Page 149 of Whisper Sweet Nothings
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He leaned down and kissed me.
In the middle of a birthday party, with the sun shining down on us and the water splashing from the river as it glided by.
We were creating this beautiful life together, and I loved every second of it.
I’d found my happily ever after with this handsome, charming, stubborn, wonderful man, and his amazing daughter, and incredible family—and it was all right here in Rosewood River.
My future.
My heart.
My home.
epilogue
. . .
Archer
One yearlater
“Mom’s crying again,” Axel said over a mouthful of biscuit.
“Mimi, it’s happy tears, right?”
“Of course. The happiest tears I’ve ever cried. I just can’t believe it all happened. I’m just really happy for all three of you,” my mother said, glancing between me and Winnie as she dabbed her eyes with her napkin.
“It’s really wonderful,” Aunt Ellie said as she sniffed a few times.
“You’ve got your mama now, too, Mel,” Cutler said from across the table. He, Emerson, and Nash had come home to celebrate the adoption.
Winnie and I had tied the knot six months ago in a very small outdoor ceremony with just family and close friends. But it was important to her that she adopt Melody before we started growing our family. She’d grown up without her mother, and she just felt strongly about making it official that she was Melody’s mother legally, as well as emotionally.
I’d reached out to Scarlet for the first time in seven years. She said she’d expected this call to come at some point, and shewas happy that I’d found a partner who wanted to be a mother to Melody. We kept the call very short, and she happily signed everything required by the state to make the adoption legal.
“Me and Beefcake both found our heart mamas,” Melody said.
“Yep. And my mama has my whole heart,” Cutler said, and Nash rolled his eyes.
“How about you save a little piece of that heart for your pops.”
Cutler laughed. “I’m all heart for you, too, Pops. But you know that Mama is my girl.”
Winnie hadn’t stopped smiling since the paperwork arrived.
“Is Auntie Lu going to read ‘The Taylor Tea’ tonight?” Melody asked, since even she looked forward to the weekly gossip column now.
“Oh, of course I am. It’s a special one today,” Lulu said as she reached for her phone. Her chair was pushed back from the table to allow enough space for her growing belly.
“‘Hey there, Roses, Rosewood River’s favorite family is keeping us well fed this season,’” she said in her most dramatic voice, then paused to explain. “‘Well fed’ is hipster talk, meaning we are the entertainment of this town.”
Everyone chuckled, and Henley snorted as she rubbed her own pregnant belly. “Thanks for the sidenote, Lu. Keep going.”
“‘Our royal family must be drinking some special water, because it’s hard to keep track of all these pregnancies.’” She chuckled. “They make a good point—look at us.”
I glanced around the table. Lulu and Henley were both six months along, and they claimed they didn’t plan on being pregnant at the same time, but the fact that they were both due only two weeks apart seemed suspicious. Emilia and Bridger had shocked everyone with their no-fuss courthouse wedding almost a year ago, and she was three months pregnant now.
