AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He had tears in his eyes then. “I know. And I don’t have to tell you how much she loves you right back. You being here has turned everything around for us, Mary-Beth. I love you so, so much.”
“And we’re so lucky to have such wonderful family and friends around us,” I said. I couldn’t help sighing deeply then. “I’m just so sad that my dad won’t accept our relationship.”
He stroked my hair lovingly back from my face. “I know, babe. You’ve been so brave about all that. Maybe he’ll come around, in time. It’ll have to be on your terms, though. He’s not treating you like that again. The way he spoke to you – it wasn’t okay.”
“I know that,” I said, “and I love that you’ve got my back. I really do. I also know that people change. I guess we’ll see. There’s an open door there for him with me, especially as there’s a child involved.” I smiled from deep within. “Well, two children now, if everything goes okay with this pregnancy. But I’m not doing any more running. And like you say, it would be on my terms.” I sighed again. “But I realize, we can’t expect miracles.”
“Oh, but we can,” I said, smiling at the memory of Clarissa in the hallway. “FYI, we’re going to be having coffee with Clarissa and Andrew, to make sure we’re all on the same co-parenting page, and doing the best we can for Kayla,” I said.
“Sounds lovely,” said Mary-Beth.
“Believe me it’s an absolute miracle. I’d have sworn it would rain frogs before Clarissa ever did anything this mature.’
I smiled. “Maybe we’re all growing up,” I told him.
He smiled back. “Looks like it. And… Ris asked if we were planning on having kids. If it all goes okay, I guess we’ll have some news on that front soon… for everyone.”
I ruffled his hair, feeling excitement rise in me. Of course, having another baby hadn’t been part of my plan. Neither had falling in love with Alex. Neither had me and Maddy becoming a family with him and Kayla. But that’s exactly what had happened. It was far better than any plan I could have come up with. And it was far better than anything I could have imagined in my wildest dreams.
“I’d never imagined I’d find true love when I rang your doorbell and was faced with the grumpy, rude vision of you totally resenting me,” I told Alex playfully.
He smiled. “And I never imagined I’d find true love when you came swishing in here acting like I was doing you a favor by giving you the easiest job in the world for tons of pay – and the best bedroom in the apartment–.”
I gave him a flirty look. “Oh, believe me, this is the best bedroom in the apartment.”
We looked deep into one another’s eyes then, and Alex linked fingers with me. We squeezed our hands together, twice, our secret signal. Then we kissed long and slow and deep. All the love we felt for one another was in that kiss, and all the passion, and all the teamwork, and everything we’d been through, and a flavor of all the adventures to come.
When we finally broke apart, Alex put his forehead to mine and said, “You know, Clarissa also asked if we’d be getting married…”
I smiled, from deep down in my heart. ‘One thing at a time, mister,” I said. Then with a giggle, I added, “So, ask me tomorrow.”
EPILOGUE
ALEX
One Year Later
I cradled baby Charlotte in my arms as I waited for Mary-Beth. She was taking one last look around the apartment, to make sure we hadn’t left anything behind.
Before Charlotte came along, we’d spent many early evening suppers sitting round the kitchen table talking about baby names, with Maddy happy in her highchair. Sometimes Kayla had Tansy over too, or Bethany and James. They were the new friends she’d made at school, on the art scholarship program. Kayla had suggested the name Charlotte for our precious new arrival, in fact. She’d said that if the new baby was a girl, she’d be our princess, and so she’d need a royal name.
Chip often joined us, sometimes with Elaine. Sadly, neither Mary-Beth or I had reconciled with Jason, but we made it clear the door was always open, and that he was welcome to see his grandkids at any time. That was all we could do.
Lately Clare and her new boyfriend Fabrice had been over a lot, too, and they’d been super hands-on with Charlotte and Maddy. Mary-Beth had told me she had a feeling that they’d soon have some exciting news of their own to share with us.
It had been an amazing year in the apartment, with so much love, fun and laughter (and mess and chaos, of course!). I loved that Mary-Beth had so much support around her, especially for when I was away with the Bills. The whole building had come to life, too, when the tenants moved in, and we’d gotten quite a little community going. There were monthly get-togethers and a prolific communal veggie garden, managed by Kayla and Tansy.
I couldn’t have been happier that my eldest daughter was thriving at school again. The bullying had stopped after Clarissa and I had a meeting with the principal. And yes, we’d managed to do that together, and keep it about Kayla, and not get into any of our own stuff - well, pretty much, anyhow.
The miracles on the Clarissa front had kept on coming. Mary-Beth and I had met up with her and Andrew every couple of months throughout the previous year. Clarissa had dug out Kayla’s beautiful hand-crafted wooden rocking crib for us. Clearly, to craftmanship-loving Mary-Beth, it was like being handed the holy grail.
We’d even received an invitation to their wedding. We’d politely declined, as I’d been at an away game, in the middle of a tough but rewarding season. And we’d invited them to ours, knowing that they’d probably politely decline too. It was fine with me if they didn’t, though. Whatever worked best for Kayla was fine – and we’d all agreed that we’d honor whatever she wanted.
The Buffalo Bills had done themselves proud, and while I couldn’t quite believe that another pre-season was almost ready to start, I was up for the challenge. My solid home life and deep, loving (and still steaming hot!) partnership with Mary-Beth was such a great foundation for both of us to achieve our ambitions from. Her magazine had gone from strength to strength over the year, attracting sponsorships and a thriving online community, and was even up for an award.
Yes, I’d proposed. Not quite on the day after we’d found out about Charlotte, but a few weeks later, during another romantic evening at the canal boat. That time, I’d handed Mary-Beth the keys too. True to my word, I’d bought it for her. She’d thrown her arms around my neck and cried, ‘Yes, I will marry you, my darling.” Then she’d laughed and added, “Well, only if you promise not to sing the song you wrote for me at the ceremony.”
The big day was coming up fast – it was only a month away now. Mary-Beth was the love of my life, and I couldn’t wait to make her my wife, too, in front of all our friends and family.
