“I bought the house. For you. For us.”
I blink, my brain trying to put together what he just said.
“You bought the house? When?”
“Before I left on tour. I knew you loved it, and when I finished the tour, I thought I would convince you to move in with me.”
“You were going to try to bribe me with a house?”
He nods. He looks so serious.
I can’t help it. I drop his hand to throw my arms around him. Then, a laugh bubbles up out of me.
“God, I love you, Niall Holden.”
He hesitates for a second as I feel all the tension drain out of him. I feel his mouth brush over my cheek.
“You had me worried there for a second.”
I pull back and look at him. “Why would you be worried?”
“It is presumptuous to buy your dream house.”
“I think we’re beyond presumptuous. We have a baby on the way.”
“Yeah, well, I did it before that.”
I cup his face. “Don’t you realize that is bigger? That before you knew I was pregnant, you bought our home. I figured that one-room apartment wasn’t going to do it for you,” she says with another chuckle.
“Doesn’t matter where we live, Blossom.”
“Really?”
He nods as he nibbles on my mouth. “I bought it because you wanted it. I want to give you everything you deserve.”
“But living in a little bitty apartment that smells like sugar and coffee?”
“Two of my favorite scents.” I snort. “I don’t need a fancy home. I need you. You’re the only home I need, Blossom.”
No one has said things to me the way he does, and that one will never be outdone by anything else in this world. I kiss him then, in our soon-to-be kitchen where we will be a happy home for our children.
A woman couldn’t ask for more than that.
EPILOGUE
NIALL
I hear the tiny footsteps against the wooden floor before I see our son Chase. He’s running down the hallway, completely nude and giggling.
“Come back here, you crazy nudist,” Blossom calls out, laughing as she chases him. Her dark hair is flying behind her. “You’re going to flash all the girls.”
He runs towards me, his giggles filling the kitchen. I catch him as Blossom catches up with him. She tosses me his swim trunks.
Blossom says he’s the best of both of us, with a head full of dark hair, her blue eyes, and my love of music. He gravitates to the guitar whenever I pick it up, but I was the same way, according to my mother.
“I have a feeling some of the Patton kids are flashers, love,” I say, rising to my feet. I lean over to give her a kiss.
“Whoa, PDA, dude. My virgin eyes can’t take it!” Knox says as he steps into the kitchen.
“Please,” Blossom says with a laugh. “From what I understand, there were all kinds of bad things you did before your wife fixed you.”
He grabs a beer from the fridge. “You got that right.” He looks down at Chase. “Wanna go hang out by the pool?”
Chase nods and takes Knox’s hand. They step outside, and for the first time today, I’m finally alone with my wife.
“Hey, there, sweet Blossom. How are you feeling?”
We just found out we’re expecting again. We haven’t told anyone because we want to keep it to ourselves for a little bit. She nods and slips her arms around me.
“Okay. Just a little tired.” Blossom settles her head on her chest.
I slip my hands down to cup her ass. She’s even curvier now that she’s had our son, and I am here for it. Although, I do hope this child turns out to be a girl.
“You’re thinking about having a little girl again, aren’t you?”
I chuckle. The woman definitely knows me well. “Yeah. I really want a tiny Blossom running around.”
She lifts her head to look at me. “I wouldn’t mind that. All I really want is a healthy baby.”
I kiss her forehead. “That’s because you are sweet.”
There’s a shout from out back. “Why are our friends so loud.”
She laughs, and we walk to the back door. Once we step out on the patio, we realize the shout is from Jax, who looks like he just had ice dumped on him. Knox is running away, so we know what happened there.
The entire Patton family, including their sister Melody and her husband, all of their kids, and their parents are here. My mom and Bert and talking with Mr. and Mrs. Patton.
Thankfully, Melody’s husband, former teen heartthrob Dylan Masters, and Abby handle the grill. I’m not that bad at it, but it is best to leave it to the chefs—one of them a former teen star. Livvy and Pippa are both in their last trimesters, so they are lounging by the pool. Gareth is playing with all the kids, splashing around in the pool, and then there’s a goat and a cat—don’t ask, but they came with Dylan and Melody. They are both being chased by our dog, Freddy. Blossom adopted him one day when she found him on the side of the road.
“This kind of rocks, doesn’t it?” Blossom whispers.
“It does.” I nod and look down at her. I could lose all of this tomorrow as long as I have Blossom, Chase, and of course, Freddy.
She leans up on her toes and kisses my cheek. “Love you.”
“I love you, too. And thank you.”
She tilts her head. “For what?”
“For being my home.”
She gives me that brilliant smile I fell in love with in the tiny apartment over her bakery.
I take her hand in mine as we join the party.