Tame the Beast : Small Beach Town, Single Mom Romance

The last two years have been the happiest I’ve ever had. After Matteo proposed, we got married the following week because who needs plans, right? But I didn’t mind, in fact, I was just in as much rush as he was to start our lives as a family.

Shortly after—as in the next day—he asked if he could adopt Mellie legally and there wasn’t even a moment of hesitation before I said yes. She’s been his daughter since the day she was born and these two have been as thick as thieves since then as well. Or more like she has him wrapped around her little finger.

Hence Matteo indulging her every wish, including sleeping with twenty naked barbies.

“What are you gonna do when this one is here?” I point to my swollen belly with our baby boy growing inside. “You better start getting used to Mellie sleeping in her own room.” And I do say that for his sake because he’s the unreasonable one when it comes to our daughter.

Mellie loves her room and has no issues sleeping in there.

“Nah.” Matteo shakes his head. “We’ll just get a bigger bed to fit us all.”

I sigh. “Of course we will.”

Matteo grins, pulling me in until I fall into his chest with a yelp and Mellie squeaks with excitement, thinking it’s play time instead of bedtime. She climbs out from underneath the covers and starts jumping around too.

“Me too, Papa. Me too!” She throws herself at him and I duck out of the way just in time before he catches her, cradling and tickling her.

“Me too, me too,” he mimics her playfully as she squirms, laughing.

This. This right here is what I’ve always wanted for my daughter. Since the day I read those test results, I wanted her to have it all.

But she has something so much better. We have something so much better.

A family. A real, loving, fun, understanding family with a man who not only loves us but gives us his all every day, every hour and minute.

I feel my eyes stinging with emotion and Matteo is right there, wiping away the stray tear with his thumb. “What is it, Beastie? Did we hurt you?”

“No.” I shake my head with a teary smile on my face. “You made me the happiest woman on earth.”

“In that case, never have I ever been happy to see tears,” he says, swiping them from my cheeks and my shoulders shake with silent laughs.

“I thought we were done with that game a long time ago.”

“None of it was ever a game to me, Zoe. It was just me getting to know the love of my life a little better.”

THE END.