Just Pretending: Epilogue

About seven months later…

Isat in bed, holding my son. He was as perfect as I would have expected a child of Devin’s to be. He had a thatch of dark fuzz on top of his tiny head. Moments earlier he had been fussing in his bassinet. He settled as soon as I picked him up.

“Good afternoon my beautiful wife, “ Devin said with a ridiculously wide grin as he burst into our room. Another display of flowers in his arms.

I was surrounded by flowers. Devin was doing his absolute best to turn our room into a flower shop.

“More flowers?” I laughed. “We’re running out of places for them. This room already looks and smells like a florist.”

He slid the vase onto a clear spot on my vanity, before sitting next to me on the bed.

He tossed the rest of his packages onto the bed. “I thought you liked flowers? Are you saying it’s too much?”

He leaned in and kissed my cheek before kissing the baby. “Have you been resting? He’s asleep, shouldn’t you also be?”

“How can I sleep with you barging in here and throwing flowers at me?” I laughed.

He looked momentarily panicked before he realized I was teasing.

“I was asleep, but he started fussing and I woke up. I’ve been sitting and watching him for a few minutes. He’s amazing.” I didn’t know if my heart could take all the love I felt for this tiny being on top of how I felt for Devin. It was overwhelming and wonderful. “I think he’s going to have your nose. Everyone says he looks like me, but all I see is you in his little face.”

“I want you to rest, and you won’t let me hire a nanny.” He reached out and I reluctantly handed over our son.

He gazed down at his son’s tiny features. Long dark lashes brushed his cheeks. His little lips pursed and relaxed in his sleep. He must have been dreaming of eating. He would wake up hungry. Devin looked up and seemed to observe all of the flowers that surrounded us. A new delivery for every day since James Robert was born.

“I want to spoil you. But you’re right, our bedroom is a little too full of flowers.

I sighed and leaned against Devin’s shoulder. We both looked down at our sleeping boy. We named him after my father. It seemed fitting, after all, if it weren’t for his interfering ways, we may not have figured out we were in love.

“You came in here in a good mood. Was all of that just to see us?” I asked.

“I’m always happy to see you.” He tipped his head and gave me a proper kiss. “Have something to show you.” He reached over my legs to pick up one of the packages he dropped moments earlier.

“Here,” I said, reaching out and scooping JR away from him.

Devin grabbed the box and lifted the top. He pulled something out and handed me a card. It smelled of fresh printer ink.

“What’s this?” My eyes were wide with curiosity.

“Read it and find out.”

“Please join me in celebrating the marriage of my parents Devin Collin Hopper and Harleigh Jessica Hopper,” I read out loud. “But we’re already married.”

“Look at the date.” He pointed to the card.

“That’s our second anniversary,” I said.

“I wasn’t able to give you the fairy tale wedding you wanted, you deserved—”

“But you gave me Elvis in Vegas,” I interrupted. “That was pretty cool.”

A broad toothy smile spread across his face. “We did have Elvis, didn’t we? I did my best with the limited time we had. But now that I have more time, I need to do better. You didn’t get a reception with a cake that looked like a castle, or a DJ playing the Chicken Dance. I want to give you that Harleigh. So, for our anniversary, you’re going to have the wedding reception of your dreams.”

“This is in three months. Devin, that’s not enough time. I have to find a caterer. Some bakers require reservations months in advance for wedding cakes.”

“Deposits have been paid. Caterers, decorators, a band, and a DJ are all ready to go. You have reservations at two different bakers in case you don’t like one of them. Or you can go ahead and have two cakes. I hope I did the hard part so you can focus on the fun aspects and plan your heart out.”

“What am I going to wear?” She sounded almost panicked.

“I thought you could wear your wedding dress. I’d love to show off just how beautiful you were that day, that you are every day.”

JR started to fuss and mew as he woke up hungry. I adjusted myself and loosened the blanket around him. His little head shook back and forth with his mouth opened wide as he searched for his source of nutrition before he latched on.

Devin stroked the baby’s soft cheek as he fed.

“And this little guy will be older, and we can show him off.”

I shifted my gaze to Devin’s face. Tears welled in my eyes as I looked at him. How had I gotten such a wonderful man? He was the best version of every fantasy I ever had about him.

He cupped my face, wiping tears with his thumb. “What’s the matter? You don’t like it?”

I sniffed. “What did I do to deserve you? Devin, you are so sweet to me.”

He leaned forward, careful not to smother the baby between us, and kissed away my tears.

“The real question is, what did I do to be honored with your love? I’m only treating you the way you should be treated. You put up with so much from me. And yet, you were there waiting for me to get my head out of my ass and come to you openly and honestly. I don’t want to imagine what would have happened if I hadn’t figured it out if you were not in my life every day. Harleigh, I love you.”

I took in a shuddering breath, trying not to cry even more. Baby hormones had me crying at everything and I was already a crier.

“I love it Devin, thank you. What’s in the other box?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

“Oh, this? This is a present long overdue for the mother of my son.”

“Can you open it for me?” I asked.

I could tell by the squint in his eyes, Devin thought about teasing me for a moment. He made the right choice and unwrapped the box for me. The box was velvet. Jewelry.

I gasped when I saw the necklace. It was a stunning length of twisted gold studded with diamonds and pearls. In the center was a heart-shaped ruby, reflective of the ring he had given me when he gave me his heart.

“You looked beautiful in the sapphire jewelry your father bought his first wife. But I know you prefer rubies, and you deserve your own jewelry.”

I blinked away more tears. I couldn’t do anything to fend him off, when Devin reached up and clasped the gift around my neck, my arms were full with the breastfeeding baby.

I was weepy, I had bags under my eyes, I was in a nightgown. But the way Devin looked at me at that moment, with eyes so full of affection, I never felt more like a princess than at any other moment of my life.

“I love you,” he said as he kissed away my tears.