Another Life (Book 3)

Chapter 1

I scuff. "Graciela,"

"It's Oriane," she tells me. "I think because you were channelling her so so strongly, that it changed some of your aesthetics. The hair, which, by the way, I love" She fingers my hair with a smile.

"The eyes," Sierra adds. She's still on Facetime with Grace.

"The aura," Grace breathes, and her tone is a bit seductive. "The piercings."

I chuckle at their enthusiasm, but I am a bit nervous. I never saw myself as a blonde, never even considered it. I like dark hair. I like dark everything. "Is it permanent?"

Grace shrugs. "No clue. But it suits you."

"It's sexy," Sierra adds.

"It's strange," I tell them, fully engulfing Grace in my arms. I press her to me and kiss her gently. "Wifey,"

"Wifey," she blushes, melting into butter right before my eyes. Her fingers find the fabric of my top to fidget nervously with it.

Smiling at her cuteness, I kiss her again and peer the phone from her hand. I admire my beautiful baby mama unnoticed for a second. She has the phone turned to her, but she's preoccupied, staring at whatever lies beyond the phone with a loving gaze.

"Hi Baby," I say, pulling her gaze to me.

She flashes me a gorgeous smile, dressed with a hint of excitement. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

"I wasn't dead, but now that I'm breathing again, guess what?"

"What?"

"I get to marry you, Mrs LaRue."

She blushes and bites her lip to hide it. "Which is all I've ever wanted."

"Which is all we've ever wanted." Gracie spins in my arms so she's gazing at the phone with me. My head rests on her shoulder as my other hand finds the plane of her stomach, caressing it. "How long was I out for?"

"Three years," they say together.

My body pales and my eyes bulge as I look from Sierra to Grace, then back. "What!"

They erupt into a fit of laughter and I just give them a bored expression. "A day," Sierra tells me, caving first.

I breathe. A day... Okay. Not bad. "How are the babies? Where's Lee? Can I go home?"

"She's at school, then the chauffeur is going to drop her off at Isabelle's."

"The babies are..." Sierra shifts and her camera rotates from the selfie cam to the rear camera. In an incubator are our babies, sleeping. They're both cuddled up under the same grey blanket, one wearing a lime green beanie while the other is wearing a red wine-coloured one. A little name tag on the side of the bassinet reads Baby LaRue.

They wrapped their little hands around two of Sierra's fingers. In no particular order. The sight makes me smile even though it breaks my heart to see the little tubes in their noses and all the wires attached to them.

"Say hi to Mama, JJ." Sierra says in this gentle, loving voice.

They coo and one of them opens his eyes to peer up at her, looking directly at the camera. Directly at me. My heart flutters and a sense of appreciation and gratitude wash over me. All the sacrifices were worth it because they're actually here. They're alive. They're living and breathing and they're beautiful. We did it.