Both of them gasped. “You…you love me?” Mary asked.
He leaned over and kissed his fiancée. “More than I can ever say.”
“You’re not angry at me for this?” She looked at the boat.
“I am, a bit. And angry at myself too. I can’t keep the people I love tucked away from danger always. I see that now.”
Mary squeezed his shoulders. “We’ll do better to keep you from worrying.”
“Say. Are you all right out there?” a man called from the shore. “I can row another boat out to you.”
“That is an excellent idea,” Sin called back. Then he looked at Mary. “Let’s be honest, my method wasn’t working very well. I’m ready to try it your way.”
She kissed him then, her mouth soft against his. “Thank you for that.” Then she giggled, whispering close to his ear. “My way involves more than one child in our future.”
He kissed her cheek. “Mary. It only took one time for me to understand there’d be no stopping you. I’m at your mercy.”
Epilogue
Two years later…
* * *
Mary lay in her bed, tired but so satisfied, she didn’t think she’d ever have a more perfect moment in her life.
In her arms lay their beautiful new baby boy. Behind her, cradling her to his chest, was her husband. He stroked her hair back from her temple as he kissed her forehead. “You made that look easy.”
She chuckled. “It wasn’t.”
“Still. You were impressive. I….” He kissed her again. “I never imagined birth would be so beautiful.”
“I never imagined you’d stay for the whole thing.” She turned to capture a kiss from his lips.
He shook his head. “While I like doing things your way, I’m still me. I need to be here to make certain nothing goes awry.”
“That is an excellent point.” She kissed him again. “Isn’t he beautiful?”
“Edward might be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life, besides you, of course,” he answered. “And Anne.”
She rubbed her cheek on his chest. “Sometimes I think I might need to pinch myself because in my wildest dreams I never imagined my life would be like this.”
“Like what?” he asked, placing his arm under hers to help support Edward.
“A fairy tale,” she answered. “My happily ever after.”
The baby gurgled, content at her breast as Cole rocked them both. “You’re my happily ever after too, my second chance when I never thought I’d recover from the first,” he said.
“So tell me.” She looked up, smiling into his eyes. “Have you decided to leave my bed? I’ve given you your heir.”
He quirked a brow. “You know very well that I am never leaving your bed. You don’t have to point out what a fool I was to think it was even a possibility.”
She gave a small giggle. “Sorry my love, it’s just rather satisfying to know you love me and that our happy ending doesn’t have an expiration.”
“Fair enough. But you know I never question any of your Chase instincts. You’ve even won over Reeves.”
Reeves had spent the last several days keeping Anne company as Mary had been too advanced in her pregnancy to do so. “He only wanted to protect you,” she said. “In the end, he knows I make you happy.”
He stroked the baby’s head, still rocking them both. “Me and Anne. You make us both happy. You have put us back together when I thought there was no hope. Mary Sinclair, you are my everything.”