Forever After (Unrestrained 5)

It was lovely.

“What do you think?”

I glanced at the stairs where Drake stood watching me, dressed in his robe and slippers.

“You did all this?” I said, examining the listing sheet again. “We have it for April 15th?”

“I think we both deserve it, don’t you?”

He came over and sat on the sofa beside me and took the sheet out of my hands. “It has a great pool, and a big deck. We can sit and watch the ocean, eat our dinner al fresco, and it’s really close to where Ethan and Elaine will be living so you can take Sophie for a visit any time you want.”

“And you’re going to work at UCSF? On call in the ER?”

Drake nodded. “Yeah, I’ll share call with a group of pediatric neurosurgeons. It won’t be a full rotation and I won’t have a practice, but it’ll keep my credentials up. I’ll get credit for the work I do, and so it’ll be easier once I do finish my fellowship.”

“That’s wonderful,” Kate said and smiled at me. “It makes this day a lot easier to bear thinking we’ll soon be in Monterey, too.”

“I know,” Drake said and leaned over to kiss me, then he kissed Sophie’s head. He stroked her light brown hair, which was starting to grow. “I figured if you knew you were going to be there soon, you wouldn’t be so sad today.”

“What about the case? The trial? Won’t we have to be here for that?”

Drake shook his head. “I spoke with McDonald. He only asked that we keep him informed of any travel plans we have, but he thinks the case will be delayed for quite a while. I guess Lisa’s lawyers are trying to postpone the trial as much as they can legally get away with. So, it’s unlikely that we will even need to be in Manhattan at all.”

“Thank God,” Kate said and shook her head. “I really wasn’t looking forward to having to attend and see her there.”

“I wouldn’t want you to go,” Drake said and brushed hair from my cheek. “It would be hard for you. You don’t need that kind of stress.”

“Thank you,” I said and smiled at him. “You’re wonderful, do you know that?”

He smiled and leaned in, kissing me squarely on the mouth, his kiss tender.

“If I’m wonderful, it’s only because I love you so much. You and Sophie. You’re my world.”

“You’re our world, too.”

Drake leaned closer, resting his forehead against mine. Sophie seemed amused by our show of affection and reached up to grab Drake’s chin. He pulled away and kissed her tiny hand, taking it in his and kissing each little finger.

I felt an incredible surge of love at the sight of him doting on her, how tender and loving he was. He loved children – a man who had never been mothered much, or fathered much. He’d missed having a close family and always envied those who had them.

He’d spent his life preparing to one day be a pediatric neurosurgeon and a father and I knew he’d be the best father a child could hope to have.

He was everything. With him and Sophie, and now with the three of us moving to Monterey for the foreseeable future, I knew I would be happy.

Happier than I had ever been in my life.

We finally dressed and got ready for the trip with my father and Elaine to the airport. I no longer felt sad at the prospect. In fact, I felt excited for them both because I knew that soon, in a couple of weeks, we’d be joining them.

“Ready?” Drake asked while he pulled on his coat. “Ethan just texted that they’re outside.”

Drake had just finished getting Sophie all set in her car seat. I glanced out the window and sure enough, the limo was waiting outside on the stre

et. All that was left was getting my coat and boots on. It had rained during the morning and was damp, so we bundled up before we went downstairs to the limo.

We trundled down the stairs and to the waiting vehicle, the side door open so Drake could get in and get Sophie’s car seat fastened in properly. Then I followed and sat across from my father and Elaine, who were already seated.

My father looked excited and I wondered if he already knew about Drake’s plans.

“You already knew,” I said when I caught his smile.