Page 71 of Sew Matcha in Love
I laughed and pulled her in for another kiss, a deeper one. “I’m so glad I skipped the Olympics.”
She pulled my face back to hers, and we picked up the kissing. At some point, I heard giggles and whispers.
“Is Wynnie going to be our stepmom?”
“I hope so! But—you don’t think she’ll be mean, do you?”
“Oh. Yeah, stepmoms can be mean. What will we do if she’s mean to us?”
“I don’t know. Lock her in a tower?”
“We don’t have a tower.”
“We’ll have to take her to a castle, then. Xavier has a castle! I’m sure he has a tower!”
“Yes, let’s ask him!”
It was hard to keep my lips from laughing, so I gave up trying.
Enough was enough. I pulled Arwyn to me and turned us to face the little plotters. “Wynnie doesn’t have a mean bone in her body, girls.”
Isla rested a hand on her hip and tilted her head. “Daddy, she helped you kill a snake.”
“Because she loves you,” I protested. “Requirement number one of agoodstepmom.”
“Daddy!” Amelie hopped with excitement. “There’s a list of requirements for a good stepmom?”
“There should be, don’t you think? Why don’t you girls go make one? Add ‘must love children’ on the first line.”
“Daddy, the first line is for the title of the list.” Amelie shook her head and turned to her sister. “C’mon, Isla. We have work to do!”
“That should keep them busy for five minutes.” I turned back to Arwyn, unable to stop the smile tugging at my lips. “Now, where were we?”
Her eyes sparkled as she whispered, “I believe we were in the middle of?—”
“This,” I finished for her, my voice a low murmur. My gaze dropped to her mouth—soft, inviting, and begging to be kissed.Slowly, deliberately, I slid an arm around her waist, pulling her close, feeling the warmth of her body against mine.
Her lips parted, a silent invitation, and I swooped her up into my arms. Her surprised chuckle dissolved into a gasp as I claimed her mouth with mine. The kiss was slow at first, tender, exploring, until the spark ignited into something more urgent. I shifted her in my arms so I could cup her cheek, and deepen the kiss, pouring every ounce of longing, hope, and promise into that moment.
When we finally pulled apart, her cheeks were flushed, her breath was shaky, and her eyes were locked on mine. I smiled, brushing a stray strand of auburn hair from her face. “Losing myself—then finding myself with you—is finding home.”
She melted in my arms, her lips curving into the kind of smile that made me want to kiss her all over again.
Epilogue
ARWYN
Four months later
The June day was warm, and by the time Zaki arrived with the RV, it was nearly stifling.
The Edge had lost in the Stanley Cup final to the Miami Ice Cats for the second year in a row, and now Zaki and the girls would be moving back to Montreal. His agent was hopeful the team there would sign him, and he’d found an apartment near Viki’s parents’ house to live in until I flew up there and we could go house-shopping.
House-shopping. I looked around my front room. Could I really leave? I still hadn’t decided on when I’d join them in Canada or what to do with my house.
This was my family’s home. It was where I grew up, where my dad grew up. Wherehisdad grew up. I’d never sell it.
With the money I’d earned from taking care of Isla and Amelie—which Zaki wouldn’t let me refuse to take—I’d fixed it up, repainted it, and let Beck and Liam have a field day redesigning the interior of the garage. When I moved to Montreal, what would become of my wedding dress library?
