When she pulls back, she stares through shiny, happy tears. “I love you, too, Malik. So much. And when you just told me you loved me, I thought I’d feel guilty. It’s why I pulled away because I expected to feel bad about it. Like it would be a hurdle to get over—having another man love me. But I didn’t feel it. Not one bit. Only happiness and peace, and I know Jimmy would want the same thing. I just…”
She averts her eyes, lower lip trembling a bit, but when her gaze comes to me, she murmurs, “I want to make a life with you, too. I want to live my best life with you, Avery, and hopefully more kids.”
I can’t help myself. Wanting to have her best life with me, letting me be a dad to Avery, and wanting me to be a dad more times over… I let out a bit of a war cry as I twirl her around and around. She tips her head back, laughing.
When I come to a dizzying stop, I note several people out in the pit area watching us. Giggling, Anna says, “Secret’s really out now.”
“Fuck the bro code,” I mutter, then dip my head to kiss her hard.
My life is beginning now. I’m never going to waste a single moment worrying about anything other than making Anna happy.EPILOGUEAnna“Can you admit it’s a little cramped?” Malik mutters as we gaze at the small Christmas tree we’d just finished decorating in my apartment.
“I can totally admit it.” No sense in starting a fight over something we agree on. There was only one spot available to place the damn tree. When we unfolded the bed from the living room couch, the bottom corner actually pushes into the prickly plastic tree branches.
Of course, that’s Malik’s side of the bed so his feet are going to be hitting them tonight when we go to sleep.
“But it’s… cozy, right?” I offer instead.
“We’re getting a bigger place,” he insists as he turns away from me and walks into the kitchen.
It was just five days ago when we declared our love for each other. Tonight is Christmas Eve, so I’m trying not to push his buttons too hard. For the past five days, he’s been wanting to move things along quickly. His first order of business was to demand we move in together.
I really didn’t have an argument about that, and I didn’t feel it was too soon in the slightest. Jameson apartments were out of the picture. I was not about to raise Avery in an apartment on the top floor of the place I worked. Not to mention there was no more room there than here.
And, in all honesty, I don’t have a problem with moving out of this place. Getting something bigger, maybe a little bit outside of the city with a yard would be nice.
But it’s Christmas, and we have plenty of time to decide where to go and when. For now, I’m enjoying the fact it’s snowing outside, and Malik, Avery, and I will be spending our first Christmas together.
I follow him into the kitchen, only to find him pulling milk out of the fridge. He next grabs some cocoa from the cupboard, and I know he’s going to make us two mugs of hot chocolate so we can settle into our first Christmas Eve together.
It’s so sweet and thoughtful that I decide to stop pushing his buttons about the living situation. I move in behind Malik, wrapping my arms around him. Because he’s so tall and there’s no hope of me putting my chin on his shoulder, I merely press my cheek into the middle of his shoulder blades. “How about we go out to look next weekend after we get back from Montreal? Maybe find a house with a yard?”
Malik turns to face me, putting his arms around me as he grins. “You’re not handling me, are you?”
“Just a little,” I admit with a smirk. “But we do need a bigger place.”
“I could cancel the visit home,” he suggests. “And we can start looking right away.”
Laughing, I shake my head. “Not about to cancel a visit with your parents.”
“No, that wouldn’t be a good thing,” he agrees before pulling away so he can finish making our hot chocolate.
Malik and I had made plans to take Avery to Montreal as the entire Fournier family is going to manage to be home at the same time. His mom called me herself with the invitation, and she insisted I bring Avery as long as I didn’t mind traveling with her.
I don’t, and I’m excited to meet what I’m sure is going to become my family by marriage. That might seem as if I’m a bit sure of myself, but the last five days have produced more than just talk about a bigger place to live. We’ve talked about our future, which has included discussions about marriage and children and whether we’re dog or cat people.