“So, you think they looked happy?”
“I’m not sure, to be honest. They looked as though they’ve seen way too much for their age, but they also look like fighters. They’re ok, Rivers. They made it through the other end just like you did.”
He takes my hand and laces his fingers through mine. “Thank you, Tully,” he murmurs. “Those two pop up in my dreams every now and then. It’s good to know that they’re doing better.”
I nod as my head falls to his shoulder. “Maybe one day we could go and visit them.”
“I don’t know, Tullz. I’m the monster in their story just as Anton was the monster in mine. A visit would probably do me good, but this is about them and I don’t want to cause them any more pain than what I’ve already done. Let’s leave them be and hope that one day, they can find their own happiness.”
I take hold of his chin and draw his face to mine before brushing my lips over his. “You really are the most selfless, incredible man I’ve ever met,” I tell him. “I’m the luckiest girl in the world to have you loving me the way you do.”
“No,” he says, shaking his head. “I’m the lucky one. Now, what do you say we christen this place?”
“You don’t want to wait until we have a bit of furniture?” I grin as his lips come down against mine.
“No way,” he laughs, falling to the deck and bringing me down with him. “What can I say? I’m a friendly guy and it would only be polite if we let the neighbors know exactly who we are.”
I shake my head, grinning down at the man who has made me feel every tiny emotion humanly possible since the day I first met him.
This next part of my life is going to be the biggest adventure that I’ll ever live through and I can’t wait.
Epilogue
Tully
I pass my little Lily Rivers off to my mom as I work on shoving my tits back inside my shirt. This whole breastfeeding thing is really not as beautiful as all the books suggest. I mean, there’s a human being sucking on my tits most hours of the day. It was hard enough with just Rivers insisting on having them in his mouth, but now I have this tiny little human who insists on squeezing my nipple between her little toothless gums. I mean, fuck, give a woman a break. That shit actually hurts, but I wouldn’t change it for anything.
The past two months since her birth have flown by. I can’t believe just how quickly it’s gone. It feels like only yesterday that Rivers and I were in that hospital room cursing each other out. Though, if you asked him, he’d say that I was the one doing the cursing. But here we are, two months in and absolutely in love with this beautiful little creature that we’ve brought into this world.
I’m not going to lie, it’s been incredibly hard and I don’t know how I would have done it without Rivers, but something tells me that it’s only going to get worse from here. I mean, mom keeps telling me these horror stories about teething and poo explosions that go right up their backs, and honestly, I’m a little freaked out.
So far, we’ve suffered through the sleepless nights, the torturous days where she wouldn’t feed properly, and of course, the dreaded sore tummy.
Rivers has been great with everything and has been there every step of the way, making sure I have everything I need. He had told me that he feels a little useless at the moment as it’s always me having to get up in the night to do the feeds with her, but he couldn’t be more wrong. He’s always the first to get up to change her diapers and always the one rushing in and taking her away when it’s time for her sleep.
He loves being a daddy just as much as I love being her mommy.
If I’m completely honest with myself. I feel like a hot mess. My hair hasn’t been brushed in two months, I’m still wearing my maternity pants, and I accidentally poured breast milk into my cereal instead of the full cream milk I’d only gotten out of the fridge two seconds before.
But I feel myself slowly coming back. The more confident we become with this little girl, the easier it is for me to make it through each day, and really, I shouldn’t be complaining; she’s an excellent sleeper. In fact, she downright loves her sleep. She must get that from me.
I get my boob situation sorted and make sure I’m not about to start leaking everywhere like I did while I was out at dinner two nights ago and completely embarrass myself. Once everything is where it needs to be, I look up at mom to find her propping Lily up over her shoulder and helping her to burp to avoid those damn tummy aches, and just like her father, she does it loud and proud.
I’ve been trying to focus on myself a little more over the past two days and finally convinced myself to start walking in the hopes of finding my previous sexy body, so that’s exactly what I’ve been doing.
I got the stroller set up, got Lily dressed and ready for an outing, and pulled on my runners before packing every tiny item in my house that lily could possibly need in the hour or so that we’ll be out. I kissed Rivers and he spanked my ass before helping me out the door with the stroller.
It started great. I walked for about fifteen minutes, humming to a little ‘5 Seconds of Summer’ when I turned down Noah and Henley’s road. I had all intentions of walking straight past, but when I saw mom’s car parked out front, I found myself taking a little detour.
And that’s exactly where I’ve been for the past three hours.
Poor Rivers, he’s probably worried sick about me, either that or he has fallen asleep on the couch and completely lost track of time.
I stand up from Noah’s back deck and hold my hands out for Lily when mom scoffs at me and adjusts her in her arms to put her off to sleep. “Get your own baby,” she tells me in a baby voice as she looks down at my little angel. “This one is mine.”
I roll my eyes. I guess I won’t be seeing Lily for a few hours. She’ll end up sleeping in mom’s arms and that’s exactly where she’ll stay until I physically have to steal her back.
Not wanting to miss the opportunity to have this rare time to myself, I slip in through the backdoor and find my way to Noah and Henley’s kitchen, knowing they have all sorts of goodies hiding in here.
I mean, screw the diet. I was careful during my pregnancy, I deserve to treat myself. After all, I did push a watermelon out of my lady bits and it wasn’t pretty. I can cry about my weight tomorrow while Rivers holds me and reminds me that I’m still the most beautiful woman he knows.
God, my man is such a suck-up, but it works every damn time.
As I rummage through the freezer and find the emergency tub of ice cream that Henley always keeps in here for me, I hear the familiar sounds of Noah and Rivers’ hushed conversation coming from just outside the open front door.
I grin to myself. I should have known he’d come looking for me.
I grab myself a spoon and flop down onto the couch which Rivers and I are yet to christen and dig in as I try to find a little peace and quiet. Only the boys' stupid conversation is a little too hard to tune out. Do they realize just how far their voices carry? They’re not discreet at all.
I groan to myself and jump up. If I intend to have any quiet, then that front door needs to be closed.
As I make my way across the living room, their conversation has me slowing down. “Dude, check this out,” Rivers murmurs, trying to be quiet.
There’s a short pause before Noah booms out. “Holy fuck. You bought it.”
Bought it? Bought what?
“Yeah, man. I hope she fucking likes it. I’ve been staring at these goddamn rings for weeks trying to figure out which is the best one for her.”
Wait…did he just say rings? As in…
“She’s going to love it,” Noah murmurs proudly. “When are you going to pop the question?”
“As soon as I fucking can,” Rivers says.
My mouth drops open as I listen to what must be one of those bro, black clap things. “Fuck, yeah,” Noah hollers. “She’s going to be so fucking pissed that I knew about this before her.”
I can’t stop my feet from moving.
> I throw myself out the door and stare at Rivers who looks like a fucking deer caught in headlights. “We’re getting married?” I squeal, my heart racing a million miles an hour.
Rivers’ mouth drops open and I watch as he struggles to find what the hell to say when he’s saved by an ear-shattering squeal coming from inside the house.
Noah, Rivers, and I glance around at each other before making a break for it. The only person it could have been is Henley and a scream like that tells me something is incredibly wrong.
The three of us barge down the hallway, searching her out until we’re practically breaking down the bathroom door. “What’s wrong?” I demand as I rush in to find Henley slumped on the ground with none other than a pregnancy test clutched between her fingers.
Her head whips around as she singles out my brother. “YOU,” she yells, flying to her feet and pointing him out. “YOU IMPREGNATED ME WITH YOUR DEVIL SPAWN.”
My mouth drops open as I look back at Noah. “I, umm. What?”
Henley starts flailing around as elation fills me. “How could you?” she cries, throwing her hands up before tossing the pregnancy test at Noah. “I don’t want to be pregnant. I’m not finished being a Rockstar yet.”
“You’re…?”
“I’m not even a grown-up yet,” she continues, ignoring Noah’s freak out, though come to think of it, he hasn’t moved a muscle. “And now I have to be someone’s mom? I can’t be a mom! I’m just a kid.”
“You’re nearly twenty-three,” I cut in, finding her meltdown a little too amusing.
Henley shoots a sharp glare my way. “Shut up, you.”
I zip my lips.
“What am I going to do?”
Rivers elbows Noah in the ribs and when he gets no response, he takes over. He walks straight into the bathroom and collects Henley in his big arms. “You’re not wrong,” he tells her. “You’re not finished being a Rockstar, but look at Tully, having a child and absolutely rocking it. It makes you stronger. You’re ready for this, and despite Noah’s inability to form a sentence right now, he’s ready for this too. Besides, you practically raised your little sister. You already know what to do. You two are going to make incredible parents, you know, right behind me and Tully, of course.”
Henley’s brows dip down as she pulls out of Rivers' arms. “Excuse me?” she demands. “That’s bullshit. Me and Noah are going to kick your asses at parenting.”
“No,” I shake my head. “Me and Rivers have this mommy/daddy thing down.”
“Really?” she laughs as tears spring to her eyes. “Do I need to remind you that you were putting Lily’s diaper on backward for the first week of her life? Noah and I are going to whip your asses.”
“Uhh…” Noah grumbles, seeming to swallow back fear. “Yeah, we’ve got this.”
He steps into the bathroom and walks right up to Henley before taking her shoulders and looking down at her, but there’s no mistaking the excitement in his eyes. “Are you sure that you’re really pregnant?”
She nods. “Yeah. At least, that’s what the test says. I checked it a few times just to be sure.”
“And…you want this?”
“I mean, it wasn’t exactly part of my plan. I wanted to wait another three, maybe four years, but if these idiots can make it work, then I don’t see why we can’t too.”
“FUCK, YEAH!” Noah booms, grabbing his wife and crushing her body against his. “WE’RE HAVING A FUCKING BABY. This is the best goddamn day of my life. First Tully and Rivers are getting married and now this. YES!”
Henley grabs Noah’s arms and rips herself out of his hold and she looks to me and Rivers. “Wait. What do you mean they’re getting married?”
I grin. “I just busted Rivers showing Noah the ring.”
“WHAT?” she screeches as she starts jumping up and down. “You’re getting married?”
I shrug before turning and looking up at Rivers with a cringe. “I mean…are we?”
A beaming smile overtakes his handsome face as he curls his hand around my waist. “I was planning on giving you the big proposal like I know you want, but I guess that’s kind of ruined now. But, baby, it’s in your hands. If you say yes then you better fucking believe it, we’re getting married because I can’t go another day not knowing that you’ll be my wife.”
I throw myself up into his arms and lock my legs around his waist. “Yes, of course. I want to marry you so freaking bad.”
“You’ll be my wife?” he questions, his lips hovering just above mine with a wide, proud grin.
“Yes, I’ll be your wife.” Rivers’ lips come down on mine and he kisses me greedily while Henley squeals in excitement behind us.
I find myself pulling back as I ignore the high-pitched screeching coming from my best friend. I look up into the eyes of the man who will soon become my husband. “Just so you know, I’m not getting around and telling people that I got engaged in a bathroom. That’s not the kind of standards I want to set for our little girl, so I’m still going to need the big, over-the-top proposal.”
Rivers shakes his head as the amusement shines brightly in his eyes. “Why am I not surprised?”
I can’t help but laugh. “Does being husband and wife truly mean that there are no secrets between us?”
“Sure does,” he says, narrowing his eyes.
I look across to my brother and give him a tight smile. “Sorry, Noah. I guess this means that I have no choice but to tell Rivers what those five items were that you guys bought from Kitty Kat’s Play House.”
Noah’s face falls and the rest of ours light up with a sick enjoyment. “No,” he gasps before turning on his wife accusingly. “You told her?”
“Ahh, shit. I knew that was going to come back and bite me in the ass,” Henley cringes. “But now that Rivers is back, technically we can pick up where we left off. Whose turn is it?”
“Mine,” Noah rushes in before turning his devilish gaze on me. “Truth or fucking dare, Tully Cage?”
Well, shit!
Thanks for reading!
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Author Biography
Sheridan Anne is a wife to a smart-ass husband, Mumma to two beautiful girls, twin sister, daughter, and friend who lives in beautiful Australia. Sheridan writes both romance and young adult fantasy books on a variety of topics and can be found on most days with her family or writing during naptime. To find out more or to simply say ‘hello’, connect with her on Facebook or Instagram -
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Other Series by Sheridan Anne
www.amazon.com/Sheridan-Anne/e/B079TLXN6K
Teen & Young Adult - Paranormal Romance
The Guard Trilogy (3 Book Series)
Warriors of Light (3 Book Series - Coming Soon)
Young Adult / New Adult - Romance
The Broken Hill High Series (5 Book Series + Novella)
Haven Falls (7 Book Series)
New Adult Romance
Kings of Denver (4 Book Series)
Denver Royalty (3 Book Series)
Rebels Advocate (4 Book Series)
Unstoppable: Haven Falls (Book 7) Page 22