“It was awful.”
“You should have been with me. But you have me now princess.”
She shook her head. “No, it can’t work. I hoped it could… but it can’t. I couldn’t bare for you to end up hating me or blaming me for something I have no control over. I can’t be with you Tai.”
“You keep saying that and I’m still trying to figure out why.”
“ Tai…” Her breath caught and she started crying even more. “Do you want children? Is that what you want, Tai?”
“Yes.”
Sadness filled her eyes as she backed out of my grasp. “That’s not going to be with me. I can’t have any.”
“Phoebe Walker, I’m crazy about you. Don’t you see? Not even time can keep us apart. Nothing will.” I had an idea, one of my crazy roguish ideas but definitely the best I’d ever had. “I’m pretty certain that I said you were mine.”
I was determined to show this woman how much I loved her, and how much she meant to me.
Looked like she still had no idea.
“Things have changed now that you know and I respect that.”
I smiled at her as the idea came into full fruition in my mind.
I shuffled back, took off my dog tags and placed them around her neck.
“What are you doing you crazy boy?” She gave me a weak smile.
Phoebe was always mine.
She was my only.
My always.
My forever.
Time to make this relationship of ours official.
“Phoebe Walker, I’ve loved you since the first time I saw you. I, Taikehiro Tobias Ferreira take thee, Phoebe Allyssa Walker to be my lawful wedded wife.”
The blood drained from her face. “Tai, what are you doing?” she swallowed hard.
“I’m marrying you.”
Phoebe
It was like I’d strayed into a dream because I couldn’t have heard him right.
“What?” I was afraid to ask just in case I’d fallen asleep. I straightened up and suddenly he looked nervous.
He ran a hand through his spikey hair and moved so that he was on one knee like he was proposing, except he just said he was marrying me.
“Tai.” I breathed.
“I, Taikehiro Tobias Ferreira take thee, Phoebe Allyssa Walker to be my lawfully wedded wife to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish forever because not even death will keep me away from you. I pledge myself to you to love you forever, and our host of children we’ll adopt. You will always know that you come first and I swear to God I won’t scare our kids with the evil yōkai jokes.”
My mouth dropped and my hands trembled. I had to stand up and clutch my hand to my chest because this couldn’t be real.
He couldn’t be real.
“Tai.” My brain couldn’t function.
“Come on Phoebe what do you say? Marry me, please.”
“You still want me?”
“It’s a hard thing for a man to not want the perfect woman.”
“I’m not perfect. Jason—”
“Don’t mention that name again. Forget him like he never happened, he didn’t love you. I love you,” he said with emphasis. “You. I love you, and that means everything that is you and makes you, you. Now please marry me. Princess Phoebe.”
He smiled at me and stood up too brushing my cheek.
My heart lifted when I looked at him and I realized that I was staring love straight in the face.
“Yes, and I do. I do.” I tried to recall the vows he just made to me. “I Phoebe Alyssa Walker take thee, Taikehiro Tobias Ferreira to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish forever because not even death will keep me away from you either. I pledge myself to you to love you forever, and the host of kids we’ll have.” It felt so good to say that. indescribable. The emotion that soared through me was one that I couldn’t quite express because it was a blend of hope and love and everything in between. It was living. It was life. Adventure. “You are the very best man I know and I loved you from the first time that I saw you too.”
“Come here woman.”
I threw my arms around him, hugging him and relishing the feel of him. “Thank you, Tai. Thank you so much.”
Undiluted happiness coursed throughout me, lifting my spirits to that hope I longed for. I laugh as he swooped me up and kissing me.
“Thank you Phoebe for making me the happiest man alive. Let’s go home.” He smiled, eyes sparkling with wild sexual energy. “Can’t get nasty with you here. I hope you’re not tired.”
“I’m not tired.”
Epilogue
Four years later…
Tai
“Daddy, can I be a princess too like mom?” Rukia said running into my arms.
I looked at her and smiled loving her sweet smile and the way that her little arms circled around my neck.
“Sweet girl, you are a princess. All girls are.”
“Good answer.” Akito said with a laugh.
We sat out on the beach together watching the babies play with Phoebe and Mitsuke down by the seashore.
It reminded me of summers of old when we played on the beach as children.
I’d reached that mental pause in my life again. But this time I wasn’t anxious about it.
I looked forward to what the future would bring. I was a man with everything.
I married Princess Phoebe properly six months after our temporary wedding at Akito’s that night.
We had a year together of just us going on one adventure after another. Then it happened. The adoption agency contacted us letting us know of about twins whose parents died in a car accident in Tokyo. They didn’t want to split them up.
Neither did we. So we got our Rukia, named after my beloved aunt, and Kawei. A girl and a boy. Perfect.
They were six months old at the time and would be three in a few months.
Phoebe connected their situation with hers. An accident took their parents away from them, and an accident made her unable to have children.
So we would be their parents and they would be our children.
We would belong to each other.
I remembered when I first saw them. I took one look at them and they felt like mine. Blood couldn’t have created a stronger bond than what I felt for my babies.
Only love.
We kept the names their parents had given them as middle names and gave them our own.
Phoebe was the same as me. She loved them at first sight too.
Although I solemnly declared my love for her and the host of children we were going to adopt I knew she still worried that I’d changed my mind.
She got confirmation the day we met the twins that I was serious as hell. The look she gave me as I held them was another magical look I would never forget.
She looked at peace and I could almost see the mental sigh of relief. It was good for her even though there was never ever a problem.
What she never realized, probably because it was something that had to be shown, was that I loved her for all that she was. My heart had broken for her when I heard what happened to her, but it didn’t change anything. It never changed that deep love I had for the woman who’d lived in my dreams for so many years.
Her happiness was my mission in life.
Make sure your woman knows she comes first. Words from my father I would teach my son, and be sure that my daughter had someone who always put her first no matter what.
Kawei started running away from Mitsuke and Dante’s two little girls. Osaka and Hideo.
Mitsuke and Dante got married a year after Phoebe and I, and their kids were a year apart. Them getting together wasn’t a surprise to me.
It was nice. All of us together like this was nice.
And, we were all here in Japan. It was all in reverse now. In
stead of living in the States and travelling to Japan for the summer, we lived here and went to Chicago for a few weeks in the summer to see Phoebe’s parents.
The other part of the summer was spent with my parents.
We set the summers aside for family because the rest of the year was busy with our work at the center.
Akito’s idea took off in a big way and we got busy very quickly. But it was good. it was all good.
Best of all was having my wife at my side all the time, and knowing she was always mine. My wife and my beautiful kids. Sometimes I still couldn’t believe it was me.
I watched Phoebe pick up Kawei and walk back towards us while Mitsuke took the girls into the sea to meet Dante as he swam up to the shallow. He’d been swimming around the caves on the other side.
Phoebe’s hair flowed in the wind and I heard the call of the siren as she came towards me with her beautiful body on display in that bikini.
She was still a dream to me.
The woman in my fantasies.
“Akito, we’ll be back.”
“There’s no rush son.” Akito laughed and rested his head back against the beach chair. He looked content. I wondered if he’d seen this in his visions of the future.
It was a beautiful picture.
“Come on Princess Rukia.” I picked Rukia up and placed her around my neck. She loved when I did that.
“Thanks daddy.” She giggled.
I jogged with her to meet Phoebe and Kawei half way.
Phoebe and I kissed then swapped kids. Kawei crawled up onto my neck out of habit and Phoebe set Rukia on her hip.
I then pulled her close so we could continue our walk down the beach.
“Who wants to go on an adventure?” Phoebe asked looking up at me with sly eyes.
“Adventure? As long as there are no somehow accidents.” I teased.
She poked me playfully in my side. “There won’t be. Just fun.”
“There better be. Come here.” I crooked my finger beckoning her for another kiss.
I didn’t know it was possible to fall in love with someone more and more each day.
But then I shouldn’t have been surprised, when it came to her.
The love we had was magical, and just like magic anything could happen.
It could happen, as long as we were together.
“I love you and our two beautiful children Princess Phoebe.” I whispered against her lips.
“I love you two Tai, and our two beautiful children.”
Perfect.
Nothing was more perfect.
Phoebe
My husband and my kids.
Although I’d had enough years to get used to having them I still couldn’t believe they were in my life.
Sometimes, like now, I found myself staring at them and wondering if my creative imagination ran wild and I somehow conjured them up.
Then Tai would look at me and I would know that everything was real.
Him and them. But it all started with him.
He was the beginning of the story, the story that would be my life.
We’d just tucked the kids into bed after a long day of adventure.
We played in the mermaid tavern collecting shells and making up stories about sea creatures.
I was standing in the corridor, in between Rukia and Kawei’s rooms watching Tai back out of Rukia room. She’d just fallen asleep. Kawei went out like a light from the minute his head touched the pillow.
When Tai took my hand and pulled me in for a kiss I giggled.
“Come with me woman.” He said nuzzling his face against my neck.
“You’re going to make me wake the kids up.” I covered my mouth to keep from laughing.
“Me?” Mischief flickered in his gaze.
“Yes you.” I pulled him down for a proper kiss.
He scooped me up to carry me and we went out onto the balcony.
I gasped when I saw the little table that he’d set up with a bottle of wine, two tall glasses, and candles in the center.
“What is this?”
“A just because, and you get one wish.”
I smiled. “A wish?”
“Oh yes.”
We didn’t have to play twenty questions anymore so did wishes. His were all sexual favors, no surprise. Mine on the other hand were simple little things, silly little things, because I couldn’t think past the blessings I already had. Tai and the kids were blessings to me, blossoms of the heart that I would always cherish.
He set me down, lit the candles and pulled me to sit on his lap.
“What’s your wish princess?”
I sighed. Tonight’s wish was easy. “I wish that life will always be like this.”
“It will baby. You and me. Look what we did.” He held my hand and looked over my beautiful engagement and wedding rings.
“We did do this. You should have a wish too.”
“I already have my wish for today. She’s sitting on my lap.”
“You are too much mister.” I cupped his face.
“Nah, it’s you Phoebe it was always you.”
He pulled me in for another magical kiss, one that made me relish him and the life he’d given me. The way that he loved me for me and made me feel complete.
I’d gotten that butterfly tattoo years ago on my scar to remind me that I could be beautiful and that I wasn’t damaged.
I didn’t think like that anymore, and I didn’t need the butterfly tattoo.
I had Tai. The man who’d completed me and made me feel perfect with his love.
Love I knew I would always, always have, and I’d cherish forever.
It was the very best gift he’d given me.
Acknowledgments
To my readers.
Where would I be without you….
This one’s for all of you.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your support, and for reading my stories.
Hugs and Love xx
Also by Khardine Gray
Books by Khardine Gray
The Rules of Attraction
Falling For Him
Never and Always
I Love You again
One Wild Night
Shape of My Heart
Hearts Entwined
Complete Me
I Only Have Eyes For You
The Objection to Affection
Vandervilles Series
Book 1- When Beauty Met the Beast
Book 2- Secrets and Lies
Book 3- Into the Rabbit Hole
To check out these titles please visit
https://www.amazon.com/author/khardinegraynovels
About the Author
Khardine Gray writes hot contemporary romance and romantic suspense.
Her books have drool worthy heroes who will make you melt, and sassy, fun loving, ambitious heroines.
She loves writing and simply adores her readers.
She’s from the Caribbean but currently lives in England with her husband and two kids.
When not writing you can catch her ice skating or dancing at a Samba class.
Keep up with all the new releases by signing up to her readers list at http://www.subscribepage.com/f4u3v9
Connect with Khardine on
Website- www.khardinegraybooks.com
The Bliss Romance Hideaway Group -
https://www.facebook.com/groups/889377571219117/
Blossoms of The Heart Page 27
