Epilogue

Mila shifts around on the bed, her gaze bouncing from the machine beside her to the door and then to her stomach and back again. With her shirt pulled up and tucked beneath her bra, exposing her growing belly, it"s taking everything I have to keep my hands off her. I don"t know what it is about her being pregnant, but seeing her stomach growing to accommodate our baby makes me so fucking hard. I"m on her every chance I get. The second I"m not, I want her again.

She worries her bottom lip between her teeth, making it clear she"s thinking hard about something. She"s been antsy all day. At dawn, I woke up to find her in the nursery, just sitting in the rocking chair, staring out at the beach. I"m not sure what has her so freaked out about today, but it"s starting to worry me. She hasn"t been this worked up over an ultrasound since the very first one when we heard the baby"s heartbeat for the first time.

As soon as she heard it, she started crying. She"s been so fucking happy since then. Since the day I met her, I thought Mila was gorgeous. Now though? She"s something else altogether. So goddamn breathtaking, I don"t know how she"s mine. Happiness practically shimmers in the air around her. Even when she"s crying over every little thing, she looks settled and peaceful in a way she never has before. The little gleam of confidence and contentment in her eyes that first drew me to her is so much bigger now. It"s incredible.

"You nervous, sweetheart?" I ask, sliding my stool closer to the bed when her gaze bounces around the little room again. My knees are damn near in my chest on the damn stool, but I"ll survive. My hand slides across her stomach. The other cups her cheek, forcing her to look at me.

"No," she lies and then bites her lip again. "Maybe a little bit."

"Everything is going to be fine," I whisper, leaning forward to press my lips to her forehead. "Our little girl is strong and healthy, and today, you get to find out that I"m right, and we"re having a girl." Truthfully, I don"t care if we have a boy or a girl, but I love how she smiles at me whenever I tell her we"re having a girl. I"ll be happy regardless of the gender. How could I not be? Mila has my ring on her finger and my baby in her belly. Despite everything, the baby is healthy and growing, and as soon as he or she is here, Mila will be my wife.

I"m the luckiest motherfucker on the planet.

"I don"t know if I want a girl or a boy," she whispers back. "What if they say we"re having a girl, and I"m disappointed? Or if they say we"re having a boy and I"m disappointed?" Tears shine in her eyes, her distress apparent. "I don"t want to be disappointed. I don"t want to be a bad mom."

"Baby," I breathe, my heart aching at her words. I really fucking hate her father because I know damn well that"s where her fear is coming from. She doesn"t want to be like him. That she thinks she could ever be anything less than an incredible mom kills me. I know she"ll love our baby regardless of what we have. She already does.

"You"re not your dad, Mila," I tell her, putting my hands on her cheeks and forcing her to look at me again. "Since the minute you found out you were pregnant, you"ve done everything possible to make sure this baby is healthy. You already love him or her so much. I know that love is only going to grow. You could never be a bad mom, baby, because you are nothing like him. Okay?"

"Okay," she whispers, her green eyes roving across my face.

I wipe away the tears trembling on her lashes and then sit there, looking at her.

"Will you be disappointed if we have a boy?" she asks me.

"Fuck no," I say without hesitation. "I want a little girl who looks just like you because you"re fucking beautiful, and you"re so goddamn sweet. I know a little girl would be just as beautiful and sweet as you are. But if we have a boy, I"ll be happy, baby. Besides, I plan to get you pregnant again as soon as possible after you have this one."

"You really want more babies?"

"Hell yeah. I told you I want as many babies as you"ll give me, sweetheart."

"I thought you were joking."

I cock a brow at her and then lean down to whisper in her ear. "You"ve always been beautiful, baby, but seeing you pregnant with my kid is an entirely different level of sexy. You"ve kept me so fucking hard. All I think about is fucking you. If I could tie you to the bed and make you take my cock until you have this baby, I would."

"Roman," she whimpers, half-chastisement and half-plea. Her body shifts against the bed.

"What? I"m serious." I bite her lobe. "Your body is my goddamn playground, Mila. I never want to leave it. Those tits. That ass. That hot little pussy… Fuck. Being in you is all I think about." I"m not even kidding. When I have to go back to Los Angeles in a couple of days, I"m going to lose my mind all over again. She"s always been responsive, but she"s a walking, talking, wet dream now. As soon as I touch her, she"s ready to go. It"s hot as hell. Not being able to be in her every day is going to drive me up the fucking wall.

"Roman," she whimpers again, shifting restlessly. "You can"t say things like that."

"Why not? It"s true." I kiss her neck and then her forehead when someone knocks on the door. "I mean it, baby. I"ll show you how much as soon as we get home."

She whimpers, her gaze flying from mine to the door when Dr. Tanner walks in. I have to fight back the urge to groan at the heated look on her face. Her eyes are wide, and her cheeks are flushed with desire.

Christ, she"s beautiful.

"Mila, Roman," Dr. Tanner says, pushing the door behind him and smiling at Mila before nodding at me. He doesn"t like me much. Probably because I spend half of Mila"s appointments growling at him. I don"t give a fuck if he is her doctor, though. He"s young and single and smiles at her like a fucking idiot. Seeing his hands on her body pisses me off. If he weren"t the best OB/GYN in the area, he wouldn"t see her.

"Are you ready to find out what you"re having?" he asks, moving around the bed to the ultrasound machine set up on the far side.

Mila looks at me, biting her lip as worry slides through her eyes again.

I lean down and kiss her forehead and then her lips, trying to ease her mind. "You"re not going to be disappointed, baby," I whisper for her alone. "I promise you won"t."

"Okay," she whispers back and then looks up at Dr. Tanner and smiles sweetly. "We"re ready."

Dr. Tanner shoots me a look like he"s warning me to behave—which I"ll probably fucking ignore as soon as he touches her—and then holds up a bottle of lube or whatever it is they always smear all over her belly. "This will be cold," he tells her, the same thing he says every single time she has an ultrasound and then squeezes it out onto her abdomen.

If it"s cold, she doesn"t even flinch. Her eyes are already locked on the computer screen above the machine.

I slide my stool as close to the bed as I can get it. She slips one little hand into mine and squeezes like I"m a lifeline. I rub circles into the side of her neck with my free hand, trying to help her relax a little and enjoy this instead of worrying over nothing. She"s not going to be disappointed, and she"s going to be an incredible mom. Even if she still isn"t entirely convinced, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that she"s going to be amazing.

Dr. Tanner uses the wand to rub the gel around her abdomen. He turns toward the computer monitor and starts clicking on the keys as he moves the wand around. Within short order, the baby swims into focus on the screen. He works silently for several minutes, moving the wand around and clicking keys…taking measurements, and who knows what else.

"Your little one is doing great," he murmurs, glancing at Mila and giving her that smile I hate.

I resist the urge to growl at him this time, though, not wanting to upset Mila. Instead, I watch the screen, as fascinated as ever as our baby moves around. We still can"t feel her moving yet, at least I can"t—Mila has started feeling little flutters—but the baby is moving all over the place. Her little arms and legs flail like she"s annoyed by the entire ultrasound process.

"Hmm," Dr. Tanner says after a minute.

"Hmm what?" I ask when he doesn"t elaborate any further, and Mila tenses, her body going rigid.

"She"s measuring big for her gestational age," he explains after a brief pause. "She"s going to be tall."

"She?" Mila whispers.

My heart rolls in my chest.

Dr. Tanner looks at Mila and smiles again. "You"re having a little girl," he tells her before glancing at me. "Congratulations."

"Jesus," I whisper, my voice shaking as I stare at the screen.

We"re having a girl.

A quiet sob breaks from Mila"s lips. I immediately drop my gaze to her to find her smiling and crying at the same time. She looks so happy, so relieved…I lean down and kiss her hard on the mouth. I can"t fucking help it. This woman who owns me, body and soul, is giving me another little girl.

"Fuck," I mumble against her lips when my heart fills, and my eyes start to sting. A thousand different emotions sweep through me in a wave, each one better, more perfect than the last. I"m going to have another daughter. One as beautiful and sweet and courageous as the woman in my arms.

"Are you happy, baby?" I ask Mila when I can speak through the swell of emotion coursing through me. I pull back to look at her and cup her face between my palms before wiping away her tears.

"I"m so happy," she whispers, more tears falling as she smiles up at me. "We"re having a girl."

"I love you." I press my lips to her forehead and then to her eyelids and her cheeks. I can"t stop kissing her…worshipping her. Fuck, how"d I get so lucky?

"I love you so much, Roman," she whispers when I finally manage to pull away from her. Her earlier fears are gone, completely eradicated by the joy shining in her eyes and the happiness shimmering in the air around her. I don"t even have to ask to know she"s not disappointed. The truth is right there on her face, beaming at me like the sun.

I know the same reflects right back at her from my face. I"ve never been this fucking happy. With her smiling up at me like she is, I don"t even care that I"m going to lose my fucking mind trying to keep boys away from our daughter for the next thirty years. Nothing has ever felt so perfect before.

Nothing.