Second Dive (Kings of the Water #3) - Jasmin Miller Page 0,97
out of the car and jumps into my arms with a shriek.
“I did it. I got the deal.” Her words are muffled because she buried her face halfway into my neck, but they’re clear enough for me to understand.
I lean back so I can see her face. “The young adult book deal?”
She nods, her eyes shining, her smile bright.
“Fuck, yes. I knew you’d get it. Your illustrations were killer. They would have been idiots not to pick you.”
She laughs and smashes her lips to mine. “I love you so much.”
Our teeth clash while we’re acting out another inappropriate PDA moment but I couldn’t care less. Telling her I love her doesn’t feel enough sometimes, and I rather enjoy showing her how much she means to me. And it makes Chloe happy which in turn, makes me happy.
It’s what I live for, what I’ve waited for a whole decade.
I spin her around, eliciting a few more squeals from the woman I love.
I’m not a hundred percent sure what our future will hold for us, but for now there’s only one thing that’s important, to have her right where she belongs.
With me, in my arms.
Epilogue
Noah
Two years later
I open the passenger door of my truck and throw my duffel bag on the seat, stealing a quick glance at the list I made for today, even though I’ve got it memorized.
Pick up food from Chloe’s favorite vegan restaurant.
Stop by the flower store to buy flowers for Chloe.
Obtain documents from Mrs. Schuster.
Number three gets a huge mental checkmark since I already did that before my training this morning. Now I only need to make a couple stops for the food and flowers, and I’m good to go.
I’m just about to open my door to hop in, when quick, small footsteps slap across the asphalt.
“Coach. Hey, Coach. Wait for me.”
I watch Timmy—who hates his real name Timothy—run toward me, his mom several feet behind him. He’s one of the little ones I teach a few times a week, and my grin spreads as I crouch down to meet him.
He’s seven but a bit on the smaller side for his age. That doesn’t keep him from carrying his huge blue duffel with all of his swim stuff though. In fact, he insists.
“What’s up, buddy?”
He stops in front of me, starting to talk before he even caught his breath.
Mix that with his two upper front teeth missing, and I don’t understand a word.
“Slow down, Timmy. I didn’t quite catch that.”
He gulps in huge breaths of air until his breathing slows down and then tries again. “Can we do some more diving next week for the rings in the deep water? I really liked that. I got almost all of the rings you threw in. My mom said I did a really great job.”
His mom finally makes her way up to us and chuckles. “Sorry, Noah. He was so excited about it and took off when he saw you.”
“It’s no problem at all.” I focus back on Timmy. “I bet we can do that if we have some time left at the end of our lesson. I’m sure we can talk Mr. Ryan into it too for the open swimming class on Sunday. If you can make it.”
Shit. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that without talking to his mom first.
“Awesome.” He gives me a happy smile, and I stand up and ruffle his hair.
“You did great today. All the hard work is paying off.”
“Thanks.”
He gives me a high five before we say goodbye, and I make my way out of the parking lot of the new aquatic center—the Majestic Aquatic Center, to be exact. Since we couldn’t name it Kings of The Water aquatic center, we named it the next best thing. Thank goodness we had our women help us with their fantastic thesaurus skills.
This way, Hunter can join us too when he retires and feels like it. Especially now that he’s settled down too.
Thankfully, the pit stops at the stores are quick, because I’m ready to spend the rest of the day with Chloe, preferably in bed, and in our birthday suits.
When I park in the garage of our home we moved into last year, I take a deep breath. It’s a big day today. So much to be grateful for, so much to celebrate.
After taking care of my duffel bag, I place the food on the kitchen counter, still holding on to the flowers and the envelope as I go in search of my wife.