33. Epilogue I
33
EPILOGUE I
KYLIE
Late December
“To Alyssa!” Mason declared, and we all raised our glasses. “May she knock them dead at her new job.”
We clinked our glasses, toasting the new graduate. Not only had she aced all her final projects, but she’d accepted a job at an up-and-coming engineering firm.
“May she enjoy the hell out of her new town,” I said. As much as I was excited for her, I was also sad that she’d be moving so far away. I’d never even been to Louisiana.
“May she avoid all the vampires living in New Orleans,” Jude said with a grin.
“And may she regularly dine in places a lot better than this dump,” Parker concluded. Even though we’d been living in the apartment above the Dancing Horse for a couple of weeks now, this was our first meal together up here. Things were going well with the four of us taking over downstairs, but it’d kept us hopping, especially over Christmas. It didn’t speak all that well of our clientele's family lives that they’d spent so much of the holidays at a bar, but we’d already managed to increase the Dancing Horse’s earnings.
Part of our agreement with Delores was that we got free meals, though the quality of the food wasn’t the best. But the apartment did have a kitchen. Not a spectacular one, but Jude had put together a pretty good meal of chicken, sautéed mushrooms, and steamed veggies. Mason had gotten the wine, and Parker had found a fantastic bakery down the street for the fresh bread.
I couldn’t help grinning as I looked around. We barely fit around the table in the small dining room. It was a far cry from the amazing suite at Henderson, but I didn’t care. I was with my men. We were a team again.
Mason grilled Alyssa on everything she knew about her new position, getting into details that didn’t mean a lot to us non-engineers, but I loved the way those two interacted. Like real siblings, finally.
And when we were stuffed, Alyssa turned somewhat shyly to Mason and me, asking if she could speak to us in private.
Mason nodded, patting his full stomach. “Sure. Jude and Parker can start on the dishes.”
“Thanks a lot,” Jude said, getting to his feet.
Parker rose too. “You cooked, I’ll do the cleanup.”
Jude shook his head. “No, there’s too much for one person. We’ll get these three to help once they’re done being secretive.”
Alyssa waited until they’d gone into the kitchen before turning back to us. “I have something for you both.”
I frowned. “You’re the one who got the job and graduated. Shouldn’t we be the ones giving you gifts?”
“You did,” she said with a smile, and I guessed that was true. I’d gotten her a beautiful little sketch book with a matching journal because I’d noticed when I stayed with her that she often liked to sketch out her ideas. And Mason had bought a plane ticket so I could help Alyssa drive down to New Orleans and then fly back. I was looking forward to a road trip with her, though a small part of me wished we’d be driving toward mountains, not away from them. “Now I have something for each of you.”
“Me, first,” Mason said, and Alyssa and I laughed.
“That’s the plan.” She bent over and dug in a tote bag next to her chair. Then she brought out a flat, rectangular item wrapped in tissue paper. She placed it in front of Mason, looking nervous.
Even before he picked it up, he looked a bit surprised and pleased. I had to keep reminding myself that these two hadn’t had a very normal sibling relationship, but they were trying to make up for it now.
Finally, Mason tore off the tissue paper. Then he stared at what looked to be a small metal tray for a long time.
I watched his face, trying to determine how he felt, but I couldn’t get a read on him. One thing was certain—he couldn’t take his eyes off of Alyssa’s gift. Finally, I couldn’t stand the suspense. “What is it?”
Mason blinked and for a split second, I thought I saw moisture there. “It’s my mom.” He turned the item toward me, and I saw that it wasn’t a tray, it was a picture frame.
Tears sprang to my eyes as I looked at the lovely young woman who hadn’t been much older than me when the picture was taken. “Oh Mason, she’s beautiful.”
He nodded, not seeming to trust himself to say anything else.
She had his eyes, or at least the vivid blue shade of his eyes. Other than that, she didn’t look that much like him, but she was very pretty. “I thought you didn’t have any pictures of her.”
“I didn’t.”
Since he didn’t seem capable of saying more than a few words at a time, I turned to Alyssa. “Where did you find that?”
“On the internet. I mean, I reached out to people who knew her on the internet. I found some of her high school friends and even a cousin of hers. He’d like to talk with you,” she said to Mason. “They actually sent a bunch of pictures, most of them from before she met our dad. I’ve got them ready to email to you, but I wanted to frame one of them.”
“Thank you,” Mason said hoarsely. Then he set the picture down and came over to give Alyssa a long hug. That made my tears renew their attempts to traverse my cheeks. I didn’t know what had happened to me. I never used to be much of a crier, but since meeting my guys, it had happened more and more. It was probably a damn good thing that I was applying my eye makeup with a lighter touch these days.
Mason didn’t seem like he’d ever let go, but that was a good thing. Those two had a lot of bonding to catch up on. It’d be harder once they were in separate time zones, but I had a feeling they’d make it work.
Finally, Alyssa pulled back and smiled up at him. “I’m glad you like it. Now, you have to scoot so I can give Kylie her gift.” He nodded and didn’t even complain as he joined the others in the kitchen.
“Is it my gift that you tricked the three of them into doing the dishes?”
“Partly,” she said with a grin. Then she grew more solemn. “Actually, let’s say it is, because I’m not sure you’re going to like what I brought for you.”
“Of course I will.”
She slid back into her chair and picked up her bulky tote bag, setting it on her lap. Something clinked inside of it. “Seriously, Kylie, I think there’s a fifty-fifty chance you won’t. And if you don’t, I won’t be offended at all. I’ll actually be grateful you told me, okay? Please don’t even think about using this gift out of fear of hurting my feelings. Trust me, you won’t.”
“All right,” I said, feeling perplexed. What the hell had she gotten me, a fur coat made out of Dalmatians?
“Okay, great.” She still sounded worried, though. “Close your eyes.”
I closed them, and then it seemed like my ears went on high alert. There was another clinking sound and then a thud as she placed something in front of me. Then a second item.
“You can look now.”
Sitting in front of me were two glass vases. At least, that was all I spotted at first glance. But then I noticed that both were decorated with paintings. The one on the left showed a gorgeous green eye with vivid detail. The one on the right had a blue eye. Then I noticed the word stenciled in at the base of each vase: TIPS.
My jaw dropped open. “These are like the ones I had back at my uncle’s bar—only way more beautiful. How did you know about that?”
“Sierra told me about it.” She sounded a bit awed admitting she’d been in touch with a movie star. “After that weekend, she texted to wish me luck at an interview, and now we’re kind of… friends.” She said the last word almost as if it was a question, but in my opinion, she and Sierra would make good friends.
Warmth filled me at the thought of Alyssa going through all the trouble of having these tip jars custom made, but I saw what she meant about my possibly not wanting to use them. Back in my tiny hometown, everyone had known about my heterochromia since the day I was born. Small towns were like that. Therefore, when I’d started bartending, it was originally a joke.
My cousin had scribbled signs on two jars and made it into a bit of a fun competition, like Team Blue and Team Green. It hadn’t bothered me because those were my people back there. They knew me, and I knew them. Plus, sometimes customers got competitive about which eye color they wanted to win, so it actually increased the overall amount I got from tips. But here? Downstairs, there were already a few customers that I fondly considered regulars, but most of the people didn’t know me. But the assistant manager did. And the bouncer-slash-handyman. And the musical director. They knew me and likely didn’t even notice the difference between my eyes anymore.
Alyssa anxiously watched my face. “You don’t have to use them.”
“I will, though. If not down at the bar, then for something, like, maybe flowers. They’re beautiful.” I did some rapid thinking. “But I think I’ll try them out downstairs and see what happens.”
She looked pleased. “You can always remove them if they don’t work out.”
“Yeah, I can.” I grinned. “And if anyone hassles me about my eyes, I know a big strong man who’s always ready to defend my honor.”
Alyssa smiled back. “I’d say you know three men like that.”
“Thank you for having those made for me. It was above and beyond.”
“You’re my friend.” She pulled me in for a hug. “And I think it’s finally safe to say you’re my brother’s girlfriend.”
“Does it bother you that I’m also two other guys’ girlfriend?”
“No,” she said, releasing me. “Not when it’s clear how happy the four of you are together. And you know what they say: love is love is love.” She counted on her fingers and then added another one. “… is love.”
My smile felt like it’d split my face. I loved Jude, Mason, and Parker, and now I didn’t have to worry about whether they loved me back. It was no longer a question, I just knew it.
“Shall we invite the guys back in here?” Alyssa asked.
“It depends.” I took a sip of my wine. “Do you think they’ve finished the dishes yet?”
Alyssa grinned and clinked her glass to mine.
Later, once Alyssa had left, I discovered the gift giving wasn’t over. “We have something for you,” Parker said, somewhat bashfully, as we rested on the sofa. Parker had arranged to have others man the bar for tonight. He’d convinced Delores that we needed to rest up before the New Year’s Eve crowd arrived.
I leaned against Mason’s strong body with Jude sitting next to me. “I’m not sure what I did to deserve so many gifts today.”
Mason whispered in my ear. “I’ve got a thick, long one for you if you’ll share my bed tonight.” I’d alternated between their beds, but sometimes we all made love—and then fell asleep on—Mason’s huge California King. I hoped tonight would be like that.
Jude leaned over to smack Mason on the arm. “Come on, this is serious.”
I was confused. “You got me a serious gift?”
“It’s more of a sentimental gift,” Jude said.
“And we’re not really good at that kind of thing, so it took all three of us,” Parker said. “Hold on.” He disappeared into the kitchen.
Mason lifted me up and settled me on the couch. “Be right back,” he said.
Jude smiled gently and gave me a quick kiss. “Close your eyes, princess.”
I did as he asked, feeling the cushions shift as he moved away. Noise came from the kitchen, but I couldn’t tell what they were doing as I waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, I opened my eyes but didn’t peek in their direction.
When I heard them reenter the living room, I closed my eyes again. Someone sat down next to me. I was pretty sure it wasn’t Mason. He was pretty recognizable because of his size.
A hand touched my knee and then I heard Parker’s voice. “Okay, you can open your eyes.”
For a moment, it was déjà vu. Sitting in front of me on the coffee table was a large glass vase. Had they coordinated their gift with Alyssa’s? But I doubted they even knew about it because I hadn’t shown it to them yet. “What’s this for?”
“It’s our promise to you,” Jude said. He settled on my other side, and Mason sat on the edge of the coffee table, one hand behind his back.
What kind of a promise was an empty vase?
Parker took over. “In honor of the new year—and ringing it in together—we wanted to make sure you knew what you mean to us.”
“And then we realized we’ve never gotten you flowers,” Mason said.
It was Jude’s turn again. “And since there are three of us, we figured we’d better shoot for something a little higher than the kind of bouquet a less thoughtful man might pick up at the grocery store.”
Warmth filled me at such sweet words.
Parker cleared his throat, bringing his hand out from behind his back. “These are white hydrangeas. I picked them out for you because I thought they might remind you of snow-capped mountains.”
“They do.” I beamed at him.
“I love you, Kylie,” Parker said, and he kissed me.
“I love you, too.”
Parker handed the flowers to Jude, who put them in the vase. Then the musician reached into a box by his feet and pulled out some branches of evergreen needles to add to the arrangement.
It was Mason’s turn to show me what he’d been hiding behind his back. “These are blue delphiniums. I thought they were pretty and that the blue might remind you of my eyes.”
He handed the flowers to Jude and then reached for me. I leaned into his embrace and whispered, “I love them.”
“I love you ,” he replied.
To my surprise, Jude was doing a really good job of arranging the flowers. Parker whispered, “He’s been practicing.”
Jude heard him and smiled. “My turn?” He reached into the box at his feet and handed me some gorgeous white flowers. “These are lilies. They don’t have any deeper meaning, but they’re beautiful and perfect and smell good—just like you.”
I lifted the lilies to my face and breathed in their wonderful scent. “Thank you.” Jude hugged me and kissed my temple. “I love you, princess.”
“I love you, too.” I gave him back the lilies, and he managed to find the perfect spot for them in the vase. It ended up being a beautiful arrangement—the perfect bouquet for winter. Jude was the most creative one of the three, so I understood why he’d been given the job. “Thank you all for that.”
“It’s a symbol of what you mean to us,” Parker said.
“We all have our flaws,” Jude said. “And none of us are going to get everything right.”
“I’m sure as hell not,” Mason muttered, and I smiled at him.
Jude picked up the vase and put it in my hands. “This represents the best from each of us, and that’s what we want to give you. Maybe between the three of us, we’ll be exactly what you need.”
“You already are.” Tears poured down my cheeks for about the dozenth time since I’d met them. “You’re exactly what I want and what I need.”
“Then I’d say that works out pretty well,” Mason said. He produced a bottle of champagne, and Parker picked up four glasses I hadn’t noticed on an end table. “Let’s drink to starting the new year together, as a team.” He looked around. “And as a family.”
“I’ll drink to that,” I said.
And we did. We celebrated our new lives together, our love for each other, and our hopes for the new year. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt that happy. I’d never thought I’d find what Ronnie had. That I’d find the perfect men for me. It wasn’t what I’d planned. It wasn’t what I’d expected. But I was happy as hell with where I’d ended up.
Together with the men I loved.