She nodded. “In my last letter, mommy said that I had to help her. She said that you were the perfect daddy to us and to her. She said you needed a beautiful princess to live in your castle with you. To take care of you and make you happy.”
My heartbeat staggered for just a moment as I remembered my conversation with Neha the first night I saw Ashrika. Was fate set on playing with my emotions?
“Mommy said she was your soulmate but she had to go away. She said I had to help her find you another one who would make you smile wider, make you laugh like there was no tomorrow and cry tears of happiness and sadness. When Ashrika came to visit us that first time, I knew she was the one daddy, I knew she was your soulmate, your perfect princess like mommy said she would be.”
I gulped air quickly into my lungs as I tried hard to breathe. “How, baby?” I whispered.
“At the farm when you fell in the shit—oops.” She slammed a hand to her mouth. I laughed and eased her hand off her mouth, nodding it was okay. She continued speaking, “when you fell trying to help Ashrika and then when we all had the food fight in the kitchen, and you played too. You never laughed liked that before, daddy. It was fun but you were smiling and laughing differently. And when she left you and we came from grandma’s you were crying, you were sad just like mommy said you would be.”
I thought back to that day Ashrika found out the truth about her identity and how she’d reacted. It was the first time in my life since losing Krisha, I’d cried so hard that when the kids returned, I couldn’t hide my tears from them no matter how hard I tried. Both of them had hugged me which I found ironic given I was the parent, I needed to comfort and they’d comforted me.
“And when you told us you were going to marry Ashrika, you cried that day, daddy, you cried happy tears. You see daddy, mommy was right and I believed for you and it came true.”
“Fuck.” I pulled her into my chest, holding tight until she could barely breathe.
She finally leaned back, and trailed her little fingers across my face then touch her wet cheeks too. “Are we crying happy tears, daddy?” I nodded, too emotionally stuffed to speak, and grabbed her to my chest again.
“That looks like the perfect hug, can we join?”
I looked behind me to find Ashrika and Nicky standing there, hand in hand. Their tears told me they’d heard the conversation. I nodded to them and stretched out my free arm. They both fell to grass and pushed into my embrace until we all fell over. Within seconds we burst out laughing and I pulled both my kids to my chest.
“You guys are the best and love you with all my heart.”
“We too, daddy,” they mumbled in unison when they pulled back.
“Can we go see the tree house now?” Nicky asked.
“First, daddy owes me money for cursing just now.” Neha held out her hand.
I chuckled at her vigilance. “Credit?” She nodded.
Laughing, they both scooted up to the house. Nicky on the rope and Neha up the ladder. With a soft sigh, I turned and pulled the woman who’d made my life complete, into the crook of my arms. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” She stared up at me. “It seemed like my sister was the ultimate romantic?”
“She was, and I had no idea what she’d written in their last letters now I can understand why they didn’t want to show it to me. It seems like both were for me and they had a mission to complete.” Grinning, I traced a slow finger over her lips.
“Yep, make their arrogant father fall in love again,” she teased.
“It’s because I was arrogant that you’re lying here, in my arms on the grass on a bright sunny day when you would be locked in your restaurant, sweating for hungry diners.”
“Hey, don’t diss my diners.” She punched my arm playfully. “If it wasn’t for them, you wouldn’t be sitting here, holding me in your arms.” She laughed.
Somehow, I doubted that. “Serendipity, sweetheart.” I captured her mouth in a soft kiss, knowing that fate had, in fact, had a plan for me all this time, it just hadn’t told me what it was or more importantly, how intricate my love life would be. And I’d never change a damn thing about it.
