Loan Shark Love

EPILOGUE

THE HONEYMOON

Rose

Grey kisses my belly, my happiness enough to send me into oblivion.

The sea breeze carries salty wind into the room. I wake to the sound of birds chirping outside the open window, and the curtains billowing like crashing waves.

They are singing a bright morning song, full of joy and all the good things in the world. At this moment, in particular, nothing in the world seems bad enough to care about. I’m in a room that’s filled with yellow light, the kind that’s soft and warm, haloed across the bedsheets.

I’m finally the wife of Grey Kingston, settled into the title, and the relief is nearly overwhelming.

And best of all, I have my Grey here with me, wrapped in my arms and warm against me.

His breaths come softly, almost like a sigh at every exhale that he breathes against my skin. His lips trail over my belly, kissing lazily where his child grows in my womb.

Both of us are deep into our love for each other, and now that I’m pregnant, I need even more relaxing time than usual. I plan on staying in the villa’s great, soft bed the whole day today. For Grey to sleep in longer than me is a near miracle, and I’m glad that we’re both finally getting some rest together.

I’m almost sure that it has to be possible to become lost in this bliss we have together.

I wouldn’t have a problem staying here in the sun's yellow rays with the man of my dreams. I could happily never return to real life again. This honeymoon is beautiful, the Italian countryside is beautiful, and this man who loves me is even more beautiful than anything.

It’s been a long few weeks, what with the wedding and everything between us, but now it feels right. I feel as if the world has shifted on its axis, and we’re right where we belong.

Grey lets out a soft, adorable little groan, and then he breathes in deeply in the way people tend to do when they’re waking up from a particularly restful sleep.

He pulls my body closer to him, and I close my eyes, savoring this moment of simple happiness that comes from being held by the man I love, the man that is now my husband.

“Good morning, beautiful,” he murmurs as he yawns, turning his face against my belly so that he can look up at me.

His green eyes are bleary and sleepy-bright, and his hair is tangled and dark, the steel glistening faintly in the morning light that streams in through the open window. I can’t help but marvel at how I have someone as gorgeous as Grey.

He grins up at me, heartbreakingly attractive, and then he presses a kiss against my belly, his new favorite spot to lavish me. Before I let him know that I was carrying our child, the product of our love, his favorite spot to kiss was just behind my knee. He leans forward over me, and I release a sigh as he does so.

He nuzzles his face against my neck, breathing in deeply and sounding perfectly content to stay there all morning. “I love you,” he mumbles against my ear, and I whisper it back to him, running a hand through his hair.

The day before was one of the greatest days of my entire life. Of course, it had been long, slow-going, and there had been a few bumps in the road. But, in the end, I finally married Grey, the man of my dreams and now I was having his baby. That has to mean that the world is good after all, and the gods are smiling down on both of us.

I had walked down the flower-strewn aisle in my glimmering, white silk gown, stitched with the silver curling flowers and vines of a lovely forest scene and a long, hazy veil to accompany me on my journey down the aisle.

My father had given me away to Grey with tears in his eyes and a stern but affectionate look at my new husband. We both stood at the altar in our wedding attire, and we tried very hard not to kiss until we both fell over.

It had been everything that a person could wish for and even more to me.

And then, of course, the both of us made our vows to one another. I meant every word of love that I professed to this man at my side. The officiant was loud as he pronounced the two of us as husband and wife, and we kissed in front of the entire world, a kiss that would make poets weep and artists tremble at the sight.

It seemed like everything faded away at that moment, as if the world was ending around us. But the world is just beginning for us.

We kissed each other as if it were the first kiss of our entire life because it was, in fact, the first kiss of our new life together as one. Our friends and family clapped and cheered for us, and my dad might have grumbled a little. I will never forget that day. Never.