Epilogue
Nick
One year later
A shadow fell over me, blocking the sun I’d been lazing under.
“Go away.”
“Is that any way to talk to the man you love?” Evan asked with a chuckle.
“It is when the man I love is blocking my sun.” I cracked one eye open and peered up at him. “Why are you in clothes? I thought I made it clear that this is a naked vacation.”
“You did. But I figured it would be best to not be nude when everyone showed up.”
“Everyone?” I sat up and pushed my sunglasses on top of my head. “Have you been out in the sun too long? It’s just us here.”
“Is it?” He held out a towel.
“Um, yeah. Didn’t you make a big deal about how this place is all about privacy and discretion?”
“I did, and it is.” He dropped the towel on my lap.
Evan and I had been at the resort for three days out of our ten-day vacation.
Traveling with a rich boyfriend meant we didn’t just get a room at a hotel, we had an entire suite of rooms, two pools, an infinity pool, a private beach, and a staff of people to take care of our every whim or wish.
All completely isolated from the other guests at the resort.
The last year had been a rollercoaster of events and massive changes for both of us.
Malcolm had been arrested and was currently awaiting trial for a litany of charges that would ensure he never saw the light of day again unless it was in a prison courtyard.
Once the truth about what he’d done came out, Grant terminated the stipulations in his retirement before Evan had a chance to confront him.
I kinda hated that he never got that big fuck you moment, but it was for the best. Grant was not only completely accepting of us, he’d also put real effort into rebuilding his relationships with both Evan and Emily.
It wasn’t going to happen overnight, and there were years of trauma and neglect to work through, but he was trying.
After the incident with Malcolm, I spent the next few months splitting my time between Evan’s place and my apartment.
I had a warehouse of issues of my own to work through, and I spent months waiting for Evan to dump me or ghost me.
Things hadn’t been perfect, or even easy, those first few months, but we got through them together.
Once I officially moved in with him, Paige moved into the apartment with Aiden, and a few months later, they announced they were getting a puppy together, which for them was the same as putting a ring on it.
I’d recently cut my hours at Crimson down to one weekend a month so I could be more present for Evan now that both of his companies were flourishing.
Because of this, he spent more time traveling, and I got to tag along and shop and eat to my heart’s content while he was stuck in one boring meeting after another.
I loved dancing, and my friends had become my family. I knew I’d eventually quit, but it meant the world to me that Evan understood I wasn’t ready yet.
“How the fuck do I sign up for this?” a familiar voice asked from behind me.
I jumped up from the lounger.
River, Zane, Gray, and Quinn were walking toward us.
“Eeek!” I hurdled over my lounger and launched myself into Gray’s arms. “Hi, bestie!”
He caught me with a laugh, rocking on his feet from the impact. “Um, Nick.”
“What?”
“I think Evan is plotting my death.”
“No he isn’t.” I pecked a kiss against his cheek and threw myself at Quinn. “Hi!”
He laughed and hugged me tight. “Your man is definitely plotting my death right now.”
“You’re silly.” I squeezed him, then slid down his tall body.
“One of these days we’re going to start taking it personally that you hug us last,” Zane said as I jumped into River’s waiting arms.
“Why?” I squeezed River extra tight and looked at Zane. “Don’t you save the best for last?”
“Darling.” Evan cleared his throat.
“One sec.” I grabbed Zane’s shirt and dragged him into a group hug with River. “You know I love you, you big goobers.” I pecked a kiss against each of their cheeks.
“Darling.” Evan’s tone was a little more forceful.
“Yes?” I twirled around, still hanging off the twins.
“Perhaps you could put something on next time you greet your friends?”
“Huh?” I stepped back from the hug.
“Your dick’s out,” Zane said in his usual monotone.
“It is?” I looked down. “Oopsie.”
“It’s not a big deal,” River said to Evan. “We’ve seen Nick’s ding-a-ling more times than we can count.”
“I don’t think that’s as helpful as you think it is,” Quinn said as Gray folded his lips into a tight line, like he was holding back a laugh.
“You’re lucky you’re hot,” I said to River, my voice heavy with affection.
He winked, still grinning.
Evan came up behind me and wrapped the towel around my waist. “I know your friends are used to seeing you nude, but I’m not used to seeing that, so perhaps you could cover up while I’m around?”
“I’ll try to remember.” I grinned at him. “But you know me, I’m all about having a free-range tallywhacker while on vacay.” I dropped a kiss to Evan’s lips as my friends snickered behind me. “I’m really happy, but I’m so confused. What’s going on?”
“I invited your friends to stay with us for the rest of our vacation.”
“For real?” I gaped.
“Yup.”
“We found this guy at the airport.” Gray pointed at the door to our villa, where Vlado and Emily were standing. “He was nice enough to give us a ride.”
“Eeek!” I sprinted across the deck and leapt at Vlado. “You’re here too!”
He laughed and let me koala hug him. Once I was on the ground again, I turned to Emily and caught her as she gave me the same treatment I’d given her man.
Vlado and Emily had gotten together shortly after the incident with Malcolm had gone down, and I was beyond happy for them. They were the cutest couple, and they absolutely adored each other.
“Is this the new piece?” I asked, catching Emily’s wrist so I could look at her inner forearm.
One thing no one had seen coming was the physical transformation in Emily now that she was completely free of all the bullshit expectations that had been put on her.
Now she fully embraced her inner goth girl and was in the process of getting all the tattoos she’d put off because of the constant pressure she’d been under to fit in with all the other socialites.
“It is.” She peered around me and waved River, who’d drawn the artwork for her, over.
He bounded over, a big smile on his face.
I glanced over at Evan as River, Vlado, and Emily talked tattoos. He stood with Gray and Quinn, laughing and chatting about something while Zane had claimed my lounger and was sipping from the bottle of water I’d stashed beside it.
Evan caught my eye and gave me a little wink.
My heart swelled with love.
This was the life I’d always imagined for myself. Not the fancy vacation or the exotic locale, but being surrounded by my chosen family and having the opportunity to share new experiences with them.
Evan wasn’t just the love of my life, he was my soulmate. We fit together in every way possible, but still had enough differences to keep life interesting. He balanced out my chaotic energy and accepted all of me without reservation.
He was my person, and I was so damn lucky he chose to love me too.
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