Hannah squeals and takes her drool-covered fingers from her mouth and points to Jade.
“Yeah, that’s Mom. You want to go see her?”
I kiss Hannah’s cheek, which draws her attention back to me. She lays her head on my shoulder, her tiny hand gripping my shirt.
I kiss her again, this time on her tiny head. Then I look back out at the rest of my family, and our best friends, together and having a good time.
This right here? It’s exactly what I wanted in life. I just didn’t know it. Until I met Jade.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Another Two Years Later
JADE
I cradle one in each arm, their tummies now full and their eyes sleepy. It’s 2 a.m. and everything is quiet. The room is softly lit by a lamp next to the door.
The three of us sit on the small, light blue couch across from their cribs. This couch is my favorite piece of furniture, because every night Garret brings the girls in here and reads them a story before bed. He sits on this couch and the girls pile on him, one on each side, snuggled under his arms.
And I sit beside them, holding the newest additions to our family. They arrived ten weeks ago. That’s right—they. As in more than one. We had twins. Twin boys, Ethan and Miles. I call them my mini-Garrets because they already look like him.
“Hey,” Garret whispers as he walks in the room. He’s shirtless and wearing white cotton pajama pants that hang low on his hips. His skin is tan, his muscles defined. Even after all this time, he still stirs something in me whenever I see him. Love. Heat. Excitement. Desire.
“You need some help?” he asks, sitting down next to me on the couch.
“I think we’re good.” I look down at our babies, watching their tiny chests rise and fall as they sleep.
“You’re really getting the hang of this twin thing.” Garret lays his arm over my shoulder and kisses my cheek.
“I’m trying to. I seem to have the sleep thing down but the feedings are still a little tricky. Two babies are a lot harder than one.”
“Here.” He puts his hand under Ethan’s head. “Let me have him.”
I lower my arm as Garret slips his hand under Ethan’s little body. His eyes remain closed but he gurgles a little and his pink lips curl into a sweet smile as his daddy picks him up. He looks so tiny in Garret’s big strong arms.
“Is that better?” Garret asks, cradling Ethan in one arm and securing his other arm around my shoulder again.
“Yeah, thanks.” I glance down at Miles, who’s completely knocked out. He’s a deep sleeper. Both boys are, especially after eating. “You didn’t have to get up. I was just about ready to put them in their cribs.”
“I missed you.” He leans over and kisses me, then looks at the babies. “And I missed them.”
I smile. “You see us all the time.”
“I always miss you when you’re not next to me. You know that.” I see him gazing at me in the soft light of the room, his eyes so full of love. He glances down at Ethan, then over at Miles. “And as for these two, they’re brand new. I’m just getting to know them, and so far I think they’re pretty amazing, so yeah, I missed them, too.”
I laugh. “So far? You think you’ll change your mind about them?”
“No. They’re definitely amazing.” He rubs his thumb over Ethan’s tiny hand and leans over to kiss my forehead. “We’re pretty good at this baby-making thing, aren’t we?”
“Yeah. We are.” I shoot him a look. “But we’re done now, Garret. No more. We were only supposed to have three. And then you tricked me with the whole twin thing and we ended up with four.”
He laughs. “You think I somehow had control over that?”
“Yeah. I do. You couldn’t take being the only guy in the house, so you had to go and make two boys to even things out, and now we have four kids.”
“What are you saying? Four’s too many? Think we should return one?”
His face is serious and it makes me laugh. He lifts Ethan up a little. “This one cries more than that one. Maybe we should return him and keep that one.” He nods toward Miles.
“Garret!” I whisper scream at him.
“What? You think we should return Miles instead? He does eat more than Ethan. Could make for an expensive grocery bill, especially during the teen years. Where exactly do you go to return babies, anyway?”
“Cut it out.” I hold Miles even closer. “We’re not returning either one of them. I love them way too much.”
“I know you do. I love them, too.” Garret kisses the top of my head. “I also love this.”
“What?” I ask, leaning my head on his shoulder.
“Sitting here in the middle of the night, when everything’s so still and quiet. The girls asleep in their rooms. Us here together with these two little guys sleeping in our arms. It’s just…I don’t know, peaceful.”
“Yeah. It is.” I turn a little to face him. “Garret?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For giving me everything I ever wanted in life.”
He gently squeezes my shoulder. “What did I give you?”
“A best friend. Love.” I gaze up at him and smile. “A family.”
“That’s everything I wanted, too. You gave me way more than I ever thought I’d get out of life.” He looks down at Ethan. “If anything, I should be thanking you. I mean, shit, I only asked you for three kids and then you went and threw in a bonus one.”
I reach over and touch Ethan’s hand, his tiny fingers, his baby-soft skin. “He is a bonus. A really great bonus.”
Garret leans down and kisses the side of my head. “I love you, Jade. And the life you’ve given me. And our kids. I probably don’t say that enough, so I’m saying it now. I love you, and I love everything you do for me and our family. You’re such a great mom and you’re an amazing wife.”
I feel like denying it because I feel like I’m never a good enough wife or mom. Life gets busy and crazy and sometimes I feel like I can’t keep up. But whenever I need help, Garret’s there for me. He’s always by my side, helping me, supporting me, loving me.
“You’re not so bad yourself. You’re an awesome dad. And the best husband ever. The hottest one, too.” I glance down at his bare chest and those sexy abs that he’s managed to maintain all these years. I reach up and give him a kiss, lingering at his lips.
“How about we put these two to bed and go back to our room?” I give him the smile I reserve only for him. He knows what it means.
He smiles back, nodding at the crib. “Go ahead.”
I slowly stand up and take Miles to his crib. Garret appears next to me, putting Ethan in his. Then Garret puts his hand around my waist, drawing me into him. He reaches behind my neck and brings me in for a kiss that makes my whole body fire up with desire. Even now, he gets to me this way. A simple touch, a simple kiss, is so much more with him. My body comes alive, wanting to be with him.
He slowly pulls away. “Let’s go.”
I turn off the lamp by the crib and we walk out into the hall and down to our room. The window’s open and a light breeze is blowing in.
“I wasn’t planning on going to sleep yet.” I give him my sexy smile and walk backward toward the bed.
“Damn straight you’re not.” He stops me, slipping off the straps of my nightgown and letting it fall to the floor. He picks me up and lays me down on the bed. Then he takes his pajama pants off and lies beside me, skimming his hand over my skin.
I close my eyes as he kisses my neck, sending a shiver down my spine. He continues to touch me, knowing every inch of me, knowing exactly what to do to make my body respond.
“You’re so damn beautiful,” he whispers.
I smile as I feel him lie over me. Garret always makes me feel sexy, wanted, desired. After having four kids, my body’s not as great as it used to be, but he doesn’t see that. He doesn’t see the flaws. To him, I’ll always be beautiful.
&n
bsp; When we’re done, he holds me in his arms and says, “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” I snuggle closer to him and whisper, “I will love you forever.” It’s the vow I made on our wedding day. But it’s also what I said to him back in the woods when I thought I’d never see him again.
Even if that day in the woods had been the end for us, I still would’ve loved Garret forever. He helped me find myself when I was lost. He was my friend when I had none. He loved me despite all my faults. And he never gave up on me.
But that day wasn’t the end for us. And every day, I’m thankful for that. I’m thankful we’re together. That I’ll always have my best friend next to me. The person I love most in the world. The person I will love forever.
As I lie in Garret’s arms, I savor how it feels, and how I feel at this moment.
I do that a lot now. I live in the moment. I focus on it. I pay attention to all the tiny details.
Before I met Garret, I spent all my time being angry about the past or worried about the future. But I’ve learned that when doing that, you miss out on the here and now. And before you know it, time goes by and you don’t even know what you missed.
I don’t want time to just pass me by. I want to live it and be present for each precious day. I don’t want to miss a single moment of my life with Garret and our beautiful family. It’s too great. It’s more than I ever imagined it could be.
And the best part is…it’s only just begun.
Note from Allie
I want to say thank you to all of you…my readers. Your love of Jade and Garret is what made this into an eight-book series, instead of the four-book series that I’d originally planned. Through the course of eight books, we’ve seen this couple go from friends, to dating, to marriage, and now parenthood!
Now that this series is wrapped up, some of you have asked about spin-off books featuring the side characters. If you’re interested in that, let me know what characters you want to know more about! I have some ideas as well and have already started working on a new book. Check my Facebook page for updates on what’s to come!
Author Allie Everhart Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/AuthorAllieEverhart
Always Us (The Jade Series #8) Page 44