by Ivy Wonders
Ky couldn’t stop smiling as she looked into my eyes. “I’m pretty lucky. It’s funny how I never thought love could be like this. I was meant for you, Alex. I was born just for you.”
My heart pounded as I thought of what she said. Born just for me.
“I have no idea if that’s the truth, but now that I have you, you will always be mine.” I wasn’t about to let that girl go—not ever.
Pointing at the food on the plates in front of us, she said, “We better eat before this stuff gets too cold. Rudy worked hard on it.”
Nodding, I let her hand go and started eating. Purposely, I let the subject go. It made me mad to think about it.
We just finished eating when her cell dinged, and she looked at the message. “Tabby’s up. I better get going.” She packed up all the food and picnic supplies into the basket.
Kissing her goodbye, I held her in my arms for a moment. “I love you, Kyla. I truly do. Don’t let anything anyone else ever says come between us.”
She ran her fingertips along my jawline. “I promise you. I love you, too, Alex.”
One last kiss, then I had to let her be on her way. Watching her leave, I sighed and felt my heart racing as I thought about Claus.
Taking a walk, I pulled out my cell, calling the man who threatened not only my happiness but Tabby’s as well. When the phone rang three times, I knew he was hesitating to answer, but then he finally did, “Alexander.”
“Claus, I heard you called Ky today. That was a monumental mistake.”
“She told you?” his voice etched with displeasure. “Damn.”
“Look, you’re doing this in what you believe is Tabby’s best interest.” They didn’t mean to hurt their granddaughter. “But you don’t seem to understand how much Tabby loves Ky. And Ky loves her, too. It might hurt you to hear this, but you need to understand. Rachelle couldn’t be the mother Tabby needed. She was too sick to be what our baby needed. Now that Ky has come along and more than filled the void, well, I don’t want Tabby to lose what she’s found in Ky.”
His voice had a load of concern in it as he said, “Alexander, our daughter couldn’t fulfill her role as mother or wife in the last few years. And Tabitha thinks highly of her nanny. That said, Kyla is not the right person to fill the role of mother to Tabitha. No matter what hold you have on the girl, you’re wrong. She’s young.” He hesitated. “Kyla was an innocent girl until she came to work for you. I had her background checked and sent someone to speak with her old roommates. That girl was a virgin when you met her.”
Fury filled me. “You sent someone to get Ky’s secrets out of her friends?” That was going way too far. “That’s it, Claus. That. Is. It. You can’t do anything like this again. Do you understand? I’ll turn you into the police for violating all sorts of privacy laws.”
“You won’t win,” he informed me. “My people are discreet. Her roommates won’t even know what you’re talking about. It was done covertly.”
I had it with the man and let him know, “Claus, I can’t take this anymore. Frankly, I don’t have to.”
“Because of Tabitha, you do,” he let me know. “There are grandparents’ rights, too, you know. We won’t be left out of our granddaughter’s life. We will never be left out. Nothing can stop that.”
“And there’s nothing you can do to stop me from living my life and keeping Ky.” There were so many things to straighten out between my old in-laws and me. “Claus, the last thing I want to do is fight with you guys. Just leave Ky alone, and things will be fine.”
He pulled out the big guns, “Alexander, you’re thinking with your dick instead of your brilliant brain. I hate to see this happening to you. I don’t think the girl has done this. Your loneliness has. One day you will wake up and wonder what the hell you’re doing. She’s not only young, but she’s a nobody.”
I always hated how Rachelle’s parents thought you were no one unless you managed to accumulate large amounts of money. “Need I remind you that you haven’t earned money on your own, Claus? You were born into wealth. You’re no better than anyone else. Ky isn’t a nobody. No one is a nobody.”
“How wrong you are, Alexander. One day, you will see.” He wasn’t about to give in.
“I hope one day it will be you and Rebecca who sees that Ky isn’t just a person passing through our lives. She’s here to stay, Claus. Get used to it or get out of our lives.” Ky didn’t want me to toss Tabby’s grandparents out of her life, but I had no choice.
We’d be better off without them if they couldn’t accept Ky as part of the family.
Chapter 22
Ky
Weeks went by, and things got quiet on Tabby’s grandparents’ end. Alex thought they’d gone on a trip and put things behind them, but only for the time being. I didn’t care as long as no one was getting in our business.
Walking through the park, Alex and I watched Tabby’s eyes light up as she saw the playground. “Yeah!” Taking off like a flash, she headed for the swings where other children were playing.
Letting go of my hand, Alex sprinted after her, scooping her up before she ran into one of the swings. “Hey, you. You’ve got to watch out for those swings. Those things can hit you and knock you down, baby girl.” He kissed her on the forehead. “Besides, there is a tree I’d like us to be under when I ask you something.”
Catching up to him, I wondered what kind of a question he had to ask his daughter and why there was a certain tree he needed to ask her under. But I didn’t want to butt into his business with her. “The weather is gorgeous today,” I said instead.
Still holding Tabby as we walked along the pathway, he looked up at the blue, cloudless sky. “It’s the most perfect day. We don’t have many of these in Seattle.” Then his eyes came to mine. “It feels special today. Don’t you think?”
It felt great being outdoors, so I nodded. “Yeah. It’s a special sort of day.”
“One of those days you’ll remember for a long time,” he went on. “Maybe even forever?”
I didn’t know about all that. “It’s a nice day. The temperature is perfect. The sky seems bluer.” Taking the time to really take in my surroundings, I took notice of the chirps of the birds, the buzzing insects, and the laughs of the children playing on the playground. “It even sounds nice, too.”
“Every living creature seems to be out and having the time of their lives,” Alex added. “The atmosphere is almost electric, but surrounded by calmness. I’ve never seen such a perfect day in a long time.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at Alex’s enthusiasm. “Well aren’t you in top spirits today, babe?”
He put one arm around me as he stopped underneath a large oak tree that looked to be hundreds of years old. “I am in top spirits, baby.” His ice-blue eyes shone brightly in the diminished sunlight. “I’ve never felt so alive and optimistic.”
“Optimistic?” I asked. “About what?”
He shrugged. “About everything. Life in general.” He kissed Tabby on the cheek, then put her down. When he got down on one knee in front of her, holding her little hands in his, I looked on with curiosity. “Tabby, have you liked how our lives have changed since Ky came to live with us?”
I held my breath, wondering what would happen if she said no.
Tabby smiled and laughed as she looked up at me, then back at her daddy. “Daddy, I like Ky. She’s nice and fun, too. I love Ky.”
The way his smile moved over his handsome face lit up his eyes. “I love her too, Tabby.”
My legs started to weaken as he kept looking at Tabby instead of me. My heart began to race and pounded so loudly that I could hear it. But still, my lips were pressed together tightly.
“Daddy, are you going to cry?” Tabby asked as she peered into his eyes.
He didn’t acknowledge the question. Instead, he asked her another , “Tabby, would you like it if you could call Ky Mom?”
For a moment she just looked at him,, then smiled and shook her head. “I want to call
her mom.”
I clutched my chest.
Is Alex going to ask me to marry him?
Stumbling backward, I stopped when my back hit the tree. When Alex ran his hand over Tabby’s head, she stood up, coming over to me. He let go of Tabby’s hand, then whispered, “Wish me luck, Tabby.”
She clapped her hands and ran in place. “Good luck, Daddy!”
I couldn’t breathe, think, or make any sense of anything. When Alex got on one knee in front of me, then pulled out a black box, I nearly passed out. “Kyla Gertrude Rush, I’ve loved you since I met you. You stole my heart right from the start. I can’t think of spending even one day without you in it. My daughter loves you, I love you, so why don’t we make this legit and permanent? Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
The earth moved beneath my feet, and I was on my knees in front of Alex, my hands over my mouth and tears making my vision blurred. The sound of Tabby’s sweet, little voice brought me out of the stupor, “Say yes! Say yes!”
Gasping, I let my answer fly out of my mouth, “Yes! Yes, Alex!”
Pulling the ring out of the box, he slipped it on my trembling finger. “You’ve made me happier than I’ve ever been.”
I couldn’t take it anymore, with the weight of that ring on my finger, I knew it was official. “Oh, my God!” I threw my arms around him, hugging him so tightly, then I felt tiny arms embracing me from behind, and I let Alex go so I could take Tabby into my arms.
She buried her face in my chest. “You’re my mommy!”
Blinking, I tried to stop the tears so I could see Alex’s face. And I saw tears streaming down his cheeks as well as he looked at his daughter and me. “This is so much more than I ever expected.” He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “Damn, I should’ve done this in the privacy of our house.”
Reaching out with my freed-up arm, I took him into the hug. “Come here, Daddy. Get in on this family hug.”
This was the best thing to ever happen to me. Being married to Alex hadn’t even been a blip on my radar.
I heard a woman clear her throat. “I hate to interrupt.”
Alex and I exchanged confused expressions as we let each other go to see who’d said that. Alex asked, “And you are?”
She waved her cell phone at us. “I was taking a walk when I saw you. I stopped and decided I should video this instant for you. How beautiful!”
Getting up off my knees, I thanked her. “Oh, how brilliant! We’ll have this moment to look back on forever.”
“Give me your number. I’ll send the video over.” She smiled. “It was presumptuous of me to take it. Something told me to do it, though.”
Alex nodded. “I’m glad you did. It’s the best gift anyone has ever given us.”
Minutes later, we watched the video. “Aw. We’re all so in love,” Tabby giggled.
She was right; we were all in love. Blood or not, I loved that little girl. “I truly love you, Tabby. I always will. And I can’t wait until you call me Mom.”
“After the wedding,” Alex said. “Then we’ll all be Arlens.”
Wrapping his arm around me, he took Tabby by the hand, and we headed back to the car in the parking lot. “What a day.” I looked at my ring, watching the sun glisten off the large diamond that was surrounded by several smaller ones. “This ring is so beautiful; it’s got me lost for words.” I never expected something so huge and stunning to be on my finger. But there it was, sparkling. I’d never been dazzled before, but that had to have been what I felt as I looked at that rock on my finger.
Alex kissed the side of my head. “What do you say to stopping off for a nice dinner? I made reservations for us. I kind of had the idea you’d say yes to my proposal. I wanted to end the day with a special feast.”
“What haven’t you thought of?” I kissed his cheek. “A superb day in the park. The best question I’ve ever been asked. And now a special dinner? How can things get any better than this?”
The way his eyes held mine... There would be days just as great as this one. As long as we had each other, there would be many days like this one. I knew it, and so did Alex.
Later, as we sat in the restaurant having dinner, Alex brought up a valid point, “Ky, why not introduce me to your parents now that we’re engaged?”
Time had gotten away from me, it seemed. “Oh, Alex! Sorry I haven’t invited them over yet. They’ve met Tabby already. Let’s do something this weekend. And what about your family? Invite them over, too!” I began to get excited. “This will be great! My parents will meet you as my fiancée!”
I have a fiancée!
It seemed like an eternity since I first met Alex and Tabby—like they’d always been around. Had I been waiting for him to come into my life before starting to live? Had he and Tabby been waiting for me?
Reaching across the table, I took Alex’s hand. “This is the right thing. I can feel it. This was always meant to be.”
He nodded. “It really was. When things got so bad, I thought I’d never be happy again. I thought it would be Tabby and me alone for the rest of my life. Fortunately, I was wrong.”
“Me, too,” Tabby said, then slurped up a spaghetti noodle. “I love us.”
I loved us, too. When I looked at the happiness in Alex’s eyes, it was obvious he did as well. “We’ll make a great family, Ky. You will be the matriarch of a very happy family.”
Me, a matriarch?
At only twenty-two, I was on the cusp of becoming a mother of a three-year-old, the wife of a thirty-five-year-old, and had no idea what more would come my way.
And I never felt so ready for anything in my life.
Chapter 23
Alex
Climbing into our bed after Ky accepted my proposal, I never felt more connected. After our marriage, we’ll feel even more of a union. “Hey there, fiancée,” I said moving onto the bed next to her.
Opening her arms, she batted her brows at me. “Hey there, yourself, fiancée.”
Our lips met and our bodies went flush against the other’s as we slipped into the state we always did when we were alone: naked and unashamed. Life with Ky would be fantastic.
Pausing the kiss, I confided “Ky, I don’t want to wait a long time to get married. Let’s get the marriage license tomorrow and plan for the wedding right away. Our parents can help us this weekend. Hopefully, we can have something organized by the end of next month.”
The smile that pulled her lips up on one side told me she liked that idea. “Carla will be my maid of honor. And my old roomies can be the bridesmaids. That means we’ll need time to get the dresses done.”
“Get going on that as soon as you’d like to.” I kissed her again. “And I’ve got one more thing to get started on.”
Looking into my eyes, she asked, “What’s that?”
“Toss your birth control.” I kissed her soft lips once more. “Ky, I want us to have a baby.”
Her body shivered as she moaned, “Yes.” Her lips pressed against my neck. “I would love to have your baby, Alex.”
Moving my body over hers, I looked down at her. “I guess we should start practicing then.”
She spread her legs, and I slipped right into her warm center. “I agree. Practice makes perfect, right?”
“Right.” Being inside of her felt so right, and I knew it was the right time for us to start trying for a baby.
Ky had already proven herself to be a wonderful mother; I had no doubts she would make me even prouder with our own baby. She and I would make a family we could be proud of. We’ll do it together—what a change that would be for me. I’d always done it mostly on my own.
Moving her body in a wavelike motion, Ky moaned as I moved inside of her. “Alex, this doesn’t feel like reality. This has to be a dream; I’ll wake up from it and find myself alone and miserable instead of happy and fulfilled.”
“Shh,” I whispered, then kissed her sweet lips. “This isn’t a dream and nothing is going to wake you up from it.”
One would think it would be me who thought that. But I had faith we would get a hell of a lot more time than I had with Rachelle.
God couldn’t possibly take two loves away from me in less than a decade.
As her hands moved over my back, Ky’s foot ran up the back of my leg. I looked at her pretty face, letting each feature penetrate my mind and lodge into my memory. She smiled as I moved deeper into her. “Oh, yeah. How do you manage that, Alex?”
“A trade secret.” I kissed her again, wanting to taste her.
As we made love, I wondered what our baby would look like. Tabby looked like her mother, so would our future kids look like Ky?
I wanted to see some of me in our future kids, too. Not that I didn’t like the way Tabby looked. I knew she was meant to look like her mother. That way there would always be someone here to help me remember Rachelle.
Love was something I’d never completely understood—and now was no different. There was the love between a kid and their parents. Love between siblings. Love between a man and a woman and the love between parents and their children.
But how unlike the love between a man and a woman could be from one partner to another! The way I loved Ky and Rachelle was completely dissimilar.
Rachelle was refined, classy, and self-assured. Plus, Rachelle could be quite a bitch when things didn’t go her way. I chalked that up to her wealthy upbringing.
And Ky was down to earth, sweet, and not at all self-assured. I loved all that stuff about her. And in a way, I loved her more than I ever loved Rachelle. Was it because Ky loved Tabby when she didn’t have to? But I loved Ky more, and that was a fact.
Our bodies just fit like hand and glove . Her tits brushed just underneath me. Her hips pushed below mine. And the way her lips formed to mine seemed as if cut precisely to fit them. Everything about her body fit mine, but that wasn’t all I loved about Ky.
Her nature was a thing I adored. Her lack of style made me smile. I loved picking out things for her to wear and getting her dolled up at the salon, too. I thoroughly enjoyed doing things for Ky.