Page 36 of Rescued By the SEAL

I might as well honor the other man who has been a big influence in my life, the man I might have turned my back on for love but who has supported me all the time, anyway. I want him to always be a part of my life in this amazing way. Thankfully, Heather nods encouragingly and agrees with me. Her smile is absolutely gorgeous and makes me so happy. No wonder we found our way back to one another. She’s perfect for me, The One. I always knew it, and now I’m going to use this hospital room to make her my wife in the most delightfully unconventional way ever. Because why not?

It’s magical too. Maybe not in the same way that our wedding would have been at the ceremony we had all set up for us, but how many people can say that their newborn twins were at the ceremony? Yes, okay, maybe they cry and fuss a lot of the way through it, but no one cares. Everyone is in love with our quirky little wedding even if they are all crushed into a room with us. Luckily, the wedding reception has already been booked so everyone has a party to go to. They can celebrate us even if we can’t be there. That’s okay because Heather and I want some time alone with our children, anyway. The weddinghas been awesome, and I’m so grateful that we’ve had everyone surrounding us, but now I just want to be with her. My wife. Mywife.

“Well, wifey,” I say with a little laugh as she holds onto William and I hold Veronica in my arms. Thankfully, Officer Buchan loves the idea of having his wife live on through the name of his granddaughter. Heather has been given the chance to have everything that she wants. I’m so happy for her. “How does it feel to be married to me after all this time?”

“Oh, it feels incredible,” she gushes. “I can’t tell you how long I’ve wanted to be your wife, and now I am. The mother of your children, too. I mean, life is about to get a whole lot crazier from here, isn’t it? Married life will be wild for us.”

“If we’ve proven anything to ourselves, it’s that we can handle anything. Don’t you think?” We both make matching terrified expressions. It’s hilarious at the moment, but I’m sure it won’t always be that way. “Yeah, I don’t know how it’s going to be, but we have each other to lean on. We always have and we always will. We’ll be fine, me and you.”

My goodness, now isn’t that the truth? We’ve survived death, kidnapping, criminal activity, family fall-outs, moving, being dragged away from one another… the sort of things that most people don’t have to explore in their whole lives. And here we are, standing taller than ever. Raising twins can’t be harder than all of that, can it? Surely…

Uh-oh, we might really be in a lot of trouble here, but with Heather on my side, I’m truly confident that we can handle everything. I balance Veronica in one hand and reach out to hold my new bride’s hand, and as we connect, I feel a surge of happiness. We really are living in the future that we alwaysdreamed of now, even if it took a messy, twisting, winding journey to get here. This is the happy ever after that we’ve always been searching for, and it’s here. Now, it’s up to us to make the best of it.

“Oh, and there’s one thing I want to show you,” I tell her with a playful wink as I lift up my trouser leg to show her the ink there. “I got my tattoo… only it’sH.R. because now you’re my wife. What do you think about that?”

She bursts into tears, into happy tears, though, and she grins at me. “I love you, L.R., and I look forward to the rest of our lives together.”