5 months later.

They say a romance story has to have a happy ending. A satisfying one where the reader feels good and can picture the emotions. But not all stories end up this way right away. .they can't. Love is a complicated thing.

Luca came home in a mood. He was dealing with so much at work. And with Leer's cases. Yep, cases. She was being prosecuted by the city of Honolulu Police Department for arson and she was being formally charged in a court martial on Marine Corps Base Hawaii for numerous things. You see, as long as the charges aren't for the same things, they can happen concurrently at the same time.

I on the other hand, was trying my best to take care of Emily by myself while Luca worked. Having a toddler suddenly, when you'd never taken care of kids before, was hard. And exhausting. No one said how exhausting it would be. But I wanted to do it. Grey's parents were going to meet her soon. We had high hopes they'd want to adopt her formally.

"The mother fuckers can't understand the basics. I swear Mila, they are some of the most unfucking believable pieces of shit. ."

"Shit!" Emily called out from the living room.

"Luca, christ. Stop swearing around her! The last time I took her to the grocery store she said 'fuck' a dozen times!" I scolded.

Grey's family would just love to hear the things the child was now saying. I hoped it wouldn't impact their opinions of her, or of wanting her.

"I keep forgetting. I'm sorry." He said huffily. "I'm working on it."

"Try harder!"

We glared at each other for a brief moment. This wasn't loving or what I wanted our conversations to be like. Luca took a few steps forward, until he was inches from me. He dropped his bag on the floor.

"Babe, I'm sorry." He said softly.

"Sorry babe!" Emily called out.

We both chuckled and then his lips met mine. He tasted like mints. Just like he did in Hawaii. Hawaii. I missed the beaches, the sunshine and the breeze. Not this infernal humidity and onslaught of bugs constantly that North Carolina offered. No one here had aloha either.

"Find anything else out today about Leer?"

He pulled back and grabbed his bag.

"Yeah, but we can talk later." He said, gesturing towards the little blonde in the living room.

I understood. We tried not to let her overhear anything bad about her mom. Who had given her up. She was still young enough that she might not remember everything but we didn't want to take that chance.

"What's for dinner?" He asked, ruffling Emily's hair as he plopped down by her on the couch.

Was this what stay at home moms felt like? It was anticlimactic for sure.

"I haven't gotten around to it yet. Was trying to get the laundry done and Emily spilled a drink on the carpet."

"I'll order Chinese." He replied, unfazed.

Being a mom like this was harder than I wanted.

💋💋

"So what exactly is going on now?"

I laid my head on Luca's chest. His heart was bumping at a steady rate, lulling me to sleep.

"She's suicidal." He flatly said.

"Oh god."

I knew this was tearing him up inside. His memories of Grey were laid bare again, raw, like a bandage that falls off far too soon. What could I do to help?

"It's fine. It's to be expected really. She's fucked up her life." He said. "Sorry, messed up her life."

"The corps is done with her, but not until she serves time."

"She's going to jail? I thought she was for the civilian case?"

"The brig. Much different than civilian jail. Who knows what the Honolulu court will decide. Hopefully, she gets just probation with them. After her military sentence. I don't want her to kill herself Mila."

I sat up, a look of horror on my face.

"Of course you fucking don't! Neither do I!"

A grin tugged on the corners of his mouth.

"You said a naughty word."

I stared back, my brows furrowed. He pulled my face to his for a kiss. His tongue pushed in, seeking dominance. I relented, allowing him the access he wanted. At least we still had our amazing chemistry. It soothed a lot of fears and covered a multitude of irritations.

Love was most certainly not lost.

He kissed until he was satiated then smoothed my hair back, looking deeply into my eyes.

"Talk to Lex today?"

This again. I sat up, keeping my hands on his chest muscles for stability and to remind him of who I wanted to be touching.

"Not today, no." I replied, gauging his mood. "You know I'm not cheating on you right? He only emails to check on Terry."

"He most certainly does not Mila! He emails to check on you! To see if you're still taken!"

We could go round and round talking about Lex, which did nothing but infuriate us both at the end of it. I decided to take a different route. My hands drew small circles over his pecs then lay flat as he flexed at my touch.

"Well can you blame the guy?! I'm not too shabby to look at and I've moved over 3,500 miles across an ocean and then the continental US to be with a marine. Who I'm not married to I'll remind you. I'm every marines dream!"

His eyes flared at my words as he silently studied my face. What he was thinking was anyone's guess. The tension was thick though, as he debated his response. Finally, he spoke.

"I used to be worried, no, terrified, that your age was going to pull us apart."

"And now?" I inquired.

"I think it's time we take the next step."

He kept looking at me, sensing my thoughts.

"Next step? As in what?"

"We get a dog." He said deadpan.

💋💋

5 more months later.

The chapel was cute. It had a weirdly colonial feeling to it, as if it appeared from another era. I thought it odd that Luca insist we do this here, of all the options off base. But it was his choice really. I was just along for the ride. And what a ride it had been so far. We had just hit our one year mark of being together. A huge milestone. He wanted it that way, for the ceremony. Said it would mean so much later on.

"Are you ready?" His voice called out through the changing room.

"You can't see me yet..." I chided back. "I'll meet you out there!"

The door opened and I thought it was Luca, but instead a little blonde head and her grandmother appeared.

"We wanted to see if you needed any help. It can't be easy getting dressed with a cast."

Emily twirled in her tiny white dress, her hair adorned with little flowers in a headband. She was the cutest kid I'd ever seen.

"It's ok, it comes off in a week!" I said.

I'd fallen while out skateboarding with Emily. It wasn't intentional let me tell you, I simply had to take the brunt of the impact so Emily wouldn't. She had been begging me to learn how to skate so I took her, with her grandma's permission, to a local park. We had all the pads on and helmets. But doing a drop in at the same time was probably not the smartest choice. Lesson learned.

"I still can't believe you caught her like you did! Your poor wrist!" The woman tutted.

"Of course I did, we can't have our girl getting hurt, can we?" I said, hugging Emily.

"It's almost time. .meet you out there?"

"Yep. I'm almost done."

They left me alone in the room. I slid on my white heels and smoothed the strapless dress one last time. I'd even worn makeup, which I knew would knock Luca dead. I rarely did anymore but today was the day to do it. One last glance at my reflection and I left the room. This was it!

Soft music played, spilling out into the reception area of the chapel. I was the last to go in. I took a deep breath and tried not to get emotional. My life was about to fully change, in a big way. Grabbing the door handle, I went in.

Luca stood at the front, next to the judge. He was so handsome. All I could see was him, and those hazel eyes staring back at me. He smiled and his dimples showed. Taking me in, he nodded. Oh he liked it alright! I walked to the front and stood next to him. We were both ready.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to bear witness to the formal adoption of Emily Ann Weathers to her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Weathers. Luca Ajello and Mila Tanaka, you both are here to bear witness and to attest to your role in guardianship of Emily for the last 10 months. You've loved and cared for her, giving her a home."

The judge proceeded to talk until it was time for her grandparents to sign the official adoption documents. I gripped Luca's hand tightly as they did. I had grown used to Emily and this was one of the hardest things I'd done in my life, letting her go. Luca squeezed back, understanding flowing between us. He was letting go of a piece of Grey. A piece of his responsibility.

"I'd like to introduce to you Ms. Emily Ann Weathers, same name but in a new family!" The judge happily announced.

Everyone cheered and hugs were exchanged. We'd done it. What we came here for. Now Luca could drop his retirement papers, and we could begin to plan our lives past the marines. Back to Hawaii.

"I have something for you, outside." He whispered in my ear.

Not thinking anything of it, we said our farewells and stepped out into the blasted humid heat.

"Gunny Ajello!" A young marine called out.

He was holding a tiny golden retriever puppy in his arms. We met the marine and he carefully handed the dog to me. I looked up at the men and Luca nodded, pointing at the dogs collar. There was a bow with a tag engraved on it.

I held the energetic puppy still as my fingers fumbled with the metal tag. A smile tugged at my lips as I read the engraving.

Next step. . .will you marry me?

❤️THE END❤️

**This story is only found on Wattpad. If found on another site, it was stolen. Thank you for reading.💋**

Thank you so much for reading!! Readers make my literary world go round, love you guys!

-KE