Page 32 of Eternal Pieces (The Violet Delights Duet #2)

VIOLET

SIX MONTHS LATER

“ I just need to give them all one more kiss!”

Max has his hands on my shoulders and is leading me toward the front door as I try to push my way back to my babies.

“One more, please!”

“Okay, one more and then you’re going,” he says, letting me go with a tired sigh.

Maddox is standing behind him, Evie fast asleep strapped to his chest, Olive and Tobias gurgling away in each of his arms. I press the softest kiss to Evie’s head so I don’t wake her after Maddox finally got her to sleep after walking around the cabin singing every nursery rhyme he could think of for the last hour.

I rub my nose against both Olive and Tobias’ squishy cheeks, giving them each a kiss.

They’re not identical like Max and Maddox, but the way all three take after their dads is uncanny, so they may as well be.

They each have a dusting of fuzzy, light hair and golden eyes.

And of course, the cutest chubbiest cheeks that I can’t help but squish.

“Mama’s going to miss you so much!”

“We’ll all miss you, too, but we’ve got this. Go enjoy your spa morning, you’ve more than earned it,” Maddox speaks softly as he gently bounces them.

Seems I’m not the only one who could do with a break.

He looks exhausted. The past four months since we came home from the hospital have been nothing but babies.

Feeding, changing, singing, spending hours trying to get one of them to sleep, only for another to wake them up after five minutes.

An endless cycle. We’re all constantly tired.

But we’re also all very much in love with our little life.

The triplets are perfect. They came home after two months in the hospital and since then have been non-stop growing, they’re the chunkiest little cuties and my boobs are really feeling it.

Sometimes I feel like a milk machine; if I’m not pumping so the guys can help with feedings, then one of them is latched onto my breast. And it’s not just the triplets getting their fill.

“I thought you didn’t want anyone else touching me?” I pout, buying my time so I can spend as much of it as I can with my three little babies.

“We don’t,” Maddox snarls in that dark protective way that always sends a delicious shiver straight to my core.

“The masseuse has been fully vetted,” Max adds from behind me like he’s giving a military brief. “She’s a happily married, fifty-eight year old grandma with over thirty years of experience.”

“Thank you both for doing this for me.” I cup Maddox’s cheek and reach up to kiss him without disturbing Evie.

Max plants his hands on my shoulders. “Now it’s really time to go, you don’t want to miss your appointment.”

Reluctantly, I let him pull me away and get me out of the door.

He hands me my purse and car keys, and gives me a long kiss.

One that feels like he’s desperate not to let me go.

But he does. I get into my new car. We ended up buying two more so we have one each, and it’s made life with triplets a tiny bit easier.

I try not to cry as they all wave me off from the porch.

As much as I need and enjoy a break from the chaos of Mom life, it’s always hard to say goodbye.

Every time it reminds me of having to leave them at the hospital once I was discharged.

It was agony coming home without them each day and wondering if they missed me as much as I missed them.

In the end, it was worth it to have three healthy babies with us now.

The spa is just in the center of the city. Max and Maddox surprised me with it last week and said I’m to go no matter what. They’ve been the most amazing fathers, doing all the cooking and cleaning while I was healing and letting me rest whenever I need it.

Sarah has become our on-call babysitter, and she loves every second she spends with the triplets. Reginald has visited a few times as well. He was actually the first to visit once we came home.

Mom is gone from my life completely now.

I’ve not heard from her since I last spoke to her on my disaster of a wedding day.

Not long after I left the hospital, I had the restraining order put in place.

Knowing that if she ever turns up out of the blue again, I’ll be within my rights to kick her out fills me with an extra sense of security.

I’ll never be manipulated by her again, and neither will my children.

I have the whole morning to enjoy myself at the spa, and I make the most of it by booking as many treatments as I can. By the end of it, I feel so relaxed I could float home. My boobs however are lead weights on my chest. Thankfully, I remembered to pack my breast pump.

When I return to the private changing room, I find my bag missing. Someone was in here?

I see the scrap of paper where my clothes should be, and my heart jumps into my throat. Why is people messing with me becoming such a regular occurrence?

All the note says is, “Look behind you ! X”

“How ominous,” I mutter to myself. They left a kiss, I suppose that should make me feel better.

Glancing behind me, I see a figure waiting in the corner. My masked men? A stranger intent on hurting me? My crazy mother? No. It’s none of those. Hanging on a coat hook on the wall is a wedding dress. My wedding dress.

It’s brand new. Not a single spot of blood insight.

Who put this here?

A soft knock on the door has me jumping out of my skin. I’m scared to open it. I don’t have my phone to call my guys for help. I’m stuck in here in a damn robe.

“Violet? Are you in there?”

“Sarah? What are you doing here?” I swing open the door to find my best friend dressed up like she’s ready for a wedding. Her dress is the same lilac one we picked together, and on her head is a similar flower crown to the one she wore on my wedding day.

She holds up a huge makeup case and shouts, “Surprise!”

“I—what? I don’t get what’s happening. Why are you here? Why is my dress here? I thought I was…” At this point, I don’t know what I thought anymore.

“Was the note too creepy? Sorry, I thought it would be a fun reveal.” She steps into the room and sets the case down near the mirror.

“I’m having crazy deja vu.”

“Max and Maddox wanted to surprise you. Now that you’ve been pampered, I can do your hair and makeup, then we can head back up to the cabin so you can finally tie the knot.”

“I’m getting married? Today?”

She sits down and pats the padded bench next to her.

“Yep. They didn’t want you to have to plan out a whole new day, but they also didn’t want you to miss out on it either.

So they enlisted my help. You’re getting the wedding you always dreamed of.

A nice, intimate affair, not that fancy hotel one you were putting up with before. Trust me, it’s going to blow you away.”

I sit down heavily next to her, my chin dragging on the carpet. “You planned my entire wedding?”

“We all thought you’d be glad to not have to do it yourself on top of everything else.”

Blowing out a breath, I shake my head in disbelief. “I am beyond glad. Beyond grateful. Sarah, this might be the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

Before she can say anything else, I wrap my arms around her.

“You don’t need to thank me. What are best friends for, right?”

She looks me over and gets an excited twinkle in her eye. “Let’s get you ready for the big day!”

Once Sarah has finished my makeup and hair, and I’m in my dress, she drives us to the cabin. Everything feels so much calmer this time around. Even though this has been suddenly sprung on me, I prefer it. I’m surprisingly not nervous at all.

My makeup is simpler than last time, just the way I like it, and Sarah’s managed to almost perfectly replicate my hair. I had faith in her beauty skills anyway, and this way feels far more personal than a stranger doing it for me.

The one thing I’m outstandingly amazed by is my dress.

Unlike last time, it fits perfectly. When I asked her how she managed to get the size right, she told me that it was all thanks to Max.

I’ll have to get the information out of him later, but I have a feeling he measured me while I was sleeping.

These days, once I fall asleep, I’m completely out of it, and the only thing that wakes me is the babies’ cries.

So I’m sure he found a way to get my measurements in the night.

I step out of the car, and Sarah guides me around the side of the cabin.

A dark purple carpet has been laid out on the ground, a trail of purple and white petals sprinkled on top.

We follow it around to the back, where it keeps going all the way to the start of the woods.

From there, Sarah leads me through the trees until we come to a small grove sheltered by the thick canopy above.

I’m left breathless as I look around me.

Fairy lights weave around the tree trunks, and glowing glass jars hang from the branches. More lights dangle between the trees, and a whole variety of flowers are nestled in cute little baskets all around. It’s like a fairy’s den. I’m in awe of it all, but it’s not what’s stolen my breath.

Waiting for me on the other side are Max and Maddox. They’re wearing matching black suits. Maddox has opted for a black shirt rather than white, like his brother.

I’m taken back to the day we first met. We hadn’t even spoken to each other, but something in our hearts connected, and we became each other’s destinies.

“Hey, baby,” Maddox greets me as I near them, his cocky grin is huge as he eyes me up and down. “You look stunning.”

“I can’t believe you did all of this.”

“Our beautiful bride deserves everything she’s ever dreamed of,” Max says endearingly.

Reginald stands off to the side with Tobias in his arms, playing with the flowers in his buttonhole. Olive and Evie are fast asleep in the stroller next to him. It’s decorated with more flowers. All three of them are dressed in the cutest little white rompers embroidered with lilac flowers.