"I promise that I'll always love our children, no matter what."
Fuck, that one hits me in the gut more than it should. It's a natural thing to love your children, but Tia and Marcus never felt that.
"I vow that I'll always be the wife you deserve."
I close my eyes, letting her words wash over me. God, she's killing me.
"I vow that you'll always have my heart."
"I promise that you'll always be mine."
"I promise to trust you until my dying breath."
"And I promise that you'll always be my safe place."
Dammit. The tear falls down my face but I leave it as I take a step toward her and crash my lips against hers, needing to taste her, to possess her. She's mine, just as I am hers.
"Daddy, he didn't say you can kiss her..." Marcus says loudly and laughter rings out.
I pull back, Tia's lips swollen from the harshness of the kiss, her eyes glazed over with lust.
I wait patiently for the priest to say his bit, dying to kiss her as my wife.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife..."
Fuck. My wife.
God, I never thought I'd be this happy.
"When can we leave?" I whisper to my wife as I slide my hands around her waist. "I need to be inside of you."
She giggles. "Behave," she hisses, her cheeks flushed.
Gabby saunters up to us and hands us both a drink, Tia is once again drinking water and I take the beer from Gabby's hands. "Are you ready?" she asks and I nod. Yes, I'm fucking ready. This day should have happened a long fucking time ago but the legalities and shit made it harder.
"We're ready, where's Marcus?" Tia says biting her lip, her gaze dancing around the room in search of our son.
"He was with Asher," I tell her. My son loves his aunt and uncle, whenever we're in Tennessee he has to have sleep overs. Something that Asher complains about, not wanting my son around his daughter, but everyone knows he loves Marcus.
"There he is," Gabby says clapping her hands.
I hold Tia closer to me, placing a kiss against her head. November and Gabby walk over to us, all three of them have huge smiles on their faces.
"Mommy," Marcus begins and Tia smiles at him. "I love you. Will you be my mom for real? Will you adopt me?"
Well fuck me. I didn't think it would be emotional. I knew what was going to happen, hell I helped him plan it out. I didn't know his voice would be so full of emotion that it makes me look down at my shoes. Fuck. I've cried twice today already.
“Nothing in this world would ever stop me,” she says as she pulls away from me and tugs our son into her arms."I love you so much, Marcus."
"Will you love me when the baby comes?" he asks her, his voice low but I heard him, as does November and Gabby as they both start to cry. Baby? What is he talking about?
"Nothing and I mean nothing would ever stop me loving you. I may not have given birth to you, but you are mine. Layla gave birth to you so that I could have you. I love her for that."
Marcus' eyes fill with tears and he face plants into Tia's neck where he cries. She wraps her arms around him and holds him tight, all the while promising him that she'll love him. There's no doubt in my mind or anyone else's in this room that what she said was right, Layla gave birth to Marcus for Tia.
"Are you okay, baby?" she asks him softly once they have both gained their composure. He nods, and once again he's smiling. "Then why don't you go and give your dad his surprise?"
Marcus turns to me just after November hands him something. "What's that you got, bud?"
"Daddy, our family is growing," he says and I turn my gaze to Tia, she's got a hand pressed to her lips, her eyes bright with love and happiness as both November and Gabby hold on to her. "Mommy's having a baby."
"You're pregnant?" I ask, my voice hoarse but I don't give a fuck. She nods and I grin. I let out a whoop and lift my son into the air. "You're going to be a big brother."
He grins, "Yeah, I finally got my wish."
I once again look at Tia and raise a brow, she shrugs, obviously not having any idea what Marcus meant by that. "Come here, blue eyes," I tell her and she falls into my arms.
I hold on tight to my family, surrounded by the people we love the most.
My life couldn't get any better.
Epilogue
TIA
FIFTEEN YEARS LATER
"Gabrielle Wendy Harlan, get your ass back in here right now!" Christopher shouts at our fourteen year old daughter.
I sigh as I skirt around Nova, our youngest daughter, who thinks she's eight going on eighteen. She's managed to raid her big sister's makeup stash and looks as though she's about to hit the club scene. How my eight year old got better at applying makeup than I did, I'll never know but I have my suspicions that both January and Gabrielle have been teaching her.
The past fifteen years have been quiet, thankfully. Jamie went to prison for attempted murder and I’m glad that I don’t have to deal with him; his sentence was then extended when he killed someone in prison. I know Chris was relieved that I wouldn’t ever have to deal with him again.
Chris’ mom has been a permanent fixture in our lives, while Chris was sceptical at first, he’s forgiven her and the kids adore their grandma.
Once a week we have dinner with Sully, Cleo, Derek, Zoe, Wendy, and Jameson. It’s nice to have some adult interaction and I adore Chris' friends, well our friends.
I’m no longer Chris’ assistant, I had enough of him being overbearing while I was pregnant so in order to save our marriage I stayed home and became a housewife. I love it, I love being home with the kids and spending time with them. I’m grateful that we have the means that allows me to do that.
"Dad!" Gabrielle shouts, pushing her hair behind her shoulder.
I swear it's just like looking at my sister. My daughter is a mini version of my older sister, right down to the way she dresses. You'd think she's a lot older by the way she's dressed, a tight skirt that looks as though it's too hard to walk in and ends mid-thigh. Way too short for her to even be wearing at her age. Not to mention the tank top she's wearing that barely covers her stomach. My daughter is beautiful, there's no denying that, but sometimes she needs to realize when to not push at us. She loves drama, the bigger the better.
"No, don't you dare dad me," Chris growls, running his hand through his hair.
"Dad, if you keep doing that you'll end up bald and gray," Gabby sasses him and I bite my lip to stop the laughter from bubbling out.
His hair is now peppered with gray. He blames the kids for it, I on the other hand have told him if he would just ease up on the girls he wouldn't be working himself into an early grave. He just glares at me and storms off, muttering under his breath that it will be the females in his life that would send him to an early grave.
"What's all the shouting about?" Marcus asks strolling into the house, his girlfriend, Amanda on his arm. He walks up to me and kisses my cheek, "Hey, Mom." He's got his father's cheeky grin.
"Hey, baby, you okay?" I ask glancing up at him with a smile, as I pull Amanda into my arms giving her a hug, they've been together since they were in junior high. And when Marcus explained what he felt when he saw Amanda for the first time, Chris wasn't worried. He said it was exactly how he felt when he saw me. Well, I couldn't argue with that.
"Yeah, Ashton's outside talking to a girl," Marcus grins, his eyes filled with mischief.
Ashton's our eleven year old son, he's the shy one of our kids, the one that keeps away from the drama and the arguments.
"He's talking to a girl?" I shriek, unable to believe that my kids are growing up.
"Duh, Mom, he's been talking to Ella for weeks," Nova tells me as though I'm stupid. "They've even kissed."
"Chris," I sigh, praying for patience. "Why are all your kids trying to make me turn gray?"
He spins on his heel, "Why the hell do they suddenly become mine when they've pissed you off?"
I glare at him, the asshole knows damn wel
l why I'm pissed. I'm forty-two and pregnant. I told him no more after Nova and he readily agreed, yet here I am, sixteen weeks pregnant and losing my damn mind.
"Blue eyes." His voice softens and I curse him under my breath, he knows well and good that I can't stay mad at him when he talks in that tone. "What time are they getting here?"
"Any moment, please can you go and find your son before he gets that poor girl into trouble." My eleven year old has no filter, pretty much like November, and says whatever the hell he wants and does what he wants.
He comes toward me and kisses my forehead, I lean into him seeking the comfort he's offering me. "It's going to be okay, baby, it's not like we've not done this before. Six times to be exact."
"Ugh, you two make me sick," Gabrielle screeches. "I can't believe you're pregnant."
Chris pins her with a glare, "I can't believe you actually thought you could wear that. Go upstairs and change."
She pouts at him, something that would have worked years ago. "Ugh, fine, I hope you're happy." She turns on her heel and runs upstairs.
"You really pregnant, Mom?" Marcus asks and I nod, "Cool, another baby, you've been missing them."
My boy sees way too much, he always has. Yes, I've missed having a baby, but I'm older now and I have other children to worry about.
"They'll be thrilled when they find out the gender later on, as will we," Chris assures me.
I nod, "Okay, please go and get Ashton."
He drops a kiss on my lips and pats Marcus on the back before giving Amanda a kiss on her cheek. "I've got him, baby."
"Moooooooom," Ashton cries as he runs into the house, his face red and eyes narrowed, "Dad just completely embarrassed me."
"Honey," I say softly trying to calm him down. "You're too young to have a girlfriend."
His lips twist into a scowl, "But when Marcus was my age, he had a girlfriend."
It's my turn to narrow my eyes, "Did he, now?"
"Dude," Marcus says low, "You're such a rat."
"Yay," Nova cries, "Auntie November's here!" She hops down off the chair and rushes outside.
"Did Nova say Auntie November's here?" Gabby asks as she comes down the stairs, this time she's dressed in a beautiful blue maxi dress.
"Yeah, honey, come here," I tell her as I hold out my arms for her.
"I'm sorry, Mama," she whispers and I pull her close to me. "I didn't mean what I said."
"I know, baby," I whisper back. "It's okay, but you owe your dad an apology."
She nods against my shoulder, "Okay, love you."
"Love you too," I tell her and watch as she pulls away from me and is dragged into an embrace by Marcus.
From the moment she was born he was her instant protector, he'd watch over her when she was playing to ensure she wouldn't get hurt, and as she got older and started to get into trouble he'd take the blame for her when he could.
I meant what I said to Marcus on mine and Chris' wedding day, that nothing would ever stop me loving him. I love him just as much and just as fiercely as I love the children I birthed. I couldn't imagine my life without him. He's my boy and always will be.
"Where's the bump?" April asks as she comes to stand beside Amanda, she throws her arm over her shoulder and pulls her close.
"April," her dad sighs. "You look beautiful, T," Asher tells me as he kisses my cheek and wraps his arm around me. I hold on tight, loving that as the years have gone on we've all grown closer. Our families are as close as they can be and we always make time to see each other regularly, even if it is hard dragging six kids on a flight and praying that they'll behave themselves.
"Move," November says as she pushes past her husband and embraces me. "He's right you know, I wish I looked half as good at sixteen weeks. Where's Gabs?" she asks, glancing around the room. As soon as she spots Gabrielle she grins and moves to hug her.
"She's on her way," Chris says as he and Asher shake hands.
"How is my favorite girl?" I ask December as she burrows into me. I call all of November and Asher's girls my favorite, I'm not choosing between them, ever. I love them all.
"Where's January?" December asks and I point to the backyard where my daughter is currently throwing the ball to our pit bull Hercules. "What's wrong with her?"
"Her boyfriend broke up with her," Gabrielle announces with a sigh, her eyes filled with sadness as she looks out at her sister.
"Boyfriend?" Chris, Marcus, and Asher growl in unison.
"Not anymore," Nova says and the guys’ lips twitch.
"Nov," I say with a raised brow and she sighs. "Why don't you girls go out and talk to her?" I suggest knowing that she'll just push me away.
July, June, December, April, May, Gabrielle, Amanda, and Nova all make their way outside. As soon as January sees them she smiles wide and I know that my girl is going to be okay.
"Blue eyes, she's twelve, she's not dating," Chris snarls as he runs his hands through his hair.
"Just nod," November stage whispers. "I do it all the time with Asher, he hates the thought of his girls dating too."
"Please, fuck, let this be a boy," Chris begs and Asher nods in agreement. "I love my girls, I do but, baby, have you seen them? I need more guys to run off the assholes that'll come looking to date them."
Well, what can I say about that?
"We're here!" Gabby shouts as she walks into the house, "Hey guys, how are you?"
Unlike me and Chris, Gabby and Zeke didn't have any children, they're more than happy to watch ours. Gabby says that she loves that she can hand them back. She and Zeke adore our children, and whenever November and Asher are in town, the kids always end up having a sleepover with Auntie Gabby and Uncle Zeke.
"Where's the cake?" Ashton asks loudly and of course the girls hear it and within seconds they're barreling into the house. "Can we have cake now, Mom?" Ashton asks with a grin on his face.
I roll my eyes and turn to November who's the only one that knows the sex of our baby, as it's always been. Gabby didn't want to do it as she was scared she'd let slip so it was tasked to November to throw our baby showers and gender reveals. Gabby was more than happy to help, she just didn't want to know the gender.
She claps her hands together, "Okay, are you all ready?"
"Babe," Asher rumbles, his lips twitching. "The kids want cake, not a show."
She narrows her eyes, “Asher Mayson, do not piss me off."
"Cake!" April yells and the rest of the kids follow suit.
November grumbles but goes to get the cake, she comes back inside with the most gorgeous cake I've ever seen. It's got iced bears on it and says boy or girl with pink and blue balloons.
"Ready, blue eyes?" Chris asks as he wraps his arm around my waist. I merely nod, not trusting myself to speak.
November puts the cake down onto the table and hands Chris and I the knife. I wrap my fingers around the handle and Chris' fingers wrap around mine. "Love you, baby," he whispers in my ear, sending shivers down my spine.
I glance up at him as we bring the knife down into the cake, "I love you too," I say, I've never looked at the cake, always looked into my husband's eyes when he finds out the gender. Nothing is more special than seeing the happiness in his eyes when he discovers whether it's a boy or a girl. Even though he said he wants a boy, I know that he'll be happy with either. He loves our kids and is the best dad in the world.
"Fuck," he whispers, his eyes watery and filled with love and happiness. "It's a boy, blue eyes. I swear to God, he better get your eyes, one of them needs them."
I smile, he's said that about all of our kids and so far none of them have my blue eyes, they all have their father's eyes and I'm not sad about that at all.
As soon as we release the knife, Gabby's there to cut pieces of the cake and pass them around to the kids.
Chris wraps his arms around me and pulls me close. "Thank you," he says softly, "for giving me everything I could have ever wanted."
Tears spring to my eyes. "I love you s
o much," I whisper as I inhale his scent.
"You happy?" November asks twenty minutes later.
I take a look around the backyard. The guys and Gabby are having a beer and the girls are sitting on the grass talking as they always do whenever they're around each other. Ashton and Nova are on the trampoline laughing.
"Never been happier, what about you?" I ask not taking my eyes off my family.
She wraps her arm around my waist, "So fucking happy."
I smile. Yeah, we're happy and we're still here, together. Nothing is better than this.
My gaze moves to Chris and see that he's looking at me, his eyes soft and filled with love. I press my hand to my heart, letting him know just how much he means to me.
"Always," he mouths.
"Love you, Nov."
Her hand at my hip spasms. "Love you, T," she whispers.
Nothing is better than having my family around me.
HAPPILY EVER ALPHA WORLD
Have you checked out the other amazing stories in the Happily Ever Alpha World? Click on the link to continue reading another Happily Ever Alpha Book -> Aurora Rose Reynolds’s Happily Ever Alpha World
About Boom Factory Publishing
Aurora Rose Reynolds and her husband, Sedaka Reynolds, created Boom Factory Publishing to use their experiences to expand and promote upcoming and existing indie authors.
With over six years in the industry, and millions of books sold worldwide, we know what it takes to become a successful author and we will use this knowledge to take our authors to the next level.
“As a successful hybrid author in this ever evolving industry, I know that you’re only as successful as the team that is promoting you!” – Aurora Rose Reynolds
Please check out Boom Factory Publishing’s website to see all of our talented authors and the books they have published.
https://boomfactorypublishing.com/
Don’t miss out on any exciting news from Boom Factory Publishing! Subscribe to our newsletter at by clicking HERE
Until Tia Page 15