Thank you for sharing your writing talent!

What a fantastic ending. I love imagining the tattoo.

Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever read an obese Charlie and fat Jasper. You’re really made this your own story.

You just keep whipping out the surprises! This is great.

Buying a wedding dress! I know they’ll get married. I assume there will be a reveal about how they got together. Can’t wait to keep reading.

Wow, you seem to know such details about so much!

Tell Edward to use the “Calm” app to fall asleep.

My husband and I took a ballroom class one summer. I was shocked at the close positions! We’re married for heaven’s sake.

So glad I found this! Golden Onion awards. I love their banter, but hate reliving the pandemic needs.

I have to admit I’m underwhelmed by epilogue babies (not just yours). So this will be a shortish review. However I did have to comment that before I read this story I didn’t know what a snugglefic was, but now I’m ever so glad I discovered this one. As another reviewers said, with all the … unpleasantness going on in our world, a Giant Warm Hug is just what we need!

That did make me laugh when Ellie refused to go to Edward. "You're not Eddie," she huffed. "Strange man."

Oh, I haven’t watched Witcher yet – should I be prepared for hate-watching?

Oh, the hair gel was from the dance competition – took me a while to figure out why on earth the Professor would use so much that it was hard to get out.

I also laughed when he suggests he go take care of his hair RIGHT NOW:
"Please," Bella replied. "It's for the greater good that you stop whining about it."

I’m grateful that it took Esme and Bella 3 years to get around to doing the kitchen cabinet painting. My projects seem to move at a glacial pace. (Well, the pace glaciers USED to have.)

Hmm, so her baby’s serious illness is what it took for Alice to rethink (or perhaps re-feel) her priorities. ‘The event shook Alice so thoroughly she did not quite know what to do with herself or how to apologize to Jasper, but the new parents talked and talked and talked.’
Thank goodness, both for Ellie’s sake and Jasper’s.

Good: ‘But, nevertheless, Jasper told her that if she was still ashamed to be with him, there would be no third shot.’

Way to prioritize Edward's marriage: ‘He'd taught her breathing exercises and refused to enter bigger competitions and dance festivals before Bella was ready.’

Well I did NOT expect the second epilogue baby – seems like a good sign that Alice and Jasper were confident enough to try another one.

This is good news: ‘Watching Alice, Bella realized she'd seen her friend grow patience she didn't know Alice was capable of…’ Alice had been so self-involved that she didn’t seem like promising parent material.

Crazy people, leaving for a long drive to the mountains at 10 p.m. That’s bedtime. Clearly I’m not qualified to be a character in a snugglefic.

Lovely: ‘The stars shone brighter than the last quarter of the old moon…’ OK, so it was a pretty drive.

That was clever, that the tension Bella had noticed in Edward turned out to be triggered by Alice and Jasper’s announcement – whether he and Bella would ever find the perfect time.

Ah, so she was waiting for his birthday to tell him. I wondered why she didn’t take that perfect opportunity the night before.

Sigh: ‘As many competitions and dance festivals as they participated in (in their fancy dress code), there was always something special about dancing in private, at home or in a cabin, naked or half-naked or surrounded by a blanket, lost in each other as they moved like a single leaf in the wind.’

Bella’s frustration when Edward failed to interpret the potato drawing on his birthday card was charming.

Boy I sure understand this: ‘…since she'd been on different contraceptives for thirteen years in a row, she just wanted to skip a month and see what her body was up to without them.’

Smile: ‘It spoke volumes about their marriage, their trust and communication, that after thirteen years of being terrified of getting pregnant, after thirteen years of being the perfect-use example, Bella forgot. ... She was so comfortable and in love with her husband that she forgot.’ Hmm, I admit I’m skeptical, but hey she’s your character.

Oh geez: “I've had sex without contraception twice in my life, and both times, boom. Pregnant." Something for them to keep in mind…

This principle seems to apply to every problem they’ve run into: “I'd rather have you with this problem than any other woman in the world without it."
High praise.

An amusing question, but I can imagine why he felt that way: "Should I stop talking dirty? It feels wrong, now." I was glad Bella put an immediate stop to that line of thinking.

She asks about adding to his tattoo:
"Will you put them here?" she asked, quietly. "Our kids?"
"Not a chance, baby."
"No?"
"I chose you," he answered, lowering himself to rest his elbows on either side of her neck. "I'll love our kids to death but they're just along for the ride. They'll get their spot. But this, here?" Edward put her palm against the centre of his chest. "This is yours, baby. It will always be yours."
I applaud his sense of priorities.

I did have a question about the dance world. Are there competitions where two men or two women can dance as partners? Is there any nonsense about excluding transgender folks? I remember on DWTS there was a season where Jojo Siwa was paired with a female pro, and it was very interesting. As a bisexual female person, I would think two men dancing together would be HOT. I imagine loosening gender roles would be a volatile issue in that world.

Thank you one more time for this charming story. I’m sure I will reread it whenever I need that Giant Warm Hug!

This is determination: “I had two hours' worth of sleep after talking to you before I showed up at Mahana's shop at five AM pretending not to be drunk, still.” And then he slept through the whole thing. (If I could be guaranteed I'd sleep through a tattoo, I might actually get one.)

Aww, Mahana: "She was over the moon that I'd found someone I'd want to do that for."

Good question – I was kinda baffled about this too:
"Can I ask... how did Angela know you got a tattoo for me?"

Smart girl – train him right away:
‘Bella hummed when she tasted their chocolate cake. Edward reached for a piece before Bella kicked his spoon away and held the cake out of his reach, motioning for the server to bring them another one.’

Whoa, I did not expect Bella’s news to be about Jasper and Alice. Good for Jasper! Kinda questionable to do when she’s pregnant – although in early baby days would have been worse, so he didn’t have any great choices. I hope it works!

Smile: "I'm sorry my family keeps using up all of your free time. Is my mom still calling you every day? You should deny them every once in a while."
That really was sweet (and helpful) that she hung out with Carlisle right after Esme’s surgery.
Thank goodness for this side effect: ‘Bella used the opportunity to take some time off from the endless cover letter writing and CV-customizing.’ Ugh.

When Edward comes home to find Bella singing in the kitchen,
‘The first time it happened, Edward took off his layers and leaned against the wall to enjoy her stunningly casual everyday presence in his life.’
Lovely.

At the restaurant, Edward says "Am I allowed to ask you the question you hate the most?"
I enjoy their careful communication style. Wonderful news, of course!

After Edward badgers her into recreating her accidental gymnast move from their first meeting,
‘Being in his arms like this was just as intimate as it had been before they left for Chilliwack, but Bella adored how now he was hers.’
Well that part is nice, but really, I don’t get why she would go along with him!
At least eventually we find out he had a good reason.

Clever, to get Esme to convince her to clean up her Pinterest board so he knows which one is the right ring.

I like how he makes this argument: "Baby, you lit up like a firefly when you saw the ring. We're not returning it."

And her reply: "So I'm supposed to let you get away with this just because you're superstitious and look sexy when you demand stuff?"

Ah, Mahana was able to make that incredible design after watching Alice’s video. Well, maybe I’ll have to let Alice off the hook (just a little). It is AMAZING what gifted artists can come up with.

Perfect: "This little dot here is the chevy, tiny and heading away from us towards your dad because... why would I need it when I have you?"

Boy did Edward ever jump to a conclusion based on Bella’s unusual tea-drinking.
Perfect reaction: ‘Bella burst tea out of her nose with such force…’

Sigh, probably smart that when having dinner with the Dean, Bella ‘aimed to seem like a sophisticated fiancée to a Professor and very much a non-student.’ The evening sure went well, though – if you ignore the burnt dinner (shoot, I wanted to hear about the Taiwanese rice vermicelli!) and flaming child. Who knew Bella’s hair-cutting skills would prove so useful?

That was a fun conversation about Asa’s decision to marry Bella when he’s older – but then, she’ll probably be replaced a dozen times in as many weeks.

Great phrase: ‘…molded his happiness and relief into a kiss.’

I can totally relate to Bella’s phobia of pregnancy. I remember when my married, 26-year-old sister got pregnant, I just couldn’t get rid of the undertone of dread.
That’s it, all right: “…when it's so ingrained in you when you're young that pregnancy is the thing that will ruin your future, you can't just switch that fear off overnight. … we'll have to have an ongoing discussion about it to make it feel normal, and not something to avoid at all costs."
It’s as important to get this out on the table as Edward’s concerns about depression and sexual performance.

Sounds reasonable:
“I can't even give you a confident yes," she argued... "I'm effectively telling you that... I hope to get there."
Good thing he’s OK with that.

“Creampie” was a new term for me. I thought maybe it was a Canadian thing, but nope, it’s all over Urban Dictionary.

And yeah, I imagine sex with the intention of making a baby would definitely be hot.

Such a lovely story. It’s three years into corona, inflation is too damn high, our country’s politics are a dumpster fire…a snugglefic like this is exactly what we need! I came back to reread it this week just bc I wanted some warm fuzzies.

So true! ‘Bella still felt cramped and slightly paranoid around so many people after avoiding human contact for so long.’

Kimberly Graham-Lin deserves that wonderful cabin:
‘She was a firm advocate for guiding first-generation students through the numerous invisible roadblocks at an Ivy-league school, and she thought Edward's struggles and the lessons he was forced to learn would provide valuable input to them.’
And, as she noted, vulnerable students were liable to be far more damaged by the COVID shutdowns than ‘their peers who could use their parents' network to make up for their missed opportunities.’
Good for her!

Smile, re allowing Edward to accept Prof. Graham-Lin’s invitation:
‘Dean Zhou Ming was almost ridiculously easy to convince as any potential collaboration between Banting-Carr and an Ivy-league school in the US would help put their small Canadian university on the map.’

Excellent – Edward and Angela didn’t run into each other while he was at Yale, ‘which caused even more disappointment to Laurent than it did to Bella’.

Nice: ‘Bella watched him on the stage, looking relaxed and happy, and she couldn't describe what a wonder it was that he had this precious, dirty side reserved only for her.’

What a wonderful surprise that he has already begun using their hyphenated name professionally! And such a fun conversation going on in front of her re Edward’s hotness and status.

An intriguing clue to their early days: ‘Listening to the black-haired guy mention how Edward always kept the door open when he had meetings with students made Bella realize that she'd been an exception to the rule even if she hadn't understood it at the time.’

Whoa, so that was Angela all along that sat next to Bella and fussed about whether Edward was married yet. Good observation that ‘she looked effortless and natural in a way that could only be achieved with a ridiculous amount of effort’. It has to be a high priority for her!

And then Angela’s "He's not all that” comment – to a total stranger! How many people has she said something like this to?

Bella had quite the comeback. Maybe my favorite part of it was "It's sweet of you to worry, but we don't have problems…”
Bella was remarkably restrained during the whole conversation, if you ask me.

Now this surprised me: "You never told me you could dance."
How does that “not come up”? I’m thinking not many wide-ranging conversations? Not much curiosity (on her part) re her future husband?

Oh my goodness:
"There's nothing wrong with being asexual," Bella said, her voice a near-whisper, seeing in the sharpness of Angela's gaze that she'd guessed correctly. "I just wish you hadn't—"
Boy did that light the fuse!

If I didn’t already dislike Angela, this would have done it: "You don't know who I am.”

Poor guy: ‘Meanwhile, Edward looked like he'd been run over by a steamroller that had aged him by a decade.’

I like this Laura: "Don't worry about it. Laura was just complaining to me the other day that not enough drama has come out of me dating a professor."

Well, now we have to wait till the next chapter to find out what Edward wanted to talk about! And whether he was right about Bella having gotten a job.

Ha ha, Edward spots Jasper through the window: ‘"You are so dead," Edward said to Alice.’

Wow, Jasper handles the crowd awfully well: "I feel like a celebrity," he said, grinning, moving to introduce himself to Alice's parents. "Did you all just stand here until I arrived?"

Enjoyed this, Jasper to Edward:
"But I heard you had a birthday yesterday. Happy birthday. And congratulations on your promotion, and your engagement. You are just winning at life. I don't have anything for you, I'm afraid," Jasper leaned closer, briefly making eye contact with Bella before he whispered, "Except stories about Bella."

BTW, I liked ‘Taco Bella’.

A good sign: ‘Esme smiled, looking eager and bubbling with enough questions to have a full-scale interview with the man.’

This makes sense, Bella’s observation: ‘It didn't feel like Alice had no feelings for the man... it felt like she was in denial about having them.’

I can see this, Jasper ‘asked Esme and Carlisle questions of his own, and they were thrilled with how curious Jasper was about their careers and choices.’
When their own daughter seemed uncommunicative and indifferent.

OMG, Jasper’s story about hauling Bella to the ED/ER when he couldn’t wake her up!

‘Edward asked. "You wake up in strange places?"
"Probably more than all of you combined."’
I guessed you’d get used to that? Her list of the ways she keeps herself safe was smart.

Holy cow:
‘"Can you believe that she's considering giving me a shot?" Jasper asked, quietly, voice full of disbelief.
With all of Alice's hangups, Bella wanted to ask 'Can you believe that you're considering giving Alice a shot?' but she knew that Jasper would laugh in her face if she suggested that he was the one out of her league.
"You're a catch," Bella said instead…’
Good for Bella.

An interesting perspective from Jasper on the unplanned pregnancy: “Even if Alice, you know, even if we don't work out, I'm not likely to have another shot at this, and I'm... I'm stoked, you know?"

Fun story about how Bella got the fancy dancing dress(es). She’d probably never spend the money herself, but how wonderful to have something flashy.

Big smile: ‘Edward was leaning against the wall, hands in his pockets, wearing standard black pants and a crisp white button-up but looking somehow attractive enough to have invented the concept.’

And then: ‘Seeing him throw his head back, eyes closed as he laughed, in his element, charming and kind, Bella couldn't fathom that she hadn't been attracted to the man when he was her lecturer. Where had she been?’
Good question!

A good indicator of how well Edward knows Bella, that he noticed how much “stage fright” she had, and already knew how to calm her down.

Esme is a jewel:
‘"And we might mess up, so be kind," Bella added.
"Aw, honey, I already love this, and you," Esme replied, looking emotional and giddy, all at once.’

Terrific, from Carlisle: "I guess Bella was the missing piece of the puzzle Mr. Marchesi kept criticizing you for."

From Jasper: "I thought you guys had danced together all your lives."
And "I'm signing up for dance lessons."

I liked that he made the connection that Alice’s brother and best friend took lessons, but she didn’t. At least she concludes "I was a stupid kid."
It could also be that as gifted as Edward (apparently) was, she didn’t feel like competing with that.

Wonderful, after Jasper leaves:
‘Carlisle said to Esme. "Honey, do you think this is one of those instances where our approval is the worst thing that could happen to Alice?"’
Followed by all the things that are “vile” about him. Charming.

Lovely detail, as Edward paces back and forth on work calls:
‘Bella adored his work voice, authoritative but polite, and each time she passed, he muted himself for a few seconds just to steal a kiss from Bella and hear what she was up to. It was a tiny, sweet gesture that never failed to fill her with warmth.’

Good summary: ‘Driving to Chilliwack two weeks and two days ago, Bella had felt like nothing could've left a bigger mark on her than her lack of a job. ... It was curious that now, she felt like the previously gaping hole of her lack of family felt much more acute, acute but healed, and it was mind-blowing that not only did she return with a real, breath-taking fiancé but with a family.’

Nice, re her job search: ‘The fact that Edward was there to support her, and that she trusted him to be there had made all the difference to her, not in the outcome but in the way she felt about her choice. She couldn't underestimate that.’

I bet: ‘Returning felt like an out-of-body experience. They'd only been gone for two weeks and two days, and yet, it felt like a lifetime.’

A delightful thing to learn: "Do you know how much I wanted to kiss you the last time you stood here?" he said, quietly... "You were so worried about whether or not to hug me and all I could think about was if I could've gotten away with this."

Interesting idea: "I want to see if I can last longer if I shut up for once.”
I loved her (eventual) answer that she’d always take his dirty talk over lasting longer.

Perfect:
"You really don't care that... I have this problem?"
"I don't," Bella replied, caressing his cheek. "I wish you didn't see it as a problem.”

I enjoyed Bella’s guesses about what he’ll choose for the center of his tattoo:
"A frog. Seventeen M&Ms. An if-else statement. A leaf in the wind."

BTW, I agree with another reviewer that if you want to write entire chapters of PWP, I’m here for it!