Charlotte stood completely still for several moments until she spoke again.
“Considering you just told me you never wish to see me again, it seems like you went through a fair bit of trouble on my behalf.”
“Your life is your own now. You need answer to no one. You have your freedom.”
“Yes,” Charlotte answered, taking a small step forward. “And now that I have my freedom, I want to use it to stay here—with you.”
Robert’s jaw tightened. He would not allow himself to hope. Not again. Not unless he was certain this was what Charlotte truly wanted. “Are you quite sure?” he asked, knowing full well that his heart would shatter to pieces if she left him for a second time.
“I’m sure that I love you. I’m very sure of that.”
Robert remained silent at Charlotte’s simple declaration. The air in the room seemed to spark with anticipation as she moved forward to leave no distance between them. Giving her ample time to move away, Robert gripped her waist as he leaned down and closer still, gently pressing his lips to hers. He had already begun to kiss her for a second time when another shattering crash echoed through the house.
Charlotte pulled back with a sigh. “I’m also sure that George and I will be the death of your butler if you still wish to marry me.”
“Hollis is more resilient than you think. He will adore George in less than a week. You...maybe a few months. A year at the most.”
“But you love me, don’t you?”
Robert wrapped his arms fully around Charlotte then, basking in the knowledge that he never had to let go again. “More than anything,” he said.
“Then why didn’t you come back to Greenspeak after my father was sent away? It’s been six months since I saw you last.”
Robert grinned and kissed Charlotte once more, softer and more sweetly than either had ever experienced. “I just had to believe that I would see you again someday, and then all the waiting would be worth it.”
Charlotte smiled up at Robert, silently promising to give him the life they had both always wished for. She would see to it that their home was forever a place filled with laughter and warmth and above all else, love.
Epilogue
Five Years Later
“It’s your turn.”
Agitated gurgling noises echo from the baby monitor and are growing louder by the second.
“No way,” I answer. “Those two belong to you and you alone until midnight.”
“I’ll give you a million dollars if you go instead.” Ryan’s words are barely audible with his face pushed down into the pillow like it is.
I pull the covers more snugly around me and turn the other way. “You already owe me twelve million.”
His hands slip around my waist, pulling me back until I’m flush against him. He breathes in deep along the side of my neck and I’m somehow able to smile through my exhausted haze.
“They like you better than me,” he says.
I flip onto my back. “Yeah, right. Mia is a daddy’s girl through and through.”
“She smiles more for you, though.”
“That’s because I stare and sing and talk to her all day. She only smiles at me to throw me a bone and to keep me from fully descending into insanity.”
“No, she loves you.” Ryan twists away and grabs the baby monitor screen from off the nightstand. “Tim is still passed out like a champ, though. Maybe if we wish really hard, Mia will go back to sleep.”
Ryan and I both close our eyes and ten seconds later, we have two ten-month-old babies crying at full blast.
I open my eyes and look over at my husband, fully defeated. “My wish didn’t come true.”
Ryan looks back at me with a drowsy but content smile. “Mine did.” He rolls over and kisses me before dragging himself out of bed.
