Chapter Sixteen
Harper could only marvel as Foster did indeed put a rainbow meal on the table for Miranda. Cheesy noodles, green beans, cherry tomatoes, corn, hot dogs, with blueberry muffins for dessert, and grape juice to drink might not have been a perfect meal, but it was delicious and colorful. Their afternoon in bed, loving, napping, and celebrating Foster’s victory in court as well as the billionaire bride’s delight in her dress left them both sated, relaxed, and happy.
“Mr. Mafe?” Miranda asked as she swallowed the last bite of her muffin.
After wiping her hands and face on her napkin, the little girl climbed down from her chair and scurried around the table to stand between her and Foster.
“Yes, princess?”
Miranda laid a hand on each of their arms. “I think you need to marry us. That way you could be my daddy and not just Mr. Mafe. I always wanted a daddy and the ’perm donor doesn’t count.”
Harper felt her eyes go wide as her jaw dropped. She never expected such bold honesty from Miranda. Then she glanced at Foster and she couldn’t help herself. The man looked stunned, but not in an oh-shit-how-do-I-get-out-of-this kind of way, thank God.
Harper’s grin grew as her heart overflowed, and then she said, “I agree. I think you do need to marry us, and be my mafe in truth and not just in name.”
Foster sat silently for a moment. Then he blinked and his smile grew as wide as her own. Leaning down, he brushed a kiss on her daughter’s forehead before whispering in her ear just loud enough for Harper to hear. “Miranda, I would be honored to become your daddy, but I was hoping to be the one to propose to your mommy, if that’s okay with you, that is.”
Harper’s cheeks burned as her daughter nodded and then threw her arms around his neck. “Okay, that would be good. But you’ll still live here and take care of us until then, won’t you?”
“Yes, princess, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon,” Foster said, returning the child’s embrace with one that included her mother as well. “And I hear your school is looking for a security guard, which is a position that I would more than qualify for. Then I can keep my eye on you at school, too.”
****
Foster wandered backstage, amazed at the chaos that reigned there. As the fashion show’s start time grew closer, he watched Harper step in and get things taken care of. His woman was a master at planning for every contingency, so when a hem got ripped, she pulled out a roll of double-stick tape from somewhere and fixed it before moving on to the next challenge.
Though he had been recruited to be part of the backstage crew, there wasn’t anything for Foster to do except keep an eye on the four little girls who would be modeling Harper’s new line of children’s dresses and stuffies. The girls were so overwhelmed with all that was going on around them, they sat in the chairs he’d lined up out of the way and didn’t say a word.
He froze when a hand stroked across his back. “So, tell me, handsome. What’s a mafe?”
Turning, he found himself looking down at one of the models. Then he remembered the shirt Harper had presented him with just before they’d left the house. The black polo had the Harper Ellis Designs logo on the front over his heart, and on the back had in big white letters, MAFE.
He smiled and peeled the woman’s hand off his arm. “You’ll have to ask Harper about that, but you might want to wait until after the show. It’s her word.”
The model frowned and stepped back. “Oh, well, okay then. I’ll ask Harper after the show.”
He watched as she stalked away, her model, stalking-the-runway walk perfected.
A tug on his pants had him turning his attention back to Miranda. “Yes, princess?”
“You shouldn’t look at that lady, ’cause you belong to us,” Miranda stated flatly.
“You’re right. I’m sorry,” he said, kneeling to look into her face because he wasn’t allowed to pick her up until after she’d shown her dress off to the ladies sitting in the audience. “So, are you ready to strut your stuff down the runway, ladies?”
The little girls nodded, even though they looked nervous and hugged their stuffed animal friends a little tighter.
He smiled when Harper joined them. “Okay, girls, you’ll be the first to walk the runway. Just as we rehearsed. Walk down, turn a circle, smile and wave to your mommies who are in the front row, then turn and walk back here. Okay?”
The little girls nodded but didn’t look any less nervous.
“And don’t forget to smile. This is supposed to be fun. I don’t want your mommies to think I tortured you back here,” she added, which had each of the girls giving a little giggle.
A minute later, the lighting changed onstage and a lady began to speak. Harper took a breath and grabbed Foster’s hand. “Okay, girls, let’s go show off your pretty dresses and stuffies.”
Foster remained backstage, watching and feeling his chest blow up he was so damn proud of his girls. Harper for taking her business to the next step, and Miranda for agreeing to be a model.
Stepping to the side of the stage, he peeked through the curtains and watched as Miranda, who went last, strutted down the runway like she owned it. Once she reached the far end of the raised platform, she turned a slow circle, threw a kiss, but didn’t immediately turn and walk back up the runway. Instead, she posed several times with the copy of Henry, the monster stuffie, she carried.
Then, with another wave to those at the back of the room, she curtseyed before turning and skipping back up the runway, waving to the people on either side of the runway. By the time she stepped out of sight, the entire audience had fallen in love with her. Once she stepped out of view of the audience, Foster swooped her up and hugged her tight.
“You were awesome,” he said as he kissed her cheek before looking at her. “I’m so proud of you.”
Miranda looked nervous as she looked up at him. “Mommy won’t be mad that I didn’t do what she told us to do, will she? It just seemed so boring to walk, turn, and walk back.”
Foster turned her so she could see where her mother was standing behind her with tears in her eyes. “I don’t think she’s mad.”
“Sweetie, you were perfect,” Harper said before stepping closer and taking her daughter from Foster. “I’m so proud of you. How did you know how to do that?”
Miranda shrugged and tried to look smug, but her ear-to-ear grin defeated the effect. “Foster and me watched that modeling show for tips on how to own the stage.”
Harper smiled and kissed her daughter’s cheeks. “Well, own it you did. Do you want to go out front with Foster to watch the rest?”
“Okay,” Miranda said before throwing her arms around her mother and hugging her tight. “I love you, Mommy, and I’ll model for you anytime you want. Just don’t put me in those pageant thingies, okay?”
Foster wrapped his arms around both women and hugged them both as Harper said, “I love you, too, sweetheart, and I won’t.”
When someone called Harper’s name, she released Miranda back to Foster’s care before turning away.
“Okay, kiddo, let’s go watch the rest of the show. At the end, I have a surprise for your Mommy.”
With Miranda wrapped around him like a sloth in a tree, Foster snuck in through the side entrance and worked his way to seats that had their names on them. He quickly shared his addition to the finale of Harper’s fashion show. The little girl fully agreed with his plan and bounced in her seat with excitement throughout the rest of the show.
At the end of the show, the models did one last pass to applause. They then began to applause as Harper came out and took her turn walking the runway. When she reached the end, Miranda ran up the stairs and threw herself into her mother’s arms, earning renewed applause.
Taking a deep breath, Foster followed, but instead of hugging Harper, he knelt before her and pulled the ring box out of his pocket. By the time he swallowed down his nerves, the room had gone silent and a pin could have been heard dropping, if someone had tried.
/>
“Harper Ellis, I love you, I love your daughter, and I beg you to please marry me and make an honest mafe of me,” he said loud enough for the entire room to hear.
Pulling in a breath, he waited for her answer.
Harper looked from Foster to Miranda. Ignoring the rest of the room, she nodded and whispered, “Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.”
In the next instant, she threw herself into his arms and kissed him.
A murmur ran through the room as the audience asked one another what Harper had said. Miranda turned to face the room and screamed, “She said yes,” which earned laughter and more applause. “Mr. Mafe is gonna be my daddy.”
Chapter Seventeen
By the time they got home and unloaded the car, Miranda was nearly asleep and didn’t fight when they put her to bed. All she required was that Foster be allowed to read her the story. She snuggled her Henry close, and he’d only read half of one before she was softly snoring.
Rising from the bed, he took Harper’s hand and led her out of the room, flipping off the light and pulling the door closed behind her. He then led his wife-to-be back downstairs. He ignored the stack of boxes filled with unsold stuffies and dresses in the entry hall where they had dropped them. Tomorrow would be soon enough to deal with the paperwork, money, and orders that had come in.
Tonight, he planned to celebrate their engagement far away from little ears who would question why Mommy was screaming his name. Leading Harper through the downstairs, he checked the front door to make sure they’d locked it before turning off lights as he led the way to his room off the kitchen.
Stopping at the doorway, he turned and pulled Harper into his arms. “I want to touch you, taste you, and fuck you until neither of us can walk. What do you say?”
“Yeehaw, bring it on, stud,” she said with a giggle.
Planting one hand in the center of his chest, she pushed until he began to walk backward into his room. Once they were both inside, she closed the door and twisted the lock. Then she turned back and began popping open the buttons that held his jeans closed.
Only when his jeans were open and had they, along with his briefs, had been shoved to his ankles where his boots stopped, did she step back and begin on her own clothes. Foster took two more steps back, the bed stopping him and causing him to fall across it. He sat up and after pulling off his boots, he finished stripping. By the time he turned and found Harper was just as naked as he was, his cock was hard as a stone.
“Come here, milady,” he said, holding out one hand.
Harper placed her hand in his and allowed him to help her onto the bed. He positioned her lying in the middle of the bed, a pillow under her head and her legs spread wide. Once she was in place, he backed away, earning a frown and grumpy whine from his woman.
“Shhhh, I’ll be right back.”
Turning, he opened the door and streaked through the house, grabbing several of the big chunky candles Harper had in various places. On his return, he grabbed the long barbecue lighter from its place near the back door. Then he returned to his room and secured the door once again.
He ignored Harper’s snarky comments about his romantic geekiness as he set the candles around the room and then lit them one by one. Once they were all lit, he turned off the overhead light and then grabbed his phone and pulled up his favorite blues channel on Pandora.
Only when everything was as perfect as he could make it did he turn to the bed where his woman lay watching.
“I love you,” she said before he could.
He approached the foot of the bed and stood there, looking down at the woman he planned to love until they were both old and decrepit and only able to hold hands as they raced their wheelchairs around the nursing home. “I love you, too.”
Crawling up over the end of the bed, he pushed Harper’s legs apart then lay down between them, his face just above her mons. Looking into her eyes, he lowered his face and licked his way from the top of her slit down between her lower lips, lapping up her sweet juices as he went further and further between her legs, not stopping until he reached the taint between her pussy and anus. Only then did he begin the trip up again.
Harper’s eyes closed and her head dropped back as he focused on fucking his tongue into her pussy. He then slid two fingers in as he shifted up and sucked hard on her clit. It hadn’t taken long for him to deduce that Harper was a wildcat and tender touches and slow, easy loving weren’t what made her happy.
“Foster!” she screamed as her legs clamped around his head, holding him in place as he nibbled on her clit and continued finger-fucking her.
He drove her through several orgasms before finally crawling up the mattress to cover her with his body. Though they hadn’t outright discussed future children, he didn’t bother donning a condom. Instead, he fit his cock to her pussy and pushed forward until he was fully sheathed.
Only then did he stop and focus on holding back his own release. Harper’s pussy muscles clamped down around him, rhythmically massaging his length and shoving him closer and closer to his own orgasm.
When he finally felt he had himself back under some kind of control, he moved, pulling back and pushing in before stilling again when his orgasm roared closer.
Harper’s arms wrapped around him and held tight as she lifted her hips, trying to fuck herself on his cock when he didn’t move fast enough for her.
Finally, he could take no more and began to move in earnest, each slide in and out a little faster and harder than the one before until he was moving as fast and hard as he could go. This time, when Harper screamed her pleasure, he allowed himself to follow her over the edge, his seed pulsing hard from his balls and up his cock, leaving him lightheaded as his orgasm rolled through her.
When his muscles unlocked, he rolled on the mattress until he was on his back with her draped limply over him. His cock remained deeply buried in her, and as soon as he caught his breath and could think again, he would consider doing it all over again. And again. And again.
“I love you, my sweet wife-to-be,” he whispered as he brushed a kiss on her temple.
“I love you, too, my handsome mafe. And if I’m pregnant, you will be in charge of the two AM feedings.”
Epilogue
Three months later, Foster sat with Miranda in the gallery of the family courtroom while John and Harper sat at the defendant’s table. Across the aisle, Brad sat with his attorney. The judge had heard both sides and had called for a recess to deliberate.
“Daddy, why didn’t the judge want to talk to me?” Miranda asked, sounding quite offended that she hadn’t been called to sit on the chair by the judge. “I think I should talk to her.”
Before Foster could answer, the door opened and the bailiff entered the room. He made his way around the bench and across the front of the courtroom. “Judge Mercer would like to speak with Miranda in her chambers.”
Foster looked at the little girl and saw her freeze. “Would you like me to go with you, sweetie? I might not be able to go into her chambers, but I’ll wait right outside.”
“Yes, please,” Miranda said, suddenly looking nervous.
Ten minutes after disappearing into the judge’s chambers, Miranda emerged, looking calm and confident as she took Foster’s hand and led him back into the courtroom. She refused to answer questions about what she and the judge talked about. When asked for the third time, she made the motion of zipping her lips closed and tossing the key over her shoulder.
Just then, Judge Mercer returned to the courtroom and everyone stood.
“Thank you for your patience. After deliberating and talking with Miranda, I award full custody to Harper Michaels, with the proviso that Mr. Foster Michaels adopt Miranda at the earliest convenience,” she said before writing something in the folder on her desk.
Brad screeched his anger but was quickly silenced by his attorney and dragged from the courtroom.
John stood and pulled a folder out of his briefcase. “Your Honor, the petition for a
doption paperwork is filled out and ready to file. We were just waiting for this decision to come down.”
Judge Mercer accepted the file and took a few minutes to look over the paperwork. “Would Foster Michaels and Harper Michaels please approach the bench?”
Foster stood and found himself unable to put Miranda down because she was clinging hard and wouldn’t release him. Carrying her with him, he went to stand in front of the judge. “I’m Foster Michaels, Your Honor.”
“After an illuminating conversation with Miranda, I hereby grant this petition without prejudice. Congratulations, Mr. Michaels, you’re a father.”
Foster was speechless as Miranda hugged him even tighter, and then Harper joined in. Once their family celebration eased, he smiled broadly at the judge. “Thank you, Your Honor. I’ll promise to be the best father, husband, and mafe I can be.”
“That’s all anyone can ask,” Judge Mercer said before banging her gavel and adding a few more notes to the paperwork before handing it off to her clerk. “Now, get out of my courtroom and go celebrate your family.”
“Yes, ma’am, and thank you,” Harper said with a smile.
“Thanks,” Miranda added before Foster turned and carried her out of the courtroom with Harper by his side.
“So, now that we’re a family, all signed, sealed, and approved by the government, what do we want for dinner?”
“We need a red dinner. Red means love and family means love and we are now a family!” Miranda stated in no uncertain terms.
Foster looked at Harper and then the little girl he couldn’t put down. “You are absolutely correct, so red foods for dinner it is.”
The End
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