I point to the door and snarl, “Get out.”
She practically runs from the room, and I turn toward Avery who is looking at me with tears in her eyes. I sit back down next to her and lean over her to press my forehead against hers. “I’m sorry that I didn’t understand before and argued about it. I get it now and if that nurse tries to come in here again then I’m calling Cole to get her ass fired.”
Avery barks out a laugh and shakes her head. “Thank you, Papa Bear, but you don’t have to get her fired.” I grumble and she cups my jaw and tips her head back so her lips brush against mine. All thoughts of the nurse evaporate. “Thank you for standing up for me,” she whispers against my lips.
“I’ve got your back, Sweetheart.” I rub a hand over her belly. “You and little heart. Always.”
“I know,” she hums.
After that everything starts to move a lot fucking faster than I thought it would. It’s only a few hours later when I’m holding our daughter in my arms with tears in my eyes, ones I know are falling without any shame.
I thought I was in awe of my woman for growing our daughter, but after watching her give birth when I felt fucking helpless? I know she’s a goddess sent down to mingle with us mere mortals.
Avery hums as she watches me with our daughter. “Freya Aviva Madison,” she whispers. I look up at her and all I can do is nod. “Freya to honor the Norse god of love and war because life is both when you’re doing it right, and Aviva because she is the fresh start for both of us when it comes to having a family all our own.”
“It’s perfect,” I rasp, my voice hoarse.
I gently hand our daughter over to Avery and watch in awe as our daughter nurses. Watching them bond makes me fall deeper in love with my woman.
When I reach for Avery’s hand and slip a ring on her finger, she doesn’t notice at first. But when she does, she looks up at me with wide eyes.
“I love you, Sweetheart. You and our little heart give me peace and a home. Will you marry me?”
“Yes.”
One word spoken through tears. It seems so small, but it’s not.
It’s everything.
Just like her. My heart. The mother of my daughter. The woman I will love until my last breath and then, hopefully, in every lifetime until the stars cool and the wild is tamed.
EPILOGUE
ONE YEAR LATER
AVERY
I wake up slowly, the feeling of my husband’s hands roaming over my body making my skin tingle. His touch is so soft and filled with love that I don’t want to break the spell just yet and keep my eyes closed. Then he starts to kiss up and down my neck and I almost lose it.
“I know you’re awake, Sweetheart,” he rasps against my skin.
When I feel him pull back from me, I open my eyes and look up at him.
Fuck.
He looks just as good today as he did the night I met him. Better, really.
Because now I don’t see the shadows in his eyes like I did back then. While he’s not the life of the party or anything, he’s come out of his shell so much in the last year. Hell, he was doing it even before then as we prepared for our daughter’s birth.
He’s no longer the brooding guy in the corner who grunts more than he answers a question directly. He’s no longer the man who guards his heart to protect himself from our family.
Now, he’s the first one to offer a hand and to be there to help. Because he knows how important it is to show up, even imperfectly.
Now, he’s the man who gives of himself even when he’s tired and doesn’t think he has anything else to offer. Because he understands there is magic in the moments when life is challenging you to step up and push past what holds you back and what makes you doubt.
And the way he loves me?
It’s something I never thought I could have.
