by Brynn Hale
Jill leans over. “My brother wants you to be happy Harlow. Please. Go be happy with Copper, heart and soul.”
How’d you know?
I stand and cross the room to the wooden bar where he’s sitting with his friends.
The song ends and the place quiets.
“Copper…” I whisper into his ear.
His head turns and he smiles.
And that’s all it takes. My heart is his. I can fit both my old love and my new love in it. It’s big enough for both.
He stands and his arms wrap me in a hug. “What are you doing here?”
“My sister-in-law dragged me here for a drink. She’s back there in the corner.”
He peers behind me. “Jillyn?” he asks. “That’s your sister-in-law?”
“You know her?”
“She’s my personal trainer.”
I glare with a tight jaw over at her and she raises and lowers her shoulders in a whatever kind of way. I laugh.
I bring a hand to Copper’s face. “You are the air in my lungs, Copper. You have given me new life and I want to spend the rest of our lives here on earth with you.”
His head tips and he swallows. “I’ve found a home when I’m with you and I can’t wait to be a part of Arya and Roan’s lives, too. Oh, and your pen name…it’s Wren Wilder.”
“How’d you know?”
“Last night I went downstairs for a glass of water, I journeyed into your office and looked for the books that reminded me of you in your bookcase. Plus, they were the only unsigned ones because an author doesn’t sign a book to themselves.”
He wasn’t wrong.
I stop his advancing kiss. “Oh, before we really do this…can you play pool?”
“I can.”
“Are you any good?”
“Nope.”
“Perfect.”
He winds a hand in my ponytail. “For that first date, I’m thinking breakfast in bed.”
“Sounds delicious to me.” I stand on my tiptoes and whisper in his ear. “Kiss me, my hero.”
He tips my head with his hand and I’m his.
Heart and soul.
Epilogue
Copper
“Honey, you okay?” I ask her.
“No, I’m not! Give me a minute to catch my breath.” Harlow leans over and lets her breathing settle.
I look to my left and a man gives me a been there kind of look. I give her back a rub and she moans. Better stop that, baby. Don’t need to scare these people.
We could’ve sat in the front row and avoided the stairs, but she wants to be up in the stands to watch Roan’s basketball game. It’s Parent’s Night. I’ll be standing on the other side of Roan as his father. He asked me to.
I grasp Harlow’s waist and imagine sliding into that pulsing pussy like we did this morning. I now have to take her from behind or on our sides because she’s just so uncomfortable. I miss having her on top, but this is worth it. It’s worth everything to me.
And hopefully we inspired another book in her New York Times best-selling series, Heart and Soul Forever. If she thought Rei Silk was A-List, Harlow’s now A+-List.
You see…
Apparently, my now wife miscalculated how long she’d had the birth control implant in her arm, a year longer than the five they suggest, and that very first night we made love, we created not only our love but a life. Three weeks later she was freaking out thinking I’d run for the hills, but it only doubled my love for her.
Two days later, I sat the kids down and asked them for permission to ask Harlow to marry me. They both gave their blessings, but told me I needed to get Jillyn’s, too. She almost killed me at that training session. I should’ve waited until the end to ask her. Rookie mistake.
But she gave me her approval all the same. And now our kids will grow up together.
I sold my house, with Roan’s help to fix it up. He’ll be pursuing a degree in Business and Construction Management. Hemi and Leif have been helping me to fix up the mansion. One project, on the list of a two hundred, at a time—I’m not kidding. It’s a big project and will probably take years, but it’s home now. And the baby’s room is perfect, thanks to a group effort. If I thought the group of guys welcomed me into their fold, what they’re wives and partners have done for my family has choked me up more than once. Maybe Arya’s having a little effect on me, too.
Speaking of…Arya is still finding a way to express her feelings and yes, sometimes she still does it loudly, but she and I have a weekly meeting to share a pizza at Graffiti Street and talk it all out. Roan was accepted to UNLV on the basketball team just yesterday—one of the proudest days of my life. I feel like Greek god Zeus has blessed me with the family I never knew I wanted or needed.
We find seats and I hand her the two kinds of candy and bottle of water I’ve been keeping in my pockets.
“Oooo, I forgot about the Dots!” Little things make my beautiful wife happy nowadays. This baby is going to be half-human and half sugar monster. But I’ll love it all the same.
She smiles and kisses my cheek. “Love you.”
“Love you, too.” I lean toward her. “I’ve been thinking.”
She pops another Dot into her mouth. “About?”
“Names for the baby.” We don’t know what we’re having. We couldn’t get the little booger to roll over for the ultrasound.
“Oh. Okay, what have you come up with?” She stands up and screams. “Go Roan!” He races down the court and slams the ball into the net. “Whoooooop!”
I assist her to sit back down. Three months to go.
“How about Corey, girl or boy, in honor of—”
“Corbin,” we say together.
The kids already know and liked the idea.
“Maybe this is a miracle born out of tragedy, baby.” I slip a hand under hers, lifting her ring. “Just like this ring, our family and our love are part of the old and part of the new.”
I added a band of diamonds to her original wedding ring and slipped it on her finger with pride in front of family inside of Graffiti Street.
“I love the idea. Thank you.”
I have a true family now and I can’t wait to meet our next addition.
My phone buzzes in my pocket and I lift it out. Just a telemarketer. A picture of our family brightens the screen and I smile.
Oh, and the toilet still runs, but now we just blame it on Corbin and I leave it alone.
THE END
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About the Author
Brynn Hale is a Midwest girl who can spot--and swoon over--a hard-working guy a mile away. She believes in winks across a crowded room, guys who do the dishes, a blue-collar alpha will always win a heroine's heart, and a martini or craft beer is the perfect accompaniment to her stories.
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