Epilogue
Caroline
Two years later
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GLANCING DOWN AT THElumpy mixture in the bowl, I scowled.It didn’t seem to matter how much effort I put into the task, how much I tweaked the recipe or what ingredients I used, I was definitely no baker.
“Having fun over there?”
I turned to find Adam leaning against the wooden doorframe, his smirk suggesting that he already knew the answer.
“No,” I huffed, discarding my wooden spoon into the basin.“This is an utter disaster.”
“But you look so adorable in your apron.”His tone was intentionally sarcastic as he closed the distance between us.“Quite the little wife.”
“I’m no one’s wife,” I reminded him curtly, shuffling away from his roaming hand as I transferred the failed mixture to join the spoon.
Frustrated at my botched attempts at the dough, I flicked on the faucets and washed the damp flour from my fingers.
“No.”His voice had hardened, and I paused at the resonance, conscious of the way my heart rate accelerated.“You’re much more than that, little girl.”
I turned to acknowledge the dark glint in his stunning blue gaze.We’d been together for more than two years, yet all it took for me to come to heel was that look in his eyes and the subtle edge in his voice.Coupled with the way he employed my pet name, I could already sense my knees buckling as they instinctively sought a softer surface to fall onto than the kitchen floor.
“I’m sorry, Sir.”Drying my hands on the tea towel, I tossed the fabric aside and edged closer to him.“I shouldn’t have been so dismissive.”
It had been a year since I’d stopped seeing him as Harper, the man who’d managed Fortorus, and only acknowledged him as Adam, the man who worshipped me.From time to time, though, he liked to remind me that the tyrant still lurked below the surface and could be roused when I deserved his attention.
“You’re worried about the visit.”One of his eyebrows cocked as though daring me to counter him.“That’s it, isn’t it?”
His hands wrapped around me, one large palm splaying over my back while the other grabbed my ass.
“A little.”I frowned, acknowledging how much our upcoming guests were stirring my old trepidation.
Adam and I had lived together in such blissful harmony since buying the house in France that the idea of anyone coming to stay seemed daunting.
Naturally, I was ecstatic to be seeing Mum and my sister, Bonnie, again.It had been years since I’d been able to sit in the same room and hug them.But I still wasn’t sure how they’d take to the man who’d made me the happiest woman in the world, especially given our less-than-conventional dynamic and the fact that he had once been the commander general of Fortorus.They had seen and spoken to him on video calls a few times since we’d settled in France, but their imminent arrival would be the first time they’d ever met Adam in person.
“Or a lot.”He winked at me, the hand at my backside swatting my cheeks.“Tell me the truth, little girl.”
“Yes, Sir.”I exhaled, realizing how much anxiety I’d been holding onto over the impending visit.“I’m feeling stressed about the whole thing.I want everything to be perfect, but there’s so much still to do before they arrive on Tuesday.”
I couldn’t wait for us to all be together again, to be a family, but after so many years of separation and the rollercoaster of ups and downs Adam and I had been through, there was some apprehension about how everything would play out.
“I told you not to worry.”He chuckled, pulling my body flat against his hard physique.“They’re family, sweetheart.No one expects culinary perfection.Maggie and Bonnie just want to see you.”
“And to meet you.”
I glanced up to meet his eyes, still conscious of how strange it was to hear my family’s names on his lips.The truth was, after months of living together in the French countryside in an amazing renovated farmhouse that Adam’s money had more than covered the costs of, he was more like family than the woman who’d birthed me.
