you do is magic, Belle Adler. You are my fairy tale, and if I spend the rest of my life drowning in you, it’ll be a life lived better than everyone else on the planet.” I bobbed my head. “Except for these two assholes, if you insist on keeping them around.”
Eyes shining, she laughed breathlessly.
“I love you, Belle. Will you marry me?”
Tears dripping down her cheeks, Belle put out her hand... and bopped me on the forehead. “Get off your knees, dummy. We can’t get engaged.”
I blinked. “Uhh... Okay. That wasn’t the answer I was expecting.”
Belle took my hands, dragging it, and me, to her heart. “Nathan, I love you too. That proposal was perfect, and I want to say yes. Just not today.” She looked at all of us. “We’ve been raised to do this all wrong. To get caught up in the heat and romance of a perfect summer, and then jump in with our eyes closed. But I don’t want to do that with you guys.
“I want college, crappy apartments, and eating cold pizza on the floor. I want the awkward meet-the-parents family dinners, and summer backpacking. I want to fight and make up a million times. And then, I want to marry the crap out of you. Can that be okay?”
“That can be more than okay, Belle.” I kissed her soft and sweet. “I’m all in.”
Nathan kissed her hand. “You know I’m going anywhere, Cinderella.”
“Agreed,” said Carter. “This is another one of those things I’m going to get stubborn about.”
“I love you,” she said.
“We love you too.”
Epilogue
Ten Years Later
BELLE
“Carter? Carter, will you call the kids in, please? It’s almost time for lunch.”
My love got up from the kitchen stool, clad in an open shirt and boxers. He was playing defender in their water balloon fight until they tired him out.
He opened the back door and let in a torrent of shouts and screams.
“Austin, Vicky, Princess!” he called. “Time for lunch.”
“Blow it out your shorts, Daddy!”
“Shit,” he cried. Carter slammed the door just as the water balloon burst on the glass. “Little savages,” he muttered. “I blame you.”
I laughed over my salad. “I believe that one was yours.”
“Austin is mine, but all of them are yours. Who is the common denominator?”
Walking past him, I swatted his butt. “You’re going to want to have sex with me later, so I suggest behaving yourself.”
“I’m going to want to have sex with you in the next ten minutes, so feed the savages quick and let’s go upstairs.”
I shot him a wink over my shoulder. “I can make that happen.” I stuck my head outside, watching the three beautiful children who were all mine, running happily through our back yard. Austin Knight, six-year-old and more mischievous than his father ever was. Victoria Prince, our sweet, curly-haired beauty who turned the week before today, and Phoebe Desai, who demanded all call her Princess, and at four-year-old, was quickly learning she could get what she wants.
“Kids, come inside for lunch,” I said, “and stop being mean to your daddy.”
They dropped their balloons and toys and came running. Phoebe only stopped to take Grandma Vanessa’s hand and held her inside. “Come on, Grandma. Lunch time.”
Nathan helped his mother off the chaise, holding her hand in one and our daughter’s in the other.
It was a long, hard road for Nathan to rest guardianship from his grandfather. Court hearings, witnesses recounting the painful events of his childhood, and then the final twist of the knife.
A deeper dig into his parent’s documents and estate planning revealed Jameson Prince did state that his son would not receive his inheritance until thirty unless something happened that his mother unable to care for him. His grandfather knew this, having received all of their things when he assumed guardianship of Vanessa in the first place. With this information, she was removed from his care, restitution was ordered, and his reputation was left in tatters.
I kissed Vanessa’s cheek as they came inside.
But that was years ago. She was happy, safe, and loved with us. So was Nathan.
“Mommy, where is Daddy?” Princess asked. She looked so much like her father, it struck me every time. My little princess would break hearts with a look. The world had better get ready for her.
Picking her up, I snuggled her close. “Daddy is in his cave, baby girl. Go get him.”
I set her on her feet and she took off running.
His cave was what I called the room where he kept his favorite art pieces. It