A Chance Encounter

Her eyes go wide. “What if you do?”

I laugh. “I mean, I guess I could, but I trust my team, and I don’t want to be that person whose career goes up in flames because he posted a dumbass comment out of passion or anger. So I never post without his approval.”

I pull up the photos from yesterday and stop on one we had a resort employee take. It’s of the three of us sitting on the couch. One of my arms is around Sophia, who is holding a cup of hot chocolate. Because it was warm in the restaurant, Sophia isn’t wearing her jacket. It’s obvious in this picture she’s pregnant and not just a little overweight. Kendall is also holding a cup of hot chocolate and is leaning into her mother’s side. We’re all smiling happily in the picture.

“What do you think?” I nod toward the image.

“It’s a nice picture. Is that the one you’re thinking of posting?”

“Yeah. It’s real. It’s us.”

I type up a post and then hand the phone over to Sophia to read and approve it.

For a while now it’s felt like I was lost, stumbling through the dark, trying to find my place in this world. I had my family and music and friends—and of course you guys—but I longed for more. And then one day, several months ago, I met the most beautiful woman, who saved my life. That’s right, she saved my life from a killer bee who was out to end me. With one slap of her flip-flop to my arm, she had me in her clutches. Then she looked at me, with her bright green eyes, and smiled, and I knew in that moment she was going to own my heart. Shortly after, I met her daughter, and by some miracle, the two of them welcomed me into their little world. Growing up, I watched my parents fall in love with each other over and over again and knew one day I wanted to have what they have. The love, the family. And I can finally say I’ve found that love with Sophia. With every day I spend with her and her daughter, Kendall, a bit of light brightens my life. I’m a lucky guy to get to call them mine. And now, we’re excited to announce that we’re expecting a baby. Camden Rocco Blackwood is due in June and we’re beyond excited for this little guy to be added to our growing family.

“Oh, Easton,” Sophia murmurs, handing my phone back to me. “Do you mean that? You love me?”

“Yeah, I do, Dash. I know it sounds crazy, but I’m almost positive I fell in love with you the day of the photoshoot. I know some people don’t believe in love at first sight, but when you laughed, my heart felt like it leapt the hell out of my chest.” I cradle her face in my palm and kiss her soft, plump lips. “I love you, Soph. Both you and Kendall. That girl…” I shake my head. “You both have me wrapped around your fingers and I love it.”

Sophia’s eyes fill with tears. “I love you too, Easton.” She wraps her arms around my neck and slides onto my lap. “So, so much.” Her mouth connects with mine, and just like that, the entire world disappears—leaving only me and the woman who loves me back.

“I can’t believe you have close to one hundred million followers on Instagram,” Sophia says incredulously, reading through the comments that have come in from my post. I warned her not all of them would be nice, but she said she didn’t care and wanted to read them. She doesn’t have any social media besides a Facebook page she never goes on, which made Preston very happy, since that meant he wouldn’t have to worry about her posting anything—not that she would, but it’s his job to worry about that shit.

“I have more on Facebook.” I shrug. “What can I say? I’m a likeable guy.” I smirk and she rolls her eyes.

“The comments aren’t too bad.” She hands me back my phone. “Most are actually really nice and supportive, congratulating us. You posted it thirty minutes ago and it already has thousands of comments. That’s insane.”

“Yeah, I have some amazing fans. Unfortunately, though, they can also be kind of crazy, and since this post confirms we’re together, everyone will be out to get your picture. You and Kendall will be assigned a bodyguard to make sure you’re safe.”

Sophia’s eyes bug out. “Why would they care about me? They already got the information in that post.”

“Doesn’t matter. The point of the post was to beat the paparazzi to the punch. Get it out there before they did. But now that they know, they’ll be everywhere, especially since we’re living together. It’s not as bad in New York as California, but they’ll be around. And once fans recognize you, they’ll want to approach you because you’re an extension of me. I told you I would do everything to make sure you and Kendall are safe, and I meant from everyone, not just that asshole.”