Chapter 75

"Mummy!" Jayden’s voice called out from behind us as Magnus and I walked into the parking lot.

I turned toward the sound of his voice, and there they were—my little rascals, running toward me.

I squatted down, arms wide, grinning like an idiot. "My babies."

They jumped into my arms like they hadn’t seen me in years, and I showered their little foreheads with kisses, breathing in their soft, sweet-smelling hair.

"I missed you so much, my loves." I said, rubbing their backs. "I’m so happy to see you again."

"We missed you too, mummy," they both chorused. "And daddy."

That’s when I remembered Magnus was standing there, patiently waiting for us. I shot him a sheepish smile, which he returned with that warm look of his. The kids ran straight to him for a hug.

"Welcome home, sir and ma," Marco’s voice came from behind me. "I trust the journey wasn’t too much of a hassle?"

"Thank you, no, it wasn’t," I replied.

"Marco," Magnus said, extending his hand to shake his. "How’ve you been?"

"Very well, sir. Welcome back," Marco said, nodding respectfully.

The twins had stayed with Grandma while we were away on our honeymoon—mainly because I didn’t trust anyone enough to leave them with a stranger. Plus, Grandma had offered, and the twins adored her. Win-win.

"So, how did you meet Mr. Marco?" I asked the twins once we were in the car heading home.

"He came to Nana's house and said he was going to pick you up from the airport, so we begged him to take us," Jayden said proudly.

I smiled. "It’s an airport, baby." I corrected him, secretly impressed with his new vocabulary. "Who taught you that word?"

"Daddy," Jayden said, pointing at Magnus.

"Yep, I did," Magnus said, flashing a smug smile in the rearview mirror.

"Is that so?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep, mummy," Jayla chimed in. "He also showed us how to sneak ice cream from the fridge when you're not looking."

Magnus quickly focused back on the road, trying to avoid my glare.

That ice cream habit had to stop. I could still remember how I bought five liters of strawberry ice cream last week and found it gone in three days. That wasn’t normal.

"We need to talk about this when we get home, Magnus," I huffed, folding my arms.

"I'm sorry, baby," he said, not sounding sorry at all. "How could I say no to them? Have you seen how cute they are? Who could resist those big, doe eyes?"

"Me!" I deadpanned. He chuckled, rolling the car into the driveway.

Before I could get out of the car, Magnus pried my arms apart, took my left hand, and kissed it. "From now on, I won’t do it again. I promise."

"Fine, but now they’ll have to drink the herbal smoothie," I said, giving him a pointed look.

He frowned, clearly confused. "What?"

"For detoxification," I clarified, suppressing a smile at his horror.

"Mummy, we don’t want detoxification!" Jayden protested, and Jayla quickly agreed, their faces scrunching up in disgust.

I couldn’t help but laugh at how cute they were.

"Then you won’t grow up to be strong and healthy," I teased. "Do you want that?"

They both exchanged a look and shook their heads.

Kids were the funniest.

"Hi, baby, what’s up?" Magnus said as he walked into the kitchen where I was prepping chicken lasagna and coleslaw.

"I'm just preparing my surgical tools," I replied dryly, tossing the lasagna into the oven, which made him laugh.

His smile was contagious, and I couldn’t help but smile back as he crossed the room and hugged me from behind. It was the weekend, my day off, and Magnus didn’t work on weekends either.

"You know, baby," he said, nuzzling my neck, "I've been thinking about something lately."

"What’s up?" I asked, melting into his chest as he held me closer.

"I think we should move somewhere bigger," Magnus said. "A place with more room for Liam and Jayla."

I pulled back, confused. "Isn’t this place big enough for them?"

We had a nine-bedroom house, a private movie theater, a gym, a playground, a swimming pool—how much more space did they need?

"It’s not as big as I want," Magnus said. "Plus, we’re married now, and I want somewhere new. I’ve already found some places. I wanted to ask you first before making a decision."

"Where are they?"

"One’s ten minutes from Tender Care, and the others are about fifteen to twenty minutes away," he explained.

"Okay, we’ll go look at them together and make a choice," I said. He nodded happily.

Three weeks later, we moved into our new home—an eleven-bedroom mansion with an elevator, a walk-in fridge, a private gym, and even an event hall.

The twins had their own rooms now, especially since Jayden had finally conquered the monster under his bed and was no longer scared to sleep alone.

Today, I was lying on the bed, scrolling through social media when I heard Magnus stepping out of the shower.

"Why didn’t we take that shower together?" he said, looking too good for his own good, wearing nothing but a towel.

"Right? But it’s not too late to take another one, is it?" I said, giving him a mischievous grin as I eyed his abs.

"It sure isn’t," he said, stepping closer and planting a kiss on my lips.

My hands instinctively roamed his muscles as he dropped his towel, revealing everything.

Just as I was about to grab him, my phone rang.

"Ignore it, focus on me," I mumbled, trying to continue the kiss while my hand roamed.

But of course, the phone rang again, and this time I snapped, pulling away to grab the device.

My anger melted when I saw Rita’s name on the screen.

"Who’s calling?" Magnus asked, covering himself up.

"Rita," I said and answered the call.

"Hey, babes!" Rita’s excited voice blared through the phone. "David proposed, and I said yes! I finally realized that he makes me happy, and I doubt I’ll ever find someone who loves me as selflessly as he does!" She was rambling.

"Oh, Rita, I’m so happy for you!" I said. "That’s amazing! Congratulations!"

"Thanks, love! It’s so noisy here at the club. I’ll call you when we get home. David and I are celebrating!"

"Okay, babe. Tell him I said congrats."

"Will do! Give my love to your family, okay?"

"I will. Talk soon."

I hung up and turned to Magnus. "Rita’s engaged."

"That’s great for her," Magnus said, sitting beside me.

"Yeah, she deserves it."

I snuggled into him. "So, can you make me feel special now?"

He looked at me, then chuckled. "You don’t have to ask, love."