Anything worth having is worth fighting for.
~Susan Elizabeth Philips
***
Savannah chuckled. Oh God, he was persistent. And, over the years she'd realized that the guy who'd told her he didn't suffer crybabies gladly, was himself a groveling crybaby when it came to her. But she loved her whiny man to the end of the world all the same.
"Zac," she laughed, "I am coming back in the evening. It's not even gonna be that long, you know."
"But we both miss you, Reece."
"I know. And I miss you both too, but you have to get used to it, right? You know I'm going to get back to work soon, we spoke about it. The tours won't be as long as they used to be earlier but still, you both need to get used to being without me. Yeah?"
"I was. I was attuned to all your odd scheduling. But then, your two year sabbatical messed everything up. I got to see you round-the-clock every day for the past two years until last weekend, and now you suddenly expect me to adapt to you being away."
"Come on, Zac. It's not like I'm gone for weeks. I landed in New York last morning. And I'll be back by five this evening. That's just ten hours from now."
"Just ten hours! This transition into you suddenly being away from me is proving difficult only for me, looks like."
She laughed again. "You know it's not any easier for me. I miss you a lot too, and you know that. But we have to get back into routine slowly and steadily, don't we?"
"We do. But it's tough, Savannah. My patience is barely hanging by a thread here. I want so badly to have you by my side again."
"Aw, come on, don't make it any more difficult for me than it already is. And, well, I will be back before you know, okay?"
"You promise?"
"I promise. Now tell me where my Pumpkin Pie is."
"Pumpkin Pie is busy dozing off right here beside me. My Cuddle Bunny got up in the middle of the night and refused to fall asleep until I snuggled with her."
"Don't say things like that. It makes me miss you both more than I already am, which is too much anyway."
"That's the goal, isn't it?"
"Oh, shut it, you. Anyway, I gotta go. I have to set things up and check everything at the venue. See you later."
"I am waiting, okay? Hurry back home. The day already seems so much duller without you to wake up to, my Sunshine. You are the light of my day, you know that right?"
She smiled at him so full of affection and love, his heart swelled with his love for her.
"I love you and I'm still so much in love with you, Reece," he stated.
Those words coming from Zac still made her heart burst out of her chest, even after nine years. "I love you and I'm in love with you too, my Studmuffin. I'll be back soon, I promise. And give Jellybean a kiss from me, all right?"
"Got it, ma'am."
"Bye. See you in a bit."
"Bye."
Zac dropped his phone beside the pillow and rolled out of bed. Once he was cleaned up and fresh, he checked the clock. It was just half past eight. Dammit! Nine and a half more hours to go. How was he even going to survive the whole day? He groaned. Suddenly, a giggle snapped him out of his thoughts.
He saw his mini-me happily giggling in bed where she was sleeping and smiled. Oh, he was going to survive all right. Only because of his little girl, the ruler of his heart. He walked up to his Sleeping Beauty and smashed a hard kiss on her cheek making her babble a streak of gibberish words, which just made her look so much cuter. And he'd be damned if it didn't make him smooch another kiss on her forehead.
He went downstairs and greeted his mom with a kiss on her cheek. The three of them—Savannah, Zac and their baby girl—still stayed at the Villa. His wife had insisted that they stayed with his family. She didn't ever want their kids to feel left out like she had. It was one of the few things she'd asked of him and he'd happily agreed. After all, he understood where she was coming from. It was still one of her biggest fears that she couldn't be the kind of mom their kids deserved to have, even after she'd proven to be the best mom he'd ever seen—besides his mom, obviously—in just two years.
"Where's my granddaughter, Zac?" his mom asked.
"She's still sleeping. She woke up last night. Turns out she likes her dad's arms better than the cozy pillows in her crib."
"Of course she does. She's a daddy's girl all right."
"Damn straight she is. But, well, it does work two-way though. If she's obsessed with me, so am I. You know better than anyone how big of a soft spot I have for her."
"Oh, believe me, I do. That tiny little thing has you wrapped around her even tinier little finger."
"That she does." He smiled. "Where's dad?"
"He's...somewhere. I don't know. But I am sure he is waiting for Li'l Miss Sifton to wake up just as eagerly as I am. Oh Lord, how she has us all whipped."
Zac laughed, then pressed another kiss to his mom's forehead. He proceeded to pour a cup of tea for himself. Yes, tea. Savannah had put a limit on his caffeine consumption, and he'd obliged without a question. Well, it was, indeed, common knowledge that his wife was the next person to have him whipped. So, tea it was.
He felt his mom's steady gaze on him. "What?"
"It feels so good to finally see you this happy and content, my boy. I always wondered if you'd ever settle down. With how you lived your life, the girls, the clubbing, the workaholism. It made me so worried for you. Everyday when I wake up these days, and see your bright face and smiling eyes, I feel at peace, knowing you finally have both the things you fought so hard for."
"Yeah, yeah. I get what you mean. And I am really happy and content with my life right now. Having Savannah as my wife and this beautiful girl that we made together, it's all I've ever wanted, I know that now."
As Zac stood against the kitchen counter, sipping his tea, Stella walked into the kitchen, yawning. "G'mornin' ev-one."
"You sure you awake yet?" he asked her.
"Pretty much."
"Well then. What are your plans for today?"
"Diego is taking me out on a brunch date. He'll be here around ten-ish."
Of course Indigo, who went by Diego, by the way, was taking her out on a date. Her boyfriend pissed the hell out of Zac. His name was Indigo, for fuck's sake, what more justification was needed?
"You mean Indigo is taking you out?"
"Zac," she said sternly, "you have to stop being so standoffish about him. He is my boyfriend, you know."
"Believe me, I do. You don't have to remind me of it. But, that doesn't mean I have to like him."
Zac mainly had two reasons for disliking Indigo. One, he was his sister's boyfriend. That was pretty self-explanatory. Two, he was Scottish. Which meant his quasi-Scottish accent somehow never failed to remind Zac of Jaspe' Payne—and his British accent—for whom Zac's hatred had yet to simmer down.
"Zachary Sif—"
"Dada!" a loud lisped voice boomed through the whole house. Zac exhaled heavily, silently thanking his Guardian Angel.
"Yes, Princess, daddy will be right there," he called. Putting up an indifferent front, as if he wasn't just scared shitless of his baby sister, he said, "Well, I have to go. Daughter calls. See you later."
"This conversation is far from over, if that's what you're thinking."
"I never said so," he shrugged as he ascended the stairs.
He opened the door to his room and immediately his face brightened at the sight of his daughter sitting in the middle of the bed, merrily picking at the comforter with her pudgy hands.
She looked up and said, "Hi!" making Zac laugh.
'Hi' was one of the few words she could say. Precisely, it was the third word she'd ever uttered. And it made him damn proud every time he bragged about 'dada' being his daughter's first word. Damn right, she was her daddy's girl.
"Good morning, Princess." He picked her up and settled her in his arms. He nuzzled her cheek and then kissed it. "You don't know how remarkably you've saved me right now. Aunt Stel was gonna pounce on me before you called me. My sweet little Savior, my Guardian Angel. Came to my rescue, didn't you?"
She nodded solemnly as if she understood everything her dad was saying, and then giggled. Pressing a hand on his cheek, she smiled, making his heart literally overflow with his love for her.
"Come on, let's go brush your teeth. And then we'll go say good morning to everyone else. How does that sound?"
"Yah!" That was her version of 'yeah'.
"Awesome! Give daddy a high-five." He held his hand up and she clapped it with hers.
Fifteen minutes later, after she was completely cleaned up and ready, both of them went downstairs to greet everyone else.
"Look who's awake," Zac called out.
Everybody saw Little Miss Sifton, who had her eyes covered with both her hands, but they behaved as if they didn't. They knew their favorite little human loved playing peekaboo.
"Who is? I can't see anyone. Can you, honey?" Clair asked her husband.
"I can't see anyone either."
"I wonder who's awake."
"Me!" Nevaeh yelled, taking her hands off her eyes, and gurgled, making everyone else laugh with her.
"Come here, sweet girl," Clair said, extending her arms. Nevaeh wiggled in Zac's arms, so he set her down and watched happily as his baby girl toddled towards her grandparents.
"Ma!" She held her arms out, asking her grandma to pick her up.
"Oh, come here, you. Always going to your Ma. Let Papa also hold you for a while."
Apparently comprehending every single word, she turned away from Clair and held her arms out to Gerald.
"That's like a good girl."
Zac stood in the corner and watched the scene unfold before him. Stella came and showered the tiny thing with even more attention than she was already getting. Then, suddenly, Rhett's cheery voice echoed through the house. He was back from wherever he'd flown to, and, naturally, the first person he wanted to see was his niece, who he utterly adored, just like Zac. Meaning Nevaeh had two fiercely protective men wrapped around her fingers—which, if you asked either of them, was the perfect setting to ensure no boys so much sniffed in her direction.
"Where is my favorite human in the world!" he hollered as he entered the living room.
"Hee-yah!" Here, Nevaeh exclaimed with all her might and gave him a wide toothy grin. Wiggling on her Papa's lap until she landed on the floor with a plop, she stood up and wobbled her way to Rhett.
"Me fy." Me fly. Holding her arms out, she hopped in place waiting for her uncle to finally take the hint and proceed with their routine actions. She giggled as Rhett held her over his head and spun around.
Zac perpetually had a gentle, happy smile on his face. He loved watching his daughter make the Siftons dance to her tunes. This wonderful scene was just short of one person from being incredible—Savannah. How he missed her! He just wished she would come back home soon.
—x—
The doorbell rang at two in the afternoon. Zac wondered who it could be. Since they were near the door anyway, he gathered his exuberant daughter in his arms and went to open the door. Their daughter was exactly like her mother, in this case—exuberant, hyperactive, energetic—precisely resembling the fireball her mom had been when she was a kid.
She'd been playing with her toys, but he couldn't leave her unattended. It was risky—her first molar was slowly emerging so she'd started putting random things in her mouth to chew at.
He had just opened a little bit when Nevaeh exclaimed, "Mama!" and squirmed in his arms. He held tighter onto her. Surely she had to be wrong, his wife wasn't coming until five o'clock.
"Come to mama, Strawberry Shortcake." That was undoubtedly Savannah's voice. He opened it completely and was more than overjoyed to see his wife, his lovely, lovely wife, standing in front of him in the flesh.
"Reece?"
She crossed her arms on her chest and shrugged. "Well, I am, essentially, Savannah Victoria Sifton, but my husband does like to call me by my maiden name, so yeah, that would be me too."
Even after eight years of marriage, it still tickled him when she introduced herself as a Sifton. He loved the way his last name sounded with her first and middle names. She'd opted for Sifton as her last name legally. Professionally, however, she still went by Savannah Reece. She's risen to fame with that name, was recognized by it, so it was easier. But socially and legally, she was more than proud to be a Sifton. A new beginning, a new identity. Plus, I want to be your wife in every way possible, she'd told him all those years ago. And right now, his wife was here, standing before him in person.
"Oh my God. You're here," he gasped.
"I am." She smiled.
"Mama!" Nevaeh all but yelled.
Savannah gently took Nevaeh from Zac's arms. "Oh, my Chicken Dumpling, we completely ignored you, didn't we?"
She watched with amusement as Nevaeh crossed her chubby arms over her midget chest, as if saying Yes, ma'am, that would be the two of you! Nevaeh never failed to surprise her.
"Holy sh—" Savannah raised a brow in warning. It was safe to say Savannah, the new mom, had become a softer version of Clair. "Jesus, Reece. C'mere."
He pulled her into his arms snugly. She was here! Pulling apart a bit, he leaned down to kiss her. Their lips had just met when the tiny thing that was sandwiched between them pushed at Zac's chest, making Savannah, with her in arms, stagger backwards. Zac's heart rate went into overdrive wondering if both the girls he loved the most would go down, but thankfully they didn't—Savannah regained her balance duly.
Both her parents looked at her pointedly. That could have been one nasty one—it was God's grace that it wasn't. Nevaeh simply shook her head: No funny business when I am here. Suddenly she sprung out of Savannah's arms and threw her hands around Zac's neck. When he caught her deftly, causing Savannah to exhale sharply, she pressed a swift kiss straight on his lips, smiled at her mom cheekily and then rested her head on his shoulder.
Zac and Savannah looked at each other and then burst out laughing. The message, obviously meant for her mom, was loud and clear: This man here is mine, so back off.
Oh, Banoffee Pie, you couldn't be more wrong, thought Savannah. At the end of the day, you are here because that man is mine.
But whatever be the case, Neveah was equally both of them, both of them loved her beyond words. They had made her between them, spawned her together. She was a warrior, a miracle. She'd come into their lives when they'd least expected it. Moreover, there had been complications in the pregnancy. But she, being a true fighter, had fought until the end and entered the world victorious.
Nevaeh, it was heaven spelled backwards. Neveah Ella Sifton—their daughter, the beautiful human they made that was half of him and half of her; the one that involved the best parts of both of them.
"Come on up. We both missed you so much."
"Yah," Nevaeh agreed, nodding with her head still on her dad's shoulder, as she played with his hair.
"Well, my Cinnamon Scone, I know you are your daddy's princess, but let mama hold you for a bit, please? And this time please don't give Mama, or Dada, such a scare, okay?"
She willingly came into Savannah's waiting arms. Settling comfortably in her mom's arms, she kissed Savannah's nose and started pulling at her hair.
"How was the workshop?" he asked as they made their way to their room.
"It was great. The response was so good."
"You enjoyed it a lot, huh?"
She grinned. "Way too much. How'd you know?"
"Reece. I've been married to you for six years, we dated for a year before that. You still think I can't see through your poker face? Come on, fool someone else. This game's getting old for me."
"Oh, yeah? Well then, it was amazing. Teaching various plating techniques and ways to make your food look more appealing...it felt liberating. I don't know why. It's not like I was on a complete break for the past two years. I was still working at Le Saveurs every now and then, so, technically, I was cooking. It wasn't like I was food deprived or something. But still it did feel oddly refreshing."
"I know why." Savannah looked over at him curiously. "That's your life, Savannah. You are like this butterfly, you love going to different places, love trying new stuff. You don't like being stuck in one place. Anybody can see it from the way your eyes light up when you talk about the various places you've been to thus far. Sometimes it makes me wonder how much longer you will continue coming back to me," he confessed in a forlorn voice.
She stopped short. Caressing his jaw with her free hand, she said, "Hey, hey. Listen here. No matter what, I am always coming back to you. I just did, not five minutes ago. I have been for the past nine years. I never remove the engagement ring with the mammoth diamond that you gave me, not even when I'm kneading dough. And the thick band from our wedding sits right below it. You only had told me, remember, that that engagement ring, and the gigantic bauble on it, was a clear 'back off, she's taken' message for anyone and everyone trying to hit on me. It's working, Zac, and I couldn't be happier."
When he still didn't reply, she continued, "Come on, Mr. Sifton. If I wanted to run off, don't you think I'd have done it by now? I am coming back to you, always. Never doubt that, not even for a second. You remember what I'd told you about not having a home, about wanting one?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Well, you are my home. My peace of mind, my serenity, my constant, my one-and-only. I hope you wouldn't ask me to do this, but if you did, I would leave all the traveling for you in a moment. You, and Snickerdoodle, come first, that is indisputable. Do I make myself absolutely clear, my sweet boy?" she asked in her no-nonsense voice.
"Yes, ma'am," he affirmed. "Reece..." he said after a while, "I love you and I'm too much in love with you."
She gave him that beautiful smile that made his insides melt. He bent down to press a kiss to her forehead and was poked straight in the eye while doing so.
"Hey there, now, Munch, a kiss on the forehead is fine, okay? You've got to make do with it. She is my wife."
Nevaeh pouted, making Zac smile. Then rubbed her eyes. "Okay, Munch, it's well past your nap time, I know. Let's get your melatonin going." He plucked her up in his arms, and told Savannah, "You go freshen up and relax. I'll put her to sleep and be back, okay?"
When he came back half an hour later, he saw his wife sitting on the edge of the bed staring into space. He strode towards her, sat down beside her and put a hand on her shoulder. She flinched.
"Sorry, uh, I...uh, I didn't notice you sitting beside me."
"Yeah, I can see that. What's gotten you so bothered?"
"I—well—I was just thinking about what you said earlier. The thing where you said you—I might leave you. Do you really believe that?"
He chuckled. "You still stuck there? Come on, Reece. Forget about it."
"No, Zac, don't be evasive. I need to know. Do you believe what you said?"
He didn't reply. That was all the confirmation she needed. She exhaled heavily.
"I don't know how to earn your trust on that. I really don't. I mean, at the end of the day, my track record with staying hasn't been the best anyway, has it?" She chuckled humorlessly. "So I don't know how to get you to believe that I'm in this for the long haul. But what I do know is that what we have right now is way, way more than I'd ever hoped for myself."
"What are you talking about?"
She wasn't looking at him as she explained herself, "When I decided I wanted to be a travel chef, I was very well aware that I'd never have my own family. No one to call as my family besides Dave. But, you know, how long was he gonna stand by me? I mean, I have no doubts he would, always, but you know what I mean. I knew I was signing up to be alone in this world. No one I could love, no one I could go to, no one I could call at the first sign of things going south, no one I could yell at because I had a bad day. I would be lying if I said I never yearned for that, I did. I always did.
"I wanted what Dave and Mel, what your parents have. What my parents once had. And now, finally, I am lucky enough to have it with you. The best man a woman could ever ask for, as a husband, as a dad, as a person. Do you think I'd be that stupid to let this all go? What I've wanted for years. I won't, Zac. I will not trade what we have together for the world."
He lay down on the bed and patted the space beside him, saying, "Come here." When she relaxed beside him, he gathered her into his arms. The place she'd missed immensely for these past two days. "I'm sorry I said that, okay? I don't doubt your loyalty to me, not even for a second. This is the part where the cliché it's not you, it's me comes in. Really, though, it's me. It's my fear. I'm scared that you're gonna find someone better than me out there and go. I haven't been the best person to you, everyone knows as much—"
She rolled on top of him and pressed her lips to his. Pulling away, she said, "But you are, Zac. You are the best person for me. I don't want what's better than the best, because there isn't anyone like that. You're it for me, always and forever. Okay?"
"Okay. You promise you won't leave me, right? Because I don't know what the hell I'd do without you. I will be lost, Reece, I'll be completely lost," he told her, burying his face in her neck and breathing her in.
"I vowed on our wedding day that I'll be with you through and through, didn't I?"
"Reece, it's well-known that those vows mean nothing in today's world. A signature on a piece of legal paper, and you're divorced."
"Well then, I beg to differ. Those vows mean everything to me, and I intend to keep them. You mean the world to me, and I intend to keep you too. And what we have made as a team is beyond what I could have ever asked for, but I got, nonetheless, so I'm not complaining. You and Nevaeh are my whole world, okay? I am nothing without the both of you. I won't be able to take it if something were to happen to you or our Avocado. I love you, Zac, and I'll always be in love with you. Always."
"You promise?"
"I do. I promise I will always be by your side, and not just in any way, but always as your wife. I don't want anything else but to live in our beautiful bubble with you and Pie Crust."
"Me too, Reece. Me too." He smiled at her. "You always know the right thing to say, don't you?"
"No, not always. Only when the other person has it all wrong." She smiled at him softly. "Plus, I am the up and coming Socrates, remember?"
"Uh-huh. I remember." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I remember everything you've ever said to me."
"Real smooth, husband," she said, inciting another grin from him. "Well, I am beat. So if you could cuddle with me, it'd be more than appreciated—later."
"Oh, yeah? Later? If so, I am game for all the cuddling you wanna do. Now I know where Fireball gets her obsession with cuddling from. You two are basically the same people, you realize that, right? She is exactly like you were as a child, based on the stories I've heard of your childhood."
"It's safe to say that, I guess. Also, it isn't an obsession with cuddling in general, it's an obsession with cuddling with you. So, basically, both your girls love snuggling only with you."
"Well, who's complaining. I am more than happy to oblige."
"Yeah? Then what's the wait for? Come and snuggle with me."
He spooned her from behind and gathered her close.
"I am never letting you go, Reece. Even if you ever might want to."
"I agree with the former, and I strictly object to the latter," she murmured in her sleepy voice. "I'm not going anywhere. Get used to that."
"I'm in love with you, Reece. And I'll never tire of it."
"Me too," she agreed. "And, by the way, you forgot the I love you part but that's fine. Say the whole thing properly when I wake up, okay?"
"Okay," he said as she fell asleep in his arms.
—x—
And, it's a wrap, baby! This marks the end of the book. AHHH! Zac and Savannah, I'm gonna miss them. Well, they have a kid. And I love her. Nevaeh is so adorable and just flawless. And the father-daughter bond that she and Zac have, oh, goals! I literally ship them more than I ship our leads.
Also, I have a few things to say: First, yes, bonus chapters are coming. (cue the drumroll). I'll be posting as and when I draft them.
If you liked the Epilogue, please vote and comment. Also, please share.
Thank you!!
Until next time... (Whenever that is.)