"I want to feel you come for me now," I said against her ear. "Let go for me."
I pinched her again and her groan turned into a gusting wail. She was unbelievably hot and wet, and when her muscles fluttered around me, I folded her into my arms as I emptied myself into her. We rolled together, still panting and sighing, and I couldn't help but kiss every inch of skin I could reach. Those kisses told her how much I wanted her, how much I loved her, how she was mine.
And she was mine, in as great a way as any single person could possess another.
She glanced over her shoulder at me. "Twins and triplets run in your family, don't they?"
I grinned. "It passes on the mother's side."
She shifted until her back was flat against the mattress, her head pillowed on my arm. "I probably should've asked that before"—she gestured between us—"any of this."
"Would it matter?"
She gave me a wink that tightened my chest with how adorable it was, saying, "No. It wouldn't. I don't think there's anything that could change this."
I eased my arm out from under her and made my way to the bottom of the bed. "And you're all right with that?"
"I'm more right than anything else." Her lips quirking, she asked, "What are you doing down there? What are you doing now?"
I settled between her legs, my shoulders forcing her thighs open wide. "Giving you everything you've ever wanted."
Epilogue
Jasper
The next autumn
I usedto think getting fired was the worst thing that had ever happened to me. That losing my job—the only thing at which I'd ever been good and the source of all my pride and confidence—had crushed me in the most absolute sense.
And it did, it completely crushed me. It stripped me right down to the barest of my bones. It took away everything I believed to be right and true about myself.
It forced me to figure out what Iwantedto be true about myself.
It made for a tough year but it was a really important one too.
I started working at a local organization focused on expanding voter registration, knowledge, and engagement. Community activism was a good fit for me, areallygood fit, but all I'd ever known was diving head and shoulders into work and I couldn't do that anymore. I didn'twantto do it anymore. I needed Linden to help me enforce limits like leaving the office at a certain time, switching off my phone when I was at home, committing to work-free weekends whenever possible. Obviously, this required more than a gentle reminder from my lumberbear and there were more than a few situations where I found myself tackled at the front door and relieved of my phone and laptop. A few other situations where my phone just disappeared for the weekend. Another when Linden called me from outside the office and gave me a three-minute warning to pack up for the day unless I wanted him to march in and toss me over his shoulder.
The past year was tough. It was good—wonderful, really—but it was tough.
We hired a crew to complete the work at Midge's cottage. It wasn't like I could refinish the hardwood floors myself or replace the roof or update the electrical system. And goddamn, that porch. That porch. It made sense to hand that over to the professionals, especially since my mom and Martin visited in the spring and we rented it out shortly after.
I asked my mother-in-law to help me clean out Midge's room since she'd only met the woman in passing and wouldn't burst into flame if she came across a stray dildo. True to form, Diana had the place packed up and straightened out in an afternoon, and she didn't say a single word about sex toys.
Oh, yeah. Mymother-in-law. I didn't bother with anyfuturebusiness and it wasn't like Diana would allow such a thing anyway. Linden made good on that over the top proposal promise with a New Year's Eve party at a restaurant in Boston. Instead of everyone yelling "Happy New Year" at midnight, they fell silent while he pulled out a ring. After I sobbed all the tears in my body and managed a jerky nod that yes,yes,I'd totally marry him, the confetti flew and the "Happy New Years" rang out and that year started off right.
I found best friends—sisters, really—in Magnolia and Zelda though those relationships didn't come easily to me. I still found myself waiting to text them if they hadn't texted me yet in a given day. I didn't know how to ask for their help without immediately acknowledging their assistance in excessive ways. It wasn't until Zelda sat me down over the summer and explained that I could not send her dozens of cookies every time she joined me for a wedding dress fitting or offered her opinion on flowers or bands. She insisted she wouldn't help if she didn't have the time or interest, and she didn't need more than my words of gratitude. Especially since Ash devoured all the cookies before Zelda even got her hands on them.
Linden and Magnolia's partnership launched without a hitch. Instead of regular office meetings, they decided to sit down together at Magnolia's South End brownstone every Friday afternoon at three. Ash often joined too. Those gatherings quickly expanded to include a family dinner and we rotated between our homes. It was my favorite part of the week. I loved hosting everyone at our house or visiting Ash and Zelda or Magnolia, Rob, and the twins in Boston. I loved these newborn traditions of ours. I loved having a home and people to fill it with.
And now, a full year since losing my job and all the things I thought I knew about myself, I glanced in the mirror in my hotel room to check my hair one more time before a limo delivered me and my bridesmaids to the orchard where I'd walk down the aisle to marry Linden. My hair was in the same wavy style as always but though I didn't think of it as my something old. The handkerchief sewn into the lining of my gown, right over my heart, was something old.
I'd borrowed the single strand of pearls around my neck from my mother. She'd worn them on her wedding day.
The perfectly peach flats peeking out from under my creamy white gown were new—a gift from my best ladies, Zelda and Magnolia.
The bite mark on the underside of my breast was something blue.
As I stared at my reflection, I caught sight of Linden watching me from the doorway. He eyed the lace running down to my wrists, over my back. It felt appropriately vintage to me, nearly Grace Kelly in its vibe.
