Ten years later

"Congratulations, Dr. O'Brien."

"Great job."

"Thank you." I smile and toss my blood-stained gloves and scrubs in the trash.

As soon as I'm out of the OR, I allow myself to groan and rub my neck. It's fucking strained. Everything hurts, but I didn't want those who assisted me to see it. They know the toll a seven-hour surgery takes, anyway, but I'd rather not kill their enthusiasm with my complaints.

The person whose tumors I removed will live. That's the biggest reward I could've asked for. It makes everything else seem insignificant.

After talking to the patient's family and getting a cup of coffee from the machine, I go to my office and slump into the chair, sipping the drink.

A knock on the door interrupts my relaxing break.

"Come in," I say.

Alec barges into the room and plops down on the small couch, covering his eyes with his forearm. A yawn escapes him, and I laugh.

"Let me guess. Teething?"

"Yeah." He groans. "And colic. Remind me why I became a dad so late."

"Because you wanted a daughter like mine." I smirk. "And because your wife is ten years younger."

He chuckles. "Fair enough. It won't last forever, right?"

My gaze lands on the picture of Leah, Iris, and me next to the Eiffel Tower we took last month. Then it shifts to a candid shot of my daughter in Mexico and another photo of Leah and Iris in Norway. "No, it won't. Enjoy her while she's little. Later you'll enjoy her too, but in a different way."

"She's lucky she's adorable," Alec says. "And before I fall asleep on your comfy couch, I heard today's surgery was a success."

I gulp down the rest of my coffee. "I guess."

"Modesty is unnecessary, Dr. O'Brien. Two surgeons gave up on that guy, and he'll live thanks to you. That's the kind of boldness I told you I loved about you. I said you had it in you to make a difference."

"You were right. Happy?"

Alec yawns again. "If I can sleep tonight, hell yeah."

"Good luck with that."

"Being supportive won't kill you, you know? I said be a smartass, not a dick."

"I believe in you, Dr. Montgomery. You'll survive the teething and the colic and the tantrums."

"And first boyfriends."

I pick up a pencil and toss it at the fucker. "Now, please get out of here, Sir."

Alec jumps to his feet. His shoulders shake with silent laughter as he shields himself with his arms. "Sorry."

When he's almost out of my office, he pauses. "I was serious, Brian. Congratulations."

I nod. "Thanks."

It's almost eight p.m. I'll have to check on my patient before going home, but it's Friday, and I can't wait to spend quality time with Leah. She's still stuck at the office, but nothing will make us skip our date night.

Kitten is career-driven, but Iris and I always come first. My girl tried working in research, but during one of our dates some years ago, I noticed she was acting weird when I asked her about her day. She made good money, but her eyes didn't sparkle. Leah wasn't as passionate about her job as I was about mine, and it showed.

She said doing research was great but felt impersonal. She didn't see the direct results of what she was doing and the impact her job made.

When she went back to school to get another Master's degree and changed her career path to become a behavioral analyst, I was proud of her. She loves what she does, and she's exceptional at working with children and their families.

Leah might want to try a different thing later on, but she'll have my support regardless, just like I've had hers all these years. She listened to me vent and rant and even cry when I lost a patient and took it as a personal and professional failure.

They warn you about that in medical school, but knowing it might happen doesn't make you ready.

I close my eyes, thinking about Leah and everything I want us to do. I won't be too upset if we cancel the dinner reservation and start with the important part of the date first.

The click of the heels outside my office fills me with excitement. I'm about to rise to my feet when the door opens, and Kitten strolls in, beautiful in a short red dress with her wavy hair falling over her shoulders.

"Dr. O'Brien," she says. "I've heard you did an outstanding job today."

I bury my face in my palms, growling. "Alec."

Leah circles my desk and sits on my lap. Her arms wrap around my neck, and she kisses me. "If Alec hadn't told me, you probably wouldn't mention it."

"Cause it wasn't a big deal."

"Alec said it was."

"Because he's biased."

Kitten presses her lips to my neck. "Whatever. I missed you."

"Me too, princess." I smooth a hand down her back. "Are you tired?"

Leah leans her head on my shoulder. "A bit. The meeting ran late. You're done, aren't you?"

"I'll have to check on my patient in a couple of minutes, and then we can go. How's Iris?"

"Riding her bike and causing mayhem." She rolls her eyes. "Your parents will have their hands full this weekend with all the kids there."

"Mac's too?"

"Mac's girls, too," Kitten says.

I rub her cheek with my thumb. "You look beautiful. Sorry I didn't tell you that sooner."

"You eye-fucked me, Dr. O'Brien. That was quite obvious."

Kissing down Leah's neck, I slide my hand under her dress. "You're a fucking tease, Kitten. You have the tiny ones on."

"Maybe will have nothing on by the time you return after seeing the guy whose life you saved."

I rub my face. "Way to make me hopeful. I'd better hurry, then. But before that, tell me something."

Leah massages my scalp. It feels so good I almost moan.

"Tell you what?"she asks.

"Iris isn't into boys yet, is she?"

Leah smacks me. "Brian!"

"What? I'm her father."

"No, she's not. But if you scowl at every boy she looks at, she'll be afraid to tell us when she likes someone."

"In the future. In the very distant future."

Kitten bites my bottom lip and runs her tongue over it. The minx is trying to distract me, and I'm too desperate not to cave in. I pat Kitten's butt and move her off my lap. "Be right back. Wait for me, okay?"

Leah pushes herself up and sits on the edge of my desk. Crossing her legs, she regards me with her head tilted to the side as I walk to the door. "Okay. Go check on your patient. We'll wait for you here."

My heart skips a beat. I pivot and stare at her. "Wait. Did you say-"

An adorable giggle flies out of her mouth. She bites her lip and nods, reaching into her purse. When I'm next to her, she puts a small stick into my palm.

My eyes water. "Fuck. Did you find out-"

"Today," Leah says. "Hurry, baby."

I kiss her hard several times until Kitten pushes me away.

My fingers grip the positive pregnancy test. I shove it in my lab coat pocket when I open the door and still in the doorway.

"Babe?"

"Yeah?"

I look at Leah's glowing face and can't help grinning. "I'll be super happy if we have another daughter. But I think I'm ready for a son."

And now, yes. It's officially over. I'm sad to let them go, not gonna lie. I'm super grateful to each of you who read and supported Brian and Leah's story with votes, comments, and reads. You guys make me super happy each time a notification pops up.

I hope you liked the ending. It's a big time jump, but I felt that showing Brian as a successful young doctor is what we all wanted, right? He's come a long way, and his character probably wouldn't exist without my friend StephanieWithAnA who challenged me to write a bad boy. Lol, I hope I delivered. Check out her works and the works of my friend JessEubanks whose help with editing Kitten means the world to me. I'm close to being done with polishing it to make it even better.

As usual, tell me what you liked or didn't. Your opinions matter cause I always want to improve.

So, what's next. A lot. And very little sleep.

My focus will be on Jim and Ava now. If you havent read Jim's books yet, I really hope you do.

The Real You, the story of Bast and Tara, is complete.

After, it's the turn of Asher and Kaia. You met him in Tiger, he's the young racer Leah meets in Italy. It's an angsty forbidden stepbrother romance. Some of you love the trope. Wink wink.

Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for being the amazing readers you are. If you don't want to miss updates, follow me here and on Instagram.

Hope to see you in my other works.

Love,
Alwyn