He wraps his arms around me. Who am I kidding? Caleb is my safe space. I should be fighting for this, and not pushing him away.
“We’re all a mess.” He chuckles. “But we’re together, the way we should have always been. I have zero doubts about that. I’m not going anywhere, Emma. You’re stuck with me for the rest of your life.”
I let out an exasperated sigh. “Really? That long?”
His mouth falls open in mock shock. “That’s so rude.”
Placing a lingering kiss on his jaw, I smile at him. “I’ll make it up to you later.”
“Is that a promise?”
“You bet it is.”
Caleb’s in bed when I join him later, but for the first time since we got together, he’s got his laptop with him and madly taps on the keys.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m searching for what we need to do for this application. The sooner we get the process started, the sooner those kids have the father they always should have had.”
Tears fill my eyes. I love this man with all my heart—he’s it for me, and he should have been the man I’ve been with for all these years. It breaks me that he wasn’t, but now we have our second chance. I need to lose the fear and be bold.
“There’s something else I want to do.”
He meets my gaze. “Anything.”
“I want to get Noah’s birth certificate changed so you’re listed as his father.”
His Adam’s apple bobs. “I’d like that.”
I take his hand in mine and give it a squeeze. “I like that we do this together.”
“I like that I’m your husband.”
And for the first time since we were married, it all feels real.
Caleb’s all mine.
Epilogue
Caleb
It’s been a year since Emma’s father tried to take everything from her.
One whole year of Emma accepting that she’s loved and wanted. One year of us being a family without the threat of anyone taking anything away from her.
There are times when she withdraws, but they’re fewer and far between now. She’s much more confident, and I find myself stepping back to let her take charge more often. It’s taken time, but she’s coming into her own. It’s been a big adjustment for her to get used to being an equal partner in our relationship.
We have the rest of our lives to get it right.
Though, I might be in the doghouse after bringing home Jason a puppy.
He’s been wanting one for a long time, and we agreed that we’d think about it. But I went to a job this morning and the customer had puppies to give away.
I couldn’t say no. There was one—smaller and shyer than the rest of them. That’s Jason to a tee. I couldn’t help but think about how perfect they might be for each other.
Emma hasn’t said anything, but she raised an eyebrow at me when I walked into the house carrying the wriggly, caramel bundle.
It was worth it to see the look on Jason’s face.
