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I can’t stop kissing her forehead, smoothing her hair away from her face as we cuddle together.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she promises me with a sleepy yawn, and I smile.
“Thank god for that,” I whisper back, and she hugs me tighter as we both start to drift off to sleep.
THIRTEEN
Lottie
One Year Later…
“Daddy should be home any minute,”I coo to my daughter, and she smiles, trying to stick her foot in her mouth.
I smile down at her, passing her favorite stuffed animal over to her. She waves her arms when she sees the pink giraffe that Anson bought for her when she was first born. She immediately tries to put one of the feet into her mouth, and I laugh as I roll over, laying on my back next to her.
The front door opens, and I grin, turning my head to meet Anson’s eyes.
“There’s my girls,” he says, tossing his hat onto the front table and dropping down onto his knees next to us.
He leans over, giving me a kiss before he reaches for our daughter, Honor.
Anson has been wrapped around Honor’s little finger since she was born. As soon as he held her, I could see it on his face. He would do anything to keep her safe and make her happy.
“Rhett is coming over with pizza,” Anson tells me, and I smile.
“Good. I didn’t want to cook tonight. It’s too hot out.”
Anson laughs, and I take a moment to cherish this moment with our little family. Both Anson and Rhett got out of the SEALs after Rhett was shot. I don’t know if it scared both of them or if it was because I was pregnant and they just wanted to be around more. Probably both, if I’m being honest.
They decided to get out, and they ended up starting their own security firm. They do some bodyguard work, though most of it is consultations for big companies who are looking to amp up their security.
Rhett and Anson seem to love their new career path and are thriving. The business has expanded so much already, and it’s only been a few months. They’re already talking about hiring more people in a few months, and I couldn’t be prouder of both of them.
“Who wants pizza?” Rhett calls as he walks into the house.
Anson and I moved out of the apartment we all shared and bought a little house just outside the city. I love that there’s less traffic out here, and it’s a better place to raise a kid.
Rhett immediately hands the pizzas to me and reaches for Honor. He’s the best uncle to her. He’s so hands-on and patient. He loves spoiling her, and I know he would do anything to keep her safe too.
I set the pizza down in the kitchen and grab a few plates for us. Honor just got done nursing not too long ago so she should be set for a little bit.
“You can put her in the high chair,” I tell Rhett, and he looks at me like I’m crazy.
“I haven’t seen my Honor all day, and you want me to just sit her in a high chair?”
“Right, my mistake,” I say with a laugh, and he grins as he takes a seat with Honor in his lap.
Anson had been shocked when we learned it was a girl, and I had suggested the name Honor. He had started apologizing for disappearing for three weeks all over again, and I promised him that we were past that but that I just loved the name.
Truthfully, I loved how it reminded me of how we started. I had long since forgiven him for ghosting me. If the roles had been reversed, I probably would have done the same thing. It was rough for him to be in that position, and I know he was just scared of losing the only family he had ever known.
“Pepperoni?” Anson asks Rhett, and he nods distractedly.
Anson rolls his eyes at Rhett cooing at our daughter, and I just grin.
I grab a slice of pizza and join my brother and husband at the table. Honor is happy, chewing away on a rubber strawberry, and I smile as Anson squeezes my leg under the table.
We got married in a small ceremony at City Hall right after we officially got together. Anson said he was tired of wasting time, that he knew that we were meant to be together when he was fifteen and that had never changed or wavered in one day since.
