Page 68 of Uxpectedly Ever After

Clover laughs under her breath. “We’re gonna do that for at least the next eighteen years, aren’t we?”

“At minimum, since he’s the oldest.” She protests a little at that as I tug her closer, resting my chin on the top of her head. “We’re in this for the long haul, Freckles.”

“I’m gonna need a solid eight hours of sleep before we even start to think about another one.” She rises on her tiptoes, her lips brushing mine in a gentle kiss that still packs the power to set my blood on fire. One hand skims my jaw, the other slipping around my waist as I cup her face, taking in the warmth of her skin.

When we break apart, her eyes meet mine, that electric blue crackling with the same spark that got me hooked in the first place. It hasn't faded. Not with time, not with pregnancy, not with sleepless nights and dirty diapers and the million little challenges that come with building a life together.

It's in that moment, standing in our kitchen with my wife in my arms and our son sleeping upstairs, that I realize what I've been fighting fires for all these years. Not just to save others, but to deserve to come home to this. To them. To the family I never thought I'd have, the love I never saw coming and now can’t live without.

I press my wife back against the kitchen counter, claiming her mouth in a kiss that promises we're just getting started. Ever after suddenly feels too short for everything I want with this woman.

She smiles into the kiss. “I love you, Banks Priestly,” she whispers.

“I love you too, Clover Priestly,” I reply, voice rough. “For fucking ever.”

Her smile—that one that's just for me—lights up my entire world. "For fucking ever," she agrees.

And in that moment, even after thirty-six sleepless hours, even with the hardest job in the world waiting for us upstairs, I know with absolute certainty that I'm exactly where I'm meant to be. That everything in my life—every fire, every risk, every twist and turn—was leading me here.

Home.

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