Page 10

Silas

Epilogue

The park is loud with laughter—our laughter, tangled up in the shrieks of three little hellions tearing through the grass.

Liam, the oldest, is already scaling the jungle gym like he’s got something to prove.

Ellie’s right behind him, pigtails flying, her stubborn little mouth set in that same determined pout Lily wears when she’s pissed.

And then there’s Ben, the toddler of the bunch for now, wobbling after them with all the grace of a drunk duckling.

I should be watching them closer. I know I should. But my eyes keep dragging back to the woman beside me, her swollen feet propped up on the stroller, her hands resting on the curve of her stomach—our fourth soon to come.

Lily groans, tilting her head back against the bench. “I swear, Silas, this is the last one. My ankles look like overstuffed sausages.”

I grin, reaching over to squeeze her knee. “You say that every time.”

“This time I mean it.” She glares, but there’s no heat. Just that soft, exhausted glow that makes my chest ache. The sun catches the gold in her hair, the flush on her cheeks, the way her lips twitch like she’s fighting a smile.

“Fuck, you’re beautiful,” I murmur. Every time she gets this glow, I struggle to keep my hands to myself. It’s no wonder that she’s exhausted all the time.

She swats at me, bashful. “Watch the kids. You stare at me plenty as it is.”

But I don’t. Not yet. I steal another second—just one—to memorize her like this. Wild-haired, radiant, and all mine.

Ever since she’s been put on maternity leave, I’ve spent every second with her. Rarely in the shop, I might as well be on vacation myself.

Instead of spending all our free time in the bedroom, we’ve stopped at parks when the kids don’t want to swim. We used to go on strolls, but Lily can’t go too far before getting taken out of commission.

Tonight, once everyone is knocked out, maybe I can change that. I can appreciate her pregnancy glow up close.

Then Ellie screeches like a wild animal, and Ben faceplants into the mulch, giving me no choice but to play referee over the slide they’ve worked their way toward instead of fantasizing sexy times with my wife.

Lily sighs at my side, but there isn’t any weight to it. “Go be a dad, hotshot.”

Moving to stand, I press my lips to her forehead and enjoy the light sound of her laugh. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

Reaching up to cup my cheek, she drags me down to her lips like she can’t help herself. One kiss turns to two before being interrupted by another wail.

“Good luck,” she muses, slowly pulling away.

I’m going to need it. I’ll also need all the strength in the world not to convince these children how good of an idea it is to cut our day short to go back home so they can take a nap.

Another few hours. I’ll survive. It’ll be what makes waiting worthwhile in the end.