AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“They already are. I proposed it to them and they love the idea. I just need to know if this is something you want to do together.”
My mom looked into my eyes and I saw she was tearing up, even as her smile grew wider. She wiped at her eyes and then pulled the baby closer to her, hugging Eli.
“Well, with your help, maybe the book will actually be worth publishing, so yes, of course I want to do this with you,” she said.
My heart was bursting with joy in that moment. Knowing that my mom and I would be working on the project together, a project that I was certain would be very emotional and would allow us to get to know each other better.
“Harper could help as well,” I said. “In fact, I would love to get insights from the whole family, if possible.”
“We’d love to help,” Charles said.
Harper looked even more ecstatic at the idea. I intended to help my little sister out any way I could. All my life, I had wanted a sibling, and now I had one of each. I was going to have to make up for lost time.
Which reminded me… I pulled out a Hot Wheels car from my pocket and tossed it over to Liam. “To make up for all the ones I used to steal from you,” I said with a playful wink.
He grinned as he stared down at the toy car. “Who knew that a Hot Wheels car would nearly bring me to tears, but here we are.”
There were lots of tears, past and present, and likely more to come in the future. Hopefully mostly happy ones. Looking around at the room filled with so much love and joy, I had a good feeling that they would be.
Epilogue
GABE
One Year Later
“Let me just scooch you over an inch, yes, just like that, Eli,” I said as I got the baby into position. I stood back and looked at my handiwork with a smile.
I realized something was missing. Oh yes, the question mark. I’d printed it out and had it sitting off to the side. I placed it next to the last baby in line. Little Vincent, whose face twisted into a look of annoyance. “Shhh, sweet boy,” I said, picking up the baby and cradling him in my arms. I was worried we might have a meltdown before Bella came in and saw the babies lined up, and if that happened, well, then it would be perfectly imperfect, like most things in our lives. But with some comforting, Vincent settled down and I put him back in place.
Perfect.
I propped open the door and called out, “Sweetie? The kids want to show you something.”
“Is everything okay?” Bella called back. She had been in the office doing some edits to the book she was working on with her family.
“Everything is fine, they just want to show you something.” I couldn’t contain the smile on my face as I glanced back at the babies. Ari fell asleep, her head resting on her sister next to her, but that was okay.
Bella’s footsteps came from down the hall. I popped my head back into the room and took my place next to the babies holding the question mark sign.
The door opened and Bella stepped inside. “What are you guys doing in the library—”
Before she could finish, her gaze fell on the babies’ onesies. I watched as her mind read off each word in order.
Will. You. Marry. Me.
She read it off a couple of times before her hands went to her mouth. A small squeal escaped her lips, frightening Lucy and waking Ari, who started fussing. Upon hearing their sisters crying, Vincent and Eli joined in.
I dropped the question mark as we both went over to the kids. Comforting all four of them meant we each took two at a time, a task that wasn’t easy, but we had become pros at it.
“Shhh, it’s fine, Mommy’s fine,” Bella whispered to a still fuzzy Ari and Lucy.
I took the boys since they were closest to me. As usual, Eli settled pretty quickly, he was the quieter one out of the boys. Vincent seemed startled, but also calmed once there was no more excitement.
“Did you mean it?” Bella asked, holding Ari in her arms, rocking her back to sleep.
“Of course I meant it,” I said. “I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t mean it.”
I nodded to the baby blue box on the desk that was propped open, showing off the diamond that I had selected for her, with help from Ava, of course.
