If You Love Me: EPILOGUE

“Fee, can you test this for me?” I hold out the spoon.

“Can I test it too?” Callie moves to stand beside her sister.

“Absolutely. Grab me another spoon.”

Callie opens the drawer, picks up another one, and passes it to me. Fee waits while I dip it into the marinara.

“It’ll be hot, so blow on it before you taste it,” I warn.

“You tell us this every time.” Fee blows on her spoon.

“I know. I’m a dad. It’s engrained in my dad DNA to protect you from even the smallest of potentially harmful situations. Like a burned tongue.”

Callie giggles and blows on hers too. Then they test the sauce at the same time. It’s a regular ritual in our house. Whenever we can, we make dinner together, and the girls always perform a taste test before we plate the meals.

“What do we think?” I ask.

“Maybe a touch more salt,” Callie suggests.

“Just a pinch and it’s perfect,” Fee agrees.

“Who wants to do the honors?” I ask.

“It’s Callie’s turn.” Fee passes her sister the salt.

Fee has settled in over the past couple of months. It helps that it’s off-season and that I’ve retired from the league. She had to deal with a lot of speculation from her peers during her final months of high school, but she still graduated with honors. She was also accepted to Tilton, the same university as Tally, and they’re both excited to have a friend on campus.

Callie adds a pinch of salt, and Fee stirs it in. We perform taste test number two and deem it fit for consumption.

I send a message to Peggy, letting her know dinner is ready. We have a family dinner at least twice a week. Our table is always full of life and laughter, but especially when I’m surrounded by my girls and my best friend.

Peggy and Hollis come over with a salad to add to the table. She hugs me and does the same with Fee and Callie. They’ve grown close over the past several months, and so have Peggy and Lexi. My daughter regularly reminds me that my wife is a decade younger than me and closer to her age than mine.

Life couldn’t be better.

“Where’s Lexi?” Peggy asks.

“She was tackling a few emails in the home office. I’ll go get her.”

“It’s okay. I can do it.” Fee rushes down the hall.

“Thanks, kiddo,” I call after her.

Fee reappears in time to help us bring everything to the dining room, but she’s alone. “Lexi’s coming. She fell asleep.”

“Is she feeling okay?”

“Yup! She’s fine,” her voice pitches up.

I narrow my eyes. “Are you sure?”

“Super-duper sure. She’s in the bathroom. She said she’ll just be a minute.” She grabs the Caesar salad and heads for the dining room.

We put dinner on the table, and Lexi appears a minute later, hair pulled up on top of her head in a messy bun. Her eyes are still heavy with sleep, and she has pillow lines on her face.

“You okay, angel?”

“I’m fine. I just passed out hard, I guess. Sorry to keep you all waiting.” She rounds the table and gives Peggy a hug before she takes her seat next to mine, leaning in to kiss my cheek.

“You’ve been tired lately.” I kiss her forehead. She’s sleep warm, but not fever warm.

“I promise I’m fine.” She squeezes my hand, then addresses the table. “Dig in, everyone. This looks great!”

Fee bites her lips together, and the two of them exchange a look.

“Okay.” I set the serving spoon down. “What’s going on?”

“What?” Lexi blinks up at me, but her voice is pitchy.

I motion between her and Fee. “As Fee would say, there’s a vibe.”

“Oh!” Peggy grabs Hollis’s hand. “Oh! I think I know.” Her face lights up with excitement.

“Know what?” Hollis is obviously as confused as me.

Lexi takes my hand and rolls her shoulders back. “I’m pregnant.”

Everything slows as I turn to face my wife. She looks serious, and expectant, as she smiles up at me.

I settle my hand on her low belly. “Pregnant?”

She nods. “Pregnant.”

Time moves again, the air suddenly electric with emotion.

“This is so exciting!” Peggy hugs Hollis’s arm.

Callie’s mouth drops open.

Fee claps gleefully.

“When did you find out?”

“Like ten minutes ago,” Fee offers helpfully.

“I’ve been feeling…not myself. Tired. And I’ve had an upset stomach, so I took a test and fell asleep waiting for the results. Fee woke me up and surprise!” She does jazz hands.

I push my chair back and pull her to her feet. I take her face in my hands, my smile so wide it feels like it could split my cheeks. “We’re having a baby.” I kiss her, then hug her, then run my palms up and down her arms. I don’t know what to do with myself. “We need to get you to the doctor. How far along are you? We’re having a baby!”

She laughs. “We are having a baby.”

“Are you ready for a baby?” I ask, although that question is rather pointless since it’s already happening.

Her eyes shine with happiness. “We’ve got this.”

I press my lips to hers again, then skim her cheek until I reach her ear. “We’re having a private celebration tonight after everyone else goes to bed.”

“Of course we are. If I can stay awake.”

There’s a flurry of hugs and laughter and tears, all happy ones. I’m over the fucking moon. Dinner is full of buoyant chatter. Callie’s already excited about being a big sister. Peggy is all smiles, and Fee is clearly thrilled because she found out before anyone else. She needs that closeness with Lexi.

After dinner, we gather in the living room. “I feel like we need a family meeting,” Fee declares.

“I think that’s a great idea.” I stretch my arm across the back of the couch, and Lexi snuggles into my side.

Peggy makes a move to stand, but Fee grabs her hand. “I want you to stay. We’re all family.”

“You’re sure?”

“We want you to be part of this.” Fee rubs her hands up and down her thighs. “So, Callie and I have been talking⁠—”

“—about our last name!” Callie finishes.

“Ours is different than Lexi’s and yours, and now that we’re a family and we’re going to have a little sister or brother, we thought maybe we could all have a last name that matches.”

“I love this.” Peggy rests her cheek against Hollis’s arm.

“You can have the same last name too!” Callie says.

“Thank you, Callie, but eventually I’ll be a Hendrix. Although, I’m all for designing a family crest to unite us.”

“That would be so cool! Fee can draw it!”

Lexi kisses the back of my hand. “I love all of this.”

“Should we make a list of last names we like? I can grab a pen and piece of paper from the kitchen,” I suggest.

“Or we can use my iPad.” Fee gets it from the table, along with the art pen. “Seriously, Roman, sometimes it’s like you’re already in your grandpa era.”

“He likes paper lists.”

“I like paper lists,” Peggy and I say at the same time.

Everyone laughs. And I love it. I love that I’m surrounded by my favorite people and we’re having a family summit about our last name. And that I get to be a dad all over again in just a handful of months.

“The trees thank me for intervening.” Fee grins cheekily, then offers, “So we could do a mash-up, like Forrest-Stein.”

“What about Forehammer?” Callie asks.

Hollis hides his face in Peggy’s hair.

Fee purses her lips and writes it down. “Forehammer, got it.”

“Forrest-Hammer? Or Hammer-Forrest? What about including part of your last names as well?” Lexi asks.

“I’d like to add that as another middle name since Rose can work as a first name, too,” Fee says.

“Can I do that, too?” Callie asks.

“Of course.” We lob names back and forth, writing them all down, then narrowing the list to our top two favorites before we vote and settle on Forrest-Hammer.

“We can get started on the paperwork right away so it’s in place for school in the fall.” I want these girls to feel like this family is truly theirs, not a replacement for what they lost, but something new they can grow with.

That sparks a conversation about university for Fee and how excited she is about being on campus with Tally, especially since they’re in the same program, and Tally has all her notes from first-year classes.

Eventually Peggy and Hollis excuse themselves, and I walk them to the door.

I turn to Hollis. “Can I have a minute with Peggy?”

“Of course.” He gives me a back-pat man hug. “Congratulations. You deserve this.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

He kisses Peggy on the cheek and crosses the hall, disappearing into their penthouse.

“Are you really okay with me changing my last name?” I ask.

She takes my hands and smiles up at me. “Absolutely, Dado. One hundred percent yes. Hollis is going to propose soon enough, and then I’ll be a Hendrix. Callie and Fee need this, they need you, and to feel like they’re part of this family. I think it’s a beautiful thing to do, for all of you. And I’m so, so thrilled that you get to have a baby with Lexi.” She squeezes my hands, and her eyes well. “I’ve waited a long time to see you happy like this. You have the biggest heart. I have felt so loved and cared for and protected, and now they get to have that, too. You deserve to be a dad with someone, and Lexi is the perfect person for you. You balance each other, just like Hollis and I balance each other.”

“No one will ever replace you. You know that, right?”

“Oh, Dad.” A tear leaks out of the corner of her eye. She doesn’t try to hide it or wipe it away. She hugs me tightly before she steps back. “We have the most special relationship. But now you get to be my friend, and not just a parent. And I get to watch you be the most amazing dad to these girls. To see you this happy fills my heart with so much joy.”

I pull her against my chest. “I love you, kiddo.”

“I love you, too, Dado. Now go dote on your girls.” She backs up and winks. “I’ve had the pleasure for twenty-two years. It’s about time someone else gets the experience.”

I give her one last squeeze and wave her across the hall, then go in search of my wife. I find her in the spare room. Someone has already taped two pictures to the wall with nursery ideas. I wrap my arms around her waist from behind and settle a palm on her stomach. “Was this you?”

She shakes her head. “Fee.”

“She feels good about finding out first.”

“I was holding the test in my hand when she woke me up.” She turns in my arms and runs her hands up my chest. “How’s Peggy?”

“Happy. Supportive. Excited to have another sibling.” I skim her cheek. “How did I get so lucky?”

“I keep asking myself the same thing,” she whispers.

“However you want this to look, Lexi, we’ll make it work. If you want to take time off, if you want to go back so you can stay focused on your career, I’ll support you, no matter what. We’re in this together. We’re a team, you and me and the girls and this baby. We’ve got each other.”

“I love you so much. I love how safe you make me feel. Protected, cared for.” Her fingers brush along the edge of my jaw. “I didn’t know this kind of love was possible, and now that I have it, now that I have you, I can’t believe I let you go in the first place.”

“We found our way back to each other.” I kiss her hand. “When the girls are in bed, I’d like to show you exactly how much I love you.”

A coy smile quirks the side of her mouth. “Let me check on Callie.”

It’s another half an hour before I close and lock the bedroom door. I take my time with Lexi, teasing her, tasting her, kissing every inch of her before I settle between her thighs.

“Everything is so sensitive.” She moans as my cock slides over her clit.

I stroke her cheek with my thumb. “I look forward to the third-trimester hormones and your insatiable appetite for my cock.”

“I’m already insatiable.” She rolls her hips and whispers against my lips, “Please, fuck me.”

“How can I say no to you, angel?” I line myself up. “Especially when you’re being so polite.”

She bites my shoulder to muffle her moan, and I shudder at the sensation of being sheathed in her softness. Slipping my fingers into the hair at the nape of her neck, I grip gently. “My beautiful wife, I’m going to fuck you sweetly as often as you like.” I pull out to the ridge and push back in, slowly, gently.

“Please, yes.” Lexi pulls my mouth to hers, muffling her soft mewls and needy moans. After a little while, she comes in waves, body quaking with her release, and I follow, sated in a way I’ve never been before.

After I clean her up, I gather her in my arms.

She lifts her head, brow furrowed. “Oh crap.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I have to get a new dress for Rix and Tristan’s wedding. I’ve already gained five pounds. There’s no way I’ll fit into that slinky number a month from now.”

“As if I need a reason to spoil you. We’ll take you and the girls shopping tomorrow and get you something you’ll feel comfortable in.” I kiss her temple.

“They’ll love that.” She laces our fingers. “It’s wild that Connor is coming.”

“Tristan invited the whole team. He’s not the kind of guy to leave one person out.”

“Hmm… We should place bets on who we think is most likely to engage in the dreaded wedding hookup.”

“Flip’s been on his best behavior lately, so he might have a slipup,” I note.

“It could happen. It is his sister’s wedding, after all.” Lexi makes circles around my nipple.

“What about Dred?” I muse.

“Oh! That’s possible. Who would she hook up with, though? None of the guys from the team would go there.” Lexi traces the outline of my pecs.

“You don’t think Flip would?” He’s been pretty adamant that they’re just friends, but who knows.

“Oh no.” Lexi grimaces. “They’re like brother and sister. But the most drama would come from a Connor and Dred hookup.”

“Oh. That’s vicious, but I can see it. They got along surprisingly well when we planned the whole Christmas surprise.”

“And he drove her home,” Lexi adds.

“That’s true. I just don’t know if Dred would be willing to go there with the guy who fucked her best friend’s sandwich.”

“I still have a hard time believing that happened.” Lexi snorts as she rolls over and rests her chin on my chest.

“What about Tristan’s middle brother and Rix’s bestie? Those two are hella awkward around each other.” She’s forever putting on lip gloss when he’s around and he’s forever trying not to stare at her.

Lexi’s eyes light up. “Oooh, do you think there’s history there?”

I shrug. “Dunno, but as Peggy would say, there’s a vibe.”

“Okay, so my money is on Dred and Connor and yours is on Nate and Essie?” she confirms.

“Sounds good.”

“If I win, I get to pick the position for an entire week,” Lexi declares.

“And if I win, I get to go down on you for as long as I want.”

Her grin turns impish. “I almost hope you win.”

I roll her over and fit myself between her thighs again. “Oh, angel, I already have.”

The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!