EPILOGUE

EPILOGUE

Four years later, Permata

‘PAPA,WHATISTHAT? Is it magic?’

Dax looked at Laia in the moonlight and smiled. He turned his attention back to his daughter, Liselle, held high in his arms. They stood at the shoreline on the beach on Permata.

‘No, it’s not magic, but it looks like it, hmm? It’s called bioluminescence, or phosphorescence.’

Their three-year-old daughter tried to repeat the word. ‘Fozzi-essence?’

Dax chuckled. ‘That’s it.’

Liselle clapped her hands. ‘Can I touch it?’

‘Of course. Let’s go into the water.’

Laia smiled as she watched her husband wade into the shallows holding Liselle by the hand. She was squealing with delight, exactly as Dax had envisaged.

And soon, when their son Demetriou started walking—which looked like any day now—he would join Liselle in the magic water. He was asleep on Laia’s shoulder now, his sturdy body a welcome heavy weight.

Laia looked up to the moonlit sky in a bid to keep back emotional tears. She had everything she’d ever dared to dream of and so much more. A man she loved who loved her. Endless passion. A family.

A growing family!

Maddi and Ari had just had twins, so now they had three children. Max, who was almost the same age as Liselle, and Tomas and Sara.

They hadn’t been able to come on this trip, due to the twins’ imminent birth, but Permata had become a private special haven for both families.

And Isla’Rosa was developing at a rate of knots—thanks to her clever husband. Much to Ari’s chagrin, it was fast becoming one of Europe’s biggest hubs for software development, keeping young people from emigrating and drawing people who wanted to live and work in a Mediterranean climate from all over the world.

The people of Isla’Rosa adored Dax, their King Consort. And the peace pact between Santanger and Isla’Rosa was a solid and enduring thing. Healing generations of hurt and pain.

Dax came back, holding Liselle. He put her down and reached for Demi, and Laia handed him over. Their little boy made a sound, but promptly fell back to sleep on his father’s shoulder.

Dax took Laia’s hand, and in her other hand she held her daughter’s.

‘Home?’

Laia nodded.

He saw her emotion and he kissed her. It was an acknowledgement and a promise of so much more to come.

She smiled. ‘Yes, let’s go home.’

Read on for an extract from THE BUMP IN THEIR FORBIDDEN REUNION by Amanda Cinelli