Page 18

CAT

One Year Later

“ H ere she is,” Deegar said softly. “Hungry and determined to be with her mama.” He laid our one-month-old daughter in my arms, and she whimpered, rooting against my chest. He’d heard her first and jumped from the bed, going to her room to change her diaper and bring her to me before I could roll over.

As I fed her, he dropped onto the bed beside me, his arm going around my shoulders. He stroked the smooth green skin on her forehead and teased his fingertip across her newly formed tiny horns. She looked so much like him it made my heart flip each time I saw her.

He kissed my cheek and twirled my hair around his finger. “Feeling alright?”

“Perfect.” I turned my face, and we kissed deeply.

“I think everything’s packed and ready for the movers.”

He’d made sure it was, diligently tucking all our belongings carefully into boxes. The movers would be here tomorrow. Or today, I guessed, since it was after midnight.

“I still can’t believe we’ll have an oceanfront home,” I said. “I love it, but I’ll be sad to say goodbye to Mom’s place.” It was too small. We were going to rent it to tourists during the summer and a local person for the winter.

“We’ll still be able to take care of it. We could even spend a night there ourselves every now and then.”

Which would be fun. Memories and all that.

We got married not long after he tracked me down on the beach. It was a small ceremony. We didn’t want the press or anyone there but our friends. His parents couldn’t come, but Valina did and she grinned during the entire ceremony.

We’d hired staff to work at the diner, freeing me to do managerial duties.

Then we closed the diner for two weeks (paying everyone to take a vacation) and went to the orc kingdom for our honeymoon. Of course, we stopped to see Valina happily learning the duties that would be expected of her when she took over the throne from Deegar’s father.

“Mom and Dad will be here next week to meet Nunnea. My mom won’t put her down.” He grinned at our daughter with so much love, it made my throat tighten.

We stopped by the castle during our honeymoon. His parents were stern at first, angry that he’d given up the throne and blaming me. But they soon warmed up, and by the time we left, they gave us each bittersweet hugs. They were calling me daughter by then, and they understood why he didn’t wish to rule.

“I hope this time, they don’t let the press know they’re here,” I said. I wasn’t the kind who enjoyed being in the spotlight any more than Deegar. We’d remained hidden, our neighbors and friends doing their best to keep the press out of our lives.

His parents had come to visit twice, and this little town had never seen anything like it, though they got used to seeing bodyguards and the press around. Thankfully, things returned to normal after they were gone.

“We’ll have to scurry to unpack everything at the new house to be ready before they arrive to stay with us,” I said.

“It’ll be amazing. I’ve hired extra crew to help. Even Marge and Dr. Yang are coming by to either babysit or help us unpack. We’ll be ready before they get here.”

That was good because there was so much stuff! How did I collect it all inside that tiny house?

Now we’d have three bedrooms and an office. A huge deck overlooking the ocean. A gorgeous kitchen. And a master suite with a tub big enough for two orcs—or in this case, him and me.

Actually, I couldn’t wait to move in.

Mom would understand why I no longer lived in the place I grew up in. She’d want the best for me, and she’d be proud of how my life had turned out.

And she’d be thrilled to see me happy with Deegar.