Epilogue
EPILOGUE
Seven Months Later
LUCY
This has been the best Christmas yet, and it’s still not over.
I’ve always loved Christmas, ever since I was old enough to know who Santa was. My parents took the time to make it special for me, taking me to holiday festivals and driving around to look at all the decorations and spending hours trimming our tree. We made cookies and read Christmas stories and one year, my dad even rented a snow machine so I could make my first snowman.
So the bar was set pretty high.
But this year?
Spending Christmas with Xavier and my new Blade and Arrow family?
Celebrating the holiday not as Lucy Thompson, but Mrs. Lucy Stone?
It’s beyond wonderful.
Sometimes I still can’t believe how this year has turned out. From the beginning of it, living my regular life and just starting to date this intriguing man I met at the bookstore to where I am now—married to the love of my life.
Despite all the terrible things that happened in the interim, I wouldn’t change anything. Because I believe that sometimes, things were just meant to be. Sometimes we have to go through the hard things so we can really appreciate what we have. Sometimes we need to struggle so we can come out stronger at the end.
And I am. Stronger, that is.
It took some time, more than I thought it would, really. But after months of counseling, meditation, journaling, crying in Xavier’s arms, and frustrating setbacks when the very thought of leaving the ranch sent me into a panic attack, I feel like I did it.
After all the crap Peter and Kali put me through, I won.
And I won big.
At thirty-six years old, I finally found a life that’s even better than any of my stories.
“Hey, sunshine.” Xavier tightens his arm around me, hugging me against him. His lips brush my hair before he says, “Are you too tired to stay up? I know you said you want to sit by the tree and watch A Christmas Story before bed, but it’s okay if you’d rather go to sleep now.”
“No, I want to stay up a while longer.” I turn my head to meet his gaze, my heart melting a little at his soft expression. “This has been such a great day; I want to make the most of it.”
Plus, I have one last gift to give him. And I’ve been waiting for the perfect time.
He smiles. “It has been a great day. I loved seeing how decked out your parents’ house was. They really went all out with the decorations, didn’t they?”
“Yeah. I think my mom went a little over the top this year, but she was just so excited to have both of us over.” I kiss his cheek, feeling the soft bristle of his beard against my lips. “She loves you, you know. Both my parents do.”
Emotion darkens his eyes. “I love them, too.” He pauses. “I’ve never had a Christmas like that before. I mean, I’ve spent holidays with my friends and their families. But this year… I didn’t feel like an outsider. I felt like it was my family this time.”
Tears spring to my eyes, but I push them back. I don’t want Xavier to think he upset me when it’s the absolute opposite. Xavier deserves a family that loves him. And he has it. My parents. His team. Me. “We are your family,” I tell him firmly. “And you’re mine.”
Xavier blinks. Swallows hard. After a beat, he brightens. “I know. And the team…” His lips curve up. “I think we came up with some pretty good traditions, don’t you?”
“Definitely. We have to make sure to have the Blade and Arrow Christmas Eve party every year.”
It was a tradition they started last year, when it was the six of them, plus Jade. They all gathered in the communal living room and watched holiday movies and ordered pizza and handed out silly presents. This year, with a few more people in the mix, we decided to add a little more to it.
“The potluck was a nice addition,” he says. “Not that I don’t love pizza, but with Rhi’s buffalo chicken dip, and Dante’s baked ziti, and Sarah’s delicious cookies…”
“Hey, what about what we brought?” I make a mock-offended face. “What was that? Chopped liver?”
“Of course not. Our mini grilled cheeses were the best. I figured that was a given.”
“Oh. Of course.” Grinning, I lean over and kiss him again. “And the secret Santa? That’s a must for next year.”
Xavier smiles. “I think Erik really loved the gift you gave him.”
“I hope so.”
After I picked Erik’s name for the gift exchange, I spent days trying to think of the perfect present. Something meaningful that would show just how much I appreciate all he’s done for me this year. Something that would show how much I value his friendship.
“I know he loved it,” Xavier replies. “I’ve known Erik for a long time. So I can tell when he’s happy. And that vacation you got for him? He definitely loved it.”
“It might have been a little over the budget we agreed on,” I admit. “But it just seemed so perfect. A week out in the Adirondacks in this cute little cabin, and there’s a yoga retreat nearby… And he told me how he went to the Adirondacks as a kid with his dad, and how much he loved it there. So…”
“He loved it,” Xavier repeats. “Trust me.”
“Do you think everyone liked their gifts?”
Because I couldn’t just settle for buying a present for just one person in my new extended family. Not for our very first Christmas together. Plus, my latest book release did really well, hitting number one in its category, so I figured, what better way to spend some of the profits?
“I know they did.” His hand strokes down my hair, lightly combing through the strands, and I sigh with pleasure at the sensation. “Did you like your presents, Luce?”
“Of course! Everything was wonderful. And what you got me…” My throat goes thick. “I still can’t believe you built that without me noticing.”
“I worked on it while you were writing.” A flicker of uncertainty moves through his eyes. “Do you really like it? I know it’s not a traditional gift, like jewelry or a vacation.”
“Xavier.” Framing his face with my hands, I hold his gaze. “You built me a little house in the woods, just for my writing. I can’t think of anything more perfect. And that you made it yourself?—”
“Well, Matt and Dante helped?—”
I cut him off with a kiss. “I love it, Xavier. And I love you.”
“Oh, Luce.” Affection chases away the uncertainty. “I love you. Mrs. Stone.”
“Yes.” My chest swells with joy. “Mrs. Stone. I still love the sound of it.”
“That’s the best gift,” he says. “Having you as my wife.”
Awww.
“But the other gifts?” Glancing away from him, I look at the very large pile of presents under our twinkling tree. “Did you like those, too?”
“Of course I did. I do.” A boyish grin lifts his features, making him look decades younger. “And the train set. How did you know?”
“When we were in Houston that time, and we went past the toy store. You stared at that model train set… and I just knew.”
“I always wanted one,” he confesses. “One of my friends had one growing up, and I wished I had one, too.”
“Now you do.”
“Lucy.” He cups my cheek, looking at me with more love than words can say. “I never knew it was possible to feel this happy. This complete.”
Butterflies take flight in my belly. “I’ve never been happier, either.” As my heart beats faster, I add, “I have one more gift for you.”
His brows draw together in confusion. “Another gift?”
“This one… it’s a little different.” I hop off the couch and head over to the tree, where a small wrapped package is tucked all the way in the back. “It’s… well. You’ll see.”
Once I’m back beside him, I hand over the gift, adding, “I really hope you like this.”
Then I hold my breath.
We’ve talked about it.
But this isn’t just talk. It’s real.
Xavier tears off the paper with a small smile of anticipation. When he reveals the folded T-shirt, he glances at me with a silent question in his eyes.
“Open it,” I urge. “Then it’ll make sense.”
“Okay.”
And then.
He stares at the shirt. Surprise jolts his handsome features.
Turning to me, he asks, “Luce? Does this mean what I think it does?”
Across the front is printed, #1 Best Dad.
“I just found out. A couple of days ago.” Voice shaking, I explain, “I thought about telling you right away. But then… I don’t know. I thought this would be a special way to tell you.”
“I’m going to be a dad?”
“You are. I think I’m about ten weeks along, I didn’t want to take a test too soon and be disappointed, but then I broke down and took five of them, so…”
With a hint of wonder, he asks, “So we’re going to be parents?”
“Yes. Are you happy? I know we talked about it, but we didn’t know if anything would happen yet, or if it would at all, and?—”
“Lucy.” Xavier pulls me onto his lap and buries his face in my neck. He just stays like that for several seconds before he lifts his head to look at me. “I am so happy. This is… It’s perfect. I’m so damn happy. Shit, Luce. I couldn’t be happier.”
“Me too.” Tears well up in my eyes, and this time, I don’t hold them back. “We’re going to be parents .”
His lips brush across mine. “I can’t wait. And I don’t know what I did to get this lucky. To find you. To have a baby with you. But I’m so damn thankful.”
A moment later, he laughs. “I’m going to have to watch my cursing, aren’t I?”
My heart swells with indescribable joy. “Maybe. But Xavier. You’re going to be an incredible dad. And I can’t wait to raise this baby with you.”
“Oh, Luce. I love you so much.” His hand gently covers my belly. “And I already love this little one, too.”
“I love you, Xavier.”
And by the sparkling lights of the tree, married to the love of my life, with a new life growing inside me, I know in my heart that it was all worth it.
This is the perfect story.
And it’s finally my turn for a happy ending.