Temptation Trails - Page 179

“Thank you.”

“Did I miss anything?”

“No. I can’t imagine anything better.”

“Good.” He leaned down and kissed the tip of my nose. “Neither can I.”

“I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

He brought his lips to mine, and I fought a small smile as I ignored Owen’s groan. It was our engagement day, he could live with it. And as Garrett kissed me, I realized something. It was like a flash of awareness, sparking through my brain with bright intensity.

My bad luck was gone.

The mirror curse shouldn’t have been over for another several months. But I hadn’t had a single incident of bad luck recently.

Garrett had broken the curse.

Okay sure, I’d gotten pregnant unexpectedly, but that wasn’t bad luck. No, it was the best thing that had ever happened to me. And yes, we’d been targeted by a raving lunatic serial killer and could have been murdered. But we weren’t. And now an evil man would never hurt another person again.

Plus, the bakery was thriving, the criminal who’d hated Garrett had gotten help, creepy Matt had found a love connection with stoic Mila, Aunt Doris was enjoying retirement, I had wonderful new friends, and was surrounded by a huge new family I loved like crazy.

That seemed like a lot of good, especially for a girl who’d gotten awfully used to the bad.

Garrett had definitely broken the curse.

And now I was going to be his wife.

He pulled away and gently touched my face. I loved him so much, I felt like my heart could burst. We were going to be a family, the three of us—soon to be four. I’d never imagined I could be so happy, so fulfilled, so in love and at peace.

My dreams were coming true, even the ones I’d been too afraid to dream. I couldn’t have imagined a better happy ending to our story.

And really, we were just beginning.

Epilogue

HARPER

Never before had a red velvet cupcake tasted so good.

I closed my eyes, savoring the sweetness and texture. It felt like I hadn’t eaten in days and my reward was a decadent feast of deliciousness.

With a contented sigh, I finished my treat. Mila had brought a dozen to the hospital for us to share, and with the craziness of the last twenty-four hours, I hadn’t eaten mine yet. Garrett’s sat in the box, the lone cupcake left, and I was more than a little bit tempted to devour his, too.

He slept in what we’d named the daddy chair—a wide, pink recliner that leaned almost all the way back. Why someone had chosen pink, I had no idea. But the color didn’t really matter. His eyes were closed, his bare chest rising and falling with the slow rhythm of his breathing. And on his chest, dressed in nothing but a diaper with a blanket over her, was our daughter, Isla.

She’d come into the world after what had felt like an eternity of labor, but had only been about twelve hours from the time we’d arrived at the hospital. I’d never forget the experience of seeing the tiny one for the first time. Her round face, her eyes blinking in what was probably confusion, her sweet little mouth.

That perfect little face had bunched up and she’d started screaming. It had been a sight to behold.

I couldn’t stop staring at her little elbows and knees, her fingers and toes. The wispy blond babyfuzz on her head. She’d cried a lot at first, only calming down when the nurse finished with her and put her in my arms.

My heart had just about burst. And looking at her, sound asleep on her daddy’s bare chest, my love for her welled up, filling me with warmth and gratitude.

I loved them so much.

How could you love someone you’d only laid eyes on a few hours before? How could my entire body be so attuned to her, so intent on her well-being? If I’d been worried I didn’t have enough love to give, those fears melted in the fire of mother’s love that consumed me.