Epilogue

Blaze

Three months later

I was sitting on the couch when I heard Harlow’s footsteps descending the stairs.

That simple sound meant the world to me.

Because it meant that she was here. She was alive.

And now, she was my wife.

Though it had been a surprise to me that she’d want it that way, Harlow and I got married in a small ceremony with our closest family and friends about a month after I proposed to her.

If she had wanted the big, extravagant wedding that would have meant needing to wait a year to plan for, I would have happily done anything to give it to her. But I loved that she was more interested in being married to me than anything else.

Harlow had gotten back from work just a little while ago, and she’d wanted to run upstairs to shower and change. I’d gotten home from work just before she did, so I’d started dinner and already had it in the oven. Things didn’t always work out that way, but I didn’t mind when it did.

When Harlow entered the room, she practically skipped over to me and bubbled, “I think I’ve finally got it.”

“Got what?” I asked, my brows pulling together.

“I’ve finally got the riddle that’s going to stump you,” she clarified as she settled herself on me, straddling my lap.

My lips twitched. She’d been at this ever since we met, and she had yet to succeed. But I loved her tenacity. She was determined to make it happen one of these days. While I didn’t know if she’d ever accomplish her goal, I was certainly enjoying the game and her enthusiasm for it.

“Alright, well, lay it on me,” I urged her.

“There’s a catch,” she warned me.

“Okay. What is it?”

“You only have one minute to solve the riddle.”

My eyes narrowed. “Is this what you have to do to win?”

She shrugged, feigning innocence. “If you’re that good, you’ll be able to solve it.”

I sighed. Maybe this would be her lucky day. “Alright. One minute to solve the riddle, then you tell me the answer if I can’t figure it out.”

Harlow nodded, excitement written all over her face. If the possibility of stumping me was going to make her this happy, maybe I’d need to reconsider my need to always get the answer right.

“When does one plus one not equal two?” she asked.

As soon as she got the question out, she hit the button on her phone for the timer. Seeing it, my mind immediately went to thoughts of a clock. I’d heard the riddles about when nine plus five equals two, and I thought she might have been doing something like that, but it didn’t work in this case. Thirty seconds in, I abandoned the theory about clocks and time. I shifted it to cases of math, but I quickly decided Harlow would not have come up with something that went outside the rules of general math.

Forty-five seconds in, I was truly stumped. And when those last ten seconds hit, I had a hard time focusing on anything other than the fact that Harlow was squirming in my lap with such excitement.

When the time was up, I noted, “You don’t play fair. I couldn’t concentrate at the end with your body writhing on top of mine.”

“I’m sorry. Do you want a few more seconds?” she asked.

If there was anything I’d learned about marriage over the last two months, it was that when my wife was happy, I was happy. I loved Harlow, and winning this round would make her night. I wanted to give that to her.

So I shook my head and answered, “No. I’m not even close to figuring it out. When does one plus one not equal two?”

She grinned, her face lighting up. “When it equals three.”

The smile that had been on my face vanished, and I shot her a curious look. “But when does that happen?”

As soon as the question was out of my mouth, Harlow’s entire expression changed. Tears filled her eyes, and her fingers pressed in on my shoulders. “When you and I make a baby.”

My hands, which had been resting on her hips, pressed in firmly as I allowed the words to sink in. “You’re pregnant?”

A tear spilled down her cheek, and she nodded. “Yes.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes,” she rasped.

“When did you find out?” I asked her, reaching up to cup her face.

“I stopped to grab a test on my way to work this morning. I took it as soon as I got there, and I’ve been dying to tell you all day. I was going to do something a bit more special, but I just didn’t want to wait to tell you. So, I figured I’d cheat with the riddle and put a time limit on it,” she replied.

I didn’t know what to do.

In an instant, my whole life had changed.

Of course, that had happened the moment I met Harlow and started spending time with her. But this was something else.

This was… This was crazy.

“We’re going to be parents,” I stated.

“We are,” she confirmed. “How do you feel about that?”

My eyes roamed over her face, taking in every gorgeous feature. “Like I was wrong about everything.”

She tipped her head to the side, and I couldn’t help but press a soft kiss to her lips. “What do you mean?”

“I thought our lives were perfect, that they couldn’t possibly get any better,” I started. “But it just hit me that I was mistaken. Things are about to change in the best way, and I can’t wait to see where this life leads us.”

“I love you, boss.”

“I love you, too, baby. Do you feel okay?”

“So far, so good.”

“Good.”

At that moment, the timer went off on the oven, indicating our dinner was ready. A huge smile broke out on Harlow’s face. “Dinner’s ready.”

“It is. Let’s get you and this baby fed, so you and I can celebrate this news afterward,” I told her.

She squirmed on my lap again before I groaned and stood with her in my arms. Then we made our way out to have dinner. Afterward, just as I’d promised, Harlow and I were sure to celebrate the news of our growing family.

And early the following summer, Harlow and I welcomed our daughter, Francesca, to the world.

It was the best day of our lives.