Extended Epilogue

ALINA

Fifteen Years Later

" D elaney! Austin! Get your brothers before they break something!"

From the top of my step ladder, I can only watch as my twin three-year-olds pull at one of the framed paintings I haven't managed to hang yet. From the other part of the building, Delaney, now 16, comes running to scoop them up, all three of them laughing. Austin lags behind, on his phone as usual.

We've got five days left until the grand re-opening of Sage and Salt, complete with the newly finished addition that I've been dreaming up for years—an art gallery all of my own.

Four years ago, I quit my job as a team lead at RenTech's graphic design department. The pay was excellent, and the job was fulfilling, but newly pregnant with the twins, I decided my time at the firm was over. A new adventure was calling.

After Delaney, Derrick managed to get me pregnant right away again with our middle child, Austin. Now, with the twins, we were a full house. Still, I wanted something of my own, which led to the brainchild that became the new and improved Sage and Salt—coffee shop and local art gallery.

Other artists from Cape May and the surrounding areas will be able to sell their creations here, and I will do the same, rekindling my love for the physical medium of painting over the digital that I had excelled in for so long.

Derrick, of course, is eager to help me bring my dreams into reality. He's been the perfect husband and father, and my business partner. Together, we have the perfect life.

"Do you want to go look at the rest of the place?" Derrick asks.

I jump, startled. "Derrick! When did you get here?"

He comes around to the front of the step ladder and offers his hand. I accept gratefully, stepping down from it. He's in a suit, and he looks as gorgeous as ever, especially since he's now got a bit of silver threaded through the hair at his temples. He kisses me gently, but as always, there's an underlying heat there that has never left. The kids all make noises of disgust from behind us, and I laugh.

"Austin, get your face out of that phone. You and Delaney watch the twins for a second, will you? I need to talk to your mother." The two older kids begin to complain, but he adds, "I stopped at the chicken place you like. Food is in the cafe."

They immediately cheer, and it's no wonder—there's not a single child alive who doesn't love chicken strips.

Derrick takes my hand and leads me outside, then points at the new signage. "What do you think?"

The sign is beautiful, carved from driftwood and painted a lovely rustic orange-red. "I think it's amazing. It's perfect."

Sage and Salt Cafe and Art Gallery.

"I'm proud of you," he says softly. "Have you considered my offer?"

I bite my lip, torn. Derrick wants to take me away for a weekend before the grand opening, back to Hawaii where we got married. He even talked my father and his girlfriend into keeping the kids, with Delaney doing a fair bit of helping too. It sounds amazing and the perfect way to cap our time off before the grand reopening of the cafe, but there's something holding me back from really enjoying the idea of Hawaii.

"I have..." I start slowly. "But what about somewhere else? Alaska?"

Derrick laughs, but he quickly realizes I'm not joking and sobers up. "Alaska? It gets plenty cold here, angel. Why would you want that?"

Telling him that I'm ashamed of the way my body has changed after four kids and that the thought of spending time in paradise makes me a little uncomfortable, isn't exactly something I want to do. Instead, I shrug and try to sound nonchalant. "Alaska is so unique and different. And it's beautiful there, don't you think? There's all that glacier stuff..."

Derrick frowns, and he cocks his head at me, eyes narrowed. "Something is going on here. What's wrong with Hawaii?"

I can't meet his eyes, and my gaze darts away. "It's nothing. Never mind."

"Angel, tell me. Do you not want to leave the twins? Is something bothering you?"

He looks so concerned, I can't lie to him. I sigh, giving in. "Derrick, I-I'm not as thin as I used to be is all."

He stares at me. "Come again?"

"I'm not as skinny anymore! You know, my hips are wider, and I've got a few stretch marks. Hawaii. Lots of bathing suit time. Don't you understand?"

"I think the pregnancy hormones are still making you a little loopy even 3 years later," he says, amusement in his eyes.

"Derrick, I'm serious."

His expression changes, and suddenly, he's serious. He pulls me to him, lowering his dark head to nip at my ear before growling, "You are sexier now than you've ever been. And I've never been more turned on by you."

I can't help the moan that slips from my lips. "Do you mean that, Derrick?"

"Fuck, yes. I love every inch of your body, Alina. Plus, now I don't have to be so careful about how I handle you."

The heat between us is immediate, and he backs me against the wall. My hands run down his muscular chest, and he bites my neck gently, making my breath hitch. "Say yes," he demands. "Let's get away. Just you and me. And I'll prove all of this to you until there's no doubt in your mind."

My eyes flutter closed, and I sigh. Derrick wants me. He still wants me, and not just physically. He loves me. The proof is on my finger and in our four children.

"Yes," I say finally.

With a feral grin of triumph, he kisses me, and it's full of promises for everything to come. "Then let's pack."

The End.

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