Epilogue
. . .
Presley
Brinkley and Lincoln had gotten married at the Cottonwood Cove Country Club, and the ceremony had been absolutely stunning. A few of Lincoln’s teammates were there, and most of Cottonwood Cove had shown up for the big event.
I’d been honored to stand up for Brinkley, along with Georgia, who was her maid of honor, Lila, Reese, her sister-in-law, Tia, and all five of her cousins, Everly, Vivian, Dylan, Charlotte, and Ashlan. The wedding party was enormous.
Lincoln had asked his brother, Romeo, to be his best man, along with Cage, Hugh, Finn, Maddox, his agent, Drew, and five of his teammates.
It was quite the celebration.
Gracie was the flower girl, and she’d looked absolutely adorable walking down the aisle, dropping pink flower petals everywhere.
She’d been busy dancing with all her uncles at the reception, and Cage had just cut in to slow dance with our little girl.
I’d settled at a table with Lola, who had become good friends with all the Reynolds now. Dylan, Vivian, and Everly were all groaning over how good the cake was.
“This is your best cake yet,” Dylan said before forking another bite.
“You say that about every cake I make.” Vivian laughed.
“Hey, have you guys noticed that Dad has been talking to Lincoln’s mom, Abi, for an awfully long time?” I followed Everly’s line of sight to see Jack and Abi talking, and her head fell back in a full laugh.
Dylan stopped eating. “Really? What’s her story?”
“Easy, killer. They’re just talking.”
“Hey.” Brinkley sauntered over and waggled her brows. “Have you all noticed your father and my mother-in-law, Abi, have been awfully chatty through the entire reception?”
“Does Dad have game?” Dylan gaped. “Abi is beautiful. And she’s a good woman, right?”
Brinkley laughed. “Yes. And your dad is a good-looking guy. They actually look really cute together. Why didn’t I think of this?”
Ashlan and Charlotte sat down and leaned in as Ashlan whisper-shouted. “Are we talking about Dad and his hot lady?”
“That’s my mother-in-law,” Brinkley said over her laughter, just as Tia walked up and wrapped an arm around the bride.
“Are you having fun?” Brinkley asked.
“Yes. Best wedding ever. But if one more lady asks me if my brother is single, I’m going to hurl,” Tia said over her laughter.
“In his defense, he does look like a GQ model, and he’s stealing all the attention in the room, which is saying a lot with the men in attendance at this wedding.
He’s too young for me, but damn, that is one fine-looking man,” Lola sang out, and everyone agreed, aside from Tia, who was rolling her eyes and making it clear she was annoyed.
“Well, good luck to whoever finally wins him over. He’s such a grump sometimes,” she said.
Brinkley laughed. “He just needs the right girl to knock him on his ass. Just like his brother.”
We all held up our champagne flutes and toasted to Brinkley and Lincoln.
“So, Brinks, do you think you guys will have kids right away?” Vivian asked.
“At the rate everyone around us is getting knocked up, this will come as a big surprise, but we want to wait a little bit. With Lincoln still playing professional football and me working full time, we travel so much, and we want to just enjoy married life. And we’ll see how we feel after the next few seasons. ”
“Yeah, it’s hard when your husband is on the road a lot or you’re still trying to work. Now that Hawk coaches part time, he has a flexible schedule. But I’m telling you, Jackson and Emerson are a full-time job,” Everly said.
“Tell me about it. I’m lucky to have Hadley and Paisley at an age where they can help me with Monroe. And she’s an easy baby, which has made it possible for me to stay on deadline because my publisher is a real tyrant,” Ashlan said over a fit of laughter as she looked at Georgia.
“Hey, your words are magic. The people can’t get enough. I’m currently beta-reading her latest, and it is so good. The steam… don’t even get me started,” Georgia said. “Bossman thanks you for that.”
Everyone laughed, and Dylan turned her attention to me. “Do you think you and Grumpy McNugget over there will have more kids?”
“Yes. I think so,” I said, feeling my cheeks heat as they all smiled, and Georgia laid her head on my shoulder.
“I’ve never seen my brother happier,” she said.
“Yeah, it’s impossible to miss how happy he is now. But he’ll always pretend to be a big grump, won’t he?” Dylan laughed, and we all agreed.
But I knew the man beneath that salty exterior. The way he loved big and would do anything for Gracie and me.
“Look at you,” Everly said, reaching for my hand and squeezing. “You’re glowing. And the way you and Gracie are together, it’s just magical. You were the missing piece in their lives.”
“Amen to that,” Brinkley said, and she shook her head as if she’d known it all along. “I caught Cage smiling as he watched you before you lined up to walk down the aisle together. He’s so happy, and I’m just so glad you guys found your way back to one another.”
“Not surprising. Second-chance romance is so hot right now,” Georgia said, and the corners of her lips turned up.
“I love that everything is a trope with you.” Ashlan chuckled.
“Ohhhh… what’s my trope?” Charlotte asked.
“You and Ledger are a best friend’s brother mixed with a dash of second chance. The one who almost got away.” She smirked.
“Luckily, no one got away, because you two were meant to be together, and Harper and Hudson are proof of that,” Dylan said about her niece and nephew. Charlotte and Ledger had twins that were absolutely adorable. “What are me and the big, bad Wolf called in the romance world?”
“Well, that’s an easy one,” Georgia said as she and Ashlan both laughed before speaking at the same time. “Enemies-to-lovers!”
“I like it.” Dylan waggled her brows. “I sure hated that man in the beginning, but now… I’m all about being lovers. I’ve been horny as hell since giving birth. I thought it was supposed to make me lose my sex drive, but that has not been the case.”
More hysterical laughter sounded at the table.
“You did give birth to the easiest baby on the planet. Baby Hugh is a lot like his uncle. He’s so mellow and chill,” Vivian said.
“True. He’s a dreamy baby. I’m sure the next one will be a real pistol, like his father. And I’ll never sleep again.” She rolled her eyes, feigning annoyance.
“Are you guys already trying again?” Georgia asked.
“Hells to the no. I need to give my vagina time to heal.”
My head fell back as loud laughter rang out around the table.
“What? I popped a human out of there. She needs time, just like I need time. And Wolf is getting that ridiculous guard dog, so we’ll be adjusting to all of that.
Plus, I’m going back to work soon, and I can’t wait,” Dylan said before looking over at Georgia.
“What’s Vivi and Niko’s trope? Hot, bad-boy firefighter meets straight-laced bakery owner with a hidden sexy side? ”
“Oh my gosh. What is wrong with you?” Vivian said as a wide grin spread across her face.
“They are the classic friends-to-lovers. Good girl, bad boy. The makings of an epic love story.” Georgia winked. “And clearly, you two can’t get enough of one another at the rate you keep popping out babies.”
Niko and Vivi had three kids now. Little Bee was the sweetest big sister to her two brothers, Clancy and Calum.
“That sexy husband of mine said he wanted to fill that house of ours with babies, and we’ve been busy doing that.” Vivian smiled, and her cheeks pinked.
Gracie came running over to our table with her cousins, Jackson and Bee, right behind her. They ran over to their moms, and Gracie reached for my hand. I pulled her onto my lap and wrapped my arms around her.
Cage came up behind me and bent down to kiss my cheek as his arm came around both me and our daughter.
Everly held up her phone and snapped a picture of us.
“Such a beautiful family,” she said, and she held up the phone to show me the photo.
We looked cozy and happy and content.
Which was exactly how I felt.
“Hey, how about a cousin picture with all of us and our babies?” Dylan asked as she started wrangling everyone up, and Romeo offered to take the photo.
Some of the babies were sleeping, but it only made it all the sweeter. We piled in, with all the hubbies holding some of the kids. Gracie was in her father’s arms but refused to let go of my hand. I glanced up to find her watching me with the sweetest smile on her face.
We were surrounded by family and all the love one could ever wish for.
Cage’s free hand found my ass, and he squeezed hard enough to make me yelp, which caused laughter to erupt around the group.
We finished taking photos, and Cage took my hand, Gracie still comfortably hooked on his hip with her head tucked beneath his neck.
“Come on. Let me take my girls home.” He winked.
I nodded, but the truth was, as long as these two were beside me, I was already home.
The End