub before he’s off running toward the great room to
stand by the door.
“We need to find Bailey and Logan before we go outside, buddy. You gotta help me find them.” I start toward him when Logan comes running through the great room doors.
“Dad! You’re home!” Logan yells excitedly.
Thank fuck! Okay, Logan is here, that means Bailey is here, too. She might be in our room sleeping and I’m here yelling up a storm.
“Bud, you all right? Where’s Mom?” I look him over to ensure he really is okay before he wiggles to get down.
“Yeah, I’m great! Now, come on. We have a surprise for you, but you gotta put this on.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a silk blindfold. Not just any blindfold, the same one I gave him to use on his mom the day I proposed to her.
What the hell is she up to? I raise an eyebrow at him in question, when he bursts out laughing and Zeus barks a couple of times, eager to get back outside with us.
“Please! Dad! You’re really gonna love this surprise.”
It never gets old hearing him call me Dad. I bend down in front of him so he can blindfold me.
“Yes! Okay, let’s go!” he shouts in excitement as Zeus barks to join him. He slips his hand in mine and gives it a tight squeeze as he guides me out of the great room and toward the back of our home. I can hear the birds chirping and Zeus running close and then away from us. I’m trying to figure out how far away from the house we are, but I’m too focused on wanting this shit removed so I can see my woman.
“Okay, just stay right there and don’t move.” I don’t get to ask him where he’s going when his hand vanishes and I sense her.
“Beautiful?” I whisper out. She doesn’t answer me just presses her lips to mine and lingers there for a bit.
“Can I take this shit off already?” I grumble out, frustrated that I can’t see her. She giggles before answering. Too damn cute, this woman.
“In a minute. Just hear me out, handsome.” I shake my head at the exact same words I used on her two and a half years ago when I asked her to spend her life with me.
“Gavin McKnight, you came into my life when I was on the run and scared, not only for my life but for Logan’s. I tried to show you that we were a lot of baggage and not worth your time. You, on the other hand, wouldn’t have any of that and shoved your way into our lives and showed not only me but also Logan what a real man is and how to respect, care, and love a woman.”
She places both her slender hands on my face and presses another kiss to my lips before pulling back. Still leaving that damn blindfold on. I’m about ready to pull the fucker off when she continues. “Calm yourself, Mr. McKnight, I’ll pull that damn thing off soon enough.” She giggles while I laugh.
Damn, she knows me too well. I press my forehead to hers and feel her breath against my lips, and it takes all my restraint not to just say fuck it and take what’s mine.
“You’ve been true to your vows and have loved us, protected us, and ensured that we are both happy. I only hope that we have been doing the same in return for you.”
“More than I could ever ask for, babe. You and Logan show me how to love. You both are the reason I do everything to ensure you are taken care of and happy.” I breathe against her lips. I can feel them curling up into her shy smile at my words.
“You’re an amazing man, Mr. McKnight, inside and out. You have a beautiful soul, and I know that Travis and my mother would agree with me.”
This woman. I feel her pull back and slip from my hold. I’m about to reach for her when she tells me to remove the blindfold. Thank fuck! I rip the bastard off, and it takes a few seconds for my eyes to adjust. When they do, I’m shocked beyond belief.
Standing in front of me under our willow tree that’s been decorated with white lights, just like on our wedding day, are Bailey, Logan, and Zeus. In Logan’s hand is a picture frame, but it’s a bit difficult to make out the picture inside, so I make my way closer to them, and when I finally make out what’s in front of me, I fall to my knees.
“Bailey… Is that…?” I can’t get the words out as I’m stuck staring at the sonogram with the words adorning the frame: I’m going to be a big brother.
“I’m gonna be a big brother, Dad!” Logan shouts and throws his little body in my arms. I catch him and hold on for dear life. I look up at my wife and see the tears running down her face. She places both her hands gently over her flat stomach—a baby. Logan steps out of my hold and hands me the picture frame and then takes off to run after Zeus, leaving just his mother and me. I stand and step into her space while staring at her belly and holding the picture frame.
“We’re having a baby?” I whisper. I don’t know why, but it just feels like a quiet moment.
“Yes…” Her voice cracks a bit and tears are steadily dropping to her cheeks. I pull her into me and lift her in my arms and spin her around.
“We’re having a baby!” I shout out into the open, eliciting a laugh from Bailey and an excited yell from Logan. I place her on her feet then I kneel down in front of her while placing both hands on her stomach and press my forehead softly against it.
“Hey, you. It’s your dad. I love you and your brother and I can’t wait to meet you. You just be good to your mom while you’re cooking, you hear me?” I press a few kisses and then I stand back up and take her beautiful face in my hands.
“Thank you. Thank you for allowing me to love you, allowing me to be Logan’s father, and for giving me another piece of you. I love you,” I whisper against her lips before I seek entrance. I pour all the love I have for her into that kiss and hope she feels everything she brings out in me.
“In this life and the next, Mr. McKnight.” She looks up at me with her seaweed colored eyes and swollen lips from our kiss.
“In this life and the next, Mrs. McKnight.”
The End
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, I want to thank my soulmate, Nadia. You have been in my life for as long as I can remember, and for the life of me, I don't know how you stick around. You have heard me talk nonstop about ideas of novels I want to write, and I even started a few only to delete all of it after you've revised them and told me they were good. I have thrown around ideas after ideas, and you have always encouraged me that I was on the right path, but I, the worst critic of my own work, kept holding back. I don't know how you did it, but you did, and here it is. Four months later, my first novel is out for the world to read. I love you in this life and the next.
Second on the list, the bodyguard, Filipe Miguel, aka my brother. I am at a loss of words when it comes to thanking you. These last few years have been quite the hurricane of events in my life, and I have to say I stayed sane because of you. We might not always see eye to eye, but when it comes to me sharing ideas of future plans, you always encourage me and tell me, just do it. I love you now and always.
To my sister-in-law, Joyce. Without knowing, you became the heart behind creating Bailey's character. You are a fierce momma and my niece couldn't be luckier. I love you.
To my small gang 4 life who have been my constant cheerleaders: Dyana, Dina, and Mafalda. You guys are amazing and the best family I could have asked for.
To the girls from Vis a Vis. Thank you, ladies, for listening to all my ideas, changes, and freak-outs about releasing my baby.
To Stephanie who became a friend via Inkitt after reading the very first draft of Just Breathe. You have listened to me rant about changes needing to be made, deadlines, and so on. You have become someone who is very important in my writing career, and I hope we continue our friendship for many years to come, and many books to come.
To Megan, who did a phenomenal job editing Just Breathe and for making my first baby perfect. Thank you for your ideas and for pushing me outside my box.
To all the bloggers, ARC readers, bookstagrammers, and promoters who helped put Just Breathe out there. Thank you a million times for your support and encouragement. You guys are amazing.
Finally, to all my readers. It doesn't matter how m
any times an author thanks you, it's never enough. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Without you there would be no writers with passion. Thank you for taking a chance on me and my first book. Until the next one.
About the Author
Célia Pereira resides in Ontario, Canada, in the heart of Toronto. She and her family immigrated from Portugal when she and her brother were little but traveled back each summer. She speaks Portuguese fluently, as it is her first language.
Célia works full-time as a spa manager in one of Toronto's well-known facial spas by day, and by night she lets her imagination run wild and creates dramatic stories.
When she's not working, she spends her time with all her adoptive nephews and nieces, but where you can find her most often is in a Starbucks, lost in a book with a caramel macchiato in hand.
Follow her on Instagram @author_c.pereira and Facebook Author C Pereira
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