Epilogue
Maverick leaned back and looked around the room, wishing he was in as celebratory a mood as the rest of his family.
Kasi and Levi had exchanged their vows five hours earlier—just in front of family and close friends—in a beautiful outdoor ceremony in the large backyard of Maverick’s childhood home, which was now the B&B. The weather had been perfect, offering them a cloudless spring day.
Following the wedding, they’d taken no less than seven million photographs, Aunt Claire armed with a two-page list in terms of groupings she wanted.
From there, they’d all moved to the event barn, where nearly every single citizen of Gracemont had gathered to help the newlyweds celebrate with a huge barbeque feast and some amazing deejay, Randi, a guy from Winchester whom Gretchen had found.
His playlist had kept the dance floor packed for the past two hours.
Levi and Kasi were currently dancing and laughing in the middle of a circle of loved ones. Dad had already led two conga lines—mercifully without taking a tumble—and Maverick was certain there would be at least one more before they all called it a night.
He’d tried without success to find his own party mood, but he just wasn’t feeling it tonight.
Levi was the first of his brothers to take a trip down the aisle, and while Maverick was over the moon—because his brother had found one hell of a woman in Kasi—the wedding was shining too bright a light on things he’d never have himself.
A wedding.
Marriage.
A family.
His own happily ever after.
“Did someone forget to tell you it’s a party?” Boone dropped down into the chair next to him, wiping sweat from his brow before taking a long swig of his beer.
“No one forgot,” Maverick grumbled.
“Then did you forget to tell your face? Because your eyebrows are going to stick that way if you scowl any harder.”
Maverick attempted to soften his frown, but Boone’s chuckle, paired with the shaking of his head, let him know he’d fallen short.
“You’re usually the life of the party,” he pointed out. “What’s going on? Pissed off because you’re related to all the bridesmaids, so you don’t have a chance to score?”
“Ha-fucking-ha.” Maverick and Boone had grown to be good friends over the past few months. Working together day after day for long hours ensured they’d had plenty of time to go from acquaintances to good buddies who gave each other shit.
Boone placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “Seriously, man. What’s wrong?”
Maverick sighed, then found himself confessing something he’d never admitted out loud. “I lied about the curse.”
Boone frowned, confused. “What?”
“The family legend, about love at first touch? I said I didn’t believe in it. But I do.”
Boone leaned back in his chair, studying him. “You realize Levi, Theo, and Mila don’t believe it’s a curse.”
“That’s because it didn’t bite them in the ass.”
He tilted his head, suddenly curious. “But it did you?”
Maverick nodded. “I got struck by lightning in high school. Met my soul mate junior year.”
Boone’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding. Why didn’t you ever say so?”
“Because the family curse doesn’t always go both ways. She wrote me a letter. A horrible letter about how I’d ruined her life, and then she left Gracemont.”
“I’m sorry, Mav. I didn’t know.”
“No one does. And I’d appreciate if you kept it that way.”
He hesitated just enough that Maverick snickered. “You’re going to be one of those guys who doesn’t keep secrets from his girlfriend, aren’t you?”
Boone’s grin gave him away. “I don’t have to tell Mila if you really don’t want me to, but I’m not sure why you’re shutting your family out on this.”
Maverick took a long swig of beer. “What good would talking about it do?”
“Maybe the legend got it wrong. Or you did. You were only what? Seventeen? That’s a bit young to find your one true love, don’t you think?”
Maverick had considered that before, even tried to convince himself he hadn’t felt that strike of lightning. But the truth was…he had. And he’d never felt anything even close to it since. Though God knows he’d tried.
Rather than argue the point, he shrugged. “Maybe it is,” he lied. This conversation was why he hadn’t brought the subject up to his brothers. He knew they’d do the same thing as Boone. Try to explain it away to console him because they loved him, and they were determined to see him happy.
But Maverick knew what he knew.
He’d met and fallen in love with his soul mate when he was just seventeen years old.
She’d been his for one glorious summer, and then he’d lost her.
Forever.
Glancing up, he watched Levi kiss his lovely bride as they danced, and he quietly mourned the life he’d never have.
Nope. There was nothing to do but ride out this storm.
For the rest of his life.