Epilogue
Reese
The weeks that led up to my wedding with Devon flew by so fast that they were almost a blur.
In addition to all of the wedding plans, I’d had to make a trip to Spokane to clean out my home and put it up for sale.
Most of the hard work was done by movers at Devon’s insistence, but I’d needed to decide what I was going to have sent to Crystal Fork and what I was going to donate.
Devon had come with me to Spokane, and I’d finally gotten a chance to fly in his very posh private jet for the first time.
Although his money had never mattered to me, I had to admit that there were certain perks to marrying a billionaire.
Our honeymoon and any future travel Devon and I did was going to be incredible.
His contacts and endless supply of professionals had helped me plan my wedding without a ton of stress.
I’d needed to get Montana licenses, both a driver’s license and a license to practice as a nurse practitioner in the state of Montana. I hadn’t received my license yet to practice as a medical professional here, but it should be arriving soon.
I wanted to open my own practice in Billings. I was also hoping that I could someday open a clinic for routine medical care for the residents in Crystal Fork. I’d probably need help from a physician to deal with the things I wasn’t trained to handle, but I’d figure that out after I started my practice in Billings. Crystal Fork was a small town, but it would be nice if I could get the residents some kind of medical care, so they didn’t have to travel to Billings for every minor issue. Not everyone here had easy access to Billings. Especially some of the senior residents in town.
Hannah had taken some much-needed time off to spend with Winter, and I’d hired and trained a very competent replacement for my management position at Glam Anywhere.
All of these things had been accomplished in such an abbreviated period of time that it made me a little dizzy just thinking about it.
Devon had been an enormous help, but he also reminded me when I needed to stop and take care of myself.
I’d continued on with my video counselor that Wyatt had mysteriously found for me.
I was able to tell her everything, and working through my previous trauma was helping me enormously.
I wasn’t freezing up or cowering from things that used to be triggers for me.
I could watch a thunderstorm roll in and be amazed at the power of nature instead of seeing it as a threat of some kind.
I was becoming myself again, and there was no better feeling in the world for me.
My parents would be relocating to Crystal Fork permanently in about a month. They’d purchased a small hobby ranch with some property where my dad could have chickens, goats, and a dog or two.
My mom was thrilled that she’d finally have all the space she wanted for a greenhouse and a garden.
My parents had fallen in love with Crystal Fork just like I had, and they’d become fast friends with some of the residents already, especially Millie, Joy, Silas, and Charlie.
I let out a long, happy sigh.
My life felt so perfect that it was almost scary.
“That was a pretty big sigh for a woman who just got married,” Devon said in a teasing voice as the two of us danced at our reception.
I’d had a fairytale wedding.
Devon had made sure that absolutely nothing was left out of our wedding.
He’d even had Kaleb bring Luna to me at the house so I could ride into the venue on horseback.
Luna had been decked out in fancy tack and flowers.
Maybe I was biased, but I thought she was the most beautiful horse I’d ever seen.
It had been a short ride to the area where our wedding ceremony had taken place and where my dad had been waiting for me to walk me down the aisle, but I thought the gesture was incredibly romantic.
Devon could claim that he wasn’t a romantic all he wanted, but his actions always told me how much he loved me and wanted to please me.
It had been an unseasonably nice day, but all of the wedding and reception areas had still been heated to a comfortable temperature.
Anna had been right about my dress. Once I saw the dress I really wanted, I knew it was the one. It was a little simpler than some of the ones I’d looked at, but everything about the delicately embroidered lace dress had appealed to me.
I hadn’t worn a huge veil. Just some simple lace that trailed down the back of my auburn hair.
“I was just thinking about how perfect my life feels right now. I just married the man of my dreams, and everyone I love is right here to help us celebrate.”
I was also leaving on my dream honeymoon tomorrow to the Galapagos Islands.
I wanted to relish this perfect time in my life as long as possible.
Life was full of ups and down, and I knew there would be a lot of times in the future when life wouldn’t be perfect.
Maybe I appreciated this day so much because I’d had a lot of those imperfect times in my life, especially during the last year.
Just months ago, I hadn’t been able to envision meeting the perfect guy, getting married, and possibly having a child someday.
“That’s kind of a low bar for perfection,” Devon said jokingly. “Especially since you just married me. I’m definitely not perfect. Never will be.”
I looked up at him as Devon led me around the dance floor.
God, the man looked amazing in a tuxedo.
“You’re perfect for me,” I told him softly.
He lowered his head and kissed me, and I let out another sigh when that tender embrace was over.
He’d probably always be self-mocking about his value as a husband, but I knew how lucky I was to have married a man like him.
As Devon turned me on the dance floor, I caught a glimpse of Lauren talking with Cole.
“Lauren looks uncomfortable whenever she’s around Cole,” I observed aloud.
Cole had just made his permanent move to Montana.
I still hadn’t met Asher. He was following in another few weeks. He’d gotten a wedding invitation from us, but we’d never gotten a response.
While Cole might be warming up to family a little, Asher obviously wasn’t going to be present at family gatherings anytime soon.
“Cole isn’t exactly a warm and fuzzy guy,” Devon reminded me. “He’s basically an asshole. We know there’s a decent human buried inside his body somewhere, but he’s pretty rough around the edges.”
I shook my head slowly. “I don’t think that’s the problem. Lauren can usually get along with anyone, even if they aren’t exactly friendly. She’s insightful and she connects with people wherever they are. She seems uneasy whenever he’s around. I can sense it, and that’s weird for her.”
“It’s not like they have some kind of bad history,” Devon mused. “Lauren was still a child when Cole and Asher left Montana, and they haven’t been back since then. Maybe she just doesn’t like him.”
Honestly, Cole wasn’t the easiest guy to like, but I sensed it was more wariness than dislike coming from Lauren.
It was almost like she was fearful for some reason.
Lauren tried to hide it, and when she saw me looking her way, she smiled like she was having the time of her life.
I wasn’t buying it though.
There was something about Cole that made her nervous.
But maybe Devon was right.
Maybe Cole was so intimidating because of his gruff demeanor that it made her uncomfortable, although I found that hard to believe because she’d put up with the Remington brothers most of her life.
In fact, she had no problem giving their bullshit right back to them.
I smiled back at Lauren and filed my thoughts away for a later time.
Eventually, I’d ask her why Cole made her nervous.
Lauren and I had gotten extremely close, but I knew she wasn’t going to be honest with me right now because it was my wedding day. She’d blow off the question because she wouldn’t want to talk about anything unpleasant today.
She’d actually fretted about being the only plain, chubby woman in my wedding party, which had made me crazy. She’d dieted and exercised like a madwoman over the last several weeks.
In reality, Lauren wasn’t chubby, nor was she plain. She was naturally curvy. It was just the way her body was built. She lamented over the dimples in her cheeks, never realizing that when she smiled, her face was radiantly gorgeous.
I reminded myself that we were going to work on her self-esteem when I got back from my honeymoon.
She saw herself as an unattractive nerd, but I suspected she’d always felt that way because men were intimidated by her genius IQ and her intelligence.
She didn’t need to diet like crazy or exercise like she was training for a marathon.
Lauren needed to accept herself as beautiful exactly the way she was, and I was going to help her do exactly that.
She didn’t need to change a damn thing about her appearance, and she was one of the kindest women I knew.
I filed that thought away in my brain, too.
Lauren and I would talk when all of the craziness of my wedding and honeymoon was over.
“Are you excited about our honeymoon?” I asked Devon. “I can’t wait to get to South America.”
He tightened his arm around my waist. “I’ll just be happy when we’re alone and I can get you naked for the first time as my wife.”
I swatted his shoulder playfully. “How can you be thinking about that when we’re in the middle of our wedding reception?”
“Sweetheart, I’ve got news for you,” he said in a husky voice. “I’m always thinking about that.”
I laughed because I actually spent a significant amount of time thinking about getting him naked, too.
Probably way too much time.
“I guess it’s about time for us to cut that beautiful cake,” I said to Devon as the song ended.
We’d already eaten an incredible dinner, but Devon had insisted on getting a few dances in with his new bride before we cut the cake.
I reluctantly started to let him go, but he pulled me back against him.
“You’re forgetting something, beautiful,” he said as he caught my gaze. “Kiss me.”
My heart tripped as I saw all of the emotions in his beautiful dark eyes.
Love.
Tenderness.
Commitment.
But one of the most obvious right now was his happiness.
Happiness looked so good on this man that I wanted to keep those gorgeous eyes filled with that emotion for the rest of my life.
Devon Remington had given me a huge gift when he’d given me his heart.
There would never be a day in our future that I wouldn’t be grateful and try to be gentle with it.
I knew to the depths of my soul that he’d always do the same with mine.
My heart would always be safe with this man that I loved so utterly and completely.
I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck again and gave him exactly what we both wanted.
~The End~
Cole Remington’s story, Billionaire Unforgiven , will be released on February 26 th , 2026.