Page 118 of Almost Paradise

“You know what this feels like?” he asks with his forehead on my temple.

“What?”

“Almost paradise.”

Epilogue

Drake

Two years later

I pretend to be asleep when I hear the door to the bedroom open. I hear rapid footsteps until someone jumps on the bed and yanks the covers off me. Carter hugs me while giggling.

“Happy Father’s Day!” he yells. He jumps off and grabs the balloons from his mom. He lets them go and they float to the ceiling. He jumps on me again and kisses my cheek.

“Aaaah,” Priya, our one-year-old daughter says as she bounces in Nia’s arms. She reaches for me, and Nia puts her on the bed. She crawls on top of me and gives me a wet kiss on my chin.

“Good morning, my favorite baby doll,” I say to my daughter.

“Happy Father’s Day to the best daddy there ever was. You and my dad are tied so you know this is huge,” my wife says.

“High praise indeed. How about you come over here and give the father of your children a kiss.” She climbs on the bed too, puts both hands to my face, and plants a kiss on me.

“Yuck,” Carter says before a fit of giggles.

Priya laughs too right before she slaps me in the forehead.

“Come on,” Nia says. “There’s brunch downstairs. You’ve been sleeping the day away.”

“Because this baby doll kept me up all night.” I lift Priya and wave her around while Carter makes a noise like an airplane. She laughs, and a big glob of drool dribbles down onto my chest.

“Come on, Daddy.” Carter jumps off the bed and holds his hand out for me. I hand Priya to her mother and put on a T-shirt. I take Carter’s hand, and we follow Nia down the stairs in our new home. We had it designed and built to our exact specifications and moved in only two months ago. We still have the penthouse. There’s no way I will ever be able to sell it.

Life with my wife and children is as close to perfect as possible. Nia got pregnant right away, and she gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl practically nine months to the day after returning from Berlin.

That trip didn’t go as we expected but for the best reason. Of course, Mason and Kyle heard about it and begged to come with us. Ray offered to watch Carter so Nia and I could have a proper, kid-free honeymoon. We compromised. Ray and the boys joined us in Germany a week into our honeymoon, and we made the second half a family vacation. Hannah and Langley joined us for a few days, but Mother said she wasn’t up to traveling just yet.

When the doctor confirmed Nia’s pregnancy, I spent every spare moment with my wife. I experienced as much of the pregnancy as I could. I couldn’t keep my hands off her changing body, and I never missed a single doctor’s appointment. I made sure she ate well and got enough rest. Every day, I spoiled her and showed her how much I love her. Every day, I was reminded of what I missed out on when she was pregnant with Carter, and as much as I loved our life together, resentment about what I missed continued to fester.

After expressing my feelings to Wyatt, he told me to focus on the present. He reminded me that I got back everything that was taken from me and not to let resentment take the life I’ve built.

“Look, Daddy,” Carter says when we get to the kitchen.

“Happy Father’s Day!” my mom, brother, and sister yell out. Even Pixie barks from the other side of the room. There are colorful gift bags on the kitchen table and a buffet spread on the island.

My mom takes Priya from Nia and kisses her cheek, but Hannah takes her from my mom seconds later. Carter goes to Langley, and they rush out of the room while speaking in hushed tones.

I look at Nia, but she just shrugs. “Sit down, and I’ll take care of you,” she says. She gets on her toes and kisses my cheek.

“I think you should sit and let me take care of you. I’m only a father today because of you, baby girl. Have I told you I love you yet today?”

“You did, and I love you too. It’s your day. Come on. Eat because we have to go see my dad and Ray in a few hours.”

My relationship with my in-laws has gotten better. It took Nia’s father over a year to stop scowling at me, but once he held Priya in his arms for the first time, things between us finally changed. He stopped scowling and started treating me like a member of his family. Mrs. Nash told me that her husband sees how dedicated I am to my wife and family. She says he believes me about not knowing Nia was pregnant, and that he has forgiven me. Of course, he’s never told me any of that himself.

Nia’s relationship with my family has improved too. She’s one of us and is accepted by everyone. Her relationship with my family went from hostile to tentative to friendly. Ironically, she’s closest to Langley because she’s the connection between HR and the C-suite.

“Daddy,” Carter says, running into the kitchen with Langley behind him. I eye my brother, who is holding something under a big blanket. “I got you a present,” he says, practically bouncing on his heels. My eyes narrow at my brother. If this is what I think it is, I’m going to kill him.

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