The judge waited for us in the main courtroom. The room was usually for the small court cases and minor legal issues of the city and county. It appeared that the entire town was sitting in the benches and chairs packed into the room. Everyone was happy and smiling.
Jacob turned, as did the entire courtroom, as I walked in.
I saw only Jacob. The rest of the town faded from my mind.
Jacob filled my world. He was all I saw. He had put on his suit jacket and a tie, and someone had gotten him a daisy boutonniere to match my bouquet. He smiled and I knew I was making the right decision. I could feel it in my bones. Every inch of me new that I was supposed to do this with him.
He was my match. We'd always been meant to be.
This was fate. It was how things were supposed to be.
And so, we got married an hour after he proposed.
Epilogue
We told everyone that Francine came early.
One of the perks of being married to the town doctor is that no one questions him when he says medical things. As far as the town knew, Francine was just an amazingly big preemie.
Francine Grace Matthews was born at two thirty in the morning on April second. Jacob delivered her himself. We were thankfully at the hospital, and one of the other doctors took over for him once the baby arrived so that he could be a parent and husband rather than a doctor.
She was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my life. It made waiting to meet her worth it. Even her cries were beautiful to me. Her tiny toes, her rosebud lips, and big blue eyes that looked just like Jacob's.
She made my heart break with too much love. I couldn't hold it all in when she was around. Even though I was exhausted, I didn't want to sleep because I just wanted to hold her and drink her perfection in.
If I thought I loved my daughter, my father absolute adored her.
For the first few weeks of her life, I shared her with him. The two of them would sit in his easy chair watching Sesame Street. He breathlessly read her the words on the screen, teaching her letters and numbers even while she slept.
I didn't know how long the two of them would have together, but I knew that my father loved his granddaughter. I was so incredibly happy that the two of them were able to meet, let alone have any time together. The cancer was winning the battle over his body, but his heart and mind belonged entirely to Francine.
Dr. Taggert signed over the clinic to Jacob while I was still pregnant. My mother was asking me to go back to work as soon as possible so that she can babysit. One of the benefits of being in a small town is that she can come to me for feedings.
Life is good.
I found love. I found my daughter. I had given up hope that my father would ever get to see me in a wedding dress, let alone meet any of his grandchildren.
Yet, he did.
* * *
Life is good.
Special Previews
Hey there! I’m so happy you enjoyed this book about the doctor and the nurse. There are two other books of mine coming out this month, and I’d like to share a little from each of them with you. Read on!
The Billionaire’s Baby Arrangement
The Billionaire’s Baby Arrangement
From New York Times bestselling author Krista Lakes comes a sexy standalone novel about a billionaire and the indecent proposal he gives the local barista.
Billionaire CEO Jackson Weathers needs a family for a PR boost, and I've signed a contract agreeing to give him one. A doting girlfriend in public. A wedding ceremony to invite all the socialites to. And finally, a baby for him to parade around, to show he's really a wholesome, down-to-Earth man.
I've tried to remain cynical about it. He's going to make all my dreams come true. So what if it's supposed to be a loveless marriage?
Only, his tenderness in private has me hooked. The way he kisses me drives me wild. When we make love, I lose myself to him. His body feels like it was meant to be on top of mine, like we fit together like two puzzle pieces. I can't help but begin to fall for him.