Epilogue
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Hunter - Four years later
“Hi, Edith. I didn’t think you were coming by today.” I say to my mother-in-law.
She’s enjoying the afternoon sunshine out on the deck off the living area.
I drop my car keys on the outdoor table.
It’s a very rare warm day, and the views across Castleview Cove spread into the horizon as the sun spills across the town. It’s the perfect bluebird day, minus the snowfall from the evening before. Although, snow falls here more than I expected. I don’t think my Floridian bones were made for snow.
“I stayed for a cuppa. Eden called me earlier as she needed a hand.”
“Hey, boys,” I call for their attention. “What are you doing?” I watch as Lewis, Lachlan, and Lennox lift their dark-haired heads up from the sandpit.
“They are up to no good; that's what they are doing.” Edith laughs, standing up.
“Hi, Daddy.” They all say in unison, waving their chubby, dusty paws.
I love my boys.
“Have you been good for Mummy today?”
“Lenny been bad today,” Lachlan tweets in his little voice.
“Tattle taywl,” Lennox responds.
“Um, not.”
“Wes woo are Lacky.” Lewis joins in.
My boys. They don’t half make me smile. Unprompted they all have nicknames for each other—Louie, Lacky, Lenny. They are too cute and make my heart melt.
Eden ended up having a minor procedure to keep those boys in. They were determined to come out. Such a massive worry. Now we have them, and we live and breathe for them.
They keep us on our toes; that’s for sure. Strong-willed is an understatement. No idea where they get that from. We travel as a family when I tour, and they join me whenever they can. There is no better feeling than having them all there perched on the greenside watching me. The press devours my boys and love their little souls bounding over to me when I scoop the wins. We are the dream team.
The fun we have as a family is incredible. Eden is an exceptional mum. Her never-ending free and youthful spirit is infectious, and it’s normally Eden who starts the water balloon fights and sandcastle building competitions.
She gets us all involved in those stupid social media challenges too. I’m positive she uses those as an excuse to climb my body like a koala. However, she informed me that our three mini-me’s and my shirtless abs get more views than the dance routines for the studio. Anything for my girl.
The thing I most regret buying is those stupid foam dart blaster guns for us all. Eden takes great pride in gathering her triplet army, and the four of them get me every time I’m in the bloody shower.
It’s become my coming home ceremony. If they get close enough, they don’t half smart and leave a mark. The boys think it’s hilarious. Of course it is.
When you’re told you’re going to be a dad to three, all at once, and how hectic it can get, you’re not actually listening. I certainly wasn’t.
Our life is noisy, messy, chaotic, fun, and crazy, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Between me touring and coaching, Eden teaching dance, and our three three-and-a-half-year-old boys, I barely remember if I put on underwear most days. Although for Eden, that’s a given.
“Where’s Eden?” I ask.
“In the bathroom. She’s been there a good twenty minutes so far.”
“Oh boy. One of those days?” I ask.
“Yup. Do you want me to take these three away for a few hours and you can come and get them later or they can even stay the night? They have loads of clothes at our place,” she says as she walks to go fetch them from down by the garden. “As you know, Charlie loves having them over for the night. I think he wished he’d had boys, not girls. Any excuse to get the mini digger out tonight.”
“Is that okay? You don’t mind?” I ask.
“Nope, enjoy your Saturday night together. Go get Eden. I’ll sort these three terrors out. Forget about them. Come get them tomorrow.”
“Boys. Be good for your nana and papa.”
No reply. Typical.
I turn into the house and bound up the stairs two at a time.
“Eden.”.
I try the bathroom door, but it’s locked.
“Eden, baby, open the door.”
“Are you with anyone?” she mumbles from behind the door.
“No, it’s just me.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, Cupcake, now open the door.”
The door unlocks with a clunk. She opens it at high speed, then yanks me in by the wrist, giving me whiplash, before she shuts the door, quickly locking it again.
“Christ, what are you doing?”
Eden slides her back down the gray tiled wall and sits on the floor. I notice a tray of six cupcakes, with three already eaten.
“I’m hiding.”
“From?”
“The boys. I think they’re trying to kill me.” She stuffs another cupcake into her mouth.
My heart melts. I try to keep a straight face as I crouch down.
“Lewis stuck a stone up his nose today and Mum had to help me tweezer it out. Lennox put my phone down the toilet and then flushed it. That’s my third phone this year,” she says, spraying crumbs everywhere. “And Lachlan reprogrammed my Kindle and now it’s all in Spanish. Can you have a look at that for me, please?
“And to top it all off, I reversed the car into the garage and dented the bumper. The boys demanded I turn the volume up to “Baby Shark” and it overwrote the reversing sensor beeps. Now I have that to sort out.”
I have to wrap my lips around my teeth to stop myself from laughing.
“It’s not funny, Hunter. I’m a mess. Mum says it’s karma. She’s no help at all.” She huffs.
“I beg to differ. That unhelpful mum of yours has just taken the boys away for the night.”
Eden stops chewing her cupcake. “You’re kidding me? But I never got kisses and cuddles from my babies.”
“You’ll see them tomorrow and you can video call them later from my phone.”
“True. We’re free?”
“We’re free.”
Eden relaxes and puts the rest of her cupcake back in the tray. “Can we have an early night and lazy morning tomorrow and everything?” Her eyes smolder.
“Yes. What’s everything?”
“You know?” She raises her eyebrows, eyes glinting.
“Yeah?”
“Oh, yeah,” she says as I pull her to her feet, and she plants a kiss on my mouth.
“What, now?”
“Yes, Hunter, now.”
“But you’ve got cake between your teeth.”
“Then lick it out.” She laughs against my mouth.
“You’re disgusting.”
“I know, you love it. Clothes off. Let’s shower.” She grabs her toothbrush from the vanity unit. I watch as she quickly brushes her teeth and whisks off her leggings and bra top.
I don’t have to be asked twice with Eden. We can never, ever get enough of each other.
“I’ve thought about this all day. You’re so fucking wet, baby.” She bounces up and down my rock-hard cock. “And beautiful.”
“Hunter, that’s the spot.” Straddling me, she gasps as she gyrates her hips.
We had a tiled seat fitted at the far end of our shower for this very reason. Sex in the shower with Eden is fucking epic.
“Baby, you’re gonna have to come fast.” I clench my jaw and dig my hands into her hips.
“Now, Hunter, now.”
Eden plunges her hands into my hair and pulls it hard, and that’s it, I’m a goner. I piston her up and down fast as her wet, hot pussy pulses around my cock.
We cry out as we climax together; our cries echo in the steamy shower.
With Eden and I, it gets better and better each and every time. We always make time for each other because when we’re together, there is no better feeling.
We’re entwined around each other’s hearts forever. Discovering each other still and figuring everything else out as we go.
As we descend, our hearts calm down to their gentle contentment, and I nuzzle into her neck.
“How did I get so lucky?” I breathe into her neck.
“You’ve got that the wrong way around. I’m the lucky one.” She kisses my temple.
Placing my hands on either side of her face, “I love you, Eden.”
She blinks and smiles. “I love you too, Hunter,” she replies, as sweet as music, then she kisses my lips. “Can we have takeaway pizza tonight?”
“How the hell can you go from telling me you love me to then asking for pizza?”
“Easy, two things I love.” She gazes at me and plays with my hair. “Well, three, cupcakes too.”
“I love golf, but I don’t ask you if we can go for a round of golf straight after I tell you I love you, especially when I’m still inside of you.” I thrust my hips.
“Don’t do that, or we will never get out of here tonight.” She gasps.
“That’s the plan.”
“I like your plan,” she says, leaning in and kissing me desperately.
Here we go again.
And just like that, we are one.
We found each other.
Meant for one another.
We crashed into each other.
We are each other’s happily ever after.
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