Page 89 of The Lucky List
“He said that to me too, the night of the PTO meeting, but tons of people have blue eyes, so I didn’t think anything of it.”
“I didn’t either at first. The facial expression and the eyes didn’t immediately set off alarm bells. This is going to sound crazy, but stay with me. It was the night we checked item six off my list.”
“The spankings?” Visions of that night flash through my mind, and I search my brain, trying to remember what part of that encounter she could be referring to.
“To be more specific, the part where I bent you over the couch and spanked you.”
“Aye, that was fun, but what does that have to do with this?”
“You have a little birthmark at the top of your thigh, right under your ass.”
“The one that looks like a clover?” Holy fuck. She wasn’t tickling me; she was tracing my birthmark.
“That’s the one. With all the ways we’ve done it, that was the first time I’d ever noticed it. It’s kinda hidden when you’re standing, but when you were bent over, I could see it clearly. I thought it was familiar at first, but it wasn’t until I was giving the boys a bath a couple days later and Levi asked me to swipe the card that I realized why.”
“I meant to ask you about that.”
She chuckles. “It’s a nicer way to say wipe my ass. I swipe through their cheeks with a washcloth, like a credit card swipes through a machine, only now we insert a chip, so I realize I’m showing my age. Anyway, when I was wiping him, I noticed a spot between his cheeks. At first, I thought it was poop, so I kept wiping but then I remembered he had a little birthmark there.”
“In the shape of a clover?”
“Yup.” Her smile is infectious, and I revel in it.
“I did not swipe the card, and I made them wear swimsuits. I just want that on record.”
She laughs. “I know, the boys told me the next morning. But it was after the bath I gave them that I had a hunch. The eyes, the mannerisms, the distinct birthmark, it was too much, so I did one of those home DNA tests that takes a few days for results. Micah said you used a toothbrush when you tucked them in the other night.”
“I was showing them how to brush their teeth better because Levi was rushin’ through.”
“Well, I used that toothbrush. I’m sorry, I know it’s a huge invasion of your privacy and probably not ethical, but I had to know.”
“I don’t care about that,” I say, hanging on every word of her story.
“Well, I’m glad I did it, because I got the results this morning, and it confirmed what I suspected.”
“That I’m their father?”
“You’re their father. Not many people know that they were conceived by artificial insemination. Only my sister knows. This town loves to gossip, and I didn’t want to add any fuel to that fire. I’d rather people think I slept around than know the truth.”
“And what’s that?”
“That I couldn’t find anyone to love me and give me the life I always wanted, so I made it happen for myself. It was embarrassing how desperate I was to be a mom and not be able to find someone who shared that dream. And then you came into my life and you wanted all the same things as me, and I got scared because I’ve gotten my hopes up before only to be crushed in the process. I’ve always had such terrible luck.”
“Feckin’ hell, that’s all I’ve ever wanted, and I had no clue you were right under my nose this whole time.”
“And little did I know, I was looking for four-leaf clovers in the wrong place.”
“Levi did try to tell ya with all the poop drawings.”
“Oh my God, how did I not put it together sooner?”
I bark out a laugh and grip her tight. I am never going to let this woman go. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell ya.” I release my grip on her and reach into my pocket, dropping to one knee as I hold out the ring box to her. “You’re not the only one who was planning a proposal.”
Opening the box, I hold out the ring. It’s a brilliant green emerald, surrounded by diamonds that encircle the entire band. “This was my granny’s ring, and I want you to wear it.”
She holds out her hand, and I slide the ring onto her finger, relieved that it’s a perfect fit. “It’s beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful in every possible way. I know you feel life hasn’t been kind to ya, that luck hasn’t been on your side, but I think it made you into who you are today. And I love you. You’re exquisite. Messy. Perfect. Unpolished and a little rough around the edges, but you still shine more brilliantly than any diamond. That’s why I chose this ring, with the stone that matches your eyes.”
