“Marry—”
“Yes.” I dropped to my knees, not letting him finish, and smashed my lips to his.
He swept me up, not missing a beat as his tongue swept against mine, and carried me to the couch, trapping me beneath his broad frame. Then he kissed me like I needed him to kiss me. Like there were no unanswered questions. Like there was no evil in this world. Like all we needed was right here, in this house and in this town.
Knox kissed me and made today my fourth-best day.
Drake squawked the moment Knox’s hand slid beneath the hem of my shirt.
He tore his mouth away and shot a scowl toward the play mat. “Son, we will work on your timing.”
Son. “He is, you know? Your son.”
“I know. We’ll get married, then make him officially mine. Whatever it takes.”
“Okay.” It felt strange to smile after everything that had happened. But I did it anyway. I smiled so wide it pinched my cheeks. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” He kissed me again. “Until the end of my days, Memphis. You, me, Drake. We’re good, honey. We’re so fucking good. And we’ll add in a bunch of babies to the mix to keep it interesting.”
I laughed. “Oh, really?”
“I want a big, chaotic family to fill this house. I want to step on toys in the middle of the night. I want to break apart fights and bandage up skinned knees. I want the mess. I want the passion. I want to watch you grow our kids.”
In his piercing blue eyes, I saw that future. It was full of best days. It was full of love for the man who’d stolen my heart. “Promise?”
Knox grinned. “I swear it.”
EPILOGUE
KNOX
One year later . . .
With my hand splayed on Memphis’s rounded belly, I locked eyes with my sister. “You’re sure?”
Talia scowled. “Every appointment you ask me if I’m sure.”
“Well? Are you?”
“I wouldn’t say that Memphis and the baby were fine if they weren’t actually fine.” She rolled her eyes and glanced down at my wife who was resting on the exam table. “He’s exhausting.”
“Try living with him. This morning I bent to pick up one of Drake’s toys and he practically tackled me to grab it first.”
“I thought it might be too heavy.”
Memphis gave me a flat look. “If Drake, the one-year-old, can pick it up, it’s not too heavy.”
“Just being cautious.” I crossed my arms over my chest.
Memphis was six months pregnant, and considering what had happened when she’d gone into labor with Drake, I wasn’t taking any chances. They could complain with every breath that I was being overprotective. It wouldn’t make me change. I’d been like this since the day she’d come out of the bathroom with a positive pregnancy test in her hand. If picking up every toy, fussing over Memphis’s every move and pushing a little at these checkups was the only control I had during this pregnancy, so be it.
“How’s her weight? Is she eating enough?” I asked Talia. “She didn’t have much dinner last night.”
“Because I wasn’t very hungry. You’re cooking for me six times a day. I can’t keep up.” Memphis planted a hand on the table, but before she could push herself up, I gripped her elbow. It earned me another eye roll from my sister. Still didn’t care.
“Her weight is fine, Knox. Everything is fine. Would you chill? God, you’re worse than Griffin, and I never thought I’d say those words.”
I frowned. “Am I?”
Talia nodded. “Ten times worse.”
“Hmm. Whatever.”
Memphis simply shook her head and laughed. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” I bent to kiss her, lingering long enough for Talia to clear her throat. “Okay. We’d better get home and relieve Mom.”
“I’ll walk you guys out,” Talia said. “You’re my last appointment for today.”
“Want to come over for dinner?” I asked.
“Sure. It’s not like I have anything or anyone waiting for me at home.” She sighed. “Let me duck into the locker room and grab my things. I’ll meet you at the front desk.”
I took Memphis’s hand and helped her off the table. Then once her coat was on, we wandered the hallways of the hospital. My phone vibrated in my pocket as we reached the waiting room on the first floor. A text from Mateo.
“Look at this.” I twisted the screen to Memphis.
Mateo was flying planes as a bush pilot in Alaska, shuttling people and supplies to remote areas of the state. Today’s photo was of rugged mountains draped in snow at sunset.
“It’s going to be weird not having him home for Christmas,” I said, sending him a quick text to fly safe.
“Your mom said the same thing earlier today.”
We all missed him, but he’d needed to get away and do something of his own. He’d been gone for nearly a year, having left not long after the holidays. Mateo hadn’t come out and said it, but I got the impression he’d felt like a shadow here. He needed space and time to find his passion. Maybe it was flying.
I only hoped that one day, his wings would lead him home.
The doors of the hospital’s entrance slid open and a man strode inside.
I glanced over, then did a double take. “Holy shit. That’s Foster Madden.”
“Who?” Memphis asked, tracking Foster’s path to the reception desk.
“Foster Madden. He’s the reigning middleweight champion.”
“Huh?”
“Remember that fight we watched this summer. The one where the guy knocked his opponent out in the first round.”
Memphis blinked.
“Honey, you’re killing me.”
She smirked and jabbed her elbow in my ribs. “Just kidding. I didn’t recognize him, but yes, I remember that fight.”
“That’s him.”
“I wonder why he’s in Quincy.”
I shrugged. “Have you seen him at the hotel?”
“No, but if he checked in today, I would have missed it.”
We’d both taken the day off to do some Christmas shopping with Drake. Then we’d met Mom at home so she could babysit while we’d come to the hospital for Memphis’s appointment.
“I like that name,” she said. “Foster. What do you think?”
“Meh.” From the moment we’d found out we were having a boy, she’d been tossing out name ideas constantly. And each of them, I’d nixed.
“I give up.” She tossed her hands in the air. “You’re impossible.”
“Hey, uh . . . sorry to interrupt.” Foster waved to get my attention, then hooked his thumb over his shoulder toward the desk. “Do you know if anyone’s working here today?”
“The nurse might have left already.” The clock showed it was five. “Are you looking for a room? We could point you in the right direction.”
Behind him, a door opened and Talia came striding out with a smile. Her long dark ponytail draped over one shoulder and she’d pulled on a jacket over her baby-blue scrub top.