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I grin at her, turning my attention to the bundle in her arms. "What do you think, Nadia? Do you want to learn how to snowboard, or do you want to learn how to ski first?"
The baby just giggles and buries her face in Noelle's chest.
"Ski first, then." I chuckle. "You'll want to get started while you're young, that's for sure."
"Stop planning extreme sports for our newborn, please." Noelle laughs, standing on her tiptoes so I can kiss her sweet mouth. "Let's just enjoy the peace for once, hm?"
I can't resist the urge to press her against the wall and kiss her even deeper. Her free arm winds around my neck, and her body molds against mine. "I don't think I can," I groan.
"Try."
"Never."
I take Nadia from her arms and set her gently in the bassinet we've set up in the living room, and then turn back to Noelle, kissing her again and again. She tastes like cinnamon and apples and the promise of Christmas morning.
She is my new everything, her and Nadia. My perfect wife and daughter.
We married quickly, but the ceremony was beautiful, overlooking the ocean in Washington, so her mother and grandmother could be there. Neither was thrilled about me, but I managed to turn on the charm enough to change their minds.
Not that it would have mattered if they didn't.
Nothing could stop me from being with her. I would have taken her across the country to elope if she had said yes.
"What's on the itinerary?" she whispers as we break the kiss.
"I thought maybe the spa first. But now, I'm thinking I'm going to have you instead."
"Oh, I like the sound of that," she teases. "But I think we should finish unpacking and get the baby to sleep first, hm?"
She's right, but I'm impatient. "Fine. Let's get this done, then. Nadia, time to be tired."
She just gurgles happily in response.
Even if she doesn't feel like taking a nap, I've got Noelle's mother and grandma set up in the chalet neighboring ours, and I'm sure they'd love to have some time with the baby. It seemed like an extravagant gift to bring them along, but I had ulterior motives. Those motives being lots and lots of private time with my wife.
"I'll finish getting everything unpacked. Why don't you go see if your mom is settled in? If so, tell her we're going to drop Nadia off for an hour."
Noelle smiles, and it's like the sun. "Just an hour, huh?"
I growl, pulling her against me. "Make it three," I tell her before crushing my mouth against hers. One hour, three hours, an entire day—it will never be enough. But we have our entire lives together, and I plan to take advantage of it, every single minute.
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
NOELLE
Ten Years Later
Sending the kids to summer camp might send Nathan into a spiral the likes of which I've never seen before. I get it. I'm stressed too, but they're going to have the best time ever. Not to mention that what we paid for it would have been enough to pay for a small house, but of course, it's nothing but the best for Nathan's little angels.
The oldest angel, Nadia, is eleven and was packed and ready to go at 5 AM this morning. Nadine and Nina, our nine-year-old twins, were a bit harder to get going. They were not thrilled to have to leave their entire doll collections behind, but after some convincing, I think they might finally believe me that there will be plenty more to do at camp.
Nathan and I are standing on the porch, waving them goodbye as the white bus, covered in flower decals, drives away with our precious cargo aboard, along with at least twenty other kids their age. We gave them a thousand kisses, and they were very brave.
But now...now it's just Nathan and me for an entire week. It's been a long time since we've had this much privacy.
For once, I don't think sex is at the forefront of Nathan's mind, though. He looks forlorn as the bus disappears down the road.
"They're going to be fine," I assure him. "The camp is an entire 3.5 miles away. Stop worrying so much."
