CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Paris wraps her fingers around my index finger, and my heart swoons. I brush my thumb over her tiny fingers, then over her soft cheeks. I don't think I'll ever get over how adorable she is, or that feeling like my heart will explode.

Blake wanders into the room and crouches beside us. He strokes her forehead, then kisses it. He rests his head against my shoulder and his stubble tickles my arm.

"I wish I could slow down time because she's growing up too fast."

"I'm with you on that." I chuckle.

Light sweeps down the hallway as London appears in the doorway. She peers over the unicorn and sniffles. Lo wipes her tears away with the back of her hand.

He opens his arms and London collides into his chest. Blake squeezes her from side to side.

"What's wrong, baby girl?"

She buries her face in his chest and he kisses her head.

"There's a-a-" She sobs. "There was a monster in my dream, and now he's hiding under my bed. I told him to go away like you do, but he said no."

He scoops London into the air and pats her back.

"Well then, it's a good thing Daddy knows how to scare those monsters away." He grins.

Blake squeezes my shoulder, then carries Lo out of the room.

"Go away monster, you're not welcome here."

"Oh, he's gone now." Lo gasps.

"Now you don't have anything to be worried about."

"Can you please read me a story?"

"Mm, I'll read one story, not three or four."

"Oh okay."

I shake my head and chuckle. There's no way he's getting out with one story, he never does with the tricks she pulls..

Once she's done feeding, I slide my shirt down and place her on my knee. I pat her back until a burp surfaces. She jumps which makes me laugh. I kiss her cheek and snuggle her to my chest.

"You're so funny sometimes."

I sit her on my knees and her eyes roam around the room. Vomit drools down her chin and I wipe it away with the burp cloth. I place Paris on the change mat and swaddle her back up into a tight bean. I nestle her in my arms and rock her back to sleep.

When she's fast asleep in the cot, I grab the monitor and sneak away. I poke my head into Lo's room and smile at the pair.

London's curled into Blake's side, her eyes drooping as Blake flips through the pages.

"Once the prince had defeated the dragon, he took the princess her castle where she was reunited with her family. The end."

Blake snaps the book shut and places it on the side table. He slides to the side and props a pillow to where his body used to be. London snuggles into the pillow and softly snores. Blake pulls the blanket up and kisses her forehead.

He creeps backwards and stands beside me. Blake wraps his arm around my waist and smiles.

"We should sneak away before someone decides to wake up."

"You're right about that." I chuckle.

Blake takes my hand and guides me to our bedroom. We flop onto our bed and stare at the ceiling. He pulls me to his side and kisses my forehead. His lips trail down my body and I groan.

"I miss you so much, but I'm so tired." I sigh. "When do we get our energy back, or is it time to admit we're getting old?"

"We're not old!" Blake shakes his head. "Anyone looking after a baby is tired, old or not."

"We're going to need bigger coffee cups now that we've got two little humans." I tap his leg.

"What happens when we have three? Do we just start shotting coffee like vodka or something?"

"Sounds like a later problem to me." I laugh.

Blake rolls onto his side and drapes his leg across my body.

"So when's later going to be?"

"At least a year and a bit, my lady bits need time to recover."

"Sounds like a good idea."

I cup his cheek and brush my thumb over his cheek. He brushes his nose against mine and captures my lips with his. I grip his waist and curl my fingers into the fabric of his t-shirt.

Blake hooks my leg over his hip and adjusts himself against me. I rake my fingers through his hair and deepen our kiss.

"Perhaps I have some energy to practice making babies." I chuckle.

"Now that sounds like an even better plan."

His hand trails along the length of my body, then slips into my pants.

"Daddy, Mummy."

Blake goes rigid and he sighs. His hand slips out of my pants and grabs my waist. I kiss his nose and he takes a deep breath.

"What's wrong, bub?"

"There's a monster under my bed again." She sniffles. "I told him to go home, but he said he likes sleeping under my bed. I'm scared he's going to steal my shoes again."

Blake softly chuckles, so I poke his stomach and shake my head.

Cries echo through the monitor and I bump my forehead against his. Damn it.

"We need another night away soon," Blake whispers. "This time we spend the whole weekend, not just one night because it isn't enough."

Paris's cries grow louder and we groan.

"You take Lo and I'll settle Paris," I say.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." I nod. "Besides, I can't scare the monsters away like you."

As I push myself up, Blake tugs me back onto the bed. He cups my cheek and deeply kisses me.

"I love you."

"I love you too." I smile.

We pull each other up and stagger down the hallway, London trailing behind us. Blake stretches his arms above his head while I stifle a yawn.

He grabs my hand and squeezes it. When we make it to the hallway, Blake pulls me in for a kiss and our fingers slide away.

"You've got this!" He grins.

"Same to you, baby."

Blake cracks his knuckles and wanders into the room. I enter Paris's room and she's just squirming around in her cot. I stroke her cheek and plonk in the armchair.

Sometimes life is amazing and there's adventure, and sometimes life is hard and exhausting. I wouldn't change it because I love the person I've become and the wonderful family I have around me.

I can't believe I'm writing an ending note . . . No more surprise books here :p Thank you to everyone who has read and supported this series over the many years it's taken me to write. 

Sometime soon, I'll be re-writing the entire series which will be like reading a brand new book once I'm done with it. In the distant future, I'll be writing a book for London, but I just want to clean up the storyline before I do that!

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And if you're sad this story is ending, then . . .

Thank you again <3