Author's note:

My dear friends, this is it. For the one last time, because of the length, I've had to split an epilogue into two chapters. Part two is coming today too.

Warning: a light sexual content.

I sincerely hope you're going to enjoy it.

-

Naples, Florida, February, nine years later

Daniel Linares unlocked his house door, entering tiredly. There was a complete silence all over the place, causing some kind of uneasiness in him. He leaned his head against the door, squeezing his eyes shut and sighing. The project which his team was currently working on has deprived him of almost all of his spare time. All Daniel wanted was a little rest.

He opened his eyes again, looking around. The opened concept of the house gave him a perfectly clear view of almost all first floor rooms. The gloom and silence began to echo all over the room and he could no longer bear them.

„Sofia! Christian!", he yelled.

There was silence for a few more moments but then he heard a loud banging with the door and the bustling steps. It didn't take long to see a two well-known dark-haired heads approaching him fast.

„Daddy!", the children's screams filled the place.

Daniel crouched down, smiling broadly. His six and four years old ran to him, hugging him firmly around the neck and smiling back. His day immediately became better and brighter.

„Hey...I've missed you, guys!", he said. „How was school? And kindergarten?"

The girl, Sofia just shrugged.

„Iria took my cookie and milk.", she replied, narrowing her eyes. Daniel smiled again. Sofia was irresistible.

„Have you told the teacher?"

The dark-haired girl shook her head, suddenly becoming embarrassed. Daniel immediately knew what that meant.

„We talked about this already, didn't we? Pushing your friends is a bad thing.", he said, trying to stay serious and strict bus it was hard when his little girl was looking at him like that. Ever since they were babies, his kids were raised so they know to stand up for themselves when someone is trying to harm them in any way but Sofia's emphasized temper was slowly becoming a problem. His daughter reminded him of him as a child. Daniel wasn't much different.

„We'll have to talk about it, Sofie.", he said and then faced Christian, his four years old son. „And you? How was your day?"

Instead of answering verbally, the boy just smiled, putting his finger in his mouth. Daniel tickled his belly, causing him to wiggle, laughing loudly. Once again, he pulled both of them in his embrace, giving him a kiss on the cheeks.

„I love you both.", he stated.

His children returned the affection. They were happy because daddy was finally at home.

At this point, more steps were heard and Daniel raised his eyes up until he caught Elisa, a young girl who was Sofia and Christian's nanny, came over. She seemed to have sighed in relief.

„I should've known it was you. I started to panic when they ran away like that."

Elisa was of great help and Daniel was immensely grateful to her for everything she did for his family.

„Thanks for coming.", he said sincerely, smiling softly. „C'mon...I'll pay you and you're free for today."

Elisa picked up her belongings and Daniel gave her a few bills, which represented her today's salary and then she started to leave but, at the last moment, she changed her mind, facing him again.

„Have you eaten? If you're hungry, I can prepare something to eat for you."

He just thanked her, shaking his head.

„I ate at work. They had lunch?", he asked, pointing to his children.

„Yes. Right after I picked them up from school."

Daniel walked the girl out of the house and then, returned to his kids who were already playing in front of the large window which was looking out, toward the sea. The waves forming on the open sea were absorbing his attention. He wanted to sneak out and try to catch a few but, lately, he didn't have a time for that. Sometimes, he really missed good old times.

Still, investing in a beach hose proved to be profitable. Daniel's family enjoyed direct access to the sea and their own private beach. The tall man soon felt a small hand catching his own. He lowered his eyes to his six years old. Sofia's face was somewhat sad.

„When mommy will come home?", the girl asked, looking at him with her big eyes, full of hope. Daniel just sighed, rubbing his temple tiredly. He crouched to Sofia, gently grabbing her upper arms.

„We could talk about your birthday next Saturday instead. Have you already chosen what you want as a gift?", he asked, hoping that Sofia would drop the previous subject, connected to her mother. But the girl didn't seem to have that plan.

„I want mommy. Will she come to my birthday?", she asked, her voice now trembling. Daniel knew that Sofia is upset so he tried to calm her down, gently caressing her upper arms.

„Honey...we've already talked about this. You know mommy can't come.", he uttered what seemed to break his daughter's heart. Her brown eyes suddenly filled with tears and he absolutely hated it so he lifted her in his arms, gently rubbing her back in an attempt to comfort her.

„I miss her too.", he stated quietly, looking toward the creek.

The upset little girl also drew Christian's attention so Daniel had to think fast before would have to calm down two emotional kids.

„Chris, honey, why don't you grab me one of the books from the shelf. I'll read you a story, okay?"

The boy immediately listened to his father. Daniel settled down on the sofa, placing Sofia next to him. She wiped the tears from her face, leaning against him. Christian climbed on the other side, handing him one of many books Daniel had bought for these purposes.

The trio managed to get into the story and Daniel's kids were soon sleeping with their heads on his legs. He was observing them, his hands going through their hair. The tall man then leaned against the headboard, closing his eyes.

Finally so much needed rest.

They slept almost all afternoon. There was already dark out there and they didn't even flinch. They were sleeping firmly...hard. So much that they haven't heard the key entering the door and unlocking it.

There was a head, sticking into the darkness of the room from the other side of the door. The woman entered the house, closing the door behind her and when she looked in the direction of the terrace window, she saw a very adorable thing. She simply had to smile. Daniel was sleeping on the sofa with children's heads in his lap. She approached them slowly and quietly, not wanting to wake them up and put her bag down on a glass table, right up to the sofa.

Wrong move. One of the metal rivets made a sound, immediately awakening Sofia. The girl first rubbed her eyes, then opening them slowly. As soon as she registered who is standing in front of her, a big, broadly smile found its way on her face and she jumped up.

„Mommy!", she shouted excitedly.

A loud exclamation awakened Daniel and Christian. Both of them were rubbing their eyes in confusion, wondering what was happening. Then, the tall man saw his wife.

„Nikki...", he murmured silently as Nikki looked down at him, hugging overexcited Sofia.

„I've missed you. Never leave again, please.", the girl said, holding her tightly around her neck. The woman knelt down so she could hug her son too. Both of their children were visibly excited.

„I promise, I won't leave again for so long.", she said, shooting them.

Daniel slowly stretched out, still not believing that Nikki was actually at home.

„What are you doing here? I thought you would be home in a week?", he asked.

„It's a long story. I'll tell you everything later."

She felt two hands pulling her jacket's sleeves.

„Mommy, you're not going to leave again, yeah?", Sofia asked again as if Nikki hadn't told her exactly that just a few moments ago. The woman lowered herself on her kids level, kissing both of their cheeks.

„I love you.", Chris said, making her smile.

„And I love you both too. C'mon, give me a kiss."

The kids listened to their mother and did what she asked of them. Nikki hugged them once again.

„Did you have dinner? I can make something if..."

Daniel then approached, catching her upper arms.

„Woah, Woah...you just came home. Take a break, go shower or something. I'll make dinner.", he said and then faced two little dark heads. „You two...bathroom. We'll eat soon. C'mon."

They rushed in the direction of the bathroom while Nikki was staring into Daniel's eyes. She really missed him so she threw her arms around his neck, standing on her tippy toes so she could give him a kiss. Daniel welcomed her, immediately kissing back.

„I'm really glad you're finally home. I was already on the edge.", he said, pulling her body closer. „But you still have to give me an explanation."

Nikki was absorbing the feelings which were still strong even after so many years of them being together. Nothing has changed between them. She still loved him immensely.

„I will, I promise. During the dinner, okay?"

The tall man nodded, letting go of her so she could go unpack and try to compose herself. In the meantime, he started to make shrimps and pasta, hoping that Nikki and kids would like his choice.

When she, after an hour, returned back to the ground floor, he had already set up the table. There was only food missing. He noticed that Nikki was looking much fresher and she changed into short, sweatpants and a t-shirt. Daniel could safely say that time wasn't affecting her beauty. Moreover, with the passage of time, Nikki was more beautiful and he loved her more than ever. He was so grateful for her and the life they've built together.

Soon, the kids rushed back in and they all sat down at the table together.

„I fired Michaela.", Nikki suddenly said, chewing on her food casually.

Daniel's eyes widened as he drooped the for on his plate.

„What? Why?", he asked, totally surprised, making her sigh.

„Look...I came from Seattle to Naples so I could be with you. And ultimately, our family.", she tried to explain. „Michaela is crazy. I have a life in Naples and I can't stay in Miami with her just because she is insisting on these unnecessary meetings. There's no writer on this world who has to justify his every move or every new sentence to his manager. This doesn't exist anywhere, except in Michaela's head."

Daniel understood when she was coming from. More than she thought. For the past month, he was living alone with their kids. Without her. And he missed her very much.

„Dan, I know you've had problems with Sofia. And I know she was constantly asking about me. They are my children too and I have to be there for them. Even under the price of my career."

The tall man immediately shook his head, wiped his mouth and then sat one seat closer to her. He noticed that Sofia and Christian were too into dinner to pay attention to their conversation.

„We could move to Miami."

„No. Kids love living here. You love it too. I will not take our family out of Naples. Out of question. Besides, your parents are here and if we need them, they can always jump in and watch over the kids. End of story. I'll find a new manager. Trust me when I tell you she is mental. I don't have to be in one place to write. I can work from home too."

He smiled softly.

„You were the one insisting on putting new book's plot in Miami.", he said briefly, making her glare at him, anger rising in her. He immediately raised his hands in defense. „Look, I don't want to make you angry. If you're certain this is a good idea, then okay. I trust you and I believe you know what's best for your career."

„Thank you.", she replied in relief. „I don't want to be in Miami anymore. I think I've explored it to the last corner. I have enough information and I'll continue to write from here."

He only lightly kissed her cheek, changing the subject.

„We have to talk about Sofie. She threw a temper tantrum in school again.", he informed Nikki, who immediately faced her daughter. She sat next to her.

„Sofie...would you tell me what happened today at school?"

The girl suddenly stopped eating, lowering her fork to the plate. She looked up at her mother's face to check if she was angry but Nikki's face remained soft.

„Iria took my cookie.", she said quietly. Nikki used her hand to lift Sofia's head up, their eyes meeting again.

„And what did you do?"

„I pushed her. I don't like when someone touches my things."

The woman just sighed.

„We already talked about this.", she said softly, not wanting to upset her. „If someone does something bad to you, you immediately tell your teacher."

Sofia looked back at her plate, making Nikki sigh once again. Her hand went through the girl's dark locks.

„C'mon, finish your dinner.", she said with a soft smile, then turned to Daniel again. „I'll arrange a meeting with her teacher and we'll talk about this."

He agreed with her. He wanted to solve the problem of Sofia's temper and knew Nikki is much better in these things than he is.

When they finished eating, Nikki took the kids to their rooms while Daniel was cleaning the mess they made. He cleaned up fast and his wife didn't return yet so he settled in the living room. It was dark. He sat down on the sofa, looking through the terrace window, toward the creek. The moonlight splashed all over the almost quiet sea surface, leaving its silver trace. It was one of Daniel's favorite sights.

Soon, he felt two arms around his neck and a kiss on his cheek. Nikki went around the sofa and sat down on his lap, straddling him. She smiled, using her palms to pull his face closer. Daniel instinctively put his hands on her hips, kissing her. They stayed in this position for a long time, just exchanging soft kisses and getting used to one another again.

„I love when the house falls into silence and when the kids fall asleep.", he said, lowering his kisses down Nikki's neck. She hugged him tighter, closing her eyes.

„Me too. I love them to heaven but sometimes, they're so loud.", she said, letting out a quiet laugh. „What do you think about spending a day on the beach tomorrow? Altogether."

Daniel moved away, to look at her face. Nikki was even more beautiful to him in the darkness of the room.

„Maybe...if I won't get a call from the office.", he replied, making her sigh.

„What about now? They won't call you now."

Daniel was confused.

„You want to go to the beach? Now?", he asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

„No.", she replied. „I want you to take me to our room and show me how much you've missed me."

His eyebrows rose up in amusement, as he smiled, getting up and holding her hips. Nikki wrapped her legs around his waist. Daniel was already kissing her neck again, taking her up to their bedroom.

It didn't take them long to get there and Daniel lowered her down to the white sheets. Nikki lied her head on the pillow as he was hovering over her, looking at her with these dark blue eyes she loved so much. There was no other light, besides a moonlight, breaking through window blinds.

„I've missed you...so much, baby.", she said, caressing his cheek and then pulling him in an eager kiss. He immediately kissed back.

„I've missed you too. I love you!", he replied, between breaths. Nikki just smiled...broadly.

Daniel took his time in getting rid of her clothes. He wanted to prolong this as much as possible. He wanted to enjoy this. As he was removing piece by piece, his lips were covering revealed skin, replacing the clothes.

Nikki was already squirming beneath him. They had a lot of making up to do and a lot of tension to get rid of. She pulled him, connecting their lips again. No matter how much time passed, she could never get enough of his lips.

His hands started to roam all over her body and his kisses moved down, on her neck. She closed her eyes, absorbing the feeling.

„Baby...", she whimpered.

Daniel heard her calling and he caught both of her hands, dragging them above their heads and interweaving their fingers. Next, he slowly entered her, making her gasp and close her eyes in pure bliss. His lips never left her neck.

It didn't take them long to get used to one another again. They moved together, in harmony, letting all their feelings and emotions to break all over the room.

„I love you so much.", Nikki managed to say, between broken gasps.

Daniel only kissed her lips.

They stayed like this almost all night, sharing the passion, love and showing how much they missed each other in the best possible way. Making love to each other.

-

„Sofia, don't go too far. It's cold and the sea isn't for swimming.", Nikki yelled to her daughter who was playing in the shallows, cheerfully tapping the foamy waves with her feet. Christian was building towers in the sand while she and Daniel were sitting on the lounger, her back leaning against his chest.

The tall man watched their kids play.

„The anniversary is coming soon, isn't it?", Nikki asked, gaining his attention. „You'll go to Sanibel?"

Daniel sighed.

Yes, it will soon be ten years since Sofia died. He got over it...he was no longer grieving but the pain he felt for losing Sofia had never completely disappeared. Nikki knew and accepted it. She knew Daniel loves her and that she had no reasons to be concerned. That was the main reason why her reaction to his annual going to Sanibel to greet his old love wasn't heavy.

Daniel needed it to maintain peace and serenity.

„Maybe. Are you angry?", he asked, gently caressing her shoulder.

Nikki just laughed.

„You ask me the same question every year and my answer is always the same. I'm not angry.", she replied, kissing his cheek. „I understand. It's your thing."

The tall man lowered his gaze to her and once again thanked the heavens for having such an amazing person, full of understanding.

„You're...unreal.", he said. „I still can't believe you allowed me to call our daughter after her."

The woman looked toward the sea again, where Sofia was playing.

„She was very special to you and you loved her very much. I understood it nine years ago and I understand it now. Things like that will never change."

Yes. Daniel loved Sofia immensely. So much that when she died, he nearly lost himself in grief and sorrow. That would have happened if Nikki didn't come to his life. He thought he would never be able to love again. She proved to him the opposite.

„Even after so many years, I'm still...I don't know. I still have a need to...mark it somehow.", he explained. „But I'm so glad I've met you. You came at the right time and saved me."

„And you saved me too.", she replied. „I was so lost after what Darnell did to me. I often catch myself thinking...if I hadn't found him with another, today I'd be married to him. Only God knows what hell of a marriage we'd be living in."

The eyes of the tall man are still becoming dark when someone accidentally mentions her former fiancé. Although Darnel wasn't a part of their lives for nine years, he would never forget his sudden appearance in Naples. He looked at her profile, smiling slightly. He couldn't imagine sharing his life with anyone, except Nikki.

„Do you remember when we broke up?", he asked suddenly.

With a certain amount of bitterness, she remembered that ugly break-up, one year after she returned to Seattle.

„Yeah...I can't forget about it even if I want to. It was because of that bimbo from Miami, right?"

Daniel laughed, rolling his eyes.

„She was my friend.", he replied.

„Yes, a friend who was crazy in love with you and haven't even bothered to hide it. Your pictures were on all existing social networks she had.", Nikki said immediately, still feeling a dose of anger. „I went completely nuts."

„I remember. You left me.", he reproached to her, making her sneer. „My mom had such a bad reaction when I told her. She was convinced that I would go back to my old ways. Luckily, I remained humble and two weeks later went to Seattle to fix everything."

„Oh, honey...you still believe that coming to Seattle saved you?"

Daniel was kind of surprised with her question, raising his eyebrows. He left a good part of his savings in the airline company just to be able to get to Nikki and told her he wouldn't let her go. He didn't understand the question but she immediately made it clear.

„You stopping hanging out with her saved your ass.", she clarified, making him shook his head in amusement.

„You're impossible."

„Maybe. But I definitely don't like to share what's mine."

„And then we wonder why Sofie has such a temperament. The two of us are the worst possible combination. I'm scared of what problems will Chris making because they say the second child is always worse than the first."

Nikki laughed loudly, moving closer to him as he hugged her tightly and then, his hands moved up and down her arms, making gentle strokes. The movements were so shooting that Nikki almost fell asleep. She closed her eyes, trying to absorb as much sun as the February allowed her. She was thinking about their friends.

„Are Brian and Addy coming next Saturday? Have you heard from him?"

The tall man nodded.

„Yeah...they're both coming.", he replied.

„Believe it or not, even after six years, I still can't get used to him living in Seattle now. Just like that. He sold his business and moved so far away."

Daniel understood what his wife was trying to say. He was very surprised when his best friend told him he was leaving Naples to live with Addison in Seattle. Brian always seemed like a person who could never leave his home. But he simply moved to the other end of the States. Soon, he and Addison were married and had their first child, Jason. Now, Brian is the head of one of the local shops and lives with Addison and their two children in the city center apartment. They called the other son Frank.

„I know. When we're already talking about her birthday, I want to remind you that we have to talk to Aline and Maia. You know...their usual exaggerations in choosing gifts."

After he mentioned their other two friends, Nikki rolled her eyes. Two women were well-known for expensive gifts. As they didn't have their own children yet, they decided to spoil Sofia and Christian, although Daniel was convinced that the situation wasn't much better when it comes to Jason and Frank, or Lucia, Marina and Javier's daughter.

„Oh, yeah, I know.", she replied. „I'll call them next week before they get back from Austraila."

Although they were in a legitimate relationship, Aline and Maia loved and cherished their free and uncompromising life. Two years after Nikki returned to Seattle, Aline decided to quit her job in the hotel and put her degree in a good use. She found a job in some huge, international company in Miami. She never liked to talk about work but everybody knew if there was some organization problem in affiliates, the Latina was the person who received a call. That meant a lot of traveling all around the world. Fortunately, as a web-designer, Maia could work from anywhere so she always followed Aline. They had been in Perth for almost a year now where Aline was trying to solve some huge, complicated organizational problem. Maia used it to visit her grandparents.

Nikki often admired them of an unattainable life they had and teased them how everything is going to be much harder when they would have their own children. However, in her last phone conversation with the Latina, she found out that they have some problems. Aline wasn't specific and she only said she would tell her everything when they get back to Florida. Nikki just hoped that everything was okay with their marriage.

Sofia soon ran to them, interrupting the conversation.

„Dad, I'm hungry.", she said.

Daniel and Nikki immediately got up and he took the basket, placed beside the lounger.

„Chris, come here and eat something."

The small boy ran to them, showing them his dirty hands. Nikki pulled out a bottle of water and washed sand from his hands. Christian wiped them in the towel. Daniel handed him a peanut butter sandwich, one of Sofia and Christian's favorite meals. The kids would often ask for this kind of sandwich and Daniel and Nikki wanted to please them.

„It's yummy, isn't it?", Nikki asked as they bothnodded. That made her smile, her hand going through their hair.