Taken: A Real Man, 21 Page 5

  “Are you happy, with me, with all of this?”

  “Every single day, you make my heart skip a beat, and the fact that your baby is growing inside me, a baby we created out of love, makes me even more excited for what the future holds for us.”

  He stood and pulled me into an embrace, and I rested my head on his chest, closing my eyes and knowing everything would be okay.

  “I’ll prove to you, show you what a good husband and father I can be.”

  All I could do was smile. “You’ve already proven that to me,” I whispered.

  “You think I can do this, baby? You think I’ll be good at this whole parenting thing?” He had his hand in my hair, stroking the strands, making me feel like I was the only person in this world that he saw.

  And I knew I was.

  Everett showed me how madly in love he was with me every single day. I was so damn lucky.

  I smiled up at him. “I think you’ll be the best father, Everett.” He might be manly in so many ways, but I knew without a doubt he’d be the world’s best dad. Might be sappy, but it was the truth.

  The smile he gave me had my heart skipping a beat and I felt my love for him grow. “I love you so much, Penny. So. Damn. Much.”

  “I love you too, Everett.”

  And just like that, I fell in love with him all over again.

  Epilogue Two

  Everett

  Three years later

  God, I loved my family. And I sure as hell didn’t know what I’d done to deserve them or this life.

  I smiled at Sunny, and she looked up at me with her headful of strawberry-blonde curls, her big blue eyes the same color as mine. She stood up, the tea-party dress she wore haphazardly thrown on so the arm was hanging over her shoulder. She came running up to me, and I scooped her up right away, kissing her on the forehead. “Are you Daddy’s girl?” I chucked her under the chin and she grinned, her little eyes lighting up.

  “Daddy, stop it,” she giggled in her little voice.

  I kissed Sunny on the forehead and started listening to her go on about what kind of cookies she wanted for her next tea party.

  “Baby girl, I’ll buy the whole aisle of cookies at the store if that’s what you want.”

  “What’s an aisle?”

  I chuckled as I set her down, stood back, and watched as she ran to her little pink and white table, her dolls and teddy bears situated around it with miniature plastic teacups in front of them.

  I had to get ready for work, to head into the office and deal with mergers and acquisitions and all the shit that came with corporate life, but all I wanted to do was stay here and watch my little girl serve tea and cookies to her stuffed animals.

  “Man, she already has you wrapped around her finger.”

  The sound of Penny’s voice had me looking over my shoulder and seeing the love of my life, the mother of my children, and my wife standing just a foot from where I was.

  “Let’s not kid ourselves, Penny baby. You both have me wrapped around your fingers.”

  She grinned and I winked. She knew I was devoted fully. I was obsessed with Penny.

  She reached out for my hand and led me away from the playroom. We sat on the couch, still within eyeshot of Sunny.

  Penny sat on the couch beside me, her legs curled up under her, her hand on my stomach, her head right over my heart.

  I shifted on the couch and placed my hand on her rounded belly. “You good, baby?”

  She turned and faced me a little more, nodding. “I’m good.” She smiled up at me, and I swore she lit up the whole room. Our little boy kicked right then, and I laughed softly.

  “I love that feeling.”

  She rested her head on my shoulder. “Me too.”

  My wife had already given me one beautiful, strong daughter, and in a few short months, she’d give me a son.

  God, my life was good. Blessed.

  “I love you,” I said, unable to stop myself. I told her every day what she meant to me, what this family meant to me.

  And I would continue doing that every day until the day I died. I pulled her in impossibly close, loving that she molded her body against mine.

  “I love you too,” she said and curled her fingers around my shirt, pulling me in closer. I loved when she clung to me.

  This was my life, and what an incredible fucking life it was.

  The End

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