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"we have the kind of love people write stories about"
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SEVEN MORE YEARS LATER
A smile reaches my lips when I hear little footsteps and hushed voices at my door.
"I think our peaceful morning is about to get cut short," I tell my husband.
"I think you might be right," he replies.
They do this every morning; they stand at the door, contemplating if they should come in for a couple minutes, until eventually, they both decide it's time. It's honestly my favourite part of the day.
I lay on Sterling's chest, tracing the snowdrop tattoo he got a while back. It's placed directly on above his heart because, and he says, "I own his heart." His words, not mine; I'm not that sappy. This tattoo is one of many he's gotten over the years. It's about twice a year he gets something new, including our wedding day, our children's names and birthdays, and a matching one with Owen for their team.
Sterling retired from the NHL when I got pregnant for the first time. He quickly realized he needed something to fill his days and he found the perfect opportunity. His old coach from our university was retiring just as Sterling was looking for something to do. It's rewarding, low hours, and decent money. Not that we need the money, but he still loves the sport and wants to be involved with it as much as he can while spending time with our family.
Sterling plants a quick kiss on my forehead. "I give it another two minutes. I think I can hear Hayden trying to convince her it's too early."
"I give it another thirty seconds. I can hear Mabel getting desperate. He's going to cave."
Hayden, our son, turned five years old a few months ago and he's the greatest big brother. Mable, named after Sterling's mom, was born two years later. She's the funniest, most mischievous three year old I've ever known; she actually reminds me a lot of Charlotte when she was little.
Speaking of Charlotte, that little girl is seventeen now and all grown up. The other day I called her as she got ready for a first date and when Sterling found out, he drove to her house to meet the kid. Despite Sterling's intimidation tactics, apparently he held his own, which makes me think he may just be worthy enough to date Charlotte.
I win when our kids come waddling into the room almost exactly half a minute later.
"Damn, I should've bet money on that."
That comment earns me a jab in the side from my husband covered up by a smirk that still makes me want to jump his bones.
Hayden climbs up onto our bed and Sterling reaches over to pick our daughter off the floor.
"Alright, why do the two of you look so guilty?" I assess my children's faces. "What happened?"
Hayden's eyes widen and stare back at me before saying, "I told you they would know, Mabel tell mommy and daddy."
Mabel just giggles, clearly not as worried as her brother, and pulls out a pack of sour patch kids they must have stolen off the counter.
I look over at Sterling to see how he wants to deal with this and he just shrugs, fighting off a smile from breaking free. "Where did you get these, May?"
She breaks out the puppy dog eyes and I know Sterling is done for. Mabel looks like a carbon copy of me. Same hair colour, nose shape, and smile. Our one difference though, she took Sterling's green eyes.
Maybe sticks her bottom lip out to pout. "The table. I'm sorry, daddy."
"I helped her," Hayden confesses, clearly not able to let his sister take all the blame. Bless him and his guilty conscious. "I pushed the chair so she could climb up."
Hayden on the other hand looks just like Sterling. He's got the same dimples, face shape, and laugh, but he has my dark brown eyes.
Mabel points at the bag of sour patch kids. "They're my favourite."
"I know that, my little love. But you can't be climbing around in the kitchen. Mommy and I don't want you guys to get hurt. Next time, just tell me and I'll help you get them, okay?"
God, he's such a suck for her.
"Do you think we could have just a couple? We promise not to do it again," Hayden asks.
I nod my head, "Just a few, you guys need some real breakfast too."
The two of them break out into excited screeches and open the bag immediately.
Our family likely needs to be studied by scientists, because for some reason, we each like specific flavours and they're all different from each other's.
I still love the orange and yellow, Sterling takes the red ones, Mabel eats the blue ones, and Hayden's team green.
I let the kids dig through the bag at the foot of the bed, picking out their colours, while I move closer to Sterling.
"Honestly," I tell him. "I don't know how we ended up like this."
"People constantly argue nature versus nurture, but in this case I think it's just fate," Sterling answers.
His words take me straight back to our first few months together; me tutoring him on whatever psychology lesson he was supposed to be learning. "So you did listen to me during our tutoring lessons!"
"You were the one talking, of course I did. You know I was actually really good at psych by the second week of tutoring, I just wanted an excuse to keep seeing you."
This man will never not surprise me and prove just how much he loves me.
"I still can't believe I married such a weirdo, I mean, who likes the orange and yellow ones?"
I stick my tongue out at him, showing off my impeccable maturity levels. "Oh whatever, at least it worked out perfectly. No fighting over the flavours."
"That's true." He bends down to kiss me. "Our family is perfect."
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AUTHOR'S NOTE
It's honestly surreal that this was the last ever chapter of this book.
I can't even remember my life before I wrote this. It has become such a staple in my life and I'm so grateful for it.
I will never be able to thank you all enough for the love and support you've shown me.
There will be a larger author's note thanking you all, talking about the future of this series and to close out this book completely.
Question of the chapter: Is there anything you need/ want me to address/ answer?
