“She’s at a funny age where boys start to look like sugar rather than salt,” Remi said. “But don’t worry, peanut. She’ll spend time with you when we leave. She’s already asked if you could stay up late with her tonight.”
They were staying in a suite at the Silver House. Aiden and Abby were thinking about putting an addition on the house so they would have more room for family and friends.
“Yay!” Patrice cheered. “Uncle Aiden, Mommy says you’re going to have babies with Aunt Abby, too. Then me and Olive and our new baby will have cousins. But Daddy said not to hold my breath because you want Abby all to yourself for a while.”
“I think your dad is right, Patty Cake.” Aiden spotted Abby walking through the restaurant, stopping at tables to chat, and his heart thumped harder.
“That’s selfish,” Patrice said.
“Patrice,” Remi chided. “Sorry, Aiden. I’m learning that five-year-olds are a little unfiltered.”
“Actually, sis, Patrice is right. As you love to remind me, it took me almost forty years to find Abby. I want to enjoy giving her my undivided attention before adding little ones into the mix.” Since they’d decided to wait to have a family, Abby had gone on birth control. Their lovemaking had always been incredible, but nothing compared to loving Abby without anything separating them.
“Olive says you want time to kiss Abby.” Patrice made kissing noises, and they all laughed.
“I’m not going to lie, Patty Cake. I do love kissing Abby. But it’s also important to me that she has a chance to do all the things she wants to before we have babies, because babies need a lot of love, and they take a lot of time and energy. But don’t worry. One day you’ll have cousins to play with.”
“Fine,” Patrice said dejectedly. “I guess I’ll wait. At least Mommy’s having a baby.”
He tapped her nose with his index finger and said, “Thanks.”
“Maybe Cait or Deirdra will get married and have babies before you and Abby do.”
“I kind of doubt that,” Remi said. “Cait pays no attention to the guys checking her out, and Deirdra is a tough cookie. She’s all about work, like someone else I used to know. I think I need to send her on a vacation.”
Abby’s eyes found Aiden’s as she stepped onto the patio, and love filled the space between them like a ribbon drawing her forward.
Patrice wriggled out of Aiden’s arms. “I want to go see Aunt Abby before she goes back to the kitchen!”
He watched Abby scoop up Patrice, giving him visions of her holding their children one day. He definitely wanted babies, but he was in no rush to complicate their lives when they’d only just begun to make room for each other. Aiden had met with Ben and Garth and had redelegated much of the work he’d previously taken back, with a promise not to renege again. He’d also worked out a schedule where most of his travel would take place during Abby’s off-season, when they could travel together. He had no interest in giving up too much of his work. His love of investing would always be his mistress, and Abby seemed okay with that, just as he was with her affair with the Bistro.
“I’ve never seen you so happy,” Remi said with damp eyes.
He put his arm around her and said, “Then why are you crying, Rem?”
“Because you’re in love, and I wasn’t sure you’d ever have your happily ever after, and I’m pregnant, and pregnancy hormones have turned me into a teary mess. And that’s so frigging awesome!” She threw her arms around him and said, “I love you, and I know Mom and Dad are so proud of you, and they’re with us tonight. I can feel them.”
Aiden’s eyes dampened. “Me too, Rem. Thank you for forcing me to get a life when I thought I already had one.” He wiped his eyes as Abby came to his side, holding Patrice’s hand.
“Are you sad, Uncle Aiden?” Patrice asked.
“No, Patty Cake. I’m the happiest man alive because I have all of you.” He drew Abby into his arms and said, “And I get to spend the rest of my life coming home to the woman I love.”
Long after they’d shared their dessert at their special table and everyone had gone their separate ways, Abby changed into shorts and her CHILL sweatshirt, and she and Aiden took the dinghy out to Lover’s Cove. Abby was still riding high from the grand opening, which had been even more spectacular than she could have imagined. Her life was shaping up just as wonderfully. When she’d quit her job, she hadn’t known what the future would hold, which should have terrified her, given that her mother had just passed away. But she’d somehow known she’d done the right thing. She might never understand why she’d had that level of certainty, but as the brisk air whisked over her skin and the love of her life rowed them to the middle of the cove, she knew one thing for sure. The mother who had taken so much of her childhood had given her another sister and the future she’d always wanted. Coming back to the island to claim that future had blessed her with a career that filled her with happiness, more friends than she could ever hope for, and an unexpectedly glorious love that was more magical than anything she’d ever known.
Aiden set the oars inside the boat and dragged his fingers in the water. “It’s chilly. You sure you’re up for this?”
“Yes. At least I think I am.” They were going to scratch skinny-dipping off their list. Abby looked nervously back at the island, where tiny yellow lights shimmered in the windows of cottages and houses.
Aiden leaned forward and took her hands in his. “Before we do, I brought something for you.”
“A bathing suit?” she said hopefully.
“Not a chance, beautiful.” He reached into his bag and pulled out a flat package. “When we had our goodbye ceremony for our parents, we lit paper lanterns and let them float up to the heavens. This was such a big, magical night for you, I thought it might be a nice time to say a private goodbye to your parents.”
He handed her the package, and she realized it was a paper wishing lantern. A lump clogged her throat. She’d learned that Aiden’s gestures always had deeper meanings than she would have guessed. Like when he’d told her what the colored crystals on their new lights of love symbolized. Green for your eyes, which captured my heart the first time I saw them. Pink for the blush on your cheeks when you called me an underwear model, and blue for the first blueberry Danish we ever shared. She thought of those memories every time she walked into the Bistro.
“You are the most thoughtful, loving person I know,” she said. “Thank you for thinking of this. Knowing you used paper lanterns for your parents’ goodbye ceremony makes using them for mine even more special.”
“Why do I hear a but coming?”
“You know me so well. I’ve been thinking about it, too, and after I read my mom’s letter, I felt so much better and saw myself and my life so much clearer, I’m kind of hoping that when my sisters read theirs, they’ll find the same closure. If they do, then I think it would be nice if we all said our goodbyes together. I know that might take years, because Deirdra is Deirdra, and that’s okay. I’m beyond happy, and I’ve had my closure.”
“That makes perfect sense.”