Friend Zone to End Zone - Judy Corry Page 0,91
racing into hyperspeed because she was so dang sexy right now.
So before I could decide who was showing who what, I pulled her into my arms and kissed her. By the time the sun had fully set behind the mountains, neither one of us was confused about where we stood with the other.
And it was perfect.
Epilogue
Arianna
Five Years Later
“I can’t believe Axel and Adalynn are already turning one,” I told my sister-in-law, Emerson, as she put the candles into her and Vincent’s twins’ smash cakes. We were standing in the kitchen of their beautiful home, just making the last finishing touches to the cakes while everyone else was waiting in the dining room to sing happy birthday to their miracle twins. “It seemed like we were just celebrating the Dragons’ Super Bowl win and you were planning to tell Vincent you were expecting.”
“I know, it’s so crazy how fast time flies.” She glanced at my stomach as she put the blue candle shaped like a number one into Axel’s football cake. “But before you know it, you’ll be celebrating your little one’s first birthday.”
“I know.” I looked down at my belly, my hands reflexively smoothing over the bump that had been growing bigger and bigger over the last eight months. “It seems like just yesterday that we were celebrating Malia’s first birthday. I don’t know how I’m going to handle taking care of two kids.”
“As long as the ultrasound was right and there’s only one baby in there, I’m sure you’ll be fine. Two at a time though…” Emerson shook her head, probably remembering the memories from the past year with her own twins. “Well, I’ll just say that I’m glad Vincent retired before they got here, or I’m not sure we would have survived the first month.”
“Yeah, Cole and I already decided not to risk that.” I laughed, imagining how crazy it would be to have multiple births. “We’re pretty sure Malia and this little guy are going to keep us plenty busy as it is.”
“I’m sure they will.”
Emerson unwrapped the pink candle and placed it in the center of Adalynn’s princess cake. “Wanna help me carry the cakes in?”
“Of course.”
So while she carried Axel’s cake into the dining room where he was not so patiently waiting in his high chair, I carried Adalynn’s cake and set it in front of her.
Since this wasn’t Vincent’s first rodeo when it came to first birthday parties, he was ready to light the candles before the twins could attack the cakes and had the room full of the twins’ closest family and friends sing “Happy Birthday!” a few seconds later.
While we sang the traditional birthday song, I walked over to where my husband stood on the side of the room with our three-year-old daughter on his hip. And as I looked at the handsome man I got to call mine and our adorable daughter with the beautiful dark curls I got to brush through every morning before we spent the day going on walks, reading books, and playing with dolls before her daddy got home from football practice, my heart was so full.
Because this was what life was all about. Making memories with my family was what made life good.
If the eighteen-year-old version of me could just get a small glimpse into what her future held, I knew she’d hardly believe her eyes.
Because all her dreams really had come true.
She’d just had to go through some difficult things to get there.
And even though there were times when she thought her life was over and that there would be no happiness in it again, there would come a time when she’d meet a guy at a birthday party like this—a guy who would become her best friend. That after a few years of ups and downs, she’d finally realize they were perfect for each other and that she deserved to be happy despite the mistakes in her past.
“…happy birthday to you,” we finished singing. As the twins’ older siblings assisted them in blowing out their birthday candles, Cole slipped his arm behind my waist and whispered, “This reminds me of the day I fell in love with you, did you know that?”
I loved that even now after all these years together, this man could still send tingles down my spine with a few words.
“You fell in love with me the first day we met?” I raised my eyebrow, challenging him.
He shrugged. “Well, yeah. I mean, once I saw you and realized you weren’t a slightly less masculine version of your brother, it was all over for me.”
“You really thought I was going to have a female mustache, didn’t you?” I chuckled, remembering back to what he’d told me about his initial imaginings of what he’d assumed I’d look like.
A guilty expression formed on his face. “Maybe…” He raised the hand that wasn’t currently supporting our daughter’s weight. “In my defense though, Vincent did say you looked a lot like him.”
“Well, I guess if we take nothing else from that, we can at least be reassured that you didn’t just like me because you thought Vincent was cute and you had to settle for second best since he was already married when you met.”
Cole’s jaw dropped. “Did you really just go there?”
“Oh, I so did.” I smiled sweetly up at him, loving that even after all these years together we still teased each other to no end. And then just for fun, I added, “I mean, Hannah did have her whole theory about why you never went on dates. So that does kind of go along with it.”
He shook his head. “You know very well how far off she was with that theory though, right?”
“I don’t know, I forget…”
“Well,” he said in a deep voice that immediately sent butterflies to my stomach. “If you’re having a hard time remembering just how attracted I am to you, especially when you’re pregnant with my child and I’m holding our other one, maybe I’ll just have to refresh your memory when we get home.”
And because I could never resist him when he talked to me like that, I said, “If you get Malia to bed, you can refresh my memory all you want.”
His eyes got the fiery look in them that still made me go weak in the knees. “Maybe we should skip the cake and ice cream and get out of here.”
Read Incognito’s story next!
When I met my favorite rock star backstage at his concert, I never expected to leave with a kiss.
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Also By Judy Corry
A Second Chance for the Rich and Famous Series
Assisting My Brother’s Best Friend (Kate and Drew)
Hollywood and Ivy (Ivy and Justin)
Her Football Star Ex (Emerson and Vincent)
Friend Zone to End Zone (Arianna and Cole)
Stolen Kisses from a Rock Star (Maya and Landon)
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Ridgewater High Series:
When We Began (Cassie and Liam)
Meet Me There (Ashlyn and Luke)
Don’t Forget Me (Eliana and Jess)
It Was Always You (Lexi and Noah)
My Second Chance (Juliette and Easton)
My Mistletoe Mix-Up (Raven and Logan)
Forever Yours (Alyssa and Jace)
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Protect My Heart (Emma and Arie)
Kissing The Boy Next Door (Lauren and Wes)
About the Author
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Judy Corry is the USA Today Bestselling Author of YA and Sweet Contemporary Romance. She writes romance because she can't get enough of the feeling of falling in love. She's known for writing swoon-worthy kisses, endearing characters, and hard-won happily ever afters.
She lives in Southern Utah with her husband and their four children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy who took her to her Jr. Prom.