EPILOUGE
My eyes are filled with tears as I look over at my best friend, the woman who has been like a sister to me for most of my life. I’m so damn proud of her. She looks tired, but I don’t think she’s ever been more beautiful than she is right now.
Her eyes are bright and filled with so much damn love as she watches her husband hold their daughter. When a tear slips from my eye, I don’t even try and stop it. Crosby, my big protective bear of a man doesn’t like any tears of mine and makes a sound of displeasure in the back of his throat as he tucks me deeper into his side.
But that is not going to work for me. Because I need to meet my niece.
When I wriggle free of Crosby’s hold, he narrows his eyes at me, but he doesn’t say anything. I want to do a victory dance, but I refrain. Barely.
He won’t call me on it because he still owes me apology orgasms.
Not that he’s complained even once about owing me orgasms. Considering how well my man loves me, I definitely don’t have anything to complain about.
After practically skipping over to the sink to wash my hands, I walk right up to Prodigal and make grabby hands toward the baby. “It’s auntie time,” I whisper shout.
Prodigal huffs and sends a pout toward his wife, but he also hands his daughter over to me. I cradle her in my arms, and something clicks into place. As much as it might be hot to think about Crosby getting me pregnant, I’ve been afraid to really try. Because I was afraid.
But I know what I could have lost if I had let fear win the last time that I allowed it to rule me.
This.
I would have lost all of this.
When I look over at Crosby, he’s already looking at me with so much love in his eyes that I know he’s probably reading my mind. But right now it’s not about us. It’s about my best friend and his brother. They’ve welcomed a new life into the DSMC and that deserves our focus and celebration.
“Wrenley, she’s beautiful,” I sigh, and the woman goes supernova with how brightly she starts to glow. I giggle as I sit on the edge of the bed and stare down at the little bundle of love in my arms. “What’s her name?”
“Maya,” Wrenley whispers and I make a cooing sound as I snuggle her in my arms.
I don’t know how long we stay while visiting them, but I do know that I soak up all the baby snuggles I can manage. Maya is a sweet baby and I already know Wrenley is going to be an amazing mom.
As I twirl the wedding ring on my finger, I debate how to bring up starting a family with my husband. Yes, my husband. About a week after we did the whole ‘I love you’ confession, he showed up at work. I wasn’t expecting him, that’s for damn sure.
He looked on the verge of going feral, his chest heaving as he walked into my classroom. “Crosby?” My eyebrows pulled together in confusion. “Are you okay?”
“No,” he grunted, “I am not okay.” I rushed toward him, thinking he was hurt or something, but his next words made me freeze in place. “I’m not okay because you’re not wearing my ring.”
“You’re ring?”
He stalked toward me slowly and pulled a box out his pocket before dropping down to one knee. Was my classroom full of students? Yeah, and he didn’t give a fuck about who was there either.
There was only one answer to give when he asked, “Firefly, will you put me out of my misery and marry me?”
I chuckled and nodded. “Yes, but you still owe me,” I reminded him with an arched eyebrow.
“I owe you and you own me,” me whispered as he slipped the ring on my finger.
I haven’t taken it off since then.
It wasn’t long after he asked me to marry him that he got a call from his sister about her plans to close their parents’ record store. I had never been to the low country, but I wasn’t going to allow my man to go and face his past, good or bad, by himself.
That trip was eventful, to say the least. It all worked out for the best in the end. Tallulah is now in New Orleans and she’s happy with her own biker, which is a story for another time.
“Firefly,” Crosby rumbles next to me and I look over at him curiously. “Are you ready to start trying to grow our family?”
A breath wooshes out of me as giddiness fills me. I gasp, “How did you know?”
“Because I know you,” he tells me as he reaches for my hand.
He pulls it over the console and rests it on his thigh. With the gifts and food that I insisted on taking to the new parents, being in Crosby’s truck made more sense than taking his bike. Which is kind of unfortunate because I love being on the back of his bike.
“I’m ready whenever you are,” he tells me, his voice strong and sure.
“I’m ready.”
“Fuck,” he groans and starts to drive a little bit faster.
The sound of my laughter fills the truck, and it soars along with the love that lives inside my heart.
Crosby has made my life so much richer and I don’t think he even has any idea. He stood beside me when I didn’t think I could go on. He saved me from a future of loneliness and fear.
Hell yes I’m ready to grow our family. It’ll be my greatest honor and joy.