“Is that a yes?” I laughed.
“YES, Jack. Yes, I will marry you.”
I slipped the two-carat white gold ring on her finger, kissed it, and stood up, hugging her as tightly as I could.
“I love you so much and I promise to give you the world.”
“I love you too and you’ve already given me the world, Jack.”
The patrons on the top deck started to clap and congratulated us as we stepped onto the elevator.
Chapter Fifty-One
Lorelei
Six Months Later
It was a perfect September day. Not only weather-wise, but because it was also my wedding day. These past six months were extremely busy with moving into the new house, designing a wedding dress, and planning the perfect wedding.
“Are you nervous?” Stella asked as she fixed my veil.
“Just a bit. Just think; you’ll be doing this too in less than a year.”
“I know. I can’t wait. It’s about time Sebastian came to his senses and proposed.”
My mom walked into the room with Hope and her eyes filled with tears.
“Mom. Don’t. I can’t have you breaking down on my wedding day.”
She walked over to me and took hold of my hand. “These are tears of happiness and you’re my daughter and I can cry if I want to.” She smiled.
Grace, the wedding planner, walked into the room and told us it was time to start lining up for the ceremony. We were having a sunset ceremony and reception at the Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers, which included over five hundred guests.
As I stood behind the doors at the edge of the white runner, Nick gave my hand a squeeze.
“He’s a good man, Lorelei.”
“I know he is.” I laid my head lightly on his shoulder.
The music started to play and Nick walked me down the aisle to my soon-to-be husband. He was the only person I saw as I slowly made my way to him. He looked so handsome and sexy in his black tuxedo and I couldn’t wait to become his wife.
“You look so beautiful,” he whispered as he took my hand from Nick.
“So do you.”
The ceremony was perfect, right down to Hope handing Jack my wedding ring. Once the ceremony ended, we headed to the reception, where we greeted our guests, drank, ate amazing food, and danced the night away. As Jack and I were talking to Garrett and Coco, Hope came up and pulled on Jack’s tuxedo.
“What is it, baby?” he asked as he knelt down.
“I have a question.”
“Okay. Shoot.”
“Can I call you Daddy instead of Jack now?”
I gulped and Coco placed her hand on my arm.
“I would love nothing more than for you to call me Daddy, Hope.” He pulled her into him and hugged her while looking up at me with tears in his eyes.
Coco and I both wiped the tears that fell down our faces. Hope broke their embrace and placed her hands on each side of his face. “I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you too, baby.” He picked her up and held her tightly against him.
“Mommy, why are you crying?” she asked.
“I’m just so happy, Hope. That’s all.”
“Me too. We’re a real family now.” She smiled.
****
Jack and I spent our honeymoon in Hawaii. As we were sitting on the beach, enjoying the sun and sipping on fruity drinks, he looked over at me.
“I think I want a baby, Lorelei.”
“Huh?” I looked at him in shock. “I think you’ve had too much to drink.” I laughed.
“I’m serious. I think we should give Hope a sibling.”
“Right now? We’ve been married three days, sweetheart.”
“I know. But think about it. How awesome would it be to have a baby in the house?”
“I think it would be amazing, but I’m not ready to have another baby yet.”
He let out a sigh of relief. “Okay. Me either. I was just trying to find out how you felt about it. I saw the way you were looking at those baby clothes in that shop yesterday.”
“Jack, I love baby clothes, but it doesn’t mean I’m looking to have one right now.”
He leaned over and kissed me. “Promise me something.”
“Anything.”
“That we can have one within the next couple of years.”
“That sounds perfect.” I smiled as we continued our kiss.
Epilogue
Jack
“Mom, Dad, it came!” Hope ran into the house waving an envelope in the air.
“Open it!” I exclaimed.
She ripped open the envelope and took out the folded piece of paper.
“I got in!” She jumped up and down.
“We knew you would, baby.” Lorelei hugged her.
“Congratulations, Hope.”
“Thanks, Dad. I can’t believe I’m actually going to be studying at Parsons next fall.”
“You have your mother’s talent, sweetheart. We never doubted for a second they’d turn you down.”
“I have to go call Graham. I’ll see you guys later.”
Lorelei walked over and wrapped her arms around me. “I am so happy she’s staying in New York.”
“Me too, baby. And who is Graham?” I asked.
“Her new boyfriend.”
“Since when? What happened to Jace?”
“Where have you been, Jack? Jace was yesterday’s boyfriend. Graham is today’s.” She laughed.
“Why haven’t I met this boy yet?”
“In due time, darling.”
“You know I don’t like Hope dating all these boys. It makes me nervous.”
“Well, you better get over it now because you still have to go through it with your other two daughters.”
I sighed. “I’ll never get used to it, Lorelei.”
And this was my life. Am I complaining? Hell no. I loved my girls more than life itself. Lorelei’s line of clothing took off and had expanded from women’s and girls’ to a clothing line for boys and babies. Her career quickly took off and I was so proud of her. The magazine portion of the company was still on top and I was proud to say that I’d had the same PA since I replaced Lorelei.
Ten years ago, I never would have imagined myself being a happily married man to the woman of my dreams and the father to three incredibly beautiful daughters, all whom look exactly like their mother. Hope was now seventeen, Lexi was eight, and Alyssa was six. Our perfect family of five was complete.
The day Lorelei Flynn spilled coffee on me at Starbucks was the day that changed my life forever. A day that I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.
I walked into the kitchen, where Lorelei was cooking dinner with Madeline. Lexi and Alyssa came running in, fighting with each other.
“You’re stupid!” Lexi said to Alyssa.
“You’re stupid!” Alyssa replied.
“Girls, nobody is stupid and that’s not nice.”
They both ran around me, trying to get at each other. Hope walked in and got into the mix by chasing the other two girls around the kitchen and then asked Lorelei if she could get on birth control. I almost had a heart attack. Between the younger girls running around screaming and Hope wanting to get on birth control, Lorelei sensed my stress level rising through the roof. She walked over, wrapped her loving arms around me, and sighed.
“I’m pregnant again, Jack.”
I smiled as I held her.
And there you have it. My crazy perfect family of five was going to turn into a crazy perfect family of six. On the bright side, maybe this one would be a boy.
About the Author
Sandi Lynn is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author who spends all of her days writing. She published her first novel, Forever Black, in February 2013 and hasn’t stopped writing since. Her addictions are shopping, going to the gym, romance novels, coffee, chocolate, margaritas, and giving readers an escape to another world.
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