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“Can we have pancakes for breakfast, Mommy?”
Mommy. She had called Alex mommy, and it had only solidified something Alex and I already knew—that this, the three of us, our little family, was forever. Alex was it for me, and that wasn’t something that was ever going to change. The look on her face when Lilah had called her mommy was one I would never forget: utter shock, tear-jerking joy, and an overwhelming amount of love had taken over Alex’s expression. After that, there was no going back. Not that any of us wanted to.
The press, unsurprisingly, had a field day when we posted about our relationship in the form of a simple picture on Instagram—the two of us cuddled up during a backyard bonfire that Andrea had snapped of us. Tabloids, paparazzi, the internet had all exploded following it, but Alex and I were ready for it. We braved it together, and, like she said, it was all worth it.
EPILOGUE
Alex
One year later. . .
“I might throw up.”
Sara shoots me a stern expression, one I didn’t think she even knew how to make. “You’re not going to throw up,” she states, as if it is a law.
By the chaise, Andrea asks, “Do you want a shooter or is that a bad idea?”
She’s holding up a small bottle of Tito’s vodka, and I’m half tempted to reach for it and chug the mouthful down. But I shake my head, huffing a breath in hopes of calming down my racing pulse. “No, I shouldn’t. I don’t want my first kiss with Leo as his wife to be with me having vodka breath.”
Even uttering those words out loud—his wife—makes my pulse skitter once more. Because, in a matter of minutes, that’s exactly what I will be. Somehow, in almost two years, I went from being just Leo’s nanny to being minutes away from becoming his wife. The diamond ring on my finger—the only jewelry I have on my fingers as opposed to always wearing rings—glitters in the sunlight bathing through the window. It’s always breathtaking to look at, and it always feels like it’s right at home wrapped around my finger.
Yet, it still makes my head spin, knowing it’s mine, knowing what it signifies.
Forever. Leo wantsmeforever. Me, him, and Lilah—we will be a family. One that is my own, and not one I will have to say goodbye to once a contract is over. My chest tightens, my emotions overwhelming me as I think of how Lilah is my daughter. This sweet little girl who I have fallen in love with independent of who her father is, who calls me mommy, and who I will be adopting as my own as soon as the wedding festivities are over.
I press a hand to my chest, taking a breath, willing myself not to cry just as a knock sounds on the door of the bridal suite I have been getting ready in with Sara and Andrea.
Sara goes to open the door, and my heart launches itself in my throat as Camila, my nanny from years ago, appears. She is all dressed up, and a wide grin is on her face. She is about forty now, and seems more like a peer, but I remember a time when I thought her to be much older and just as cool.
“Look at you!” she gushes, walking into the room and approaching me. She takes my hands in hers, squeezing them. “You look stunning, Alex.”
“Thank you,” I say, feeling my eyes sear. “And thank you for coming.”
“Are you kidding?” Camila laughs, raising her eyebrows. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world. My little Lexi, all grown up and getting married.”
Over her shoulder, Andrea smiles. “We’ll give you two a minute,” she says gently before she and Sara walk out of the room, the door shutting behind them with a soft click.
My throat feels thick, but I manage to speak through it. “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you,” I tell Camila, watching as surprise flicks across her deep green eyes. “I became a nanny because of you. Because of how you never let me feel alone, and how you were always there for me. I wanted to be that for other kids. To be there for them and support them like you did me.” Her eyes glass over with unshed tears, hands squeezing mine. “If you didn’t inspire me, I wouldn’t have become a nanny, and then I wouldn’t have met Leo. I wouldn’t have any of this if it weren’t for you.”
I can hear Leo’s voice in the back of my head, telling me to stop crediting others for the good in my life, to take credit for my own hard work. And I do, but it would be a lie to say that Camila didn’t have a part in it. She had a big part, and I stand by that.
“Oh, sweetheart,” Camila says, her voice slightly hoarse. I can tell we are both seconds away from becoming crying, blubbering messes, and then Sara and Andrea would kill me for ruining my makeup. “You deserve everything good and lovely in this world because of all the good and love you put into it. I am so, so glad you found that in Leo. And Lilah—gosh, that little girl is so lucky to have you as a mother.”
I blink rapidly, tilting my head back ever so slightly to look up at the ceiling so the tears don’t leak out of my eyes.God. I knew my wedding day would be an emotional one, but this is a kind of sweet, pleasurable ache that warms me up from the inside. And this talk with Camila—it’s exactly what I needed. I know my parents are somewhere here, invited not because we mended our relationship but because they had missed out on so much of my life growing up, I didn’t want to end up regretting them missing this. Even if we don’t fix things. But this conversation with Camila before I start the next chapter of my life. . . it’s simply the perfect way to end this current one. I make a mental note to discuss with Leo the possibility of hiring Camila to help with Lilah now that I’m working. So far we’ve been figuring it out between the two of us, but I can’t imagine a better caregiver to help us out.
And so, when I walk down the aisle towards the man that I love, I do it with a smile on my face only he can bring out. And when his teary gaze meets mine, I know I made the right choice. It’s all been worth it.
* * *
“Have I told you how beautiful you look today, Mrs. Mackenzie?”
My heart excitedly leaps to my throat at Leo’s low, rumbling words as we sway to the beat ofUntil I Found Youby Stephen Sanchez. The melody is gentle and emotional, and I’m surprised I haven’t shed any tears. But the night is young, so it’s possible for later.
But right now, the two of us move in our first dance as husband and wife, hundreds of eyes on us yet both of our eyes are glued onto each other. My cheeks are flushed with delight, feeling their warmth, my fingers laced with Leo’s while my other arm remains looped around his neck. He isn’t close enough, but we are in public, and there will be plenty of time for me to feel every inch of his skin against mine later on.
“You have,” I murmur through a smile, looking up into his light brown eyes. “But I can always hear it again.”
His grin widens, the sight tripping up my heart as always. How is it that this gorgeous man is mine? Myhusband? It’s going to take some time for me to wrap my head around it, even though we have been together for two years now. Leo leans in close, our gazes never faltering. In a whisper, he says, “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, Alex.”
