A Beautiful Forever

chapter 42

Paige

The next morning I wake early, not used to sleeping in anymore. Elliot on the other hand, is still fast asleep beside me. I watch his

peaceful face for a moment before I slide off the most comfortable bed in the world and pad out to the kitchen naked, because I don’

t have any clothes here besides the dress I was wearing last night.

When I open the fridge, I’m really not expecting anything to be there, I’m just opening it for the sake of it, so I’m surprised to find it

stocked with the basics. I pull a bottle of water out of the door and unscrew the cap, drinking as I start to open the cupboards, now

curious about what else I’ll find.

Next to the fridge is a pantry, also stocked with some basics, I pull out a bag of coffee and inspect our new fully automated coffee

machine in an effort to work out how to use it.

It has its own grinder, so I fill the barrel up with the beans, fill the reservoirs up with water and milk then start pressing what I hope are

the correct buttons. When the grinder starts, I jump a little, then realise I should probably put cups under the spout, so I don’t get

coffee everywhere.

I quickly grab two cups off the top of the machine and set them under the spout, watching as steam starts to rise and coffee begins

to pour.

“Hmm, nice view, and I’m not looking out the window,” Elliot says as he walks up behind me and slips his arms around my waist,

kissing my neck.

Turning around in his arms, I slide my hands around his neck to kiss him, “Good morning my love, how was your sleep?”

“Freaking awesome, that’s what it was,” he tells me, trailing soft kisses down my neck. He sighs, “Mum just called me. Grace is a bit

upset, so she offered to bring everything to us. I think she’s desperate for a sticky beak at the renovations actually, because I couldn’

t hear Grace at all,” he laughs.

“That’s fantastic, because honestly, I don’t want to leave –I feel like I’m in a design magazine. Oh! Did you ask her to bring the pin

board?”

“I did,” he says grinning proudly at me.

“You’re a good husband. How long do you think we have before they get here?” I ask, smoothing my hands down his body and

gripping his firm naked arse suggestively.

Elliot

“Oh Paige, we will have to be so fast, they were loading the car then she called me,” I tell her already becoming hard.

“I’ll meet you in the shower then,” she says winking at me and slapping me on the arse as she saunters off.

I’m quick to follow and we just make it to dressed and ready before the buzzer for the front door goes off.

I leave Paige in the kitchen cleaning up the mugs from the coffees we never drank and bounce down the stairs to meet my mum,

Steve and Grace, who I have missed so much overnight.

Steve is unloading the boot of the car, so I give my mum and Grace a quick kiss and hold the door open for them to enter before

going over to help with the bags.

“Gday Elliot, this is an easy way to move house isn’t it?” Steve says as I approach.

“Yeah, it is – this was such a wonderful surprise. Did you know about it?”

“Sure did, are you happy to be back here in the old place?”

“Yeah I am actually. I thought it would be weird, but it’s not.”

We carry the bags up the stairs together and deposit them in the dining room. Voices filter up the hallway and I can hear Paige and

my mother talking from inside Grace’s room.





Paige


“I can’t believe how different this place is, you should have seen it before Paige, it was so old and out dated. I have to give Erica

credit; she has a great eye,” Kathy says as she inspects Grace’s room. Grace is happy bouncing in her new jumperoo. Every time

she jumps it sets off lights and music in the toys surrounding her. I’m not sure that smile will ever come off her face.

“Thank you so much for taking care of Grace last night Kathy, we both really appreciate it.”

“It was no trouble, you two didn’t get a honeymoon, so we all thought that for one night, you could just be a couple. Little Grace is

such a good little girl, I'm happy to look after her any time – and you know I’m all set up to have her whenever you need me.”

“Thank you Kathy, that means a lot.”

“What are you two ladies gas bagging about?” Steven booms as he enters the room.

“I was just telling Paige how lovely Grace was last night, and that we’re happy to have her whenever they want to go out.”

“Yeah we’re really going to miss the little one, bring her over whenever you like,” Steven says as he watches her bounce.

Elliot comes to stand by me, and after we finish showing Kathy and Steven through the flat, I offer everybody coffee. I’m dying for one

now after skipping the one I made earlier.

We all settle around the dining room table, drinking coffee, chatting and eating biscuits, while we pass Grace between us as she

makes a game of reaching out to us all.

By the time Grace gets grouchy, signalling that she’s ready for a nap, Kathy and Steven are preparing to leave, congratulating us on

our new home as they do. We thank them for everything they have done for us. Supportive parents mean the world to me. I can only

hope that I’ll be half as good to my family as they are to theirs.

Once Grace is sleeping and Elliot and I are alone again, we spend some time sitting together on the couch, enjoying the peace

while we watch some television.

“Elliot,” I say to get his attention.

“What is it?” he asks, kissing the side of my head affectionately.

“I’ve never really thanked you – for coming into my life, for understanding me…and especially - for forgiving me,” I say turning to face

him.

“Paige, you don’t have to thank me.”

“But I do Elliot, eighteen months ago I never, never would have even let myself dream that my life could be like this. I didn’t think I

could ever be this happy. But you,” I pause as I climb on his lap and face him, “have given me everything, Elliot, everything.” I hold his

face in my hands and bring my mouth to his, putting everything I am feeling for him into my movements as I kiss him.

He holds me to him kissing me back with equal intensity before carrying me off to the bedroom to have his way with me again.

Elliot

As we lay together afterwards, I trace my finger over the name tattoo on her wrist, the vine artfully wrapping around and the letters of

my name entangled with it. One of the leaves coming off the vine has Grace’s name on it, mine is the same except it wraps around

the widest part of my forearm and has Paige’s name replacing my own. We’ve had some mixed reactions to these tattoos. So many

people think we’re crazy putting our spouse's names in permanent ink within our skin. But as far as we’re concerned, our life

together is permanent. Nothing going to change the way we feel about each other.

“So how many of these leaves do you think we’ll need?” I ask.

“Well, that depends. How many were you thinking of?” she asks in reply.

I roll up on my elbow and pull her close to me. “I could make babies with you forever Mrs Roberts,” I murmur softly as I dip my head to

kiss her neck.

“Well then Mr Roberts, I think in a couple of years, we might need dip into my trust fund and get a bigger house,” she replies,

pressing herself against me.

I reach my hand up and brush it through her beautiful hair, marvelling at the woman before me. Truth be told, I’m the one that should

be thanking her, before meeting her, I was totally lost. I had no direction in my life and spent a lot of time feeling sorry for myself for

all the time I wasted on things that didn’t make me happy.

Now I know that if my life hadn’t felt like a total waste, I never would have gone to the UK, and I never would have met Paige, who let’

s face it, gave me a life worth living, she gave me purpose and she gave me a family of my own.

As I roll back with her on top of me, I vow that I will spend every moment of the rest of my life loving her. Seeing her happy means

everything to me, because when she smiles, when she genuinely smiles, I feel like the luckiest man on earth.

THE END