Page 113 of Pure Abandon

Taking my hand back, I turned to head toward the subway, but Asher called out, “Take the car. Devon will take you where you have to go.”

My body is soaked and there’s no way I’ll hail a cab. Even still, I can’t take his car. “No, this is something I have to do on my own.”

And I left. Leaving the beautiful, exotic, successful, philanthropic man who had more to give than I would ever deserve on a street corner in the rain.

My heart leaps when I see them. My two men, holding hands, walking down the dock toward me with their navy eyes and wavy, dark hair. They are twins.

“Let’s go get Mommy!” Gabriel says to Jackson, and the two run down the dock toward me.

My nerves catch up to me. I hate when he lets Jackson run on the dock. Especially since he’s not wearing his life jacket.

Gabriel hands Jackson to me, and I raise him over the railing.

“Hi, Mommy!” My sweet angel beams. “Look what I have!” He holds out his small hand to show me a plastic bag of goldfish crackers. “I was feeding the fish with fish!” His cherub cheeks lift into an angelic smile.

“That’s awesome. Did you and Daddy have fun?”

“Uh-huh. Where’s Grayson?” Jackson says as he shoves a handful of goldfish in his mouth.

“He’s inside with Grandma.” I give Jackson a quick kiss before he runs inside to see his little brother.

Grayson Monroe, my second angel. My new beginning. When I finally changed my name to Kathryn Monroe, it felt good. And when we were blessed with a second little boy, I knew there was no greater way to keep that piece of my family with me.

Gabriel lets out a laugh and kisses my hair. His fingers twist the soft curls in his hands. I let out a sigh. This is bliss.

“What are you thinking about?” he says with his lips pressed up against the top of my head.

“Just how happy I am.” I smile and nuzzle closer.

“Good. Me too,” he says.

And we are. It’s amazing to think we almost weren’t.

Gabriel starts the engine of the boat and drives it out toward the sea. The delicious scent and taste of the salt air brings on a sense of serenity. Once Gabriel guides the boat out of the harbor, the real fun begins.

With the boat as close to the eye of the wind as possible, Gabriel pulls the mainsail with the boom slightly over the transom. Since I’m a terrible seaman, Gabriel has hired a deckhand to help him drive the boat. Seeing him pulling ropes, moving beams, and cranking away, I know he’s in his glory. This is where he should have always been.

When the boat is cruising windward, Gabriel relinquishes complete control of the boat to the deckhand and takes a seat on the cushions of the deck sofa and holds his arms out to me. I slide into the crook of his arm and pull my feet up on the couch. I curl up as close as I can get to Gabriel without climbing on top of him.

“Now this is the life,” he says with his Robert Redford megawatt smile beaming into the sunset.

“Yes, this is where we should have been all along,” I gush.

“So you don’t regret selling the house?” he asks.

“Not one bit.”

“You don’t regret moving to sunny Florida?”

“Never.” I scrunch my nose at the thought of being anywhere else.

Gabriel lets out a laugh. I lean over and kiss him deeply and passionately.

It was never a choice of Asher or Gabriel. The choice was whether I would continue to fight for Gabriel.

I never loved Asher.

It was always my Gabe.