“What the heck?” I ask Tink as we navigate our way through the crowd to the zebra enclosure.
“She’s three. You gonna tell her Santa isn’t real, too, Mr. Grinch?” Gina hisses. “Let her believe in magic, Jeff. It’s the best part of being a little girl.”
What did I do before Tink? “Don’t ever leave me,” I say, pulling her in for a kiss while the kids are occupied at the fence arguing over whether the damn zebras are white with black stripes or black with white. “You’ll ruin her childhood.”
“Mr. Ryan,” Gina purrs against my lips. “That sounds like bribery.”
“I’m a desperate man, Ms. Bourque.”
“Ewwww,” Willow and Kyle shout in unison.
“How tome you tan tiss Gigi, and I tan’t tiss Tyle?” my little girl asks as Gina and I separate.
“Because,” I say, swiping a hand over my lips. “We’re in love.”
Before any of us realizes what’s happening, my daughter turns to the side, planting a kiss right on Kyle’s cheek.
“Hey!” he shouts, rubbing it away. “You do that again, I’m gonna punch you in the face.”
“You most certainly will not punch her, Kyle,” Gina warns.
“I better never see you do that again, Willow Jane.” What the heck just happened?
“Well, next time you better cwose you eyes, then, Daddy. Cuz me and Tyle is in yove.”
“Ugh, no. No, Willow. I am not in love,” Kyle argues, still scrubbing at the spot where she just violated him.
“How about the monkeys?” Gina suggests, grabbing each of the kids by the hand, effectively separating them, one on each side of her body.
Dear God. The zoo animals are tame compared to these two.
The monkeys are right around the corner in a roped-off area, surrounded by a moat to keep them on their little monkey island. There are ropes to climb and swing on, and hammocks for them to rest.
“Yook at that one,” Willow says, pointing to one of the larger monkeys. He walks right out to the edge of the island and sits, facing the crowd.
“I think he likes the attention,” Gina observes. “Kinda like two other monkeys I know.”
I stand back a little, just watching her with the children. She’s a natural. So patient and loving.
“What’s him doing?” Willow asks.
“Uhhh,” Gina hedges, looking over her shoulder at me for help.
“He’s shakin’ up his baby juice,” Savage answers, all matter of fact. “Those are his tenticles, and they’re compartments that hold seeds that are really babies. Then—this is the best part—he can shoot ’em inside a girl tummy to make a baby, with his penis.”
Squeezing between the small crowd separating us, I force my way to the front. The fucking monkey has a hand between its legs, and he’s jiggling his balls. “Close your eyes, Willow...Savage—”
“Oh my God. Him’s gonna pull it off! Him’s gonna break his baby juice gun,” Willow shouts.
Gina is of no help to the mini panic attack I have going on internally. The woman can’t get a word out because she’s laughing so hard. God love her.
“Time to go!” My announcement is met with grunts and grumbles. “Don’t start that. We need to get back before Evangeline and Landon, anyway.”
The trek back is miserable, but the kids are asleep before we’ve even gotten out of the parking lot. “What a freaking night.” My eyes wander to the side, meeting Tink’s. “Where does he come up with this shit?” I ask, referring to tonight’s lesson on monkey reproduction.
“Well,” she drawls, blushing. “That one might be a little bit my fault.”
Why doesn’t that surprise me in the least?
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
JEFFREY
TEARS BUILD IN my eyes as I stand off to the side, watching the stylist add the final touches to her hair and makeup. When she pins the tiara in place, my breath catches in my throat. She’s literally the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen. Her dress is fit for a queen, made of silk and lace, with tulle underneath to give her the full skirt she’s always wanted. After stepping into her silver, strappy pumps and taking a moment to admire herself in the floor-length mirror, she reaches out for my hand. I close my fingers around hers, lifting them as I bend to place a kiss on her knuckles before leading my princess out to the backyard where the ceremony is to take place.
No detail has been spared. White wood chairs line both sides of the pink petal-covered aisle. The trellis is dripping with baby’s breath and expertly placed pink roses. All of our family and loved ones are gathered, dressed to the nines, to celebrate this special occasion. It would be so easy to focus on the pain surrounding this day, but I will always associate November twenty-fifth not with what we lost, but with the birth of this beautiful angel standing beside me.
When the music starts up and our eyes lock, my heart skips a beat. This little girl is joy personified. There is nothing in this world I wouldn’t do for her.
“You ready?” I ask, squeezing her hand. She nods, and as I walk her down the aisle preparing to give her away, I become overwrought with emotion. That is until I see the sheer horror on the face of her groom. That little shit.
When we’re mere feet away and I finally catch his attention. I rub the thumb and forefinger of my free hand together, signing a reminder of the fifty bucks I had to promise this kid to marry my daughter. That’s okay. In another fifteen to twenty years, he’ll be begging for her hand, and I’ll get my revenge.
I place her hand into his and lean in close. “To get the money, you have to pretend to want to marry her, Kyle,” I warn. Instantly his face perks up.
Throughout the ceremony he holds a smile so big, I think his face may split in two. He really wants that money.
“And now,” my brother Victor, who is acting as officiant, says as he adjusts his tie, trying not to laugh. “You may kiss the bride.”
Willow’s eyes flutter closed as she leans in, puckering her little lips. Savage arches his back trying to get away. Then, he shoves a finger down his throat with an exaggerated gag, and the crowd erupts into a chorus of giggles.
“I’m waiting, Tyle...” she says, still holding her practiced position.
A panic washes over me. I didn’t come this far to have her dream wedding ruined. Grabbing a hundred-dollar bill from my wallet, I rush to the altar, holding it out in front of his face. I point to my cheek and pucker my lips. That little shit nods and holds his hand out, palm up. Evidently a kiss requires prepayment. After tucking the bill into his palm, I rush back to my seat beside the woman I love. The woman who spent weeks preparing this special day for my baby girl.
Kyle shoves the money into his pocket then leans in, planting a quick peck to the side of her face before rubbing his lips on the sleeve of his tux jacket. “Bleh!”
The smile on Willow’s face is everything. For a moment I catch myself wishing that Jessica could be here to see how happy our baby girl is. I know she’d be proud. I don’t always get it right, but this time...this time I know that I did.
“She sees,” Tink says, reading my expression perfectly. I don’t know how she knows me so well, at times even better than I know myself.
She rests her hand on my thigh, and I lay mine on top of hers, squeezing affectionately when Victor announces, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
A three-tier wedding cake is brought out on a linen-covered table by Lake and Landon with four sparklers lit on the top. Willow blushes a deep crimson when everyone joins in singing the happy birthday song.
Gina kisses my cheek then rushes over to the table to cut the cake. The first plate goes to the birthday girl. The second to her new husband. When Kyle lifts a hunk of cake to his mouth, Willow shouts, “Stop!”
“What’re you screaming about now?”
“You have to feed me, Tyle, and I have to feed you. Don’t you know anyting?”
Kyle’s face screws up in confusion. “CEO! Deal with your daughter. I’m hungry.”
> “Boy! I just paid your ass a hundred dollars to marry Willow. You can damn sure feed her a bite of cake.”
“Ooooh, Daddy, you saided a sentence hancer.” Willow’s eyes grow big and round with shock, and Kyle snickers beside her.
“Sorry, your husband’s language is rubbing off on me,” I tease.
After cake, Cooper starts up the music he’s prepared, and Kyle fulfills his duty, giving Willow the obligatory first dance as man and wife.
“Tale as Old as Time,” from the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack—Willow’s current obsession—starts up, and the miniature bride and groom walk out to the center of the patio. They join hands, keeping a wide birth between them. While they spin around the makeshift dancefloor, Gina and Spencer snap photos from every angle, instructing them when to smile, where to look, when to spin.
I can’t stop smiling at the two women fawning all over my little girl. She may no longer have a mother living on earth, but I’m so thankful for these two who’ve stepped in to fill that void in her life. Moving here, while I’ll admit was a bit crazy and spontaneous, turned out to be the best thing for us all.
“Tank you, Daddy,” Willow squeals, running with her arms spread wide when their dance has ended. “This was the bestest birthday ever!”
“You’re welcome, princess. I’m so happy you loved it. But, you need to go thank your Gigi and Spence. They did all the work. Daddy just wrote the checks.” I explain as my eyes lock with Tink’s across the room. She nibbles on her lower lip, giving me a sexy little wink.
“What’s a sheck?” Willow asks, cupping my cheeks and turning my face back to hers.
“Money, Willow. Checks are money.”
“Well, den...” Her little lips plant a kiss right in the center of my forehead. “Tank you for your moneys.”
Laughing, I set her back down on the floor. “My pleasure. Now go thank the real MVPs.” I motion to Spence and Gina, finding she’s still staring my way.
“What’s a MPP?”
“Just go say thank you, Willow!” This girl can be so exasperating at times.
Once the party begins to wind down, the big kids take the littles inside to watch a movie, and the adults break out the karaoke machine. I wait until everyone’s had a few rounds of drinks and butchered a song or two before breaking out the guitar and giving Tink a little gift of her own.
“You play guitar?” she asks, wide-eyed and grinning ear to ear as I strum the beginning chords to “In Case You Didn’t Know,” by Brett Young.
Every word that I sing is a message to this beautiful woman staring back at me, who’s managed to become the beat of my heart in such a short amount of time. It’s my every feeling professed in front of our friends and family. My heart laid bare.
Before I’ve even set the guitar down, she’s in my arms. Her hands grip my hair, and Tink pulls my mouth to hers, whispering, “I’m crazy ’bout you too, Jeff Ryan.” Then, our lips connect and fireworks explode around us.
Or, you know, it could just be the sound of our idiotic friends clapping and howling.
EPILOGUE
GINA
(6 MONTHS LATER)
“JEFF?” I CALL out into the seemingly empty house after letting myself in with my key. Where the hell is he? He made it seem so urgent when he called and asked me to come over.
“Out here!” he shouts through the doors leading out to the back patio. I set my purse and keys on the table near the front door and follow the sound of little girl giggles out back.
“Do you wike him?” Willow asks, lifting a fluffy white puppy into her arms.
“I love him,” I say, bending to kiss the top of her head and pet the little ball of fluff. “You finally got them a puppy?” I can feel the look of confusion on my own face. Jeffrey is not an animal person. He swore he’d never allow one.
“Us,” Evangeline says, finally lifting her eyes from the cellphone that never seems to leave her hand these days. I’d bet money that she’s talking to my godson.
“I said, y’all, goober. I meant you too.”
“No, her means Charlie is for me and Vangie and you,” Willow clarifies.
“Awwww, are you going to share your puppy with me?” My eyes get a little misty. I’ve always wanted a dog, but my apartment doesn’t allow pets. “That’s so sweet of you.” I guess they figure since I’m always over here anyway, we’ll be spending a lot of time together.
“You have to move in, Gina,” Evangeline says from where she’s still perched on her chair near the wrought iron table with her feet curled beneath her legs. “Dad said it’s the only way we can keep him.”
What the hell is going on? I’m starting to feel a little ambushed and a hell of a lot of confused.
“What my daughter is so eloquently trying to say,” Jeffrey says walking over from where he’s been busily preparing our dinner at the pit. “Is we would love it. All three—”
“Four,” Willow interrupts, pointing to the puppy.
Jeff apologizes. “All four of us would love nothing more than for you to move in with us.”
My entire body starts to shake, and I can’t seem to swallow. “You’re asking me to l—live here? In this house? Like get rid of my place and stay here permanently with you?”
“Gina,” Jeff, coos, lifting my face to meet his. “I love you.”
My head starts to shake of its own accord, and warm, wet tears stream down my face. “I love you too, CEO. Goddamn it. I didn’t want to.”
“I know,” he says, laughing. “I’m just so damn charming.”
“I love them too,” I add, looking to the two little girls who’ve managed to steal my heart. “I love you both so much.”
“I wuv you too, Gigi.” My heart swells, but it’s when Evangeline sets her phone on the table and walks over, throwing her arms around my neck, that I completely fucking lose it. “I love you, Gina. Everything is so much better with you here. Please say yes.”
“Are you sure?” I ask Jeffrey, who’s looking at me like he wants to devour me.
His answer is to drop down on his knee. Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh. My. God.
“If there’s one thing life has taught me, it’s not to take a single day for granted. Gina, you make me happier than I’ve been in years. I didn’t think I was capable of loving again so deeply. You burst into our lives like a bomb, when our world needed nothing more than to be shaken up.”
I can’t help but to laugh at his description.
“Tink, you breathe life into this family. If you’ll have me—if you’ll have us—we want to make you ours forever. Gina Bourque, I’m on my knees, offering you everything you’ve ever wanted. Two,” he points to the girls, “and a half,” he gestures to himself with a shrug, “kids and a white fluffy dog.”
My God, I can’t believe he remembered that conversation from all those months back.
“It’s not the Garden District, but believe me when I say this house was bought with you in mind. It has all of the same charm, with your friends and family nearby.”
“I don’t know what to say,” I stammer.
“I will devote my life to giving you everything you deserve. More love than you ever thought possible. Gina, baby, will you marry me?”
“Put him outta his misewy aweady, Gigi.”
Through a torrent of tears, I snort out a laugh, my emotions all over the place. “Yes,” I whisper, nodding my head. I cup my right hand to the side of his face, smoothing away his tears with my thumb, as he slides a beautiful antique diamond engagement ring onto my finger.
“Yes,” I repeat, a little louder. Then I throw myself into his arms, knocking him off balance, and we go tumbling into the yard. Willow decides she wants in on the pile-up, jumping right on top. Then, of course, Charlie follows suit, shaking his fluffy little butt all up in our faces.
“Get in here, Vange,” Jeff urges. “First official family hug.”
As little girls, we have big dreams. Our perfect family. The perfect life. All too often things don’t go ac
cording to plan. But if you’re lucky, like me, you just might end up with something so much better, so much bigger than anything you ever imagined.
As I lay here in the arms of the people I love, it no longer matters how we got here. All that matters is that we’ve found a home in each other, and wherever we go, whatever we do...we do it together.
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
SAVAGE - AGE 16
(12 YEARS LATER)
“WE’D LIKE TO ask that everyone please clear the dance floor as we welcome our bride and groom, Landon and Evangeline Tate, for their first dance as husband and wife!”
The lights in the reception hall dim, and everyone moves to make a circle around the newlyweds. Gigi and Mom—and pretty much every woman in attendance and even some of the men—are dabbing at tears in their eyes, and I’m just ready to get this thing over with so I can get out of this damn tux. It’s not like it’s any surprise these two tied the knot. They’ve been together forever. People are so strange.
“Don’t they look amazing?” Willow whispers, all dreamy-like, as she suddenly appears at my side. “We’re practically related now. Isn’t that weird?”
“We’re not related,” I snap, trying not to stare at her boobs in the tight pink bridesmaid dress that’s been giving me heart palpitations since I watched her step out of that limo two hours ago. She looks different—she looks hot. Her blonde hair is all curly and styled, and she’s wearing makeup.
“Grouchy much?” she asks, nudging me with her elbow. “What’s wrong, Kyle?”
“Nothing. I’m just ready to take this bowtie off.”
Her hands move to straighten it, and my heart starts beating a little faster. She smells like perfume. Willow never wears perfume. I’m starting to feel a little dizzy. Her being this close, Smelling so fucking good and looking like she belongs in a magazine. “There.” She pats her hands on my chest a few times and turns back to watch the couple. “Should be looser now. Is it better?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Willow beams, then her eyes start to glisten as she watches our siblings make out on the dance floor, swaying to the tune of “I Love the Way You Love Me” by John Michael Montgomery.
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