Epilogue
Vivian
The morning of the wedding, I wake up in Grady’s arms. He’s already awake, with his hair rumpled and pillowcase creases impressed on his cheek.
“Good morning, beautiful.” He brushes the hair out of my face. “I know it’s supposed to be bad luck to see you before the wedding, but I’m glad you stayed the night.”
I hadn’t initially planned to wake up next to him today, but I’ve been so stressed with wedding planning that Grady offered to give me a backrub last night, and one thing led to another.
More accurately, the backrub led to me coming once from his fingers and again from his tongue, and then immediately passing out face-down on his mattress, and well… here we are.
I roll into my soon-to-be husband and sit back, straddling his hips. What with the whole falling-asleep-so-hard-I-drooled-on-the-pillow thing, I never got a chance to tell him the real reason I came over last night. I thought about saving it until after the wedding, but changed my mind at the last minute. Especially since Mom and Vanessa already know. I didn’t feel right about exchanging vows with a secret between us.
“Do you want your present now?” I ask.
Grady’s face is flushed, and he’s already half-hard against me. “Sure.” He reaches up to touch my face, but I roll away from him.
“Great,” I say. “I’ll tell you over breakfast. We need to keep things moving, or we’ll throw off my whole schedule. The wedding planner gave me an itinerary. And he scares me enough not to test the timeline.”
Grady follows me downstairs, where the wrapped present awaits. I left it on the kitchen island last night. Grady lets Blade out into the yard, then circles back to me.
“Ah,” he says, studying the wrapped package. “A photo, huh?”
“Yup.” I nudge it closer. “You should see what it is.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to make coffee first?” he asks.
I shake my head. “Quit stalling and open the package.”
Grady makes a big fuss about peeling off the tape, looking up every now and then to see if I’ve reached my breaking point. Just when I’m about to snatch it from his hands and tear the paper off myself, he relents with a laugh, though even when he peels the paper away, he holds the frame face-down.
“So impatient,” he teases. “I’m just trying to guess which photo it might be. The one Vanessa took the night we got engaged in the old Gnome Gloam? The one of you thrashing me in the bumper cars? That portrait of us from Christmas when we took Blade to meet Santa?”
I shudder at the memory. “We are so lucky that mall Santa decided not to press charges.”
“He was fine,” Grady says. “It was just his sleeve.”
“Final guess?” I prompt.
Grady wrinkles his nose. “Hmm… I’m guessing it’s a candid one. Probably a photo you’ve never shown me before. Hopefully, you’re not wearing much. Or maybe even nothing at all.”
I cover my smile with one hand.
“Ha! I’m right.” Grady flips the frame over. He stares at it. Lifts the frame. Tilts it to one side. Tilts it to the other. “What exactly am I looking at?”
I tap my toe against his shin. “Seriously? Have you never seen a sonogram before?”
“A sonogram?” he repeats. “Whose?”
I click my tongue and rest my shoulder against his so that I can point to the name and date. “Whose do you think, you goose? You think I’m out here printing and framing random sonograms?”
Grady swallows. He follows the line of my finger. “This is…”
“This is our baby.” I kiss his cheek. “Surprise.”
“But… I…” He exhales sharply. He lowers the frame, but his eyes stay locked on the image. “How?”
“So, when a man and a woman love each other very much—” I tease.
“Vivian.” Grady turns his head to meet my gaze. “I haven’t had my appointment yet. Not until after the honeymoon.”
“And we’ve been having unprotected sex. A lot of it.” I gently pry his fingers from the frame and guide his palm to my stomach. “I don’t know if Larisse lied about your results or if she had fertility issues, too. Maybe we just got lucky. Trial and error. Either way…” I tip my chin toward my stomach.
“We’re having a baby,” Grady says. I can tell from his bewildered tone that this hasn’t quite sunk in yet.
“And it looks just like you,” I add.
His lips twitch, and he glances down at the sonogram again. “You think so? I’m not seeing it.”
“Squint. And think back on how your head looked when you were hit with that puck last season.”
He lets out a snort of laughter. “You’re right. There it is. I didn’t think I could love you more, but now… you’re making me a dad. Viv, I’m so looking forward to forever with you.”
This time, when he takes my face between his hands, I let him. His kiss is deep but gentle, and I wonder if he’s going to insist that we take a break from our more vigorous sexual activities for a while. I hope not. One of the side effects of pregnancy has been a crazy surge in hormones, and I’m not even showing yet. On our way back from the appointment, Mom warned me that my hormones will go even more bonkers over the coming months.
That I’m going to want it morning, noon, and night.
My watch buzzes, and I jump, breaking off a perfectly good kiss. “Ugh, dammit, we’re getting married,” I grumble. “I have to go get ready.”
Grady laughs at my sarcastic tone. “Which means the next time I kiss you, you’re going to be my wife.”
“You’ll be my husband,” I correct.
He clings to my hand for a few more seconds. “I will.”
“I’ll see you at the altar in a few hours. I’ll be the one in the mermaid gown.”
Grady’s eyes bulge. “You’re wearing the mermaid costume?”
“That would turn some heads,” I admit. “But no, I won’t be wearing our special costume. A mermaid cut has a longer fitted bodice. It hugs the hips. I’ve been told that particular style accentuates my curves. I once turned a man’s head that way.”
Grady dips his head. “Oh, yeah. Mermaid cut. I knew that.”
“No, you didn’t.” I ruffle his hair. “Love you. See you soon.”
As I turn to leave, Grady gently tugs my hand, pulling me back. His eyes are soft, his expression unguarded in a way that makes my chest ache. “Wait,” he says, his voice barely above a whisper.
He lifts the hem of my Venom sleepshirt carefully, like he’s unwrapping the most precious gift in the world. His large, calloused hands splay against my stomach, and for a moment, he just stares, his brow furrowed with an emotion so raw it steals my breath.
Then, he lowers his head and presses the softest, most reverent kiss to my belly.
“Hey, little one,” he murmurs, his voice trembling just slightly. “It’s your dad. I don’t know if you can hear me yet, but I need you to know something. You’ve got the most incredible mom in the world. She’s smart, and funny, and she’s tougher than anyone I’ve ever met. She’s already given me more than I ever thought I deserved, and now she’s giving me you.”
As I thread my fingers into his hair, my throat tightens as his words sink in, my eyes blurring with tears I don’t bother to wipe away.
Grady keeps going, his lips brushing lightly against my skin between sentences. “I’m going to love you both forever. No matter what. You’ll always have me. I promise.”
When he looks up at me, his eyes are wet, and I know this moment will be etched into my heart forever.
“Go get ready, Mrs. Almost-Metcalfe,” he says with a crooked smile. “I’ll see you at the altar.”
I nod, unable to speak, and walk out of the room, my hand instinctively resting over the spot where his lips just were, as though trying to hold on to the weight of his promise.
I hurry back upstairs to pull on yesterday’s clothes before Mia and Vanessa and Mom show up to collect me. In only a few hours, Grady and I will be legally married. I’m looking forward to the event, but in my heart, nothing will change. In my heart, he’s already my family. The father of my child. We’re going to be parents—I still can’t wrap my head around that.
What will our days look like? How are we going to balance our careers with the needs of a newborn? How will our lives change?
I’m curious, but I’m not afraid. We’ve got a support system. We’ve got each other. We’re going to be fine.
“Just you wait,” I whisper. “Wait until you meet your father in person. There’s so much love waiting for you here.”
Then I grab my things and hurry toward the door. Today is our day, after all. We have a whole hell of a lot to look forward to.
A few hours later, as I stand at the end of the aisle, I catch my first glimpse of Grady waiting for me. His dark hair is perfectly styled, his suit sharp enough to cut glass, but it’s his expression that stops me in my tracks. He looks at me like I’m the only person in the world, like this moment—me walking toward him—is the only thing he’s ever dreamed of. My heart feels like it might burst.
The ceremony is a blur of emotion. Grady’s vows are raw and honest, his voice catching when he talks about how I’ve changed his life in ways he never thought possible. When it’s my turn, I tell him about how he’s taught me what love is supposed to feel like—steady, unyielding, and real. There’s not a dry eye in the room by the time we exchange rings, and when the officiant announces us as husband and wife, Grady pulls me into a kiss that has the crowd erupting into cheers.
The reception is chaos in the best way. Dante delivers a speech that’s equal parts heartfelt and completely over the top, claiming all credit for bringing us together. Viktor insists on a dance-off that has even my dad on the floor, trying to keep up. Grady’s sisters gather around me, pulling me into their fold as if I’ve been part of the family forever. And when Grady sweeps me aside under the twinkling string lights, his hands on my waist and his eyes locked on mine, he whispers, “This is just the beginning, my gorgeous mermaid. Just the beginning of everything we’re going to build together.”
As we sway to the music, his words sink into my heart. Today is more than a wedding—it’s the start of a life I never dared to dream of. A life full of love, laughter, and a future that feels limitless. And as I lean into him, his heartbeat steady beneath my cheek, I know without a doubt that I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.
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Thank You for Reading Glitz & Goals!
Grady and Vivian took us on a wild ride—from a rogue puck that nearly took him out to a love story that proved some things are worth the risk. I hope you loved every filthy, heartfelt, and hilarious moment of their journey.
But now… it’s time for THE book you’ve been waiting for.
Knova Hale & Viktor Abbott
The enemies-to-lovers war of the century.
The queen of sarcasm and the king of bad decisions.
A rivalry so intense, it should come with its own penalty box.
These two have been circling each other for YEARS, fighting off undeniable chemistry with barbs, banter, and the kind of tension that could melt the ice beneath their skates. But one reckless, tequila-fueled night changes everything.
A fake Elvis.
A whole lot of blurry memories.
And a very inconvenient, very real attraction they can’t keep ignoring.
Dice & Dekes is about to deliver ALL the chaotic, unhinged, utterly delicious tension you’ve been dying for.
Frenemy foreplay? Check. Forced proximity? Double check. The kind of banter that feels one insult away from a very steamy make-out session? Oh, you know it. A drunken, accidental marriage with zero recollection of how they got there? …Well, I’d say “oops,” but we all know this is exactly the kind of chaos we live for as romance readers.