EPILOGUE
Sheldon Sinclair beamed from ear to ear as he looked down at his new daughter-in-law. “You are lovely.”
Laney blushed. “Thank you, Mr. Sinclair.”
“Sheldon, I insist. We"re family now, no need for formalities.”
Nick pulled Laney"s hand out of his father"s grasp. “Stand back, old man, she"s mine.”
“You have good taste.” He winked at Laney. “He got it from me.”
Nick turned to his mother. “Control your husband.”
Marian Sinclair grinned at her husband. “He is too much for me to handle, perhaps grandkids will slow him down.”
Nick kissed Laney"s temple. “We"re working on that.”
Laney blushed a darker shade of red.
“Oh, Nick, you"re embarrassing the poor girl.” Marian Sinclair held Laney"s hand. “You"ll have your hands full with him. If he"s anything like his father, and I know he is, he"ll have you pulling out your hair a year from now.”
Sheldon groaned. “Marian, leave her alone, they"ve barely been married a month. Don"t frighten her off yet.”
“I"m just giving her fair warning.” She winked at Laney. “I wish someone had been as kind to me.”
Nick hugged Laney from behind. “Well, you"re a few weeks too late for warnings. Besides, I think Laney"s seen all my flaws already.”
Sheldon frowned. “And she still married you?”
“Don"t start, Sheldon,” Marian scolded her husband. “So tell me all about your honeymoon, Laney, I"ve never been to Paris this time of year.”
Laney could not stop blushing. “It was very … pretty.”
Nick laughed. “You don"t have to lie to her, honey.” He grinned at his mother. “We rarely left the hotel.”
“Nick!” Laney pinched him on the arm.
Marian gave a nervous smile while Sheldon clapped his son proudly on the back.
Marian frowned at Sheldon. “You two are hopeless.” She rubbed Laney"s shoulder. “It"s late. We should be getting off to bed. I hope you don"t mind us spending the night here, Laney.”
Laney was not yet used to living in Nick"s home and it was odd hearing Nick"s mother ask for her approval. “I"m happy you"re here, Marian.”
Nick laughed. “Father, please take your wife upstairs quickly, I have some business to handle with my bride.”
Sheldon gave his son a wink and pulled Marian toward the staircase.
Nick laughed at the embarrassed look on his mother"s face. When they were alone, Laney wrapped her arms around Nick"s neck. “I wish I could say being your wife feels strange, but it doesn"t.”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “Of course not, you"ve been my wife before.”
“You don"t think it strange we didn"t have a long courtship?”
“Who needs courtship once you"ve been married before?” He slapped her bottom. “I"m ready for bed.”
“I bet you are.” She kissed his chin. “You couldn"t keep your hands off me the entire dinner.”
“And you couldn"t keep your hands off the food.”
She pinched him again. “Your mother was right, you are hopeless.”
“Have a shower with me and I"ll make you think otherwise.”
She giggled. “I"ll race you.”
* * * *
An hour later, after sharing a shower together, Nick pulled back the bedcovers. Laney crawled into bed naked. He preferred her that way. She was becoming more selfconscious with her growing weight but he rather enjoyed it. Lying on her back, she stretched out her arms to him. He came to her, careful to balance his weight on his forearms.
He caressed her stomach. “If I hadn"t come to you that night ….”
“I didn"t know at the time,” she finished for him.
He kissed her stomach. “Would you have told me?”
“Yes. I could never keep something like that from you.” She smoothed her hands over his worried brow.
“If we have a girl, I want her to look just like you.”
“I"m not sure if I"m ready to share you with another woman just yet.”
He kissed her soundly. “Trust me, you have my complete attention.
I"m totally devoted to you.”
She smiled triumphantly. “I guess I"ll have to begin mailing announcements tomorrow for our elopement party, your mother mentioned it twice during dinner. I have to get the house ready for Sterling and Caleb.
Do you think they"ll bring dates?”
Nick shrugged. “Put Cooper"s name at the top of the list.”
Her brow arched. “You want him to come?”
“Absolutely, I"m not one to hold a grudge.”
“No, you"re just a sore winner.”
He grinned.
She wrinkled her nose at him. “I"ll send an invite to him if you promise me no fighting. I"m a pregnant woman. I can"t break up any more fights.”
“Are you going to invite Heidi?”
“I"m a pregnant woman, Nick, I can"t get into fights.”
“You fighting over me for once? That, I"ll have to see.”
“Shut up and kiss me.”
He obliged her. “Will your family be able to fly out for the party?”
“Unfortunately, no. You know they"re deathly afraid to fly and I don"t trust my dad to drive that far. At any rate, my mom and dad are excited to meet you.”
He scoffed. “I bet they are.”
“I love your optimism.”
“Did you tell them I"m white?”
“I told them you were the love of my life.”
“That means no.”
“That means,” she kissed him softly on the lips, “it shouldn"t matter.”
“Why do I get the feeling you"re buying for time?”
“That"s a definite possibility.”
“You"re going to get us both in a lot of hot water, Mrs. Sinclair. ”
“Don"t fret. We"ll have our fill of them before the year is out.”
“What does that mean?”
“I promised them we"d visit for Christmas.”
“Great.” He kissed her stomach again. “Do you think they"ll like me?”
She winced. “That"s another story.”
THE END