"i'm so sorry. please tell me you forgive me," he begged as he buried his face deep into my neck.

"i forgive you, but we need to talk," i said.

"i know, and i'll do anything to make things right. i love you, and i missed you so much."

i broke our embrace and placed my hands on his face. "i missed you too," i said as i kissed him. "come sit down and have some coffee and the hangover cocktail i just made."

"you know i hate that stuff, elle."

"i know you do, but it works and you have to be feeling pretty lousy right now."

"i am," he said as he rubbed his head.

i picked up the glass with the cocktail in it and sat down on his lap. he wrapped his arms around me as i brought the glass to his lips. "drink." i smiled.

he looked at me, made a face, and took a sip as i tilted the glass. he took it from my hand and chugged it down as fast as he could, then placed the glass on the counter.

"where's julia?" he asked.

"she's at the house with mason. he's going to pack her stuff up and bring her home later."

"let's go sit on the couch," he said.

we sat on the couch, and i snuggled up against him as he put his arm around me. "do you remember anything about last night?" i asked.

"not really. how did you know i was at the club?"

"sarah used your phone to call me."

"oh," he said as he looked away.

"it's okay, connor. she kept an eye on you until i got there. she's a good person. i've misjudged her."

"she is a good person, but don't be going and becoming best friends with her."

i smiled as i stroked his chest. "i wouldn't do that."

when i lifted my head and stared up at him, he brought his mouth down to mine. his kiss was soft and gentle. i've missed his mouth, his kisses, everything, and my body was begging for him. i sat up and straddled him. his small smile grew bigger as he stroked my hair. i brought my lips to his and kissed him with such passion that it made my toes curl. after we made love the second time, connor called mason and told him not to bring julia home because we were coming out to the beach house to stay for a while.

"we're staying at the house? for how long?" i asked.

"i don't know. we can stay for as long as you want."

"what about black enterprises? you don't have a vp to help out."

"my dad is going to come out of retirement while i take some time off to spend with my wife and daughter." he smiled.

i smiled back as i kissed him. i wanted nothing more than to have him all to myself for a while. "thank you," i said.

connor's hand swept across my cheek. "you're the light in my life and when you're not around, my world is dark. i will never do anything to jeopardize our relationship again. i make this promise to you, ellery black, that from this day forward, i will never keep anything from you. you have my word, baby. i promise forever."

chapter 38

connor

it was julia's first birthday and party today. we'd spent the last two months at the house. i worked from home and occasionally went into the office. my dad had done an excellent job taking over as vice president, but did warn me to find someone quickly because he needed to go back into retirement. caterers had been in and out of the house all day, preparing for julia's party. she had just started walking and took her first steps to me. her first word was "dada" and ellery was not happy with that.

as i looked around the house at all the balloons that were hanging everywhere, i walked up to julia's room, where ellery was getting her ready for the party. the minute she saw me, she said, "dada" and smiled. as soon as ellery put her princess dress on her, julia walked over to me and hugged my legs.

"can you keep an eye on her while i go and get ready?" she asked.

"of course i can," i said as i picked up julia.

i took her out of the room and went downstairs. she smiled and pointed when she saw the balloons.

"those are for you," i said as i kissed her cheek.

she looked at me and then screamed to hold one. i took one out of the bunch and gave it to her. she smiled as her hand wrapped around the ribbon that was tied to the balloon. she babbled on as she put her hand in her mouth and looked up at the balloon she was holding. i love my little girl so much. ellery was my queen and julia was my princess, and nothing would ever change that.

guests had started to arrive and the party was underway. we had a total of one hundred people show up to help celebrate julia's first birthday. it was a day of fun, laughter, and good times with friends and family. ellery even went to the extreme and invited sarah. she came with her boyfriend, and they both seemed really happy. cassidy and ben were still dating and he confided in me that he was going to ask cassidy to marry him. denny had some aggressive chemo treatments for a month and was in remission and doing well.

julia was exhausted by time the party ended and she was getting cranky. after the last of the guests left, ellery and i took julia upstairs and put her in the bathtub. when her bath was finished, ellery put julia in her pajamas, we both kissed her cheeks, and then ellery laid her down in her crib. i held out my hand to ellery and she took it as we walked out of julia's room, shutting the door behind us. we both stood outside the door for a moment to make sure she didn't scream. the caterers and cleanup crew were cleaning the house, so i took ellery outside and down to the beach.

"that was a great party." i said as we sat down in the sand.

"thanks, honey. it was, wasn't it?" she smiled.

i brought her hand to my lips and kissed it as we looked ahead at the ocean water. "now that we're alone, there's something i need to tell you," ellery said.

"what is it, sweetheart?" i asked as i looked at her.

she turned to face me and took my hands in hers. with a big smile, she placed my hands on her stomach. "we're going to have another baby!"

i sat and looked at her shock. "what? are you sure? when did you find out?"

"i found out this morning. i wanted to tell you right away, but with all the people in and out, getting the house ready for the party, and then the guests arriving, i figured it would be better to wait until we were alone."

the joy that shot through me was incredible. i was so happy that ellery was pregnant again and i wanted to shout it from the rooftops. i cupped her face in my hands and i kissed her lips.

"i'm so incredibly happy. tell me you're happy, baby?"

"i'm so happy. maybe this one will be a boy." she smiled as she rubbed her tummy.

"it is a boy. aunt sadie said so, remember?"

we laughed and hugged each other tight. i got up and held out my hand. ellery placed her hand in mine as i took her into the house and straight up to our bedroom to celebrate the news.

the next eight months passed by so quickly. it seemed like it was only yesterday that ellery told me she was pregnant. she was scheduled for a c-section tomorrow morning. we found out through the ultrasound that we were having a baby boy. i was elated at the news that we would have a boy to carry on the black name and hopefully, someday, take over black enterprises. julia was growing fast and becoming, what mason liked to call her, a diva. but she was still my little princess and she had me wrapped around her little finger.

after i put julia to bed, i walked into our bedroom, where ellery was sitting sketching on her sketchpad. the chicago building was finally up and running and the art gallery was doing very well. i took off my shirt and pants, put on my pajama bottoms, grabbed my laptop, and sat on the bed next to ellery. i leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. she turned to me and smiled.

"i need to talk to you."

"about what, baby?" i asked as i opened up my laptop.

"i know we talked about a couple of boys' names, but i've already decided on one for this child."

"is that so? you decided on a name without consulting me?"

"yes. does that really surprise you?" she smiled.

"no, it doesn't. what did you come up with?"

"i want to name our son collin, after your twin brother."

as i put my hand on her large belly, i smiled at her. "i would love to call my son collin. thank you, sweetheart," i said as i kissed her.

"good, i'm glad you're on board with it. i really wasn't sure how'd you feel about it."

"collin would be honored to have his nephew named after him."

ellery smiled and went back to her sketch pad. i answered some emails and read some articles.

"by the way, how's ben doing?" she asked.

"ben's doing good. he's settled in his office, and he's buried up to his neck in legal bullshit."

"i think it's great that you hired him, and i know cassidy is happy."

"he's a great lawyer. he's marrying my sister, and he'll be at all the family functions. how could i not hire him?" i winked.

"just think, this time tomorrow, we'll have our second child. i never thought i'd have one child, let alone two," ellery said.

"me neither, baby. i never saw kids in my future, until i met you." i smiled as i looked over at her. she looked so tired. i pushed her hair behind her ear and ran the back of my hand across her cheek. "why don't you put your sketch pad away and get some sleep. you look tired."

"i am tired. it's been a long day," she said as she closed her sketch pad and set it on the nightstand. she leaned over and gave me a kiss on the lips. "i love you."

"i love you too." i smiled.

it hadn't even been five minutes and ellery was sound asleep. i was thirsty, so i got out of bed and headed downstairs for a bottle of water. on my way back up, i stopped into the spare bedroom that we had turned into a nursery. i flipped the light switch and looked around. the painted ocean blue walls with colorful fish, coral, and seaweed made you feel like you were standing in the bottom of the ocean. the turtles ellery had painted on the wall were amazing, as were the stars up above on the ceiling. she spent three months painting the room and she just finished putting the final touches on it yesterday. i smiled at the thought that come tomorrow, i'd have a son, and we'd finally be a family of four.

chapter 39

ellery

six years later...

we took the kids out to dinner before heading over to fao schwarz. christmas was in three weeks and the kids were excited to see santa claus. we sat in the restaurant, waiting for our food. julia was sitting next to connor, and collin was sitting next to me. both kids were coloring a picture. julia kept looking at the group of women who were at the next table. they kept looking over at connor. i noticed her looking at them, but i didn't say anything. the waitress walked over and set our food down in front of us.

"julia, eat your chicken fingers," connor said.