Where There is Love There is Life

(Tasha's POV)

It was a long day for everyone, me, the girls, and Reade. We went to the fair and stayed all day. Grace and Leah loved it, especially because they got to ride the ponies. After the fair, we went and got ice-cream. As soon as Reade finishes bathing them, it's time to start bed time stories. We always have to read at least three in order for them to fall asleep. I set their pajamas on the bed and went to pick out a couple books. We've read all of them already and I probably have a few memorized. The girls don't seem to mind, they love stories. I chose Beauty and the Beast and two Dr. Seuss books, then set them on the nightstand. Grace came running in first, wrapped in her towel.
"All done?" I asked.
"Yep, all done!"
She looked up at me with a huge smile.
"Pick me up, pick me up!"
Grace and Leah love to be held and cuddled. I lifted her up, princess style, and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. I carried her to the bed and helped her into her pajamas.
"Okay, let's get tucked in and wait for Leah and Daddy."
"Okay"
I pulled the blanket over her and kissed her again. A few minutes later, Leah came running into the room.
"All clean!" She yelled.
"Yay! Let's get dressed so we can start story time."
I picked her up the same I did Grace and carried her to the bed. I put her pajamas on and tucked her in as well. Reade still isn't in here, so I go into the bathroom to see what's up. Just as I walked in my feet were instantly soaked.
"Woah, how did they get so much water on the floor?"
Reade laughed at the look on my face and the fact that I stepped in a puddle of water.
"I'm not sure, they are some crazy girls."
I grabbed a towel from the closet to help him wipe it up. We met at the middle of the floor and looked up at each other. I smiled and he kissed me.
"I love you" he whispered.
"I love you"
I laughed softly and threw the towels in the dirty clothes. We walked back into the bedroom and climbed into bed with the girls. I picked up the books and asked them,  
"Which one first?"   
"Beauty and the Beast!!" 
They both bounced up and down with excitement. As we flipped through the pages they seemed to enjoy it more and more. They were mesmerized by the beautiful pictures and the happy ending. 
"Okay, what's next?" 
Reade asked, clearly bored with princesses. 
"Yours" Grace said pointing to the both of us.
"Ours?" 
"Yes! When did you guys fall in love?" 
I didn't expect that from her. Are they at that age already? Oh boy, here we go. I laughed and responded with,
"Well, it's kind of a long story."
"Tell us, tell us!"
Grace and Leah chanted this time. Reade looked over at me and smiled. 
"I'll start." He said with a laugh.
"When we first met, I was a little on edge. I didn't know how your mom would do working with me. One of the first things she did when she first saw me was make fun of me for wearing a suit. I was kind of offended, but I also enjoyed her personality. We were assigned to work on a case together and I got a feel for what her pace was and what she was capable of. She didn't realize it, but I loved to watch her work and I still do."
I interrupted him, to correct him on one small thing.
"Actually, I think you just like to tell me what to do."
"Yeah, whatever." He chuckled. "Anyway, this wasn't a love at first sight type of thing. It was more of a familiarity thing. Like I knew right away it was going to be her. I turned out to be right." He smile and the girls were giggling.
"You make it sound so simple." I said laughing. "We definitely clicked right away, but we were never all over each other. I confided in him first, any time I was going through something I went to him. Then it became a regular thing for us to tell each other everything, no secrets. When I developed feelings for him, pushed them away because I didn't want to ruin our friendship or make work awkward. So, it went from no secrets to stealing glances at each other. I would always look at him whenever I had the chance-"
"And I would look at her whenever I could too" Reade added and put his hand on mine. I smiled and continued,
"Sometimes we would catch each other doing it and it would be a minute before we looked away. It seemed like we grew closer and closer everyday. Our hugs started getting longer and tighter and I would stay at his place or he would stay at mine. Then one day, I was taking care of your dad after he had gotten hurt and he kissed me!"
I laughed with the girls and they yelled,

"Yay! Finally!!"
Reade joined in with the laughter and said, 

"It was great while it lasted, but my moment didn't last very long. She rejected me at first, said we were just friends and she left. That didn't make me give up though. I knew what I wanted and I knew she wanted it too. "
The girls' jaws dropped. I sighed and said, 
"Yeah, he's telling the truth. I even tried to get him another date. Even after that mess, we were still chasing each other. Constantly worrying about one another and always right there when we needed each other. Eventually, I got tired of pushing away these feelings. We were at your dad's apartment and he was mad about something. He was ranting for what seemed like hours. So, I walked over to him and made him stand still. To make him be quiet I stood on my tippy-toes and kissed him. It took him a second to realize what was happening, but after that he couldn't contain his happiness. From there, well fell deeper in love each day. We were always laughing and cuddling. I've never been so happy in my life. We were together for two years, two years strong. Your dad proposed to me on our anniversary. I wanted to show the world my ring. I wanted everyone to know who I was spending the rest of my life with. Any chance I got, I would tell people how much I loved him. Our wedding was small, but perfect. Everything was absolutely perfect. I didn't want that day to end. After another two years, we had you Grace. A year later, we had you Leah. Now, we're the happiest family in the world, aren't we?"
I asked them, smiling.
"Yes, we are." 
Reade nodded in agreement and said, 
"Which makes me the luckiest guy on earth. I have the three most beautiful girls in my life and everything I have ever wanted." He kissed each of us on the forehead.
"Alrighty, time for bed." 
We carried the girls to their room and kissed them goodnight. Reade took my hand and guided me to the bedroom. He kissed me once and said,
"I love you."
Then, he kissed me again and said,
"I'm so glad we're together."
He pulled me onto the bed and we laid there as close to each other as we could get and we kissed. 
"We made it." I said, smiling.