Epilogue
One Month Later
Aurora slipped on oven mitts and pulled a roast from the oven. “Looks amazing. Is everyone hungry?”
“The mashed potatoes are ready.” Ruby was stirring a pot on the stove. “Just need to warm the rolls. Dev, can you grab them?”
Devon was busy bouncing Haley, but he used his free hand to pull his mom’s dinner rolls from the fridge. He and his niece both were enjoying watching Aurora and Ruby tag-team in the kitchen. All his favorite women, right here under one roof.
“How’d I ever get so lucky?” he whispered to the baby, who gurgled that she had no clue.
His mom hustled out of her bedroom, heading for the door. “I just heard someone drive up. It must be them.”
Aurora had been joining him for Sunday night dinners with his family. They all loved her, just as he’d expected. Unfortunately, Ruby always seemed to have a new embarrassing story to share about him, and Aurora was only too eager to hear.
Sometimes he caught Aurora and his sister whispering and laughing together, and he wondered what they were conspiring about. And watching Aurora read bedtime stories to Haley brought a joy to his heart that he never could’ve anticipated.
Aurora had folded into his life just as easily as she folded into his arms—at least when she felt like being held. Just as often, Aurora turned the tables on him, and he was loving every second of it.
His mom opened the front door just as Max and Lana arrived on the stoop. There were exclamations and greetings and hugs. Lana cooed over Haley.
Max clapped Devon on the shoulder, handing him a bottle of red wine. “Have you had a chance to go over that new client file I sent? They want us to start protection on Monday.”
“Hey, no talking business tonight.” Aurora took the wine and started opening it. “Unless you all want to hear every detail about the wedding I’m planning for my latest clients. They’re doing a cosplay theme—elves and wizards and everything.”
All the women shouted their encouragement, while Max and Devon both promised there would be no further shoptalk.
“Boo,” Ruby shouted. “We want elvish wedding details. Bring on the Pinterest boards.”
You’ll get wedding details, Devon responded silently. Just you wait. Minus the elves, anyway.
Eventually, Ruby would get to come ring shopping with him. As soon as Devon was sure Max wouldn’t object that it was too fast. And, most importantly, that Aurora would say yes. There was no rush. Only Haley knew his secret, and she wasn’t telling anytime soon.
Devon was back to working at Bennett Security, and he’d accepted the promotion to bodyguard. His mom still struggled with the risk, but she’d made it clear that she could handle it as long as he was happy. And she’d remarked more than once lately that she’d never seen him so content.
As for Aurora, she’d already secured a couple of clients, including the epic fantasy-themed wedding in question.
She wasn’t working for the West Oaks wealthy yet, but Devon had no doubt she would get there.
And she was building her success entirely on her own foundation, which meant a lot to her.
Devon felt her pride every time she told him about her latest win.
The roast went on the table, along with the mashed potatoes, a dish of roasted carrots, and his mom’s homemade yeasted rolls.
He held Haley in one arm so that his sister could eat.
His gunshot wound hardly bothered him at all anymore, though it had left a scar that Aurora insisted was ridiculously sexy.
“Want me to take a turn holding her?” Aurora asked.
“It’s all good. Once Haley’s asleep, I’ll just throw a napkin over her head, so I don’t spill gravy on her.”
“Such a sweet uncle.” Aurora leaned in to kiss him, and Max pretended to grumble from the other side of the table. But everyone else hooted.
“I know we aren’t supposed to talk about work,” Lana said after a while. “But I have an update on the case against Nadia Wolfson and Jennifer Scoville. If you’d all like to hear it.”
“We certainly would.” Devon’s mother set her fork roughly on her plate. “I want those two bitches to burn.”
“Mom, language!” Devon and Ruby both said at the same time. Aurora only laughed.
Lana explained that Jennifer had just accepted a deal. She would plead to a lesser degree of kidnapping and menacing, instead of the original conspiracy charges.
In exchange, Jennifer had told the authorities everything about Nadia’s plans. Jennifer would also be required to help pay restitution for all the property damage and havoc their conspiracy had caused. Their mole inside the courthouse had flipped on Nadia, too.
But the district attorney hadn’t offered Nadia any deals. Her trial would be starting in several months. It was sure to get a lot of media attention.
Aurora had already completed her early testimony against Madden, Dominic Crane, and their pointy-nosed associate.
From everything that Lana and the police had learned from their informants, the Syndicate wasn’t going after her any further.
Aurora would have to repeat her testimony later on at the trials—apparently the DA wanted to try the various defendants separately, though Devon wasn’t sure of all the details.
Aurora would have to testify at Nadia Wolfson’s trial as well.
But Max had arranged for a bodyguard detail to keep an eye on her until they were sure all danger had passed. Not Devon himself, but a shifting lineup of people he worked with and trusted.
“From what I’ve heard, Dominic Crane has been ousted as the head of the Silverlake Syndicate,” Lana said.
“I don’t know yet who’s taking charge. A bunch of different factions are now vying for control, and his lawyer isn’t in any hurry to get Crane to trial.
But maybe Crane will want to testify against his former friends.
Bringing down an organization like that would make the West Oaks DA’s Office look pretty good, assuming the Feds don’t decide to swoop in and steal all the credit. ”
Devon hoped that Lana got her wish, but he didn’t like the thought that Dominic Crane would get off easy. Maybe he hadn’t directly wished Aurora harm. But Crane was a criminal, and he was at least partly to blame for Aurora being in danger in the first place.
“You don’t think he’d be afraid to testify?” Aurora asked.
Lana scoffed and sipped her drink. “A guy like him? No way. He just needs to feel like he’s getting a sweet enough deal in exchange for his cooperation. Crane might look handsome, but he’s still a snake.”
“Enough about them.” Max lifted his wine glass. “I propose a toast—to Devon. For saving my sister’s life and making her so happy. I’ll always be grateful, so long as he never breaks her heart, because then all bets are off.”
“And to Aurora,” Ruby chimed in. “For saving my brother’s life.”
They’d all heard the details of those moments outside the cliffside guesthouse. Devon held Aurora’s hand under the table, meeting her gaze with a smile. I love you, he mouthed.
“Love you, too,” she whispered.
“Hear, hear,” the others said, and clinked glasses.
That night, Devon was glancing over the email from Max when Aurora came over to him. She was hiding something behind her back.
“I found a friend I thought I’d lost. You’ll never guess.”
They were spending the night at Aurora’s apartment, which Devon didn’t like as much as his own. She still hadn’t finished unpacking. Boxes littered her already cramped space. But Devon had resolved not to unpack for her or complain.
Her messiness did occasionally cause arguments—but clashes with Aurora always led to fiery chemistry in bed, and he had no problem with that.
She produced the object from behind her back. It was the huge green vibrator she’d used as a hammer back at the penthouse.
“It’s the Incredible Hulk!” She bounced down onto the couch. “Do you remember?”
“How could I possibly forget?”
She wiggled the thing at him. “Should we invite him to play tonight?”
He liked the sound of that, but he was going to tease her about it first. “A threesome? Not sure I’m okay with that. Should I be jealous?”
“Never.” She tossed the vibrator aside and kissed him. “There’s nobody for me but you, Devon Whitestone.”
“Not even Rick Harrison and his hedge fund?”
“Not even him. I’d take Devon the bodyguard any day.”
“You mean Devon, your bodyguard.”
“Damn right.”
“And you’re mine.”
“I’m your…what?”
“Just mine,” he murmured between kisses. “All mine.”