slips inside, and he leisurely tastes me.
“I was so stupid to think admitting my love for you would make me lose you, when not admitting it almost took you away from me.” I can’t even respond to his words, because his tongue is slipping back into my mouth, causing me to moan in pleasure.
There’s never been a more real moment than this between us, and I know now that all of it was worth the wait, worth the pain, more than worth the pleasure.
“I would have waited forever for you to figure it out, Reed,” I whisper against his lips when he finally pulls away, and his dark gaze pierces mine.
“I’m glad we didn’t have to wait forever.” He plucks me up off the floor, and my body melts into his. I wrap my legs around his waist out of reflex and let him take me into the bedroom. The fears, the anger, the pain that we caused each other last night fades away and in its place love and pure adoration blooms.
I love you.
I play the words over and over in my mind while Reed makes sweet love to me. Every touch and caress between us is amplified. His fingers play me like an instrument, and I fall apart over and over again. His lips remain on mine, and at the end, after he’s taken me to the brink of pleasure and back, I still hear him whispering the words.
I love you.
Except this time they aren’t in my mind.
He’s really saying them to me.
I finally have everything I’ve ever wanted.
Reed is mine. He loves me. And with the baby growing deep inside my belly, we’ve sealed the deal, we completed the baby arrangement.
Epilogue
Reed
Six months later
Come on, baby, you can do it. Just one more push,” I encourage Fallon as she grunts. Her skin is red, streaks of sweat dripping down her cheeks. Puffs of air escape her lips while she puts all her might into delivering our son.
“One more time, Fallon.” The doctor reassures her. Fallon grits her teeth and a horrendous scream of pain and relief escapes her lips. It’s at that moment that I can’t contain my elation. I kiss her right on the lips as they pull our son out, wrapping him in a light blue blanket and laying him on her chest.
I can feel tears falling from my eyes as I take in his tiny little nose and the thick strands of dark hair covering his tiny head. He looks just like his mama, but I can see parts of me in him, too. His nose is the same shape as both of my brothers, his chin squarer, like my dad’s was.
God, I wish my father and mother were here to meet him.
When his eyes finally pop open, they’re the deepest blue I’ve ever seen. Almost the color of the sky before it storms.
I’m caught in a trance as I stare down at him. My heart beats wildly against my ribcage, and I already know I’ll never let this boy down. As long as I live he will never go a day without knowing how much his mother and I love him.
“We did it, Reed.” Fallon sounds about as exhausted as she looks and I pepper her face with kisses, knowing words could never do this moment justice.
“No, you did it, baby. You brought our little boy into the world.” I’m still in awe of Fallon and all she means to me. In less than a year we went from being friends, to lovers, to husband and wife. Our hearts now beat in sync.
“Our parents would’ve loved him,” she whispers, staring down at our newborn son.
“Have you decided on a name?” One of the nurses asks, as she checks him over in Fallon’s arms. I lift my eyes from my beautiful little family.
“We have… It’s Maverick Clark Winston. In honor of my father and hers.” I say the name with so much pride. We knew right away when my father passed a few months back that we wanted this baby to be named partially in honor of him since he brought Fallon and me together, and since Maverick’s conception was solely his fault.
“What a beautiful name…” The nurse smiles before continuing to check Maverick and Fallon’s vitals. Minutes tick by, and eventually the entire room clears out, leaving Fallon and I alone in the small birthing room. All I can do is stare at her and my son, the way she reacts to every little