Epilogue
Saar
Lily
Sorry, I’ll be late.
Cora
Are you on another date?
Lily
I’m breaking up with him.
Ouch. Are you okay?
Lily
Sure. No worries.
@Celeste are you coming?
Celeste
I can’t wait to get out of the house.
Are you still pregnant? (laughing emoji)
Celeste
(crying emoji)
If I had any doubts that I love this man, seeing him snuggled on the outdoor sofa with Coco in his arms just about melts my heart.
He complained about her for half a minute before they fell for each other. This was supposed to be my cat, but the two are inseparable.
I stand in the door, not wanting to interrupt the moment. And I’m not going to lie, but seeing a brawny man petting a tiny kitten is downright sexy.
He is still a growly, domineering asshole most of the time, but he lets his softer side come out more often. At least at home.
“This animal is therapeutic.” The timbre of his voice washes over me like honey.
I guess I can’t go undetected. My husband has some special sense knowing where I am all the time. “Did you work from home again?”
“Maybe.”
“Because of Coco?”
“She calms me, everyone benefits.”
I laugh, and Coco stirs and jumps down, rolling around on the ground before she saunters away.
“Sorry I interrupted your cuddling time,” I tease.
“I prefer your cuddles.” He looks at me with that devilish gaze and pats the seat beside him. “Come here.” It’s an order, and cuddling is not what he has in mind.
“We have guests arriving in two hours, and there are things to prepare.”
“What things? The caterers will take care of everything, and they’re here in one hour. Plenty of time to check how soaked your pussy is, and decide where you would like my cock.”
“I need to shower and get my hair done—”
“I said come here, The Morrigan.”
Shivers shudder through me at his command, and at that stupid name he says in that sexy Irish accent. It rolls off his tongue with such sensuality, I almost want him to use it more often.
I amble to him, taking my time, using my modeling training to sway my hips just the perfect way.
He eats me with his gaze, tapping his fingers on the backrest, slowly losing his patience. I’m going to get it if I continue teasing him, but fuck if that isn’t half of the fun.
When I reach the sofa, I jut out my hip to the side, perching my hand on it, and strike a pose as if this was a catwalk.
He doesn’t move, but the heat from his gaze scorches me, regardless. It’s a hot, sweltering day at the end of June, and there are fans running around the patio to manufacture the breeze that left Manhattan for the summer.
My hair is flowing, and the hem of my dress shimmies.
“Nice dress. Take it off.”
I don’t know why I am such a sucker for his aloof commands. I grab the hem of the dress and pull it over my head, dropping it to the ground.
Moving one knee to the seat between his legs, I rake my fingers through his hair. Corm grips my hips and leans in.
“Look at the mess you made of your panties. I was going to dirty you up, but I see you started already.” He buries his nose between my legs and inhales indulgently.
The approving hum reverberates through me with heat and want and need, and just everything.
I moan audibly when he squeezes my ass.
He looks up, gazing up and down between my thighs with his chin and devouring me with his eyes.
I’m desperate for him. Every. Single. Time.
“What is it going to be? Where do you want my cock?”
“I have a choice?” I try to sound teasing, but I’m just a choked-up mess. Not even two minutes in. Jesus. “Aren’t you in charge?”
He chuckles, blowing air on my throbbing center. “I’m in charge, but that doesn’t mean you have no choice. You always have choices. And I will always honor them.”
Coco hisses and sprints across the hallway as I go to open the door. Where the hell is Livia? The doorbell rings again.
Zoya and Zach, Declan’s twins, barrel along after Coco. Jesus, this place is chaos.
“I’m sorry I’m so late.” Lily gives me a hug when I open the door.
“How was it?” I ask, my eyes following the twins. Coco dashes from under the console table and practically flies up the stairs.
“Thewe she is.” Zoya runs to the staircase.
“Zach, Zoya.” I pull Lily with me. “Why don’t we go make your burgers? Uncle Corm has a special sauce for you.”
“But we want to play with the kitten.” Zoya frowns at me, already halfway up the stairs.
“ She wants to play with her.” Zach puts his hands in his pockets with a bored expression.
I don’t know how a six-year-old can be so similar to his grown-up grumpy father, but even his stance is a mini copy of Declan.
“Zoya, it’s Coco’s bedtime,” I lie.
Zoya looks up, and then shrugs and bounces down. “What secwet sauce?”
“It wouldn’t be a secret if she told you.” Zach shakes his head. “Let’s go outside.”
Zoya starts toward the patio, but then stops. “Auntie Saaw, I wish we had a kitten.”
“Dad is allergic,” Zach growls. Like father, like son—what can I say?
“Can I come and play with Coco tomowow?”
She looks at me with her huge pleading eyes, and I’m torn between protecting Coco—the very spoiled cat—and teaching this little girl how to be gentle. Shit.
“Maybe Aunty can take you to the shelter where she volunteers, and you can help her with kittens and puppies there,” Lily offers, saving me.
“That is a wonderful idea. I’ll talk to your dad about it.” I ruffle Zoya’s hair and mouth a thank you to Lily.
“Dope,” Zoya cheers, and runs off.
“Those are Declan’s kids?” Lily asks, watching the little girl disappear outside.
“How do you know Declan?” I frown, and Lily’s cheeks turn pink.
“From Celeste’s Christmas party.” She fidgets like I caught her stealing, not remembering someone.
“Oh, I forgot about that. Come and get a drink. How was it?” I don’t need to specify. She knows I’m asking about her breakup.
“It was okay.” She looks away. “I’m more shaken about a fire alarm at work.”
“Oh no. Are you okay?”
She sighs. “I need a drink.”
I put my arm around her, and we walk outside.
“Lils,” Cora calls as soon as she sees us. They hug and walk over to a small bar set up in the corner.
It’s a beautiful evening, and I love being a hostess. I love having a true home for the first time.
Zoya is telling something to Declan, her arms flying around in exaggerated motions. Zach stands beside them, mirroring his father’s stance—spread legs, hands in their pockets, bored expression. Or… actually, there is some softness in Declan’s face as he listens to his little girl.
Zach’s face lights up a bit when his grandma brings him a piece of cake. Corm mended his relationship with his mom, and I’m so grateful, because I found a mother figure in her.
And as I look around the patio, I realize I found a family with these people.
Xander is all flirt and fun, already schmoozing with Cora and Lily at the bar. It’s so nice to see Cora relaxed and outside of her work.
Not sure what Xander is saying, but Lily’s cheeks are aflame. But when I look closer, her eyes are on Declan. Or is it on little Zoya? I didn’t know my friend liked kids so much.
Cal is doting on Celeste, who plopped on to the lounge bed the minute she arrived, her swelling belly huge.
Roxy is turning the meat on the grill while the chef we hired talks to her. Interesting.
“Here you are.” Corm snakes his arms around my waist from behind.
I lean into him. “It’s fun having people over.”
“I prefer having you for myself.” He kisses my neck, and I shudder.
“Behave, Mr. Quinn; we have guests.”
“Maybe we can sneak into the pantry for a quickie?”
I laugh and turn to him. “You’re incorrigible.”
“Guilty as charged.” He kisses me. “I love you.”
“So, is this a good time to ask if I can adopt Rolfie?”
He groans. “Not this again.”
“Come on, Corm, that dog needs a home, and he won’t get adopted. He’s attached to me,” I plead. This is not the first time we’ve had this conversation.
“I’m attached to you, and so is Coco. There is no room for a dog here.”
I roll my eyes. “There is plenty of room. And he won’t be your responsibility.”
“Baby, you know I’d do anything for you, but this is a hard no. I don’t want a dog.”
I sigh, but I don’t push it further. Though I’m sure he would take to that puppy as he did to Coco, despite his initial hesitation. “Let me get a drink.”
He grabs my wrist and yanks me to him, seizing my lips. It’s not a sweet peck; it’s an X-rated, panty-melting assault.
It doesn’t make me feel better about Rolfie, but it does make me feel all giddy about this man who loves me. I guess we can’t always agree on everything.
The kiss also earns a lot of cat-calling from the other men here, and hooting from Cora and Roxy.
I’m breathless when he lets me go.
With his hot gaze still on me, he wipes the corners of his mouth with his thumb and then turns to our guests.
“I want to thank you all for coming tonight. When Saar was in the hospital, I vowed to bring her friends around as often as possible. To help her to never feel lonely.”
He looks at me, winking. His reference to his fake post on my feed isn’t lost on me, but it doesn’t impact me much. I guess some things I forgot are better staying there, lost in my mind. And I know his words are not fake anymore.
He takes my hand and kisses my knuckles. “I grew up in a loving family.” He looks at his mom and then his brother. “And I owe my parents a lot for the man I became, and for what I achieved. Saar, on the other hand, became the amazing woman she is despite her upbringing, despite being forced to fend for herself since she was a teenager. Despite growing up under the scrutiny of the public. I admire the shit out of her for that.”
My stomach constricts, and a blush rushes to my face. God, this man!
“As you know, our relationship started as a sham, because I needed to close a deal.”
“So it’s true?” Corm’s mom gasps, and Declan snorts.
“Shit, I guess not everyone here knew. Sorry, Mom.”
I laugh. “It’s not fake anymore, Dorothy.” I bite my lips.
“Details, please,” Xander calls.
“No,” several guests protest.
“Shut up, everyone. Where was I?” Corm takes over. “It started all wrong, not the way Saar deserved. And I’m not talking about my need to close an important deal… I wanted her back then, but I believed that when I wanted something, I could just take it.”
Everyone goes still at the rare moment of public honesty from this man.
“But I know better now. As I said, Saar deserved better then. And she deserves better now, but she seems to have chosen me, and I’m the luckiest bastard. I want to earn her trust, and I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to deserve her.”
My vision blurs, and my eyes widen when he gets down on one knee, a ring in his hand. “Saar, will you marry me?”
I plaster my hand over my mouth, as if that can help me contain the emotions.
“Dude, you’re already married,” Xander shouts.
“Is amnesia contagious?” Cal asks.
“For fuck’s sake,” Corm growls. “Let her answer.”
I giggle through my tears. “We are already married.”
He sighs. “I got an annulment.”
Several people gasp, and someone whistles. My heart jumps to my throat. “You divorced me?”
“How else would I be able to propose?” He smirks. “You deserve better than a fake start.”
I sniffle through a grin. “ We deserve better than a fake start.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Yes.”
He pushes a beautiful ring—an understated rose-gold band with a sparkling diamond—to my finger, and jumps up to kiss me.
“How could you even divorce me without my consent?” I grin, completely drunk with love.
“The same way I got us married without saying the vows.” He kisses me again. “We’ll do it the right way this time. A big wedding with carnival food.”
“Carnival food?” I frown. Has he lost his mind?
He laughs. “Or whatever you want.”
I look at my finger. “It’s beautiful. What am I going to do with the other one?”
“I was thinking we can give it to Ethel. It should help them expand and take care of many more animals.”
I think my grin will split my face. “I love you, Cormac Quinn.”
The doorbell rings once, twice, three times. I groan. “What time is it?”
“Too early,” Corm grumbles, rolling over and covering me with his leg.
“Is Livia here already?”
“I hope so.”
Voices and wailing fill the house, and I sit up. “Is that Coco?”
“Fuck, it’s ten already?” Corm jumps out of the bed. “Get dressed and come down.”
He pulls on sweatpants and a T-shirt and throws a bathrobe at me.
“What’s going on?”
“Hurry up,” he urges.
“Jesus. Let me brush my hair and my teeth at least. What’s the rush?” I slide out from under the covers.
“No time for that.” He puts the robe on me and ties the sash, adjusting the two sides so I’m as covered as possible.
“You’re weird.”
“The surprise downstairs will force you to revisit the adjectives you use when describing me.” He ushers me out of the door.
“What are we going to do with you?” Livia speaks in a baby-like voice, and when I look down, my heart stops and restarts.
I run downstairs and then pause at the last minute, remembering I need to approach carefully.
“Rolfie,” I whisper, and the mutt perks up. The tears fall freely as I lean to pet him in his box. He wags his tail and comes to lick my hand.
“Oh my, this is going to be a lively house.” Livia sniffles.
Sitting on the ground, I carefully lower one side of the box and wait to see if Rolfie ventures out. He doesn’t, but he keeps pushing to the side where I sit, and that’s a win.
Completely overcome with emotions, I find Corm standing at the base of the stairs with Coco in his hands.
My family.
“Thank you.”
“You can thank me later.” He winks, his eyes dark with desire and adoration.
Declan
Fucking hell. Lily is my new nanny.
Thank you for reading Saar and Corm’s story. While you’re waiting for Declan’s single dad/nanny romance, I have another romance with a grumpy, aloof billionaire. Reckless Deal is an enemies to lovers romance where the job is a dream, but the boss is a nightmare.