Just a little cheesy, happy ending :)

***

Seven years later, things were just as good as they were on our wedding day. Not only were things good, but they were better. Julian and I's life had changed drastically, but it was amazing. I was now 30, looking much more mature than I did when I was 23. I had grown into the businessman that Julian had helped create and I was happy to announce that Home Our Community was thriving.

Seven years ago, we only had 16 houses open, and now we had 24 homes. All filled with kids with dark pasts of being in houses where they weren't accepted, but now, they were in homes with people taking care of them. Teaching them to grow into who they wanted and needed to be. Our kids were what kept us going, making sure they were happy and cared for was what we live for. We loved seeing their faces when they finally turn 18 and get to live their life how they've dreamed of it being for years and that's why we still do it to this day.

And, now, Julian only focused on that with me. He had passed PRES on to Jonah, who had created the company into a huge empire. Don't tell my husband I said this, but this was definitely where Jonah was destined to be. Yeah, Julian did an amazing job at it, but Jonah really thrived in the spot as CEO. Not only was the CEO of PRES, but he was also the fiance of my beautiful little sister, Ivy. My sister was now a businesswoman that had started her first beauty company just one year out of college. She had help from Julian and her fiance, but she really did most of the work on her own. She had really grown into an intelligent and charming young woman.

Julian still had some hotels in his possession, but they didn't take his time as much as PRES did. Now, we ran Home Our Community as we should've been doing for years. We have many people helping us with each individual home we had, including Bradlee, who had become the second Member Services Representative that the non-profit had ever had. Bradlee focuses most on things on the west coast while I deal with things on the east coast and we work together on things in the middle. He was now married to a beautiful young man... Derek. Thankfully, their relationship didn't start until after Derek had turned 18, but they were happy, so I didn't have any qualms about it.

Nina and Colton now had a beautiful 6-year-old baby boy named Harrison. He definitely had his mother's crazy personality and basically bounced off the walls constantly. Nina had decided to take over Paradise Turn by herself when Julian decided that he wanted to leave the partnership that the two of them had and she's been doing great. There was a little bump in the road when they almost got sued two years ago, but she worked through it. We were all pretty proud of her for not freaking out during it and actually handled it very professionally.

Andrea has stayed with Stigma throughout all the years and she has even implemented a course in some schools that talked more extensively about mental health. It's in a few schools in a few states and I predict that it'll be in a lot of schools within the next few years. She was married to Matthias and they decided not to have any kids since Andrea just didn't have that motherly instinct as everyone else did. But her and Matthias were happy with their decision, so we all were too.

Charlotte, Julian's mother, has stayed in our lives all these years. She officially divorced her husband a few years ago and he was still in prison since he broke parole as soon as he got out about three years ago. Charlotte was doing well with herself and she actually published a book, which has apparently been her dream her entire life. She now worked with a publishing company that kept her busy most of the time. She has also vowed to never get married again because she likes being an independent woman and Julian and I stand by her with that. She's actually pretty good friends with my mom and they regularly hang out, which makes me feel good that our mothers are close.

My mom married Theo a year after I married Julian. It was a small ceremony with just family and a few friends, but she had been so happy that it didn't matter who was there. Julian and I had paid for them to go on a honeymoon – nothing too extravagant since that definitely would've stressed my mom out. But now, they were happily married and living in an apartment that's only five minutes away from Julian and I's new house.

About three years ago, Julian and I moved out of the house. Don't get me wrong, we loved that house more than anything, but we needed something more... safe. We now live in a different gated community in a very cute, modern house. Nina and I decorated it, which meant I finally made the house not all gray and dark. We now had a constant theme of blues running throughout home since that was my favorite color and Julian didn't have a problem with it since I also included a bunch of stuff that I knew he would like.

I had gotten used to being a billionaire. It definitely took me a while and whenever I wanted to buy something expensive, I still ask Julian for permission, but he has no problems with that. I regularly surprise him with trips and stuff since he loves traveling and he's determined to see so many countries and experience tons of culture that he has a lot of stories for our kids.

Speaking of kids. "Daddy!"

I lean down and pick up our baby girl, Juliette. Three years ago, Nina offered to be our surrogate since we had spent many months trying to find someone we liked to carry our child. We're so grateful for all that Nina has done for us and we are so happy she graced us with our princess. Juliette is truly the light of Julian and I's life and we couldn't have asked for a better baby. She had some problems when she was born and was a bit premature, but she's perfectly healthy now, thankfully.

"Hey, princess," I say to my daughter, holding her on my hip before starting to kiss all over her tiny face. She giggles lightly, swatting me away after a bit. I press one more kiss to her forehead before walking over to Julian, who had just gotten home with our little girl from the grocery store. I give my husband a passionate kiss, still holding Juliette in my arms as I focus on Julian.

So, we actually don't know which one of us is the father of Juliette. We did the whole sperm thing and then Nina got pregnant, but we decided that we didn't want to know whose sperm they used. With how she looked right now, she definitely looked like my child, but as a baby, she looked like Julian's, so we have no idea. We aren't too concerned with it because whoever she turns out to look like doesn't really matter to us. She will always be both of our little girl and we wouldn't give her up for the world.

"Daddy, stop!" Juliette yells, grabbing my cheek with her tiny hand and pushing me away from her other dad. We both chuckle before separating from our kiss and I focus on our daughter while he carries the bags into the kitchen.

"You wanna help Papa put away the groceries?" I ask her and she immediately makes a face of disgust, making me chuckle. She was very expressive with her face, so we could easily tell what she was thinking as she was thinking, which was sometimes a good thing, but other times, it wasn't the best.

"Oh, our little lovey is very tired," Julian tells me with an amused smile. When Juliette was a baby, she was pretty crazy and barely ever slept at night. We think she didn't like the dark, so when we got her a nightlight, she slept straight through the night. But one time, Julian and I both got up when she started crying and he had ended up slurring his words and told her, "I lovey you" and the nickname's stuck until now. He calls her 'lovey' and I call her 'princess' and I'm assuming that those nicknames will stick until she's old.

I settle Juliette onto the side of the counter with her feet dangling over the edge and I make sure to stay still, so I can catch her if she falls or jumps off. She immediately shakes her head when she hears what Julian says and gives me a pleading look. "I not tired!"

"You fell asleep on the car ride home, Juliette," Julian tells her while he puts some popsicles into the freezer that our little girl must've suckered him into getting. He was very strict with her having sugar since she was already crazy enough and when she ate anything with too much sugar, she gets insane and doesn't sleep as well as she could without it.

"It's time for your nap, princess," I tell her, putting my arms underneath hers before picking her off of the counter to hold her in my arms. She squirms, which she usually does when she doesn't want to take her nap, but I know her better than that. Her eyes were drooping a bit and she had yawned when she walked in, so she would be out like a light as soon as I lay her in bed. I wink at Julian when I walk past him before making my way to Juliette's room, which is right next to ours.

When I walk into her room, I can tell that she's already falling asleep in my arms by the way she wasn't moving around a lot. I quickly change her into some more comfortable clothes and lightly lay her down in her bed before pulling her blanket over her tiny body. She curls up on her side before holding her arms out for me with her eyes already half closed. I wrap my arms around her in a hug, rubbing her back as her breathing starts to even out. After a few more moments of just holding her, I slowly pull out of her arms before standing up without making too much noise.

"Iloveyou, Daddy," her words slur together and I smile as I look down at her. She had her tiny hands tucked underneath her head while her blanket is pulled up to her shoulders. She looks so small in her bed that we switched her to just a few months ago and I was just waiting for when she would grow into it. She was definitely growing way too fast and by tomorrow, she would be in high school and getting her first boyfriend/girlfriend.

"I love you too, princess," I whisper before turning the light switch off. I make sure her tiny light is on that radiates little stars on the ceiling since if it wasn't on, she would absolutely panic as soon as she realizes. I slowly close her door before walking back to the kitchen where Julian still stood at the counter with some mail in his hands while he read it.

I wrap my arms around his waist, my back pressed against his front. I let out a sigh before settling my cheek against his back while my hands lightly run up-and-down his stomach. One of his hands comes down to squeeze my arm that was wrapped around him. I can hear him setting the papers down before he turns in my arms, pulling me into a hug. He puts his finger under my chin before lifting my head and connecting our lips. I moan softly against his mouth, making him chuckle lightly.

"You really are horny, you know that?" He whispers to me, pressing his forehead against mine.

"Just for you," I joke before pressing my lips against his again. After a few minutes of just kissing him, he moves us over to the living room before lowering us onto the couch. I sit next to him before laying my head on his shoulder with a happy sigh.

"What a life," he whispers, looking down at me with a huge smile. I look out at the shelves across from us that have pictures of all the memories of our lives. We have a lot with our family, mostly at dinner since we had a habit of going out to eat with them a lot to try new restaurants. Most of the pictures held Juliette though – when she was a baby, when we took her to Disneyworld, and just other random times. I stop on the picture that always, always, always makes me smile, no matter what's happening in our life.

The picture is of Julian and me in my childhood home on Thanksgiving Day – the day that our relationship started. The first picture we ever took together and the memories that it held were so special to us and I don't know if we'd ever get over all the things we've been through. It's been a long nine years together, but I wouldn't trade any of it for anything. I had the perfect husband, an amazing daughter, and a wonderful family all by my side and they're all I will ever need to be happy.

"What a life," I repeat to my husband, looking up at him with a huge smile.

He smiles back, brushing some of my hair out of my face. "You're happy."

I nod, agreeing with his statement. "I'm very happy. You make me so happy."

"And you make me happy," he points out, making both of us chuckle. I press my hand against his cheek and he leans into my touch, not taking his eyes off of me as I lift myself up on my knees before straddling his lap. He smiles at me, taking my free hand in his before pressing it against his chest to intertwine our fingers together as we never break eye contact.

"Throughout all my life, you've honestly been the person that's made me the happiest. Juliette too, but that's beside the point right now," I say and he chuckles before nodding for me to continue. "I love you so much, Julian, and I'm so proud of this life we've created together. When we're gray and old, I will think the same exact thing and I want you to know that."

He nods his head, giving me a cute smile. He leans forward and presses his lips against mine once more. When he pulls away, he sets his forehead against mine while staring into my eyes. "I know that, my beautiful boy. When we're gray and old, I will constantly be thinking of the life we've lived. Of all the things we've experienced. Of all the love I have and always will have for you."

I feel my eyes start to water and I lean forward, placing my lips on top of his again. I wrap my arms around his neck, pressing our chests flush against one another and making sure there's no piece of my body not touching him. We move our mouths together in a familiar way that we usually do and we angle our heads exactly how the other wants and we just be one. We live and breathe each other, not caring about anything in the world and just on one another.

But when we hear the little footsteps beside us, we break away from each other to look over at our little girl. She uses one of her hands to rub her eyes, probably from the bright light in the house and the other one was gripping the hem of her t-shirt. I move off of Julian's lap before motioning for her to come over to us. When she stands right in front of my legs, I pick her up before settling her on top of Julian's legs. He reaches next to him to grab a blanket before getting her comfortable underneath it. She reaches her tiny hand out and I hold it between mine, knowing that that's exactly what she wanted.

"Couldn't sleep, lovey?" Julian whispers, kissing the top of our daughter's head.

"Not without you," she whispers and I could hear just how tired she was. I grab the tablet that sat on top of the coffee table before using it to dim the light a bit more to not irritate her eyes. I continue holding her hand while I look over at Julian, who was staring down at Juliette, who was now starting to fall asleep now that she was sitting with us.

"I love you," I whisper to my husband, my chest aching with how happy I was right now. I truly had the perfect family right in front of me and I'm so grateful for all the decisions I've made to get to this point right now.

Julian smiles, motioning for me to kiss him since he didn't want to move Juliette. I press my lips against his once more before pulling away to set my head on his shoulder. He leans his own against mine, letting out a soft sigh as he starts to run one of his hands through our daughter's hair, making her hum a bit in her sleep. He uses his other free hand to grab one of mine, running his thumb over the back of it and we just bask in this moment. This wonderful, absolutely pure moment.

"I love you," Julian whispers into my ear before kissing the top of my head.

"I love you, Daddies," Juliette whispers, sounding so adorable that it brings a smile to both of our faces. I squeeze her hand lightly, not regretting a single thing in my life. We've had our ups-and-downs in our life, but nothing that didn't help us grow into the people we are today. From cheating to yelling to humiliation to guns, we've had it all. But, now, we were perfectly fine with our simple life of just being together and caring for our daughter. We don't want anything more than each other. That's all we'll ever need. 

***

And this is the end of the Miles and Minute-By-Minute series! I want you all to know that I absolutely loved creating Miles and Julian and everyone else in their lives. I know there are some things that you all didn't like, but I do. Life isn't perfect by any means and I wanted to encapsulate that in this story. Sure, the ending was kinda perfect, but I like cliché endings if you haven't noticed. 

I hope all of you loved and enjoyed this book as much as I did. This story is dedicated to you all. To everyone that's commented and voted on this story and fell in love with my characters, thank you. Thank you all for your support. And I know that if Miles and Julian were real, they would appreciate you too.

Love you all. Thank you for everything.