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“That works for me,” I say, reaching to the side of the tub for our towels.
We slide into bed, naked and a little bit damp, and I immediately reach for Emma. She curls into me and lets out a contented sigh.
“I was wrong,” she says after a moment. “Thisis what I want to do for the rest of my life. Just lie in this bed with you.”
“You don’t think we’d run out of things to talk about? That we’d eventually bore each other?”
“I can’t imagine ever being bored with you.”
“I feel the same way.”
“Although I guess that at some point, it would get awkward, sharing our bed with the kids.”
“Kids?”
Emma looks at me. “Well, yeah. Don’t you want them?”
“I never really thought about it before,” I say honestly. “Do you?”
“I do,” she nods. “At least one, hopefully two.”
I think about coming home every night to a child that’s a mix of me and Emma, and the thought makes me smile. “I’d like to have children with you.”
“Not right away, though,” Emma says. “I’m far too selfish to share you with anyone right now, even a baby.”
“Oh, I’m definitely too selfish, too,” I tell her. “But I like the idea of a family, in a few years. It’s funny, I don’t think I ever thought about it too much before because I couldn’t imagine having kids with whatever woman or siren or whatever that I was with.”
“Careful how much detail you go into, when you’re in bed with your fiancée, about your past,” Emma warns.
“Noted,” I smile. “And you’re better than all of them put together.”
“Damn right.”
“My point is just that, with you, I can imagine it. I hope we have a girl that’s just as stubborn and fierce as you are.”
“And I hope we have a boy that’s as headstrong and confident as you.”
I hold Emma close to me. “We’re really doing this, aren’t we? Starting a life together?”
Emma gazes at me. “I hate to break it to you, Finn, but we’ve already started.”
“Good,” I say, staring into her soft blue eyes. “Because I don’t want to wait another moment to be with you.”
30
EMMA
Itake a deep breath as Sophia finishes arranging my veil. My makeup and hair is done, my dress and jewelry are on, and the bouquet is waiting in a vase. The only thing left to do is grab it, walk down the aisle, and get hitched.
Why does this feel like such an insurmountable task? My hands are trembling with anxiety. And for what? I’ve been dreaming about this day ever since I could remember.
Maybe that’s why I feel like I’m about to climb an active volcano. This is the moment I’ve built up in my mind for years! What if something goes wrong? Finn’s family are all wonderful, but their culture is so different from ours. What if I say or do something to offend them? What if the flowers I picked have a terrible meaning in their culture? What if they can’t eat anything at dinner?
Sophia puts her hands on my shoulders, a knowing smile across her face. That’s when I remember, she went through all of this as well.
“How did you do it?” I ask.
“One step at a time,” she replies. Then, she makes a concerned expression and taps her fingers awkwardly on my shoulders. “So uh, did you and Finn happen to discuss the… squirrel thing?”
