Page 186 of Unbound

“Okay, seashell. Why don’t I get you back in bed and I’ll take care of Mommy.” I stand, hoisting her easily into one arm. “Did you two fall asleep in Mommy and Daddy’s room?”

She nods and yawns again. “We made a fort.”

I grin, shaking my head as I carry my daughter to her bright-pink princess room, tucking her in—though she’s already half-asleep, eyes closed. After shutting the door carefully, I head to the master bedroom, nearly tripping over the remnants of said “fort.”

Paloma Blake is an incredible mother. And a far better parent that I am, though she’ll never admit it.

She’d been terrified when we decided to have Annie. We’d fought endlessly, angry and tired and constantly frustrated. Her, because motherhood terrified her, convinced she’d somehow ruin our baby, even with her want of a child. For me, the frustration was that she couldn’t see herself properly. But healing is never linear. And that’s okay.

My love for her will never falter, never cage—it can only grow.

I’d started attending therapy sessions with Paloma so I could figure out how to help her through her fear of motherhood.

Mostly, we’d worked through it. But even now, Paloma doesn’t understand the way Annie looks at her with stars in her eyes. Ask my daughter her favorite person, princess, or magical creature—“My mom” will be her answer for them all.

Seven stands in front of the bathroom, pacing anxiously, moving quicker than he usually does these days. He whines a bit and pushes his nose against the door.

“I know, bud,” I whisper, petting his head.

“P?” I call, knocking lightly on the door before letting myself into our large bathroom. She’s sitting by the toilet, back against the wall, face damp as she looks up at me.

“Hey.”

“Damn it, love,” I mutter, running a cloth under the water with shaking hands. I bring the cool damp towel to her, resting it beneath the tangled mess of her hair. “I told you to call me if you felt sick.”

“It came on real fast,” she mutters. “Do you think Speyside is too isolated?”

I step over to the shower, turning it to a bearable warmth for her. “What?”

“Speyside? Do you think it’s too isolated for Annie and Benjamin?”

I shake my head, cheeks coloring as she calls our baby that again. “We’ll call him Ben, after you,” she’d told me weeks ago, when we first discovered we were pregnant again—we’d been trying this time.

“I told you, we don’t even know if it’s a boy.”

“I can feel it,” she mumbles, letting me pull her to standing and slowly undress her. “But that wasn’t my question.”

“What do you mean isolated?”

“For Annie and Ben to grow up here?”

My brow furrows. “Sadie and Rhys bought the house next door.” Though it’s miles away because of the secluded nature of the area. “They’ll be here for the summers and offseason.”

Paloma nods but puts her hands on my biceps before I can usher her into the shower. “I know but . . .” She trails off and pauses.

“What is it, love?” I ask, cupping her face in my palms. “Tell me what’s really going on.”

“I don’t want Annie to feel alone. I don’t want them to not have friends.”

Stomach caving, I pull her naked body fully into mine, kissing her temple, her hair, anything I can touch. My beautiful wife. My soulmate.

“Never, P. I promise. Besides, Annie starts school soon, yeah? So we can figure it out. If it’s too small here, we can always move, right?”

“And we’ll always keep the beach house?”

This house is where I fell in love with Paloma Blake fully—over and over. It was her safe haven, and mine. We spent birthdays here. I lost my virginity to the girl I love here. Pieces of our souls are scattered across every inch of this house.

“You were meant to be near the water,” I breathe, pressing a kiss to her neck as I dip my head down. “We’ll always have this place.”

And we’ll always have each other.

“Take me wave by wave,” I whisper, watching as she steps into the water, like the ocean coming alive. “Curl your currents into my body. Love me, love me, love me.”

I always knew it would be this way.

The love of my goddamn life.

The constant shore to her tumbling, lovely, alive and vibrant sea.