Most writers feel lost when they finish writing a story and leave their characters behind. When I was writing a series for Tule, I touched base with all my characters in every book, so formed an even stronger attachment. Sometimes, I wonder what they’d be doing now…
It’s almost been two years since Alexia and Parker fell in love in The Playboy. We met up with this couple again in Her Secret Prince when they stayed with Dee in LA, and then we saw them in You For Christmas when the full cast of characters spent Christmas together in Byron Bay.
During those beachside festivities, Alexia and Parker announced that, after a year of happiness, they were going to have a baby. If we follow on from the timing of events, the baby has just been born!
And it’s a girl 🙂
Here is a short scene I wrote as a mini epilogue to Alexia and Parker’s story, just for fun.
Alexia sat in the shade out front of Lullabar, her body heavy and happy, her soul shimmering. Spring was exposing itself to summer in this beachside town, revealing brighter blue skies and hotter days, and she extended her legs, moving her bare feet into the sun.
The baby in her arms mumbled, turning her tiny face into Alexia’s singlet.
‘Did you see that?’
Amused, she glanced up. Parker was hovering around her like a golden shadow, his attention stuck to where their daughter continued to nestle. So disarming, seeing him undone by their newborn. She’d lost her breath with every cautious step he’d taken into fatherhood: securing their baby in his sun-kissed arms, bouncing gently to ease her cries, murmuring to her about the wonders of the sea.
‘I did.’ She raised a brow. ‘You can sit down, we’re okay.’
He swiftly straddled the wooden bench, facing her, his earnest green gaze darting between his wife and daughter. ‘She likes the waves.’
‘Parker. She’s five days old.’
‘She’s calmer when you’re out here.’
True enough, the rhythmic crashing seemed to bring the baby peace. Alexia raised a warning finger. ‘No surfboarding until she can walk.’
He raised his palms, grinning. ‘No child acting until she can talk.’
She smiled back, rueful. ‘Deal.’
After a few moments, he spoke quietly. ‘I’ve thought of a name.’
Alexia’s pulse stuttered as she waited.
‘Dani.’
She frowned. ‘You want to name our daughter after a sociopathic bounty hunter?’
‘That character was the reason we met.’ His lips kicked up into a secret smile. ‘The reason we got closer. It seems fitting.’
Alexia cradled their baby closer, finding truth in Parker’s words. It hadn’t quite been two years since she had returned to Byron Bay, desperate for an acting role and instead finding love with Parker. She bent down to kiss their baby’s sweet face, heart warming like the sun on her toes.
‘Welcome to the world, Dani Hargraves.’