Page 84 of The Bloke

“Am I okay?” I chuckled into her neck. “Love… I’m more than okay.” I pulled my head back to look into her tear-soaked, swollen eyes. “Are you?”

She nodded, biting down on her lip to hold back her sobs before burying her face against me once again.

“How far along?” I asked, rubbing her back as she sniffled and slowly relaxed her body onto mine.

“Eleven weeks…”

“Eleven—”How did she keep this from me for so long? How did I not notice any signs or symptoms?“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

We had just recently completed a task where she almost got herself stabbed by the target. If I had known…

“I wasn’t sure how you’d react, and I didn’t know how to bring it up.” She whispered, wiping her nose on the back of her hand before gripping my shirt. “You’ve never asked me if I wanted to have kids, and so I assumed you either weren’t interested or didn’t want them, period.”

“Love.” I ran a hand through her hair, tucking the stray strands behind her ear before resting my hand against the side of her face and neck. “I’ve always been ready; I just wanted you to be the one who chose when to start.”

Sienna always wanted control; it was the one thing she had been so desperate to have her entire life, and I wanted to give her that—control of our future.

“So you’re not mad? Or upset?” She questioned, her voice slightly shaky from crying.

“Never,” I answered, gently squeezing her waist as my hand dropped to her stomach. “I’m all in, love. There isn’t a single thing you could do that would change that.”

I pressed a kiss to her forehead as I sank further back into the couch with her weight on my chest.

I couldn’t wait to be a father and see my wife become the perfect mother to our children. I only hoped she would be open to having more than one, but I’ll leave that decision up to her, as I always would.

EXTENDED EPILOGUE

Colby

TWENTY YEARS LATER.

I never sold the penthouse.

After finding out Sienna was pregnant, we started looking for our dream home—somewhere to settle down and build our future and our family from the ground up.

It took us several months, but we eventually found the perfect plot of land right outside the inner city. Perfect meaning, it was close enough for us to commute to and from work every day and far enough away to see the stars at night without light pollution from the Strip.

I let my wife have creative control over the entire project, giving her everything she wanted, including a small dance studio.

Every once in a while, I would stop by our old home to stare out at the skyline—the whole reason I purchased it—and reminisce about where it all began for us.

I still worked for the Heavens Down Under show but on a significantly reduced schedule; twice a week unless otherwise necessary. Bartending at the Ultrapool at Neon Palms was still my daily job, except for the off-season when I wasn’t required to work.

Sienna continued to own and operate her Pilates studio, expanding the business to a more prominent location on Sunset Boulevard with a small staff of qualified and professionally trained instructors. The additional help enabled her to start teaching freestyle and ballet dance classes—all for fun and fueling her passion, of course.

After having kids, we were no longer at the top of Dustin's list for assignments, but to keep our status within the Men Under Revue, we had to complete at least two mandatory tasks per month—

“Colby.” Sienna’s soft voice called across the dimly lit room, returning my mind to the present.

It was cloudy and rainy outside, reminding me of the day I confessed my life to my wife—the day I let her see the real me—the boy I was before I found her.

Everything in the penthouse was the same as the day we left it, the space aging like a time capsule but with a thick layer of settled dust. Usually, I would stop by here on the way home from work and always came alone—but not this time.

“It’s almost as though so much has changed, and yet… nothing has changed at all.” She spoke as she stopped beside me, wrapping her arms around my waist and pressing her weight into my side. I wrapped my arm around Sienna, pulling her in close as I leaned against the window, admiring the view we leftbehind and remembering the sunsets I replaced with her warm smile.

“Where are the kids?” I murmured, pressing a kiss to her temple with a long sigh.

“They’ll be up shortly… Are you sure you want to do this?”

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