“Casey,” I say, reaching inside my jacket for the thing that took all of that last-minute planning, that rushing around whenever she was distracted, that panic. I sink down onto one knee, holding up the ring box. “I want to make my life with you. There has never been anyone else for me, and there never will be anyone else, just you. Will you be my wife?”
Casey’s hands fly to her mouth, and I can see that she’s blinking back tears. For a horrible moment I wonder if she won’t say yes without her father’s say-so, but then she drops her hands and grabs onto mine, tugging me to my feet. “Yes!” she cries out. “Oh, Edward, yes, yes, yes!”
I pull her into my arms and kiss her deeply, finding my own eyes wet with happiness. I tug the custom-designed ring loose from its case and slide it onto her ring finger, admiring the way it looks on her. Not that it’s about the diamond, it’s never been about anything but her.
“You’re really happy with him?” Rick asks, his voice strangely choked. I look up to see that he, too, has tears in his eyes.
“I’m so happy,” Casey says, the tears streaming down her face as testament.
Rick hangs his head. “Then you have my blessing,” he says, before fixing me with a steely look. “But if you hurt her at all -”
“Don’t worry,” I tell him, still holding Casey close on one side. “I’ll have my own self to reckon with first. And if anyone else tries to hurt her, they’ll have me to deal with.”
I lean down and kiss her again, my fiancée. And no matter what, I know that Rick has caved, that all he wants is to see Casey smile like that, just like I do.
We might just be able to make this crazy thing work, after all.
EPILOGUE
Casey
At the sound of a key turning in the lock, I gasp and shake the rattle at baby Ricky.
“Who’s that?” I say, making him gurgle and laugh at my excited face. “Is that Daddy? Is that Daddy coming home? I think it is!”
“Hello, princess!” Edward calls out. I hear him put down his briefcase in the hall and hang up his coat, and the thud of his shoes finding their place in the rack, and then he appears in the doorway. “How was your day?”
“Somebody managed to throw a whole bowl full of lunch on the floor, didn’t they?” I say, keeping my tone light as I tease Ricky. “Yes, they did!”
Edward laughs. “Did the maid take care of it?”
“Yes, it was just before she left,” I say, reverting back to my grown-up voice. I pick Ricky up and hold him on my hip, supporting his weight. He’s starting to get bigger, and before long I know he’ll be running around the place without my help. I lean up to kiss Edward, smiling as he chucks Ricky on the chin. “You ready for dinner?”
“Oh, yes,” Edward says, rolling his eyes. “So ready. I thought that last meeting would never end. Here, I’ll take him.”
I hand Ricky over as we head into the kitchen, the marble surfaces I admired so much now mine to do with as I wish. I grab a few ingredients out of the cupboards and fire up the oven, getting ready to cook us dinner. “His giraffe is on the dining table.”
Edward disappears for a moment to fetch it, and then begins playing hide and seek with the stuffed toy in front of Ricky’s face. Ricky burbles happily and squeals when the giraffe miraculously reappears, then frowns with dismay when it goes behind Edward’s hands. I keep an eye on dinner at the same time as watching them, proud and feeling my heart swell with it. My boys.
I grab a couple of plates out to start serving up, moving easily around what has so quickly become my home. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else now, and with part-time college work balanced around looking after Ricky, I know I made the absolute right choice for my future.
After serving up, I sigh and lean back against the counter, watching them for just a moment longer. My husband, tall and handsome, squatting down on his haunches to make funny faces at our baby boy. He doesn’t mind being silly to make Ricky laugh. For a moment I feel so much love for them it’s almost painful, a happiness so pure it should belong only to the angels. I know I’m exactly where I belong.
“Alright, boys,” I say. “Dinner time. Let’s get him into his highchair.”
And even though the spell is broken, I know one thing is true. Nothing can ever take away the happiness that I feel when I look at my husband and my son, my family, my home – everything I’ve ever wanted.
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
Edward
“Upsy daisy – that’s it!” I say, helping Ricky get up onto the seat that he can’t quite reach. He’s four now, and eschews the idea of any form of baby seat with scorn. He’s in school now, he often reminds me, and that makes him a big boy.
Sarah, Casey’s Mom, chuckles indulgently. “Look at you, Ricky, already sitting in a big boy chair,” she says, making him beam with pride.
“I’ve been sitting in a big boy chair for years, I’ll have you know,” Rick – Casey’s Dad, this time, not little Ricky – says, earning a tsk and a light slap on the arm from his wife. He winks at the rest of us around the table. He’s been milking the mistaken identity joke for a long while now, but he still doesn’t seem to have gotten bored of it.
I look up to see that Casey has our one and a half year old daughter, Poppy, settled nicely into her baby chair. She bangs on the side of it experimentally, then grins mischievously. I wouldn’t put it past her to try to tip the thing over so she can make a break for it. We’re raising a hellion, there.
“Alright, are we all settled?” I ask, looking around the table as I take my own seat. My wife, my kids, and my in-laws, not a group I had ever expected to see around a table with me, especially after twenty years of waiting for the right woman to come along. But here we are, and even if it still seems strange that my best friend is now my father-in-law, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Now, do we need to order?” Sarah asks, lifting up a menu and peering at it through her reading glasses.
“No, I’ve already taken care of it,” I tell her with a reassuring wave. “We’re all booked in for the special afternoon tea upgrade. You’re going to love it.”
Casey gives me a knowing smile. We’ve been back here a few times over the years, for afternoon tea at Brown’s. A quintessential London experience, so she loves to remind me. One of our first.
“So, how’s work?” Rick asks, getting down to business as usual. Despite Sarah’s sigh of boredom, put on dramatically to tell him that work talk is for the boardroom, I indulge him.
“It’s going great,” I say. “The company’s never been stronger. All thanks to this one, of course.” I nod towards Casey, enjoying the fact that I can still make her blush.
“I haven’t done much,” she says.
“Of course, you have,” I tell her. “You’ve given me some time off. Now that’s really something.”
Amid laughter, Sarah asks, “So, how does it work now? You share the job?”
“Yes, more or less,” Casey replies. “That way we can also share the baby duty. It’s lucky that with Edward owning the company, there’s no one to tell us how we should or shouldn’t do things. We get to do it our own way.”
“And it does work,” I tell them. “We’re both more efficient, because we get to spend time with our kids and then come back feeling refreshed. And since we both handle slightly different areas of the business, our team has gotten into a rhythm. They know who to talk to about what, and when we’ll be in. We haven’t had a single problem yet.”
“Well, except when you ran out of clean jackets because Poppy kept spitting up on them,” Casey giggles.
“Except that,” I agree wryly, shaking my head at the memory. There’s general laughter around the table, dying down a little as the waiters arrive with our trays of finger food and drinks.
“And Poppy did a poop in the car,” Ricky says proudly, wanting everyone to know how silly his little sister is. “And it smelled really bad!”
The waiters hesitate for a moment before seeing that we
are laughing and then joining in.
“Maybe we shouldn’t talk about poop at the table, Ricky,” Casey says, kissing the top of his head.
Not that it’s any good, I can already see the gleam in his eyes. He’s gotten a laugh from the whole table and even from strangers with that one. He’ll be telling the poop in the car story every time we’re with company for weeks. I can’t wait.
“She’s getting a bit big now, isn’t she?” Sarah says, reaching out to hold Poppy’s hand for a moment. “Are you ready for another baby yet, Case?”
“Well…” Casey looks at me, and I nod at her to go on. Her face breaks into a grin. “I was going to tell you after we’d eaten, but… actually, Ricky and Poppy are going to be getting another little brother or sister soon.”
“Oh, how wonderful!” Sarah exclaims, while Rick reaches over to shake my hand with a happy laugh.
We soon descend into talk of baby clothes and the best playgrounds and cribs and formula, as we dig into tiny sandwiches and scones and miniature cakes. For a moment in the chaos I look around, at three generations of our family seated together, breaking bread and talking happily. And I know without a doubt that it doesn’t get much better than this.
I’m glad I found my princess – the woman who was worth waiting twenty years for. I’d wait twenty more, if it meant being able to have her. I know I’d wait two hundred and twenty – so long as I knew I could hold her in my arms, and sit here like this, and make our home together.
But the best thing is that I don’t have to wait any more at all. Because I have my princess – and as she smiles at me over the table, I think this must be what pure happiness feels like.
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A MAN WHO KNOWS WHAT HE WANTS
Book 1: Baby Lust
Book 2: Veteran
Book 3: Built
Book 4: Bambino
Book 5: Rescued
Book 6: Leader
Book 7: Professor
Book 8: Burned
Book 9: Worldly
Book 10: Pistol
Book 11: Policed
Book 12: Driven
Book 13: Lucky 13
Book 14: Lumberjacked
Book 15: Protector
Book 16: Carpenter
Book 17: Italian Stallion
Book 18: Gardener
Book 19: Budapest Billionaire’s Virgin
Book 20: Billionaire’s Babysitter
Book 21: Cocky CFO
Book 22: Fireman’s Filthy 4th
Book 23: Mechanic
Book 24: SEAL’s Secret
Book 25: Police, Pooch, and Smooch
Book 26: Fireman’s Fake Fiancée
Book 27: Billionaire’s Virgin Ballerina
Book 28: Bitcoin Billionaire’s Babysitter
Book 29: Veterans Day Daddy
Book 30: Cowboy’s Christmas Carol
Book 31: Police Officer’s Princess
Book 32: Statham
Book 33: Bodyguard
Book 34: Greek God
Book 35: Billionaire Single Dad's Babysitter
Book 36: Mountain Man
Book 37: SEAL’s Justice
Book 38: Royal Romance
Book 39: Doctor Mountain Man’s Special Delivery
Book 40: Crocodile Dan D
Book 41: Mountain Man’s Secret Baby
Book 42: Doctor Bad Boy’s Secret Baby
Book 43: Cop’s Babysitter
Book 44: Nanny for the Cop Next Door
Book 45: Small Town SEAL’s Saving Grace
Book 46: Cop’s Fake Fiancée
Book 47: Billionaire’s Nanny
Book 48: Cowboy’s Babysitter
Book 49: Steamy
Book 50: Brother’s Best Friend
Book 51: Possessive Professor
Book 52: Firefighter’s Babysitter
Book 53: Soldier’s Secret Baby
Book 54: Ward’s Independence Day
Book 55: Doctor Next Door
Book 56: Possessive Policeman
Book 57: Coached by the MMA Fighter
Book 58: Boss’s Babysitter
Book 59: Virgin in New York
Book 60: Rock Star’s Baby
Book 61: Possessive Protector
Book 62: Possessive Australian
Book 63: Best Friend’s Brother
Book 64: Possessive Cowboy
Book 65: Summer Romanced
Book 66: Possessive Prince
Book 67: Lovers’s Enemy
Book 68: Cop’s Best Friend
Book 69: Possessive Firefighter
Book 70: Football Next Door
Book 71: Doctor December
Book 72: Possessive Canadian
Book 73: Blue Collar Billionaire
Book 74: Possessive K-9 Cop
Book 75: Possessive Brazilian
Book 76: Hockey Obsession
Book 77: Possessive Boston Irish American MMA Fighter
Book 78: Halloween Next Door
Book 79: Possessive Russian
Book 80: Baseball Mine
Book 81: Cop’s Caribbean Captive
Book 82: Instalove Island
Book 83: Dad’s Best Friend
Book 84: Thanksgiving with Dad’s Boss
Book 85: Possessive Italian Neighbor
Book 86: Possessive Portuguese
Book 87: Possessive Christmas Cop
Book 88: Russian’s Obsession
Book 89: Possessive Doctor’s Christmas
Book 90: Possessive Parisian Pilot
Book 91: U.K. Boxing Day
Book 92: Jealous Russian Stalker
Book 93: Italian Mountain Man
Book 94: Aggressive Russian
Book 95: Possessive Valentine
Book 96: Possessive Hunter
Book 97: Dad’s Russian Mafia Friend
Book 98: Russian Teacher
Book 99: Australian Obsession
Book 100: Russian Next Door
Book 101: Dad’s Irish Friend
Book 102: Nanny for the Russian Mafia
Book 103: Best Friend’s Dad
Book 104: Basketball Babymaker
Book 105: Possessive Veterinarian
Book 106: Brother’s Fireman Friend
Book 107: Brother’s Canadian Cowboy Friend
Book 108: Summer Vacation with Dad’s Best Friend
Book 109: Dad’s Italian Mafia Friend
Book 110: Dad’s Irish Mafia Friend
Book 111: Dad’s Football Friend
Book 112: Possessing His Dancing Queen
Book 113: Brother’s Cop Friend
Book 114: Halloween With Dad’s Best Friend
Book 115: Claimed By Her Boss
Book 116: Possessive Rider
Book 117: Dad’s Ex-Biker Buddy
Book 118: Possessive Undercover Cop
Book 119: Falling For Her Boss
Book 120: Claiming His Fashionista
Book 121: More Than Dad’s Best Friend
Book 122: Thanksgiving With Dad’s Best Friend
Book 123: Bossy Italian
Book 124: Christmas With Dad’s Mafia Friend
Book 125: Maid For The Italian Mafia
Book 126: Nutcracker
Book 127: Cowboy Cerrone
Book 128: Chef’s Kiss
Book 129: Claimed By The Russian
Book 130: Bought By The Italian Mafia
Book 131: Hot Nerd
Book 132: Dad’s Italian Mafia Boss
Book 133: Mine
Book 134: Taken By The Thief
Book 135: Curves Ahead
Book 136: Her Mafia Valentine
Book 137: Doctor Valentine
Book 138: Maid For The Irish Mafia
Book 139: Winning Her Curves
Book 140: Dad’s Cartel Best Friend
Book 141: Dad’s Gree
k Mafia Friend
Book 142: Lawyer’s Obsession
Book 143: Attending Her Curves
Book 144: Maid for the Russian Mafia
Book 145: Priest
Book 146: Claimed By Dad’s Best Friend
Book 147: His Curvy Office Obsession
Book 148: Easter with Dad's Best Friend
Book 149: Veterinarian's Obsession
Book 150: Curves For Her Older Boss
Book 151: Mob Lawyer's Curves
Book 152: Maid For The Doctor Next Door
Book 153: Possessive Forest Ranger
Book 154: Nurse For The Russian Mafia
Book 155: Dad’s Fireman Friend
Book 156: Russian Mountain Man
Book 157: Possessive Italian Doctor
Book 158: Dad's EMT Best Friend
Book 159: Claimed By The Publisher
Book 160: Mr. CEO
Book 161: His Curvy Castaway Obsession
Book 162: Claiming His Reunion Obsession
Book 163: Claimed By Dad’s College Friend
Book 164: Dad’s Detective Best Friend
Book 165: Attending The Russian Mafia
Book 166: Dad's Biker Best Friend
Book 167: My Dad's Russian Mafia Friend
Book 168: Possessive Landlord
Book 169: Gardener For The Mafia
Book 170: Possessive Fighter
Book 171: Claiming Her Sweet Curves
Bool 172: Possessive Camp Counselor
Book 173: Claimed By Dad's Italian Best Friend
Book 174: Possessive Neighbor
Book 175: 4th of July With Dad's Best Friend
Book 176: Claimed By Her Enemy
Book 177: Bodyguard’s Obsession
Book 178: Falling For The Player
Book 179: Possessive Alpha Cop
Book 180: Her CEO
Book 181: Falling For Her Dad’s Boss
Book 182: MMA Fighter’s Obsession
Book 183: Possessive Lawyer
Book 184: Claimed by the British Rockstar
Book 185: Summer Obsession
Book 186: Paris with Dad’s Best Friend
Book 187: Claimed by the Possessive Fireman
Book 188: Possessive Trucker
Book 189: Falling for Dad's Enemy
London With Dad's Best Friend: An Instalove Possessive Age Gap Romance (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 198) Page 8