Lucky Number Eleven

Epilogue

Layla

Nine months later

The floor creaks as I tiptoe down the staircase. Sunny has been asleep for a half an hour and there's no way in hell I'm waking her up.

She's a beautiful little girl with blonde hair like me and the bluest eyes like her daddy. She came into the world as calm as a dove. The nurses tickled her feet to make her cry so her lungs would dry out after the C-Section.

Her biggest issue so far, besides her refusal to breast feed, is her daddy. He holds her nearly every moment she's awake when he's home. He sanitizes every bottle and nipple she might come into contact with and she already has two battery-operated vehicles waiting for her in the garage that she can use when she masters things like sitting up and walking.

It's the sweetest thing I've ever witnessed. As good as he is to her, he's just as good to me.

Things with him are easy. Yes, they require work, but it's not hard to love Branch Best. He's kind and thoughtful and brings me flowers and ice cream and leaves me notes on the dry erase board on the fridge when he leaves for work every morning.

He's everything I never dreamed he'd be. Plus more.

After getting Sunny back to sleep, I laid her in her bed and took a bath. Branch has to work in the morning, so he'll be up in just a few hours. I want to make sure his juices are restocked in the fridge so he has a cold one to drink before he leaves.

Turning the corner, I stop.

My first instinct is to be annoyed, but that drifts away at the pure love before me.

Branch stands in the kitchen with just his boxers on, Sunny nestled in the crook of his arm, as he heats up a bottle. He's whispering something to her, the soft tone of his voice making me melt. He has a way of doing that. A lot.

"Hey," I say, padding into the room. "I hate to interrupt this love fest, but why isn't she in bed?"

"She wanted to get up with Daddy."

"Oh, she did, did she? Doesn't she know Daddy needs some rest before practice tomorrow?" I say, leaning in for a kiss.

"She does. But she wanted to be awake when Mommy came down for coffee cake."

Laughing, my cheeks pink. "How did she know Mommy would do that?"

"Because Daddy told her." He leans in, pulling Sunny away. "I didn't tell her what's going to happen to Mommy when she goes back to bed though."

He touches my lips with his, the softness of his mouth making me moan. That just encourages him. His tongue parts my lips and slips through my mouth with a laziness that has my thighs clenching together.

"Is that a hint of what's to come?" I ask, catching my breath.

"Yes, my lady. You're going to come."

With a grin that's a permanent fixture lately, I grab a fork. Under his smirk, I lift the lid to the coffee cake.

"You were right," I sigh, pulling it in front of me. "I'm so going to—OMG. Branch?"

The fork hits the floor, the little ping startling Sunny. Branch ignores me and soothes her until she settles against him once more.

My heart is racing, my gaze going from the dessert and back to him again. Surely, I'm seeing this wrong. I have to be.

"Branch?" I gulp. "What is this?"

His eyes glued to mine, he reaches in the middle of the cream cheese icing and plucks the diamond ring out.

"I wasn't sure how to do this," he says, an edge of anxiety in his tone. "I didn't know where to put it so I'd be sure you found it and I didn't have time with my schedule to take you anywhere. Plus, Sunny really wanted to be around for this."

"Did she?" I say, blinking back tears.

"She did." He kisses her forehead while watching me. "You've given me everything in life that means anything. I don't just mean Sunny, but of course she's the main thing. You've given me a reason to get up, a reason to go to bed, a reason to come home."

He takes my finger and slips the ring over it, the icing smearing down my hand.

"I can't control where I play or how long I play, but that's okay. I can control what's important . . . and that's this team right here." He gets down on one knee, our daughter still cuddled against his wide chest. "I promise to love you and cherish you and to try to get hotter as I get older like Sam Elliott."

I laugh through the tears that well in my eyes.

"Layla James, will you make me the luckiest man in the world and be my wife?"

There's no nerves, no wobble, no panic. There's nothing but complete and absolute certainty that this is what I want and where I need to be.

I take his face in my hands, feeling the coarseness from his stubble against my hands. "Yes. You know I will."

He stands, pulling me into his other side. He kisses my cheek, fixing little pecks reverently until he hits my mouth.

The fire, the passion, that initially brought us together, is hotter than ever. He pulls away, resting his forehead against mine.

"I promise to be patient," I tell him, "and to try not to worry about everything. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and be the best damn cheerleader you've ever seen."

"I know you will." He kisses me again, lacing our fingers together. "I'm putting love bug to bed and then I'm making love to you in ours. Deal?"

I nod, watching him head out of the kitchen.

"Hey, Branch?" I say.

"Yeah?"

"I didn't think you believed in luck?"

He gives me a little grin. "I don't deserve this and there's no way I worked for it. So, I don't know. Maybe I do."

*

Exposé Alert: We're not crying. You're crying.

Our favorite couple, Branch Best and Layla Miller, tied the knot this past weekend in tiny Linton, Illinois. Sources say Layla carried their daughter, Sunny, down the aisle at her family's lake house.

Finn Miller was the best man and sources say he may or may not have swam nude in the lake afterwards. We're still waiting on pictures. (God, let there be pictures.)

We would like to wish Mr. and Mrs. Best a big, heartfelt congratulations. May this be your lucky ever after.

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