“Where are the girls?” I said to Nate.

He turned his head on the fat cushion he was resting against and peered at me over the glasses he now had to wear. He hated them. I thought they made him look adorable. Which was exactly why he hated them. “I thought they were in the living room watching a film.”

“And that usually comes with singing or dancing or squealing of some sort.” I got up off of the chair, leaving my book in my place. “I’ll be back in a sec.”

“Baby, can you get me a coffee while you’re up?”

“Your lack of concern is wonderful.” I rolled my eyes at him and disappeared out of the room.

What I found in the living room made me draw to a stop with a small gasp.

Playing on the large television screen Nate had mounted on our wall above the fireplace was our wedding DVD.

Lily and January sat on the couch, quiet as mice as they watched their mom and dad dance at their reception.

I stared at the image, too, at the way that Nate held me close and gazed into my eyes like no one else was in the room with us.

Clearly the girls were mesmerized by this, watching it as if they were watching a Disney Princess movie.

I felt heat at my back seconds before arms slid around my waist and drew me back against a hard chest. I relaxed against Nate, covering his arms with my own. He nuzzled my neck and whispered in my ear, “Good movie choice.”

I grinned. “I haven’t watched it in ages,” I whispered back.

Lily turned, having heard us. She wore a look of apology. “Oh. We just found it.”

January glanced over her shoulder at us. “Mummy, your dress is so pretty.”

“Do you still have it?” Lily asked, eyes bright just at the thought of getting to wear it.

“I do. I’ll show it to you, but you have to be really careful with it, okay?”

They nodded solemnly, my two little angels.

“Daddy, you’re wearing a kilt there!” Lily giggled.

“I am wearing a kilt,” he acknowledged as he shuffled me forward as if I were his puppet, making the girls giggle harder.

“Did you like wearing a kilt?”

He squeezed me harder. “I don’t know. Did I like wearing a kilt?”

I shook my head. “You complained about it the whole day.”

Lily paused the DVD and turned around on the couch to face us. Like always, January did what her big sister did. “Would you rather wear a kilt or a nappy?” She grinned like she’d thought of the funniest thing ever.

I shook with laughter, wondering if Nate regretted introducing our “would you rather”

conversations to our children.

“Hmm.” He actually pretended to ponder it. “I think I’d rather wear a kilt.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s warmer and less humiliating.”

Lily giggled again, but Jan wrinkled her nose. “What does humil—humanaiting mean?”

“Humiliating,” Lily corrected her. “It means embarrassing.”

My smart, smart little cookie.

“Oh.” Jan laughed, the dimples she’d inherited from her father flashing. “Yeah, a nappy would make you look silly, Daddy.”

“I don’t know.”

I glanced over my shoulder to look at him. “A nappy, really?”

He grinned, his own dimples flashing. “I could pull off a nappy.”

“Honey, I love you, and I think you are very handsome, but not even you could pull off a man nappy.”

He snorted. “Maybe you’re right.”

“Mum, would you rather be married to Daddy or the man from the washing-up liquid commercial?” Lily grinned mischievously.

I bugged my eyes out at her as my kid gave me away.

Nate gently eased me around to face him. “What’s this?” he teased.

I shrugged sheepishly. “He’s very good-looking.”

“So?” He raised an eyebrow. “Me or this washing-up guy?”

Now it was my turn to pretend to muse over it. “The washing-up guy does do the dishes.”

“We have a dishwasher.”

“He cleans kitchen countertops too.”

“Hey, we had a deal. I give you two cute kids, you clean the kitchen.”

“That’s a pretty good deal, Mum.” Lily smiled.

I made a face at Nate, who couldn’t contain his laughter. “She’s got you there.”

“She’s not got me there. I did the hard work to produce these two angels. That doesn’t make sense at all. If anyone should be cleaning countertops, it’s you.”

“Mum, would you rather —”

“No, my turn.” I bent down as far as I could with Nate’s arms wrapped around me and brushed my nose over Lily’s and then Jan’s. They both giggled and waved me away. “Would you rather live in the sewers with enchanted animals and pretty elves and mystical sewer cities, or in a beautiful, peaceful forest with a bunch of pretty princesses and charming princes?”

Our girls looked at each other for a second as they contemplated it and then turned in unison and said, “Sewers!”

“Good answer.” I nodded in approval.

“That was a tough one.” Nate was pensive. “I was really having a hard time coming up with an answer to that one.” He put a hand to his heart in a dramatic fashion. “Live in the dirty sewers with a bunch of lovable weirdos or traverse a beautiful forest with a gorgeous princess. It’s tough. Really tough.”

“Daddy!” The girls laughed at his joking, their giggles coming harder.

“You’re lucky you’re adorable in those glasses.” I pressed into him, laughing when his eyes narrowed at the word “adorable.” “Or I might just take offense to the whole gorgeous princess thing.”

“I wouldn’t,” he whispered. “She was dull as dishwater and kept falling asleep.”

“Sleeping Beauty!” Jan shouted, having overhead. “Can we watch Sleeping Beauty?”

“Yeah!” Lily shouted, dashing across the room to our DVD cabinet.

Nate looked from them to me and snorted. “Our wedding DVD has been bumped for Sleeping Beauty.”

I pulled him away from the girls, snuggling into him once I had him at the doorway. When I was sure the girls couldn’t hear, I whispered, “Perhaps there is something to the whole Sleeping Beauty thing.”

His hands flexed on my hips, his gaze turning low-lidded and hot. “What did you have in mind?”

“I’m thinking sexual fantasy. Tonight.” I brushed my lips over his. “Your choice? Do I play a damsel-in-distress fairy-tale style, or do we go with something a little more sci-fi?” I grinned suggestively.

“Never change,” he whispered hoarsely. “You are absolutely fucking perfect the way you are.”

“What are you talking about?” Lily called over to us nosily.

“Your dad is just remembering why he married me,” I called back, and he grinned, those irresistible dimples flashing again, like they were wont to do at least thirty times a day.

Johanna

“Belle loves it here.” I snuggled into Cam’s side as the breeze from the water sent goose bumps up all over me. “I should have put on a jacket.”

In response, Cam opened his and burrowed me into him, closing the jacket over me as far as it would go. “We should make an effort to come here more often.”

I nodded, watching Belle play on the beach with our friends, Lyn and Peetie’s daughter, Sara. Lyn and Cam’s mum, Helena, pretended to chase them, and their giggles floated up into the air to join the caws of the seagulls above our heads.

I always loved Cam’s hometown of Longniddry. I loved the nearby beach we were on, and I loved that my kid loved her grandparents so much. I loved that she was having the kind of life I’d always dreamed of having as a child.

“Cole and Shannon will be enjoying the sun,” Cam said, a smile in his voice.

Belle shrieked as she spun out of Helena’s reach only to go running straight into her Grandpa Anderson. He laughed and swooped her up into the air, and she giggled and cried out as he spun her around before releasing her to the sand again. Sara demanded the same treatment, and Peetie obliged as Lyn and the grandparents looked on. I followed Belle with my eyes as she ran on ahead a little.