My Love Until the Last Goodbye (Mary and Maximus)

Valerie looked at the urn holding her grandpa Albert's ashes and couldn't help feeling a heavy weight in her chest. She was overwhelmed with nostalgia.

Just remembering the life she'd shared with her grandparents, and how suddenly her grandfather had passed, brought it all back.

"Oh, Grandpa... So much has changed since that day you came to pick me up from school," Valerie said wistfully.

She remembered that day so clearly-how her grandfather had suddenly shown up to take her somewhere unknown. That had been twenty-five years ago.

An adventure that led her to meet new people who, from the moment they came into her life, never left it again.

Today, Serenity and Alden were coming back from their honeymoon. Serenity, the daughter born from her youthful love, whom she adored, was about to start a new chapter. Soon, she'd be having her baby. She was lucky-she'd found a good partner. She'd learned to recognize those true sparks of love.

In just a couple of months, the newly formed Palmer Bartz family would be welcoming its newest member, a baby girl named Isabelle.

"My love... Valerie?" Marcus called from the doorway.

He'd been talking to her for five minutes, but she hadn't responded. Her eyes were fixed on her grandfather's ashes.

"Sorry! What were you saying? Did you call me?" Valerie said, snapping out of it. "My love, are you okay? I was talking to you for a while..." Marcus asked, curious. "Oh, it's nothing. Just women things... Actually, more like memories flooding in. What's up, tell me?"

"Hey, I talked to Serenity. She wants us to help with that house they saw in Hesperia. She wants us to tell the agent to check it out and work out the details so they can buy it-the one they liked in Hesperia."

"Wow! So, these kids are really serious about moving to Hesperia?"

"Of course, love! They already narrowed it down to five options Ethan showed them, with John's help."

"With your brilliant help, I assume..." Valerie said with a touch of sarcasm.

"What can I say? After they asked if it was possible to buy Silvercrest Castle or the Pines Estate... I had to step in and help a little. The Palmers really are born with a flair for the exotic."

"Oh, stop! Ethan's just excited about living in a new country. And that whole exotic thing, I think, comes from Theodore—at least that's what I've heard.”

"Did you hear he bought Fiona a massive mansion? Diana told me Fiona was shocked and kind of stressed-place is so big, she doesn't even know where to start cleaning."

"Ha! That Theodore, looks like he's gone nuts over his wife," Marcus said with a teasing tone.

"I think it's kind of sweet. I mean, the guy was alone for so long, and honestly, just by looking at him—you can't deny he's handsome for his age. But man, he's got such a serious face."

"You think Theodore's attractive?" Marcus said, surprised, placing a hand dramatically on his wife's forehead.

"Oh, come on! Don't be so dramatic. He's got his charm, but yeah, that face and his voice? Total no-nonsense vibes," Valerie replied, brushing it off.

"Hey! By the way, Serenity gets back today. Want to go see them? We could take Ethan with us."

"Love, let them settle in. They're probably still in honeymoon mode. Let them enjoy their time off. Besides, Ethan doesn't seem to mind staying with us-he's more than welcome to stick around as long as he wants," Valerie said in a calming tone.

"I know! That kid's basically ours at this point..."

"Get used to it, because once we're all living in Hesperia, I'm pretty sure things are going to stay the same."

Besides, nothing makes me happier

than seeing him with John. They make such a great team. I just look at them and imagine how they'll be е

when they're grown up. I think they're going to be adorable. It's like seeing you and Peter again when you were kids.

"Right? We should've just adopted Ethan already."

"Yeah..." Valerie said, distracted. "Hey, we already talked about this-you need to chill out with your son-in-law. Whether you like it or not, he's part of the family

now."

"Also... now that we're going back to Hesperia, we need to carve out a little time in our busy schedules to hit the beach. Our little ones, Albert and Caroline, need to see the ocean-and honestly, we could use a little color too," Valerie said, abruptly changing the subject.

"Fine, once we're in Hesperia, we'll make it happen," Marcus said, already thinking about the mountain of things they had to do once they got back.

While the Bartzes talked about all their plans for finally returning to Hesperia, the Palmers were making plans of their own.

Peter watched his beautiful Celeste quietly come out of the girls' room, making as little noise as possible, and instantly wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close.

"Are they asleep?" Peter whispered.

"Finally! It took forever to get them down tonight..." Celeste said, looking relieved.

"Come here," Peter said, pulling her in for a passionate kiss.

"Peter! Someone might see us..." Celeste said, a bit embarrassed.

"Who's going to see us? Alden and Serenity aren't home, Ethan's at Marcus's,

and Aria, Danielle, and Ellie went to the movies. The girls are fast asleep... so that means I've got you all to myself," he said, kissing her neck.

That little move made Celeste's skin tingle at the touch of his lips.

"Peter... please, don't do that. At least not here. You do remember there's staff working in this house, right? We're not exactly alone like you think."

"Alright, alright. In that case, come with me..." Peter said, leading her to their room with a seductive smile.

Celeste still got caught off guard sometimes by how carefree Peter could be.

She couldn't help but compare the man in front of her to the one she used to know. Honestly, it felt like she was with a completely different person.

"Celeste..." he said as he pulled her closer against his body. "You have to understand, I haven't had you to myself in forever. I know we can't do much yet, but I just want a little alone time with you. Is it too much to ask to cuddle while our girls

sleep?

I want hugs and cuddles too, just like the ones you give the kids..."

"Peter! Are you jealous of our daughters?"

"I have to admit... a little, yeah. I need my wife too... well, my future wife," Peter

said in a kind of odd tone.

Celeste looked at him—and that puppy-dog look totally melted her.

"Alright, tell me what do you want to do?"

"Do you really want me to say it?"

"No! No, I take it back! But let me tell you something... I don't know how you've been keeping track, but as far as I know, my postpartum recovery ended last week..." Celeste said, eyeing the poor man in front of her.

"For real?"noveldrama

"Yeah... but—”

"No buts. Do you have any idea what it's like to be on full celibacy for over a month?" Peter said, and then kissed her in a way that definitely promised things were about to go way beyond just a kiss.