Aftershock (7 page)

***

Epilogue

One Year Later

The cold rain pounded down on Caitlyn
as she rushed from the car to the building in front of her carrying a sealed
plastic bag with her. She shook off her umbrella and waved hello to the
security guards at the front desk as she made her way over to the elevators. 

Getting off when the doors opened,
Caitlyn rushed the length of the seventh floor and came to the large office at
the end of the hall. Standing in front of Tag’s admin, Caitlyn smiled down at
the older woman who guarded his door.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Steele. And
a happy birthday to you as well!” 

“Thank you! Mary, how many times
have I told you to call me Caitlyn?”

“Old habits.”

Mary smiled up at her boss’ young
wife. Besides being Tag’s wife, Caitlyn was an invaluable employee of Steele
Technologies. Caitlyn had proved herself in the marketing department, working
her way up. She had gained Mary’s love and trust when she saw how happy Caitlyn
made Tag.

Happy and more complete.

It was evident to everyone who
saw Caitlyn and Tag together how deeply in love they were. Mary knew very
little about Caitlyn’s childhood, but what she did know made her glad that Tag
was there for her now.

Mary had worked for Tag for years
and it pleased her that he had found his match. She reached down and pulled out
flowers and a card, handing them to Caitlyn. Mary’s felt her own eyes tear up
as she watched Caitlyn’s eyes fill. It touched her heart that this bright young
woman could be so shocked with pleasure at such a simple gift.

Caitlyn leaned down to brush a
kiss against Mary’s aged cheek, whispering her thanks.

 “I thought you could use some flowers
for your birthday. This thunder and lightning is driving me crazy.”

“I don’t care about the weather,
it’s a beautiful day,” Caitlyn said with a bright smile. “Is he in?”

For you, always, Mary thought
with a smile. “Yes, he is. Go right on in.”

“Thanks!”

Caitlyn opened the door and
walked into the office and closed the door behind her.  Sitting at his desk,
king of his kingdom, was Tag. He was on the phone and looked up when he heard
the door close. His face, taut with irritation quickly changed to pleasure when
he saw her.  His warm smile that she knew was only for her spread across his
face as he forgot about whoever he was on the phone with. 

He hung up with an absent, “I’ll
have to get back to you.”

She hung up her coat and umbrella
then placed her flowers on the table, but kept hold of the bag in her hand. He crossed
the room quickly and pulled her against him for a deep, soul-searing kiss.

“Mmm, hello wife.”

“Hello, husband.”

Tag smiled at her as he pushed
the hair back from her face. “I came up earlier to see if you wanted to have
lunch, but they told me you were gone already. Did Jesse drag you out for a
birthday lunch?”

Shortly after Caitlyn had started
working for Steele Technologies, she had brought her friend Jesse over with
her. Delighted with his new job, he was flourishing. It had been weird at first
being Jesse’s boss, but he had been fine with it. They worked so well together
it was more of a collaboration anyways, although she wouldn’t be doing it for
much longer.

“No. I didn’t go out with Jesse today.”
Caitlyn tried to keep her cool.  She wanted this moment to be perfect. “Tag, I
have something I want to tell you.”

Tag lost his smile as it turned
into a look of concern. “Is everything okay? Are you okay?”

“Of course, I’m fine. Hey, loosen
the grip, buddy.” Tag’s hands had turned to vices on her arms. She stroked his
chest, trying to soothe him. “It’s nothing bad, I promise. Come here, I have a
birthday present I want to share with you. Well, two actually.” Caitlyn took
his hand in hers and led him over to the sofa. 

“Sweetheart, it’s your birthday
not mine.” He huffed out an impatient breath. “Well, tell me quick. You’re
starting to freak me out, baby. You know I don’t like it when I don’t know
what’s going on with you.”

Sitting down, she took a deep
breath as she set the bag she was carrying on her lap. She opened it and pulled
out the large, colorful book, handing it to him. Tag’s eyes brightened with
pride and pleasure.

“It came!”

A few months ago, with Tag’s
encouragement, Caitlyn had decided to submit her first completed children’s
book for publication. To her amazement, the publishing house had accepted it
and said they couldn’t wait to work with her on an ongoing series. She watched
as Tag’s hand ran over the colorful cover, stroking lovingly over her name, his
last name.

“It’s so beautiful, baby.”

“Thank you. I couldn’t have done
it without you.” Caitlyn pressed a finger over his lips to stop him from
arguing. “It’s true. This was part one of your surprise. The smaller one.”

“This is one hellava surprise,
sweetheart. I don’t know if you can top this.”

She breathed in deep, taking both
of his hands in hers. “Tag, it was a year ago that I met you here. A year ago
that we first made a promise to each other.”

They both looked down at the
aquamarine ring on her right hand that she had never taken off. “When we got
married, we made another promise to each other.”

His fingers played over the large
diamond on her left hand.

“But it was here, in this
building, that I fell in love with you. Everyday I wake up and I can’t believe
that this is real. That the life we made together is really mine. You were my
dream man and I fall more and more in love with you everyday. I wanted it to be
here in this building when I tell you that you’ve made all my dreams come true.
Do you remember what you promised me when we were stuck in the elevator? Tag,
you gave me my birthday wish.”

Tag’s face, filled with all the
love he felt for her changed to confusion for a moment before his breath sucked
in sharply. His intense eyes pierced through her, willing her to say the words
he needed to hear.

“Tag, I’m pregnant.” The absolute
happiness she felt had her tears streaming down her cheeks as she smiled.

“You’re pregnant?” Tag whispered.
“We’re going to have a baby?” He shouted with joy as his arms wrapped around
her, holding her tight. 

She laughed with delight as Tag
slid to the floor and placed his head over her stomach. “Hey there little one,
it’s daddy. Can you hear me? Daddy loves you so much. Mommy and daddy love
you.” Tag looked at Caitlyn, tears in his own eyes now. “This is the best
present I have ever gotten. I love you, baby. So much, I can’t even tell you
what you mean to me. You were my dream girl, too, baby. But dreams have nothing
on the reality of you.”

Caitlyn leaned down and brushed
her lips against his. “I love you too, Tag. You gave me my wish. You gave me
the family I always wanted. Thank you.”

And with all the love they shared
together, they knew that their dreams really had come true.

THE END

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Laurie Roma lives in
 
Chicago
 
and is the author of the IAD and
Arcadian series. She has always loved immersing herself in a good book and now
enjoys the pleasure of creating her own. She can usually be found tapping away
on her keyboard, creating worlds for her characters while she listens to music.
Of course her playlist depends on her mood…but then again, so does her writing.

An avid reader of the romance genre, nothing bothers her
more than annoying characters. Seriously, who wants a happy ending for someone
that pisses you off? She loves tough alpha-male heroes and strong heroines that
have brains as well as beauty. Her novels are filled with both passionate
romance and down and dirty lust-driven interludes, as she believes both are
essential to a good love story. She loves to hear from her readers and can be
reached at
 
[email protected]
.

For all titles by Laurie Roma,
please visit

http://laurieroma.blogspot.com/