Chapter 70 Epilogue Part I
Chapter 70 Epilogue Part I
TWO YEARS LATER…
“Honey, aren’t you ready yet? We’re going to be late,” Spencer yells from the living room at the exact moment I finish buckling my shoe. Before I can reply, he shows up by the door, eyeing me up and down as I stand from the bed, straightening my flower print dress and wrapping a beige cardigan around myself.
It’s still fall, but the wind is not merciful when the sun starts to set, so I don’t want to risk freezing to death when it’s nighttime.
“You look… perfect. But are you sure you want to wear heels?” Spencer frowns as his eyes fall to my feet.
I chuckle, walking toward him and wrapping my arms around his neck. “Baby, I’m pregnant, not injured. Besides, they are square-toe heels, so I’ll hardly struggle with them.”
That doesn’t seem to convince him, though. Ever since I told him I was pregnant, he’s been constantly overprotective and making sure I have everything I need–and more. Not that I’m complaining about the extra attention, but sometimes he goes over the top.
A year after the launch of his record label, Spencer and I went on a trip to celebrate Bailey’s Records one year anniversary, and that’s when he proposed to me. I knew he was going to do it one day, but he still managed to surprise me.
A few months later, we got married, and life has been chaotic ever since, in the good sense of the word.
I published my first book with a traditional publisher. I ended up not winning the competition for the summer program, so Spencer introduced me to that friend of his who works at a publishing company in New York. She is now my editor, and I’m planning to start writing my third title. We also moved to the ranch’s guest house. Turns out, Spencer’s house downtown was rented, and after pondering what to do once we got married, he suggested we move to the ranch.
Truthfully, I think he knew I never really wanted to leave my family’s house. I would never ask him to move there with me since my parents still live in the main house, but he told me it’s not like we’d live under the same roof. We’d still have privacy, but be able to live on the ranch either way, which made me so happy. I still wanted to be amongst my family, the animals, not to mention it’d be easier to help Dad out with the chores.
Someone will have to take over one day, and I am sure my siblings won’t want to deal with that since they have their jobs elsewhere.
Now, I’m more than happy to know my kid will be raised in the same place as me, to experience the same things I did, and live amongst nature and animals the same way I did.
Spencer sighs, squeezing me into his arms. “Fine, sorry. Are you ready to go now? Aubrie will kill me if I get there after the guests.”
“I know, I know. Let’s go,” I tell him, smiling as I picture his sister scolding him for being a lousy uncle, arriving late for his niece’s birthday party.
Caitlin is turning six today, and she decided she wanted a picnic kind of party. She invited her school friends and family friends, and at first, it was supposed to be something more intimate. But Spencer, being the overindulgent uncle he is, told Caitlin he’d rent inflatable bounce houses and cotton candy machines as his contribution to the party. The squeak that came out of that little girl’s throat when she heard that is something I’ll never forget.
If Spencer is spoiling his niece so badly, I can only imagine what he’ll do to our kid once he’s born.
Yes, it’s a boy! But he doesn’t know that yet.
I’m waiting for the right moment to tell him, and I’m already feeling the butterflies anxiously flapping their wings in my stomach just at the thought of seeing his reaction to the news.
We head to the car, and Spencer opens the passenger door for me. I climb inside, buckling the seat belt and waiting for him to get into the driver’s seat. He drives in silence for a few minutes, apparently focused on something inside his head. I enjoy the peaceful atmosphere, watching the streets blur in front of my eyes while listening to whatever new pop song is playing on the radio. I don’t pay much attention to it. I just cherish this nice moment.
“So, have you thought about what you want to do for your birthday this year?” Spencer suddenly asks, and I snap my head to the side to look at him.
He still has his focus on the road, though, so I look out the window again, considering his question. There’s still a couple of months until my 30th birthday, but by then, I’ll be six months pregnant, so I have no idea if I’ll be in the mood for a big party. Probably not.
“I don’t know, maybe something more intimate with just the family? We could have it at the ranch, I don’t care for having anything big. Maybe a game night?” I suggest, asking for his opinion. Honestly, I haven’t thought about it until now. Everything in my mind lately is related to the baby, so I haven’t thought about myself for a while.
“That sounds nice,” he agrees. “I was also thinking we could celebrate our anniversary a bit earlier this year and go on a trip before…you know, things get harder and heavier,” he chuckles, side-eyeing me.
“That’s actually a good idea. I don’t think we’ll be able to travel for at least a year after the baby is born. Where do you think we should go?”
“Anywhere you’d like,” Spencer answers. “I’ll be glad to take you anywhere in the world.”
“Ohhh, that sounds promising…and expensive,” I tell him with a grin on my lips. “I can be quite a handful as a wife, Mr. Bailey. You shouldn’t indulge me like this,” I joke.
Spencer’s smile widens, but he keeps his eyes on the road. “Yeah, I know. But you deserve much more than that. Also, I just signed another contract with this band from Nashville, so…” he trails off, leaving me in suspense.
“So? Is this a big contract?”
“Yep,” he answers, popping the ‘p’. “They are quite famous.”
I squeal, clapping my hands like a little girl who just got her first Barbie doll. “Congratulations, baby!”
“Thank you,” he muses shyly. His humbleness is one of the things that still impresses me. Spencer knows how good of a businessman he is, but he still gets shy and awkward whenever someone brings that up or compliments him. “So, you have that to decide by the end of the week. I was thinking we could go before you start writing your next novel, and I have my plate full for the new month.”
I nod, already feeling excited about our next adventure.