“You bought the floor below us. Don’t people live there?” she asked.
“Not anymore. They moved out about a year ago and the building hasn’t been able to sell it. The floor below us is designed differently from the other floors to get around both the staircase and the elevator. No one liked the design, so they had a hard time selling it off. I got it for a steal of a price.”
“Do I even want to know?”
“It only cost me fifteen million.”
“Holy fu-. I don’t-. Ryan, I can’t belie-.”
I loved it when she was speechless. It didn’t happen with Emma often, but when it did I relished the moment. I knew she would love the apartment once she got home. Double the space. Plenty of room to decorate and fill it with her taste in furniture. I didn’t give a shit what she put in there, so long as she was happy and felt like she was at home. The two levels would be merged with a spiral staircase and the entire floor plan was being updated for a more open feel. We would go from having six bedrooms and four bathrooms to having ten bedrooms and seven bathrooms. Plenty of space for six kids, two adults, and still have room for a guest or two if they wanted to come over.
Our home. Fit for our unique family.
“I knew I shouldn’t have left you alone with your money,” Emma said.
“Trust me, I promise you’ll love it. And you can decorate it anyway you want.”
“I can’t get out of bed. How am I going to go furniture shopping?”
“There’s this wonderful invention called ‘The Internet’. I really should show it to you sometime.”
“Imagine me throwing my shoe at you right now.”
“Can you reach your shoe?”
“I can reach a knife. That a better weapon?” she asked.
I chuckled as I leaned back in my chair at my desk.
“I love you, Emma.”
I listened as she sighed and I could feel her smile emanating through the phone. The first time I said that to her was just after the doctor told her she needed to start her bedrest. She was upset. Crying over her job and the pain in her feet. I tried to hold her, and she cried harder because I couldn't get my arms around her, and I crashed my lips to hers to get her to stop. It killed me to see her cry. Even now, it did. And when I drew my lips back and looked into her beautiful blue eyes, they fell from the tip of my tongue easily and effortlessly.
Like it had always been meant to be.
“I love you too, Ryan,” she said.
“When you and the kids and the nanny get home tomorrow-- and I do mean tomorrow-- we’ll sit and have a massive conversation on how to rearrange the house. And none of you will lift a finger to do it. I have a feeling the kids will want to stay upstairs with the rooms they’ve decorated, but that means you get much more free rein with how to decorate the downstairs.”
“Sorry, I’m still processing the fact that there’s an upstairs and a downstairs.”
“And all of the stairs have wonderful views,” I said.
“For fifteen million, they better.”
And just as I’d promised, the construction crew packed up, cleaned up, and hauled ass out of there. I brought my family home the next morning, and the look on Emma’s face was priceless. Bags were dropped from weakening hands and the kids were squealing. Even the nanny’s jaw dropped when she saw the place.
“It looks so awesome!” Hunter said.
“Where’s our rooms now?” Zoey asked.
“Your rooms haven’t moved. They’re simply upstairs,” I said.
“So what’s gonna be down here?” Benjamin asked.
But Emma was still silent.
She slowly waddled into our new place and I grew nervous. Did she really not like it? Had I just spent all that money renovating this place only for her to hate it. Her eyes panned around and took in the vaulted ceilings. The roof-to-floor windows that matched the ones upstairs. She walked over to the electric fireplace and ran her hand over the hand laid stonework one of the men had been working on.
Then, I watched tears rise to her eyes.
“Emma?” I asked. “Baby, what's wrong?”
I strode over to her and wrapped my arms around her as much as I could.
“It’s beautiful,” she said breathlessly.
My eyebrows shot up to my hairline as a tear rumbled down her cheeks.
“I-I-It’s… it’s perfect, Ryan. How-... how did-?”
I drew her body as close as I could get it and brought my lips down to hers. The salted tear falling down her cheek found its death upon our connection as the nanny rushed the kids up the stairs. Nothing had changed up there. It would be the apartment they always remembered. The only thing that changed was the addition. The new part of the apartment’s life that had been carved out.
Like the part of my life I’d carved out so Emma could be a part of it.
I sank to my knees and wrapped my palms around her protruding stomach. I slid her shirt up her body, revealing her pulled skin. The purple stretch marks were angry. Crying out at the pressure of my children behind them. I kissed every single one of them. Traced them with my thumb as Emma’s fingers ran through my hair.
“I love you guys so much,” I whispered into her stomach. “I can’t wait for you guys to see your home.”
Then I sank Emma to the floor before I switched on the electric fireplace. Nothing but the sound of the crackling flames and her breathless sighs could be heard as my face fell between her legs. I’d spend every night of my life memorizing her body. Kissing her stretch marks and telling her how beautiful she was to me. Because no woman on this planet had the strength to carry three of my children.
No woman except for her.
Emma Gentry.
“I love you. I love you. I love you,” she said, chanting the sentiment as she rose to her peaks.
I sank my fingertips into the naked excess of her thighs as her arousal melted on the tip of my tongue.
“I love you too,” I murmured into her pussy. “So much, Emma.”
And she fell over the edge, trembling and moaning and choking on my name.
The sweetest sound to ever grace my ears. And before I knew it, another sentiment was falling from my tongue. Effortlessly. Lovingly. Like it had always been meant to be.
With her.
“Marry me,” I said.
Emma held her breath as I peeked up over her stomach.
“What?” she asked.
I rushed up her body and kissed her, falling off to the side as she tasted herself upon my skin.
“Marry me, Emma Gentry.”
“You can’t be serious,” she said.
I reached into my pocket and dug out the ring that had been burning a hole in my sock drawer for weeks. I held it up to her, watching as the massive diamond caught the sparks of flame in our new fireplace. Tears rose to her eyes as she looked at me, her forehead covered in sweat and her stomach ripe with my children.
“But I don’t even have pants on,” she said with a whisper.
“Trust me, as my wife? You definitely won’t need them.”
Her hands reached up to me and pulled my face down to meet hers. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her as closely as her body would allow her to be. I felt her giggling into my lips. Gripping the tendrils of my hair. Slipping her thick thigh between my legs and grinding into my hardened cock.
“Yes,” she said with a whisper.
I opened my eyes and found her bright blue orbs sparkling with happiness.
“Yes!” she exclaimed. “Yes, Ryan. I will marry you. Over and over and over again.”
Then I slid the ring on her finger, watching as my entire life flashed before my eyes. Our children. Our home. Our wedding and our dinner dates. Our arguments and our makeup sex and all of the moments in between. Family vacations and cruises and birthdays and anniversaries. Christmases and presents and cookies and morning coffee, and all the sleepless nights with the triplets.
All of it, with Emma.
All of it,
with the love of my life.
Twenty-Six
Ryan
“Then with the power vested in me by the State of California, I now pronounce Emma Gentry the official legal guardian of Zoey, Hunter, and Benjamin Aaron.”
The gavel came down onto the judge’s stand and the kids rushed Emma. A few days after the renovations on the apartment were over, a phone call had rolled in from the family lawyer. Valentina was slipping, and she was back in the hospital because of an overdose. The pharmaceutical company was tanking in the stock market again, and it didn’t show any signs of recovering. Even though I had full rights to them as a legal guardian, Valentina was still considered their other legal parent.
Until CPS stepped in and gave her some options.
Valentina voluntarily gave up rights to her children for good, and that’s when I saw a side of Emma I knew I’d never be able to give up. The children were distraught. Crying. Asking questions as to why their mother didn’t want them. Didn’t love them enough to ‘make herself okay again’. It was the roughest night in my entire life, trying to get them bedded down.
But Emma stepped in with an idea that had now become a reality.
I watched Emma open her arms as the kids came running at her. Seven months pregnant and she still acted as if her body wasn’t growing three human beings at once. Zoey, Hunter, and Benjamin ran into her arms, crashing against her body and peppering her face with kisses.
Emma was officially their mother.
The smile on her face brought tears to my eyes. I looked back at the judge and thanked him for rushing this as much as he could. Usually, an adoption process like this took at least a year, but I didn’t want to wait that long. Emma was a good woman. Had a great track record with the kids. Hell, she was my fiancé. The mother of my children. Living with us, for fuck’s sake!
The judge took all of that into consideration when I went and talked with him personally about it. And the donation I made to a charity he founded last year helped matters a bit as well.
“Come you, guys,” Emma said. “Let’s go celebrate.”
“Can we?” Zoey asked.
“Is there ice cream?” Hunter asked.
“Can there be pizza, too?” Benjamin asked.
“Trust me,” I said. “I think you guys will like what we have in store.”
I helped Emma up from her seat and we walked hand-in-hand. She couldn’t fly or get on any kind of boat, but she could still travel so long as it was by car. I had our things packed and stowed away in the trunk of an SUV I had just purchased that morning. The kids were excited and Emma was shocked. I leaned over and pressed a kiss to her cheek, then moved my lips to her ear.
“When you can drive, this is yours. But for now, we’re going to break it in as a family,” I said.
“What in the world is going on, Ryan?” she asked.
“Kids? How would you like to go to the beach!?”
“Yeah!” they all exclaimed.
“The beach?” Emma asked.
“Do you trust me?” I asked.
I took her hands within mine and traced the diamond sitting on her left hand.
“Always,” she said.
“Then trust me. We’re going to the beach, and you’re going to love it.”
We all hopped into our new family car and drove out to Big Sur. I couldn’t wait to show them what I’d done. I drove through the kid’s favorite ice cream place and got them cones to eat, then placed a phone call for pizza delivery before I whispered the new address. This was something I’d been working on for a while now. It took me a long time to get the building permits and to find a construction company that would work with me on what I wanted to do. I had to hire my own team to pave a road to and from the structure I’d built, and there was no more appropriate time to show my family than now.
Especially since we were officially a family in the eyes of the state.
“Where are we going?” Emma asked.
“If I planned this out right, our new weekend spot,” I said.
“What does that mean?” she asked.
“I thought you said we were going to the beach?” Hunter asked.
“What if I told you that you guys had your own beach now?” I asked.
“Ryan?” Emma asked. “What did you do?”
“That’s going to be the motto for the rest of our lives, isn’t it?” I asked with a grin.
“My own beach?” Zoey asked. “Does that mean I’m the queen of it?”
I chuckled as I rolled down the windows, taking in the luscious salted air around us.
The drive to Big Sur was relaxing. Winding. I took it slowly as the kinds gawked out the window. Even Emma was taken by its beauty, and that didn’t happen often. She was so preoccupied with getting things set up for the triplets that she’d stopped taking in the beauty of the life around her. The views from the windows in our home and the stolen moments in the shower when I pressed her against it and devoured her for breakfast.
Hopefully, this place would give us some of our privacy and wonder back.
“Whoa! Look at that!” Benjamin exclaimed.
“Is that… a house?” Emma asked.
“I’d like to think of it more as a beachfront condo,” I said.
“It has three stories!” Emma exclaimed.
“Whoops?” I asked.
“Ryan! Ryan! What is that?” Zoey asked.
“That, my queen, is our beach,” I said.
“If you keep calling her that, it’s going to go to her head,” Emma said.
“You say that as if it hasn’t already,” I said with a smile.
The house rose up from the cliffside as the waves crashed below. The newly-paved road that led us straight into the driveway rode like a dream under the all-weather tires of our new family car. The kids were jumping around and squealing and Emma was absolutely speechless. The three-story beach house boasted of beautiful oceanfront views from every bedroom, a bathroom to go with each bedroom, a massive living room, a massive playroom, a state-of-the-art kitchen, and all of the wonderful trimmings our life at the apartment had.
Only this place sat on a private beach we now owned outright.
“Can I go swimming?” Hunter asked.
“Is all of this ours?” Benjamin asked.
“You have to ask the queen before swimming,” Zoey said.
Emma rolled her eyes and giggled as I pulled us into the garage.
“Come on, guys,” I said. “Let’s go take a look at our newest addition.”
“You talk about it like it’s a child,” Emma said.
“And when I’m done, we’ll have six different places. One for each child to take over once we’re gone,” I said
Emma looked over at me with shock in her eyes and I reached for her hand.
“Taking care of my family doesn’t just mean taking care of them now. You’ve been running around our home trying to fix it up, but I’ve been planning for the long term. Each of the kids have college accounts as well as trust funds to be passed down to them. I finalized all of the paperwork about a month ago. We’ve got the apartment, which will be gifted to Benjamin, and this beach house, which I believe will be Zoey’s. I’m working on getting a modest two-story cabin built in the wooded area of Washington State and filled with books to pass on to Hunter, and when the personalities of our triplets’ blossom, I’ll know what to do for them.”
Emma’s hand was trembling and a tear started to streak her cheek.
“How in the world have you done all this?” she asked.
“I ask that same question with regard to you every time I come home from work. From the comfort of our bed, you’ve managed to decorate and make our place a home. You managed to put the nursery together, stock it with diapers and clothes for every shape, size, and season. You run a tight ship, Emma Gentry. All from the comfort of our bedroom. I can’t imagine the things you’ll accomplish when you’re up on your feet. I’m only trying to keep up,” I said.
“Mom! Y
ou coming?” Benjamin called out.
Emma whipped her head around as her jaw hit the floor.
“Is… is that okay?” he asked.
I gripped Emma’s hand tightly as she fought back the growing tears in her eyes.
“You can call me whatever you want,” she said.
“Then come on, Mom!” Hunter said. “We wanna go swim.”
“Will you go swimming too?” Zoey asked.
“Yeah, will you go swimming too?” I asked.
I unbuckled Emma’s seatbelt and watched as she settled herself on her feet.
“Once I can figure out how to get down to the beach from here, sure. I’ll stick my feet in,” Emma said.
“Then follow me,” I said. “I know exactly how to get down there.”
Twenty-Seven
Emma
“Ryan, what’s going on?” Emma asked.
“Breathe, sweetheart. Just breathe. We’re almost there.”
“I don’t know what’s happening. This isn’t normal, right?”
“Emma, do as I’m asking you.”
“Answer me!”
“I don’t know, Emma! I don’t know! Just breathe! Please. I’m begging you. Just breathe and hold on.”
I careened the car around a corner and the tires skidded. I’d already called the hospital and informed them of what was going on. Emma called me at work and told me she wasn’t feeling well, so I took the day off. Told the nanny to watch the kids so I could tend to Emma myself. But a lingering fever spiked to one hundred and three over the span of fifteen minutes and she couldn’t hold anything down. She was shaking. Shivering.
And then? Her water broke.
“Ryan. Go faster,” Emma said breathlessly.
I zoomed through a red light and finally saw the hospital’s sign come into view.
“Hold on,” I said.
I tore the car into the emergency section of the hospital as doctors and nurses poured out of the automatic doors. Emma was crying. I was panicking. The nanny was staying overnight with the kids until we could figure out what was going on. They hoisted Emma onto a rolling bed and I took her hand, leaving my car to be driven off by one of the attending nurses. I had the entire hospital on my payroll in case something like this happened. I dropped bonuses beyond their wildest dreams to make sure we could be taken care of if an emergency with these triplets took place.
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