“I’m not really sure.”
I’ve not been around a lot of pregnant women. Shannon was already pretty far along by the time I met her, and I avoided Heidi as much as possible.
I really know nothing about being pregnant. But I guess most women don’t until it happens to them.
Hutch moves closer and presses the side of his face to my stomach. “Our wee bairn is inside you. Right there. That’s amazing to me.”
I push my fingers into his hair, stroking my fingers over the scattered silver strands at his temples. “The whole thing is truly amazing when you think about it. This is our love story, our fairy tale, our destiny. This was fated from the moment your eyes met mine.”
“We do have one hell of a love story, don’t we?”
“Yes. A love story with a beautiful ever after.”
Epilogue
CAITRIONA HUTCHESON
Go Hutch, go Hutch, go Hutch.
Don’t let that bastard hook your stick again. And if he does, yank him off his fucking horse.
Hooking your opponent’s stick is perfectly acceptable in polo. I’ve seen it done a million times, but I’ve never seen an opponent try to unseat Hutch from his horse the way this asshat is attempting to do so.
Hutch lifts his stick and strikes the ball, scoring another goal for his polo team, moving them into the winning position in the last minute of the final chukka.
Our two-year-old son is sitting on my lap and I grasp his hands, clapping them together, “Yay, James. Did you see Da? He scored another goal for the team. They’re winning. Yaaay!”
Bonnie, our eight-year-old daughter, and Aleck, our five-year-old son shoot out of their seats and celebrate their dad’s goal. “Yaaay for Da.”
Paden, our ten-year-old son, is somewhere running around with his friends, so I’m sure he missed this goal and the other ones too. That one is a busy little boy.
I look over to see if Ava Rose is cheering for her dad and find that she’s gone from her usual spot where she and her friends sit. Where did she go? She was just there.
“Do you see where Ava Rose has gone?”
“I do,” Clarissa says. I wait for her to tell me where she is, but she doesn’t.
“Where?”
“I’m not sure you want to know.”
I look over the rim of my sunglasses at Clarissa. “What are you talking about?”
“She and a young man are taking a walk together.” Clarissa hesitates. “And holding hands while doing so.”
Oh God.
Hutch will die.
And I may throw up and then die.
No, no, no. Not my baby. She’s only twelve. She’s too young for that.
“I hope Hutch doesn’t see her with the boy, or he’ll have a heart attack and fall off his horse.” And then get trampled by that fool trying to unseat him.
“This is the natural order of things, Lou. You have to let go a wee bit.”
It’s only been a few weeks since Sara came home and caught Leo having sex with a girl in his bedroom. So, no, thank you. I’m not letting go.
“I can’t tell Hutch.” He will shit his white polo pants. And that will not be a good look on him.
“Ava Rose is growing up whether you tell him or not.”
Uhh, shit. We have to go through this with four more kids? No, scratch that. Five more kids.
The game ends and Hutch’s team wins. I’m thrilled about that. He’s always in a good mood after a win.
I watch Hutch approaching and a thought occurs. My husband is forty-five years old and not one of these twenty-something-year-olds out here can fill out those pants like he does. Not a one of them is as sexy as he is.
To whomever decided polo players should wear fitted white pants… well played, madam. Well played. That in itself is a good enough reason to come watch men sit atop horses and hit a ball with a stick.
“Congratulations, sir. Great game.”
“Thank you, mo maise.” He leans forward and kisses my mouth. “There was a time or two I thought you might get to see me knocked on to my arse.”
So I wasn’t imagining it. “Who was that man trying to unseat you?”
“I believe that was Blair’s most recent husband.”
Really? She found a third fool to marry her? “Well, it looks like she married the right man this time. Because he’s obviously…” I lower my voice. “…as big a bitch as she is.”
Hutch shrugs. “Don’t give a—” He looks at James, Aleck, and Bonnie. “We don’t give a duck, do we?”
“Nope. No ducks given,” Aleck says.
Oh God. One of these days they’re going to figure out what duck really means.
“Are we ready to go lads and lasses? Your da is tired and hungry.”
Hutch usually eats an enormous meal and crashes after a game. But not tonight.
I lift my brows. “Clarissa and Gus are taking the kids home with them.”
And I’m so grateful. I need this alone time with Hutch.
“Then I need hugs from my Hutcheson clan.” He holds out his arms and is swarmed by ten little arms. “Is this a spend-the-night thing or are they coming home later?”
“Let them stay the night with us,” Gus says.
Knowing the kids are out of the house and not within earshot would be so helpful. I’m not sure how Hutch is going to take this news.
He squats so he’s on their level. Well, most of their levels. Ava Rose is already taller than I am. “Listen up, wee Hutcheson clan. You have to be good for Gussie and Nana.”
Our five children sing, “Weee… willll.”
“I love all of you and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Five I-love-yous. It’s so precious to hear coming from their sweet mouths.
And it’ll soon be six.
Oh God. I may throw up.
The kids are taken care of. Now to move on to the scary beautiful thing I must tell my husband.
He’s going to be a father again at forty-five. Maybe forty-six depending on my due date.
He’s going to… I don’t know what he’s going to do. But I have to make sure he takes off those white pants before I tell him.
* * *
MAXWELL HUTCHESON
We spend every minute of every day being Mum and Da. And while I love it, I crave our special husband-and-wife alone time.
I get to have my wife to myself all night long without distractions or interruptions by the kids. I’ve been waiting for a moment like this for too long. We should send the kids to my parents more often.
We’re barely through the front door when I pull Lou into my arms and kiss her. It begins slow and romantic but quickly escalates to heated and urgent. For once, the urgency isn’t because we have to hurry and finish before we’re interrupted by one of the kids.
“Tell me what you want, mo maise.”
She touches my bottom lip with her finger. “I want to slow down. We’re always in a rush and I’d like to take our time and enjoy each other.”
I used to tease Lou by taking my time with her. I’d hold back and delay my orgasm for as long as possible. Sex went on and on. But that was before five kids.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve taken things slowly.”
We copulate on jackrabbit speed.
But not tonight.
She splays her hands on my chest and rubs my pecs. “I bought something new to wear for you.”
Lou hasn’t worn lingerie for me in a long time. It’s been far too long since I’ve seen her in something hot and sexy.
I grip the backs of her thighs and hike her up. She wraps her legs around my waist and I walk toward our bedroom. “You haven’t carried me to bed in a long time.”
“I’m going to be doing a lot of things tonight that I haven’t done in a long time.”
I lower her feet to the floor when we’re in the bedroom and grip her bum. Pulling her against me, I move my mouth over her ear. “Go put on the lingerie. And don’t keep me waiting too long. I’m ready
to be inside you.”
“Will you light the candles while I change?”
“I will do anything you tell me to.”
She grabs my face and pulls me in for a quick kiss. “I won’t be long.”
The candles give the room the perfect romantic ambience. It’s a good reminder for taking things slowly.
I’m undressing when Lou comes out of the bathroom. She’s wearing a pink lace slip and she looks hot as hell in it. Her tits look fantastic, even after nursing four of our kids. She’s wearing a mischievous grin, and I know why when she turns around and shimmies, showing me the ruffles over her bum. “Like it?”
My cock immediately swells inside of my Y-fronts. “You look so fucking hot, babe. Come here.”
The way she walks toward me is beguiling. Each step she takes, seduces my mind and body. I must remind myself of what I’m to do—take my time and enjoy Lou. My wife. My lover. My NOLA girl and partner in life. The mother of my children.
I place one hand at her lower back and cradle her face with my other. She covers my hand with her own and closes her eyes, appearing as though she’s completely savoring the feel of my skin against hers. “Twelve years later and the simple touch of your hand still feels like pure seduction.”
“All you have to do is breathe and I want to be inside you.”
We move to the bed and she lies down on the middle. I begin at her ankles, kissing my way up her body, which still looks amazing after four babies. She occasionally complains about stretch marks and her stomach being fleshy instead of flat, but I don’t see flaws when I look at her. She’s perfect to me.
Pushing her slip up, I look at the tiny scrap of knickers covering her in the front. I push my fingers under the elastic waistband and tug. She lifts her bum and I drag the pink lace down her legs.
After tossing her knickers in the floor, I migrate up her body slowly. When we’re face-to-face, I cradle her cheeks with both of my hands. “I love you, mo maise.”
“And I love you, my hot Scot.”
She brings her legs up around my waist and wiggles beneath me until I’m positioned at her drenched opening. “I was planning to go down on you.”
She shakes her head. “Later. Right now, I want you inside me.”
She squeezes her legs to coax me closer and I glide in slowly. I push her legs back, bending them out and she tilts her hips. Thrust in and out several times, she meets each one, bringing me deeper inside her.
“I miss this, Lou. Being so deep we become one with no beginning and no end.”
I move my hand to where we’re joined and briefly enjoy feeling myself sliding in and out of her before I seek out her clit. We may be making love instead of fucking hard, but I’m still making sure my girl comes.
She moans when I find the spot and I circle it with my fingers. “Does that feel good?”
“Oh yeah,” she moans. “Right there. Don’t stop.”
She tenses and squeezes her legs tightly, signaling the onset of her climax, and then I feel the magnificent way her body squeezes my cock. That, combined with the knowledge of knowing I’ve brought her to orgasm, ignites the onset of my undoing. I thrust a few more times and then drive deep inside her, emptying all of myself.
Still blanketing her with my body, I kiss her forehead and lift my head so I can see her face. “Hi.”
She smiles and giggles. “Hi.”
She releases her legs from around my waist but I’m not ready to pull out. This is a rare occasion these days. I want to stay like this for just a little bit longer.
I lower my face to hers and gently scrape her with my facial hair. “I love the way your beard feels against my face.”
“I’ve been thinking of shaving it.”
“No! Absolutely not. It’s sexy as hell and I love the way it feels against my skin.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll keep it if it makes you happy.”
I plant a quick kiss against her mouth before pulling out and rolling to my back. I reach to take her hand in mine, lacing our fingers. I still have to be touching her some way after sex.
We lie motionless and I savor the post-sex bliss and luxury of being sprawled naked. And a thought occurs to me: I’m actually going to get to fuck my wife a second time tonight. That never happens anymore.
“What do you want for your birthday?”
Well, that was out of the clear blue.
“I don’t know.” Why is she asking about my birthday? It’s so far away.
“I have a gift for you. But I don’t know how you’re going to feel about it.”
“I always love your gifts. You know that.”
“You didn’t ask for this gift.”
“Sometimes those are the best kinds of gifts.”
Lou takes my hand and puts it on her stomach. She places her hand on top of mine and presses down. “Your gift is right here.”
I rise from the bed so I can see her face. “Are you… pregnant?”
She nods and tears fill her eyes. “I am.”
I look at our hands on top of her stomach. “How far along?”
“I’m not sure yet. Maybe six weeks.”
Another baby.
“Are you feeling unwell?” With each pregnancy, Lou has been sick through the fourth month.
“I’ve been fine so far.”
Another baby.
“How long have you known?”
“Two days.”
Another baby.
“Did you wait to tell me because you were afraid of my reaction?”
“Maybe.”
I rub my hand over her stomach in a circular motion, same as I did the other times she was pregnant, and it still amazes me. “It’s right there beneath my hand. Already forming and growing.”
I place my head on her stomach. “I want this baby. I already love him or her. Don’t worry for one second that I don’t. You and our children are my heart and now this baby is too.”
“Just as you are mine. Always.”
The End
About the Author
Georgia Cates is the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Best-Selling Author. She resides in rural Mississippi with her wonderful husband, Jeff, and their two beautiful daughters. She spent fourteen years as a labor and delivery nurse before she decided to pursue her dream of becoming an author and hasn’t looked back yet.
Sign-up for Georgia’s newsletter.
Get the latest news, first look at teasers,
and giveaways just for subscribers.
Stay connected with Georgia at:
Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram,
Goodreads, and Pinterest.
Also by Georgia Cates
BEAUTIFUL ILLUSIONS DUET
Eight-One Nights
Beautiful Ever After
STANDALONES
Dear Agony
Indulge
Sweet Torment
THE SIN TRILOGY
A Necessary Sin
The Next Sin
One Last Sin
The Sin Trilogy Bundle
SIN SERIES STANDALONE NOVELS
Endurance
Unintended
Redemption
THE BEAUTY SERIES
Beauty from Pain
Beauty from Surrender
Beauty from Love
The Beauty Series Bundle
MEN OF LOVIBOND
Tap
Stout
Porter
Men of Lovibond Collection
GOING UNDER SERIES
Going Under
Shallow
Going Under Complete Duo
THE VAMPIRE AGAPE SERIES
Blood of Anteros
Blood Jewel
Blood Doll
The Complete Vampire Agape Series
Archive.
Beautiful Ever After: Beautiful Illusions Duet Book 2 Page 21
